Where do I even start? It was a terrible showing for the Eagles, as they fall to 0-2 with today's loss to the Cowboys by a final score of 20-10. The defense looked decent, allowing just one offensive touchdown to Terrence Williams towards the end of the game, but the offense was putrid. After the showing they had this preseason, everyone was expecting huge things from the offense. But two games in, they look nothing like the high flying, fast moving offense of the preseason.
I guess I'll start with the man under center, Sam Bradford. The good news is that he hasn't had any injuries so far. He's taken a bunch of hits in these past two games and is still standing strong. What was once his biggest weakness, durability is now a strength of Bradford's.
Unfortunately, what was once one of his biggest strengths, accuracy is now a weakness of his. Pulling his best Mark Sanchez impersonation, Bradford was missing wide open targets all day today. His stats look okay (23-37, 224 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs), but anyone watching today realizes how misleading those numbers are. On one specific play, he had Agholor wide open in the middle of the field about 10 yards from the end zone. Instead of making a good throw and possibly scoring a touchdown, Bradford missed him and they weren't able to score that drive.
I can't put all of the blame on Bradford. The five guys that are supposed to be protecting him and giving the offense enough time to make the plays have been pretty much non-existent. Getting rid of veteran linemen such as Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans hurts, but their replacements don't even look like they belong in the NFL. Their lack of run blocking allows opposing defenses to leave less men in the box because they are able to get to the QB easily.
And of course we have the running game, which is a complete non-factor in the offense. The Eagles feature three pro bowl caliber backs, whom are often deemed the best backfield unit in the NFL. Guess who today's leading rusher was? (Don't cheat and look it up elsewhere.) If you guessed Sam Bradford, please come up and claim your prize. That's right. The goofy guy with a ton of injuries, including an ACL tear last season, led the team in rushing today. I understand that there aren't a lot of holes opening up on the line, but these guys look completely different than the running backs who were blowing by everyone just a few weeks ago in the preseason. The running game needs to bring it next week against the Jets, which will be a pretty tough task for them.
I can't really say anything against the defense, they actually played pretty well today, especially given that they are on the field for 40 minutes a game. It pays off to have a ton of depth on defense when you're out there for 2/3 of the game.
There are a few silver linings, however. The NFC East is in a bit of flux at the moment. The New York Giants are also 0-2 at the moment and the Redskins are 1-1. Last season's division champion Cowboys are in front again right now at 2-0, but they lost not only Dez Bryant for most of the season, but also Tony Romo today to a broken clavicle. The Eagles are lucky to be in this division right now, but it won't mean anything if they can't figure it out against the Jets next Sunday.
By: Dan Goggin
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
Unfortunately, what was once one of his biggest strengths, accuracy is now a weakness of his. Pulling his best Mark Sanchez impersonation, Bradford was missing wide open targets all day today. His stats look okay (23-37, 224 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs), but anyone watching today realizes how misleading those numbers are. On one specific play, he had Agholor wide open in the middle of the field about 10 yards from the end zone. Instead of making a good throw and possibly scoring a touchdown, Bradford missed him and they weren't able to score that drive.
I can't put all of the blame on Bradford. The five guys that are supposed to be protecting him and giving the offense enough time to make the plays have been pretty much non-existent. Getting rid of veteran linemen such as Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans hurts, but their replacements don't even look like they belong in the NFL. Their lack of run blocking allows opposing defenses to leave less men in the box because they are able to get to the QB easily.
And of course we have the running game, which is a complete non-factor in the offense. The Eagles feature three pro bowl caliber backs, whom are often deemed the best backfield unit in the NFL. Guess who today's leading rusher was? (Don't cheat and look it up elsewhere.) If you guessed Sam Bradford, please come up and claim your prize. That's right. The goofy guy with a ton of injuries, including an ACL tear last season, led the team in rushing today. I understand that there aren't a lot of holes opening up on the line, but these guys look completely different than the running backs who were blowing by everyone just a few weeks ago in the preseason. The running game needs to bring it next week against the Jets, which will be a pretty tough task for them.
I can't really say anything against the defense, they actually played pretty well today, especially given that they are on the field for 40 minutes a game. It pays off to have a ton of depth on defense when you're out there for 2/3 of the game.
There are a few silver linings, however. The NFC East is in a bit of flux at the moment. The New York Giants are also 0-2 at the moment and the Redskins are 1-1. Last season's division champion Cowboys are in front again right now at 2-0, but they lost not only Dez Bryant for most of the season, but also Tony Romo today to a broken clavicle. The Eagles are lucky to be in this division right now, but it won't mean anything if they can't figure it out against the Jets next Sunday.
By: Dan Goggin
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
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