Eagles vs. Jags: a preseason game that matters…

Radio: 94 WYSP
Sirius: TBA
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This “meaningless” game matters a lot to both clubs, since both will face each other again in the third week of the regular season — and because both head coaches are beginning direction-changing seasons which may determine their tenures in Jacksonville and Philly.

And as always, the first preseason game is critical to those 20 or so rookies, free agents and veterans on each team who are on the bubble, or who need at least a few outstanding reps in this game to stay in consideration for an NFL job.

I expect starting QB’s David Garrard (Jax) and Kevin Kolb (Eagles) to take no more than 20 snaps apiece with the first teams in play…then the game will be turned over to the backup QB’s and the second and third team players, many of whom are still auditioning for jobs.

The Eagles under Andy Reid in 2010 are a team in a transitional youth movement after releasing or trading nearly every aging veteran with an expensive contract over the winter. We’ll be focusing on the young Kolb at QB, in particular, with a definite interest in Mike Vick’s enhanced role, and then we’ll  get to evaluate backup rookie QB Mike Kafka under real-game pressure.

So what are the Eagles to this point? A work in progress is the best way to describe them. The offense has a lot of pieces missing right now due to a bunch of nagging camp injuries and a season-ending injury last year which still has starting center Jamaal Jackson on the back burner. The line of scrimmage is the focal point to improve upon, and that’s what I’ll be watching most on the offense side of the ball for the Eagles.

Since Eagles’ wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin may see very limited action if any due to cautious recovery from strains and hyperextension (Maclin, knee), it will be entertaining to watch the Eagles’ rookie and free agent receivers battling to make an impression. Among the candidates are a few former Florida-area college stars, including WR Riley Cooper and TE Cornelius Ingram (who’s still a tad gimpy from ACL recovery and may be held out of this one, though). 

Defense is where the Eagles have had a much better run in training camp in getting to work together with a lot of moving parts. There is a lot more speed on the Eagles D this season. The main question marks: Can 1st-round draft pick Brandon Graham make a difference in the DE rotation at getting a bigger pass rush?— something the Eagles needed a lot more of in 2009, despite the great performance of All-Pro DE Trent Cole, who would also benefit by some help from his opposite side DE’s. Can rookie FS Nate Allen step up and bring some continuity to the defensive backfield?  Can Ellis Hobbs stay healthy enough to play top caliber RCB again? Can MLB Stewart Bradley make a full comeback from his ACL injury last season?

As for the Jaguars…Eagles fans in the know have a lot of respect for the Jaguars. We are very aware that Colts’ president Bill Polian calls the Jags “the most improved team in the league…”

How do we Philly fans view the Jags right now? We see a team coming off a 7-9 season, a team that ranked 24th in Defense and 24th in Offensive Points Scored. Somehow, with the overall veteran talent on the Jags roster, we expected a lot better results. (By comparison, the Eagles at 11-5 were ranked 12th in Defense and 19th in overall Offense…but all that added up to in the end were back-to-back blowouts by Dallas and an early playoff exit.)

Philly fans also believe that Jack Del Rio’s head coach job is at risk, and that the Jags may move to Los Angeles if Del Rio doesn’t win big this season.

But we think the Jags had an excellent draft.  We’re anxious to get a glimpse of rookie DE Tyson Alualu in this preseason game. I personally want to see TE Zach Miller, glad he’s back…We also know, for the established star players like QB Garrard, CB Rashean Mathis, and MLB Kirk Morrison, this is a “Show Me” year… if the Jags don’t get deep in the playoffs, I fear these stars will be sent packing to other teams, as happened with Donovan McNabb in Philly this offseason.

Since we’re not going to see a lot of first-team personnel for long if at all in this exhibition, what I’ll be looking most for from the Jags is the unveiling of new “Big Cat Country” defense, an attacking and penetrating 4-3 scheme.  Last season the Jags ended up in a “Read and React 4-3″… and it was a disaster.

Most of all, it will be good to just watch a football game in prime time with something —if only about 40 NFL jobs — on the line.  The Eagles organization has done a great job of covering OTA’s and Training Camp this season, the best public information service from them I’ve ever seen. But sooner or later, the drills and the punishing routines get old.

It’ll be nice to see Charlie Brown actually get to kick the rock in a game that…well, yes, it matters. More to Lucy, the players and Charlie, perhaps, than to you and me at this stage…but it matters.