EAGLES PRE-SEASON REVIEW
-Kenny Pete, Contributor
The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles came *this close* to repeating history and winning their second Super Bowl in 5 years and fell short. That simple fact is has become the driving force & the theme that runs through this franchise from the seeds of grass at Lincoln Financial Field in south Philadelphia all the way to the top of the perch on the roof where a beautiful bald Eagle flies over the stadium during the pre game hype. Focused. Driven. Determined. Its a mantra that comes out off the players, coaches & executives they are on a mission to get to Las Vegas in 2024.
TL:DR, The Eagles are a very good team & doing what they can to fine tune what is the best team in the NFC right now. I can say that because that is what the scoreboard says at this point from last season. Until a team wants to step up & prove to the world that they can hang with this team, it will be hollow bravado until the final whistle blows. I’m looking forward to this year’s schedule, there isn’t a team on it that “scares me” as a fan. Not saying this team runs the table, any given Sunday & all that but lets say we welcome all of these teams to put up or shut up at this point, San Francisco, here’s looking at you.
Through this training camp, Jalen Hurts, the leader of this team, the latest signing to the Jordan brand, the man who has a picture of himself leaving the field in Glendale Arizona as the red & gold confetti rained down from the skies on the lock screen of his cell phone to be reminded of what that feeling felt like of coming *this close*. Hurts looked outstanding over 3 weeks of training camp this year, with an unspoken connection with AJ Brown that could be the most explosive QB/ WR tandem in the league.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni puts more emphasis on having shorter, but more intense practices and works hard on random situational drills. He will ‘freestyle” by calling out the situation , down / distance, etc to keep his team on their toes to react in the moment the right way , should those situations come up in a real game. Sirianni also puts more focus on the joint practices with other teams, this year it was the Browns & Colts, than he will put into the actual pre-season games, where most of the 1s & 2s will see extremely limited action & most of the team is compromised of players trying to catch on with this team, or put together a “good tape” for another team to see what works out best. I don’t put much stock into the 0-2-1 preseason record, once that red light is on, this team is going to bring it.
Who is on this team anyway? Didn’t they lose a bunch of good players like TJ Edwards, Javon Hargrave, Issac Semalu & others, you can’t just lose that kind of talent (and your defensive coordinator) & think you are gonna be as good or better riiiight?!
Let me introduce to you Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean & Eli Ricks , the next men up , waiting in the wings, hungry , just waiting to be let loose so they can feast on offenses. This unit has the potential to be very special under the tutelage of Sean Desai, who will be using a more wide open & more aggressive version of the defense run by the DC who preceded Sean Desai, who has said he wants his “defense to be felt”. Music to the ears of this fanbase who long for the days of Brian Dawkins being allowed the freedom to strike fear in the hearts of his opposition.
Here is the final 53 man roster as of final cut day on 8/29/23
OFFENSE
Quarterback (3) — Jalen Hurts, Marcus Mariota, Tanner McKee
Running back (4) — Kenneth Gainwell, D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott
Wide receiver (4) — A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus
Tight end (4) — Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra, Albert Okwuebunam (via trade w/ Denver)
Offensive tackle (4) — Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, Jack Driscoll
Offensive guard (4) — Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Sua Opeta
Center (1) — Jason Kelce
DEFENSE
Defensive end (3) — Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett
SAM (3) — Haason Reddick, Nolan Smith, Patrick Johnson
Defensive tackle (7) — Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo, Marlon Tuipulotu, Kentavius Street
Linebacker (3) — Nakobe Dean, Zach Cunningham, Christian Elliss
Cornerback (7) — James Bradberry, Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Josh Jobe, Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, Mario Goodrich
Safety (4) — Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds, Justin Evans, Sydney Brown
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker (1) — Jake Elliott
Long snapper (1) — Rick Lovato
Punter (0)
The Eagles also signed suspended cornerback Isaiah Rodgers who will sit out the entire 2023 season due to violating the league's gambling policy. Classic GM Howie Roseman move, stash talent people will forget about & by next season hopefully this is a move that works out for the team.
The immediate future for this team is very bright, who have 6 nationally televised games this season as of this writing, I expect the league to flex a few more their way. You can recite all the history & stats & numbers regarding the team that lost last year on a quest to get back there who fall horribly short. This team, this crew, this time, is the exception to the rule. I expect this team to play like a football team possessed that will not stop until they get to Las Vegas for another chance at the Lombardi trophy, and maybe this time Jalen can change the photo on his lock screen to one of him smiling as the green & white confetti rains in the desert.