Preseason Week 2 | Jeffrey Lurie Eagles CFM | Panthers @ Eagles - Stafford2Johnson's Dynasty

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Preseason Week 2 | Jeffrey Lurie Eagles CFM | Panthers @ Eagles

Posted on September 3, 2013 at 10:45 PM.

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PRESEASON WEEK 2

Eagles defense shuts down Anderson, Panthers in 30-15 Victory

Trent Cole said he had "a good feeling" about the Eagles defense heading into this preseason Week 2 battle against the Panthers. His gut would turn out to be true. The story of last night was the defense setting the offense up to score. Whether it was by forcing turnovers or simply setting up the offense with good field position, the defense was the reason the Eagles racked up 30 points. The offense played the role of the ultimate opportunists, taking advantage of the opportunities given to them.

The night started out well on the first drive when QB Michael Vick launched a 37-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz on a third-and-long. Ertz, in his first year out of Stanford University, had a very productive evening, racking up 5 receptions for 78 yards. After fighting for a couple more first downs, the Eagles were able to strike first for an early field goal, giving them a 3-0 lead.

Cam Newton and the Panthers offense would be quick to respond, however. A harmless 3rd-and-10 turned disaster when the defense fell for a perfectly executed screen. The result? A DeAngelo Williams 76-yard reception that would set the Panthers up for a field goal of their own, making the game 3-3. The Panthers could've scored a touchdown had it not been for clutch sack by Trent Cole on third and goal.

Later in the first, Vick would march the Eagles down deep into Panthers territory. On first down from the Panther 23, Vick dropped back and fired to a wide open Jason Avant for what should've been the first TD of the game. Instead, he overthrew and received the first "boos" of the season. He redeemed himself on the next play, however, lofting a beautiful fade pass up to Avant for a touchdown. The quarter ended with the Eagles leading 10-3.

The next major play came in the 2nd quarter, where the defense first started showing their dominance. Cam Newton was forced out of the pocket by the defense, but was hit from behind as he ran across the line of scrimmage by none other than Trent Cole. Cole jarred the ball loose, and it was recovered by Mychal Kendricks on the Carolina 45. The offense would take advantage of the opportunity, now with QB Nick Foles in to run the offense. He slowly moved the Eagles closer and closer to the endzone, until finally a dump pass to LeSean McCoy scored the touchdown. The Eagles now had a commanding 17-3 lead midway through the 2nd.

Following a Panthers three-and-out, Foles showed the crowd that he can be a starting-caliber QB. He marched the Eagles down the field like a true field-general. Finally, the Panthers defense was able to stop the assault. Alex Henery lined up the 42yd FG to put the Eagles up by 17, but missed. The score remained 17-3.

By now, Cam Newton was long gone and Chris Anderson would be the Panthers QB for the rest of the game. He looked solid throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but fell apart in the 4th. Midway through the 2nd, he launched a bomb that connected to TE Olsen that put the Panthers in prime position on the Eagles 18 yard line. A second completion to TE Rosalio would put them at first-and-goal on the one yard line. The Eagles defense would rally, however, and stuff Jonathon Stewart back to the four yard line. The Panthers attempted to score through the air on 2nd down, but a sack pushed them back even more. Finally on third down it appeared they caught their break; Anderson fired a perfect pass through a tight window and found TE Ben Hartsock in the endzone. Hartsock apparently had eaten two many butterfingers recently and could not hold on as DB's crashed into him. The Panthers would settle for a disappointing FG.

The Panthers would tack on one more FG following another successful screen, but other than that, the quarter ended calmly. At half, the Eagles led 17-9.

The third quarter started with a bang as Anderson led the fresly-rested Panthers offense down into Eagles territory. A third-down draw that caught the Eagles way off guard resulted in a touchdown for the Panthers. The clever run was pulled off by second-year RB Tauren Poole. It would coincidentally be his only carry of the game. The 6 TD points made the score 15-17, so the Panthers decided to go for two and tie the game up at 17 a piece. However, Brandon Graham had other ideas. The OLB was playing out of his mind on the pass rush, sacking Anderson multiple times and in this case, denying the 2-point conversion.

Matt Barkley was given the reigns to the Eagles' offense for the second half. Barkley's performance was mediocre compared to that of Vick or Foles. He had spots of greatness, and times when he looked terrible. For the most part, he was stifled by the Panthers defense. However, the defense was there for him, as they were all game. Brandon Boykin, 2nd-year man out of Georgia, intercepted a deep pass thrown by Anderson and returned it to the Panthers' 40 yd line. The run game forced the ball just outside of the redzone. At that point, Barkley hooked up with Damaris Johnson on a great lob pass for an Eagles TD. Damaris Johnson said after the game, "Those are the kind of throws you want your starting QB to make. Great pass."

Johnson would strike again later in the game, this time on special teams. He returned a punt 17 yards and into Panthers territory. Barkley and co. relied on the run game, led by backup RB Bryce Brown to get them into field goal range. This time, Henery did not miss. The Eagles were up 27-15 as the third quarter ended.

The fourth quarter, for the most part, was a defensive battle. Anderson got extremely cold, at one point throwing eight straight incompletions. As the clock dwindled, the Panthers, despite being deep in their own territory, started going for it on fourth down. Back-to-back failed attempts resulted in an easy FG for the Eagles to go up 30-15. The other failed attempt resulted in a Barkley INT after he tried to force a throw in the redzone. Overall, a good victory for Phili fans across the country.

Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles
Aug 17, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carolina Panthers (1-0)	3	6	6	0	15
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)	10	7	10	3	30

Carolina Panthers
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
C. Newton	3/3	92	0	0
C. Anderson	13/30	156	0	1
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Stewart	9	58	6.4	0
C. Newton	2	2	1.0	0
T. Poole	1	9	9.0	1
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
D. Hixon	4	52	13.0	0
J. Stewart	3	9	3.0	0
G. Olsen	2	61	30.5	0
N. Rosario	2	16	8.0	0
D. Williams	1	76	76.0	0
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
M. Mitchell	7	0	0	0
D. Moore	5	0	1	0
C. Jones	3	1	0	0
C. Godfrey	5	0	0	0

Philadelphia Eagles
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
M. Vick	5/7	70	1	0
N. Foles		36	1	0
M. Barkley		86	1	1
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
B. Brown	12	55	4.6	0
C. Polk	12	48	4.0	0
L. McCoy	8	28	3.5	0
M. Vick	2	33	16.5	0
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Z. Ertz	5	78	15.6	0
D. Johnson	3	49	16.3	1
B. Celek	3	13	4.3	0
L. McCoy	2	25	12.5	1
J. Avant	2	8	4.0	1
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
E. Wolff	6	0	0	0
B. Graham	4	3	0	0
T. Cole	4	1	0	0
B. Boykin	4	0	1	0

You will learn I don't record every stat in my tables. Just not enough time to get all the little ones. The major contributors for each team have their stats shown each week.

QB Competition

Vick probably had the best performance out of the three QB's. Other than his overthrown pass that would've been a touchdown, he was sharp all game. He had command over the offense and his decision making was on point, something Eagles fans didn't see last year. At this point, he is the expected starter.

Nick Foles was also sharp last night. His completion percentage was equal to Vick's. Overall, he looked like a true leader on the field. However, he was playing with the 2nd-string offense and against a 2nd-string defense. Expect him to get some snaps with the first team next week, but he isn't the favorite as of now.

Barkley's performance likely pushes him out of the hunt for the starting job. He struggled to complete passes, going just 8-18. He made some great decisions and throws, but for every great play there seemed to be a mistake as well. He was the only QB to throw an interception, and it was definitely one that could've been avoided if he'd been smarter with the ball. It would take a miracle performance next week to keep Barkley in the hunt.

TEAM REVIEW
The Good:
-Dominated the trenches. The offensive line only allowed one sack and opened up a fair amount of running lanes. The defensive line harassed Newton and Anderson all night long. They recorded 5 total sacks.
-Vick showed he can still be a productive quarterback. Many were beginning to lose hope. Maybe the Chip Kelly offense will be a fresh start for him.
-The CBs played, for the most part, well. It is not a great secondary, that is glaringly apparent. However, if they can put this kind of play together, I'll take it.

The Bad:
-Recently drafted Matt Barkley made a poor debut. It's just one game. Maybe he will bounce back. He certainly doesn't look like a gem quite yet.
-LeSean McCoy didn't make the kind of impact he needs to make to win regular season games. He looked like an average running back last night, not the elusive superstar we all know he can be.
-DeSean Jackson and Jeremly Maclin played for a whole quarter, but both were extremely quiet. They need to work on gaining separation or the passing game will struggle.

Postgame Q&A With Chip Kelly: Sponsored by Gatorade

Q: What is your reaction to Matt Barkley's performance?
A: "He's a rookie. It takes time for these guys to adjust, especially QBs, to the NFL. I wouldn't count him out yet, but players can do a lot of improving even if they're not playing on Sunday. He'll get there."

Q: Have you and your staff made further progress in deciding who will be the starting quarterback?
A: "We're leaning toward Mike Vick. His style of play fits our offense the best, and he's looked good this preseason. The spot is still up for grabs, however."

Q: Enough with the quarterback position, how do you think the secondary played?
A: "I was pleasantly surprised with their play. Boykin made a couple nice plays including an interception. Cary Williams looked solid against Steve Smith. I'm excited for this group. I think they'll surprise people."

Next episode will be a midweek review. I will cover what has happened the past few days in practice, league transactions, injury reports, and more as we head into Preseason Week 3.
-S2J