Post by EagleGene on Aug 11, 2006 17:41:56 GMT -5
August 11, 2006
By SHANE EVANS
For the second straight preseason game, the Eagles offense marched down the field with relative ease and put points on the board. With a good mix of runs and passes, the first team looked sharp yet again. On their second drive however, things seemed to slow up a little.
"We were able to execute when we needed to," said quarterback Donovan McNabb. "Third down, 2nd-and-short, 2nd-and-medium, we were able to convert, get some drives and we were able to get the ball downfield and stretch the field a little bit. Running the ball, we did a good job, but we've got to come out with points. It's good for us to establish the tempo early, get the drives going to try and come out with points."
This type of play has been a big change from last season, which saw the Eagles score points in the first quarter in only seven out of 16 games. As a result, the Eagles were playing from behind for the majority of the season, and that disrupts your offensive rhythm and play calling.
This newfound ability to march down the field was fueled by a steady run game and some nice short passing. Last Sunday against the Raiders, the Eagles' first-team offense marched 61 yards in nine plays and scored a touchdown. On Thursday, the Eagles ran the ball seven times and passed six on the opening drive which resulted in a field goal. On the second drive, the Eagles committed two penalties, which forced them to pass on all three downs before punting the ball away.
The best play that the first team produced was a deep fade pass from McNabb to rookie wide receiver Hank Baskett on the opening drive. McNabb feathered a beautiful pass down the sideline that Baskett reached out and brought it in, in a beautiful diving motion for a 33-yard gain.
Baskett, who has started in both preseason games, is picking up the offense very quickly and is making some big plays, which is helping his standing in the starting lineup.
"It's just trust," said Baskett. "We get into the huddle and we have a script of the plays that are potentially going to get called at the start and we knew we had a "Go" (route) coming. We'd been working on it at practice and we didn't get one last week. The defense came out in the perfect situation for us and I was able to get by the defender, and it was all trust after that as he was able to put it up there for me and said go make a play."
The Eagles drove 76 yards on 14 plays on the opening drive. But after McNabb threw an incomplete pass to running back Reno Mahe on 3rd-and-goal, the Eagles settled for a 22-yard David Akers field goal. Despite the great catch to help setup the score, Baskett sees plenty of room for improvement.
"Just the little mistakes, penalties will kill any team," said Baskett. "That's why it's preseason, everybody is still coming out, and we're still clicking on things. But, right now I'd say everything is looking positive. We are moving the ball, which is a plus, coming down and taking it down the field right away. There is nothing but good things to look forward to for this season."
The Eagles committed two penalties on the second drive which kept them from scoring. First, it was a holding penalty by tackle William Thomas, which negated a four-yard run by Jason Davis. But the bigger penalty was an offensive pass interference call on wide receiver Reggie Brown. That penalty negated a 17-yard pass from McNabb to tight end L.J. Smith on a 3rd-and-16.
Despite the small mistakes, head coach Andy Reid was impressed with how the offense was able to move downfield and make things happen, both through the air and on the ground.
"All in all, it was good to see that there were more positives this game than there were negatives compared to the last game," said Reid. "It was good to see the twos get themselves going, and the ones had a nice drive put together offensively on the first drive that stalled there at the end. That was a good job of getting it down the field, but we would have liked to see them score a touchdown."
Two quick starts in two preseason games is definitely what the Eagles offense wanted to achieve. With a very healthy mix of the run game and the air attack, diversity has been the key thus far. It remains to be seen whether this effective mix will be sustained.
By SHANE EVANS
For the second straight preseason game, the Eagles offense marched down the field with relative ease and put points on the board. With a good mix of runs and passes, the first team looked sharp yet again. On their second drive however, things seemed to slow up a little.
"We were able to execute when we needed to," said quarterback Donovan McNabb. "Third down, 2nd-and-short, 2nd-and-medium, we were able to convert, get some drives and we were able to get the ball downfield and stretch the field a little bit. Running the ball, we did a good job, but we've got to come out with points. It's good for us to establish the tempo early, get the drives going to try and come out with points."
This type of play has been a big change from last season, which saw the Eagles score points in the first quarter in only seven out of 16 games. As a result, the Eagles were playing from behind for the majority of the season, and that disrupts your offensive rhythm and play calling.
This newfound ability to march down the field was fueled by a steady run game and some nice short passing. Last Sunday against the Raiders, the Eagles' first-team offense marched 61 yards in nine plays and scored a touchdown. On Thursday, the Eagles ran the ball seven times and passed six on the opening drive which resulted in a field goal. On the second drive, the Eagles committed two penalties, which forced them to pass on all three downs before punting the ball away.
The best play that the first team produced was a deep fade pass from McNabb to rookie wide receiver Hank Baskett on the opening drive. McNabb feathered a beautiful pass down the sideline that Baskett reached out and brought it in, in a beautiful diving motion for a 33-yard gain.
Baskett, who has started in both preseason games, is picking up the offense very quickly and is making some big plays, which is helping his standing in the starting lineup.
"It's just trust," said Baskett. "We get into the huddle and we have a script of the plays that are potentially going to get called at the start and we knew we had a "Go" (route) coming. We'd been working on it at practice and we didn't get one last week. The defense came out in the perfect situation for us and I was able to get by the defender, and it was all trust after that as he was able to put it up there for me and said go make a play."
The Eagles drove 76 yards on 14 plays on the opening drive. But after McNabb threw an incomplete pass to running back Reno Mahe on 3rd-and-goal, the Eagles settled for a 22-yard David Akers field goal. Despite the great catch to help setup the score, Baskett sees plenty of room for improvement.
"Just the little mistakes, penalties will kill any team," said Baskett. "That's why it's preseason, everybody is still coming out, and we're still clicking on things. But, right now I'd say everything is looking positive. We are moving the ball, which is a plus, coming down and taking it down the field right away. There is nothing but good things to look forward to for this season."
The Eagles committed two penalties on the second drive which kept them from scoring. First, it was a holding penalty by tackle William Thomas, which negated a four-yard run by Jason Davis. But the bigger penalty was an offensive pass interference call on wide receiver Reggie Brown. That penalty negated a 17-yard pass from McNabb to tight end L.J. Smith on a 3rd-and-16.
Despite the small mistakes, head coach Andy Reid was impressed with how the offense was able to move downfield and make things happen, both through the air and on the ground.
"All in all, it was good to see that there were more positives this game than there were negatives compared to the last game," said Reid. "It was good to see the twos get themselves going, and the ones had a nice drive put together offensively on the first drive that stalled there at the end. That was a good job of getting it down the field, but we would have liked to see them score a touchdown."
Two quick starts in two preseason games is definitely what the Eagles offense wanted to achieve. With a very healthy mix of the run game and the air attack, diversity has been the key thus far. It remains to be seen whether this effective mix will be sustained.