Back To School: Football Edition

Remember having summer reading lists in grade school? Remember getting to within a week of the first day and you still have all seven books left to read? The waves of nostalgic panic are breaking on me as the NFL season is fast approaching, and I’ve hardly read a page. Don’t worry though; I’m going to act as your cliff notes for the preseason so you can focus your attention on the pretty girl two rows up.

The first two games of the Eagles’ preseason are about as meaningful as a Pat Burrell solo shot in the 8th inning of an 8-1 game; going through the motions. Regular season starters will play only a few snaps and coaches are more looking to practice plays against a live defense than structuring a game-plan. Why should we as fans even watch these displays of mediocrity? Story lines are to be found in these precious practice minutes.  Here are two story lines to watch for as the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason gets rolling.


The Receiving Pit (not quite as substantial as a receiving core).

No matter how accurate Michael Vick may be, nor how far down the field he may throw, he must have receivers to catch those balls.  DeSean Jackson is present at training camp, but only because of a silly glitch in the free agency schedule (He needed to show by Aug. 9th so as not to lose a year towards FA). In fact, he knows that he will get a contract from the team, so next year’s free agency has no bearing on the contract discussions. Jeremy Maclin is also at camp after fighting a bout of mononucleosis. Reports say Maclin is not nearly up to speed, strength, or weight.

Without that tandem, forget the NFC title… forget the Wild Card. Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, and training camp stud Sinorice Moss will hold down the catching duties for the first few games. As Maclin continues to get healthy and Jackson begins to get wealthy, DO NOT panic if the passing offense is less than effective. Andy Reid may reach into his very shallow pool of running plays to take the stress off of Vick.


The Forgotten Position

A common thread from season to season over Reid’s tenure is a shocking lack of depth and ability at the linebacker position. The Stewart Bradley experiment is now over (turns out a middle linebacker that can’t run, cover, or stay healthy is not a good middle linebacker). As Bradley finds refuge in Arizona, it opens up a spot in training camp for young Casey Matthews to prove that he is not just Clay’s little brother. Though not as big or athletic as his brother, Casey’s strengths are his intellect as an MLB and his tenacity. Remember, Casey is the only one to play in the BCS Championship game (Oregon – 2010), and he started at MLB. Technically, USC’s appearance in 2005 has been vacated, but Clay was only a special teams player at the time.

Will Casey be a rookie starting at MLB for the Eagles? Probably not, but he will get a national stage to hit some people and catch some interest. Matthews has good potential and better genes, and is playing a position on a team bankrupt of talent there. It will be interesting to see how quickly he makes the transition from a Duck to an Eagle.