Making Sense Of the Eagles’ Inactives


The following Eagles are inactive for tonight’s game against the Redskins: Matt Barkley, Shaun Prater, Matthew Tobin, Dennis Kelly, Vinny Curry and Emil Igwenagu.

The Eagles released Brandon Hughes this week so they only need to name six inactives instead of the usual seven.

The big name in that group is Curry. The second-year defensive lineman spent all offseason adding weight to prepare for the 3-4 scheme shift. And he was quite possibly the Eagles’ most active defensive player in the preseason.

But all along, there seemed to be something that didn’t add up. The coaches never offered up too much praise or indicated that Curry was a key part of the team’s long-term plans.

One possibility is that while Curry played well in the preseason, he wasn’t using the techniques the coaches want from the guys up front. The other possibility is that the Eagles are expecting a heavy rushing attack from the Redskins and view Curry as more of a situational pass-rusher.

The active defensive linemen are: Fletcher Cox, Isaac Sopoaga, Cedric Thornton, Clifton Geathers, Damion Square and Bennie Logan.

Barkley is inactive, meaning the team will go with just two quarterbacks (Michael Vick and Nick Foles).

Prater, the new cornerback, won’t dress. That means the Eagles have four active corners: Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin and rookie Jordan Poyer. Safety Patrick Chung could play some nickel corner in a pinch.

The Eagles have five safeties active: Nate Allen, Chung, Earl Wolff, Colt Anderson and Kurt Coleman.

On the offensive line, the Eagles have two backups: center Julian Vandervelde and Allen Barbre. Barbre is capable of playing four of the team’s five positions up front.

The Eagles have five wide receivers active: DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant, Damaris Johnson and Jeff Maehl.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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