Twitter Mailbag: On Curry, Receivers and the Fatigue Factor


On Thursdays we select a few of your Twitter questions and provide the long-form answers they deserve. For a chance to have your question published on Birds 24/7, send it to @Tim_McManus.

From @LardMuffin: Assuming the Eagles have their offense in high gear – Who will the altitude affect more? Eagles offense or Broncos D?

Altitude will affect the Eagles more. The Broncos are acclimated to the environment, the Eagles are not.  Plus, the Broncos are used to going up-tempo. They are averaging 71 plays per game on offense, which is just four less than league-leading New England, and five plays more than Chip Kelly‘s Eagles.

I do believe fatigue will almost certainly come into play in this one. Both offenses will be running at a high pace and there is a good chance they will be scoring quickly. There will be little rest for the weary in what promises to be a track meet.

The Eagles have not played since Thursday while Denver played on Monday night, so the Eagles should have the fresher legs. That will probably offset the altitude factor.

Interesting side note: In the past when the Eagles had a game out west, they would usually leave two days before the game. Kelly does it a little differently. He is apparently of the opinion that jet lag takes a couple days to set in, so he will be bringing his team west just one day before the game, believing that the game will be over before the time change impacts his players. The Eagles will head to Denver on Saturday.

From @BadBeats1010: Any chance of adding another wide out?

Possible, but I’m not counting on it.

Howie Roseman didn’t give the impression that the Eagles will be making significant moves prior to the Oct. 29 trade deadline. And while there is some talent on the open market (Lavelle Hawkins comes to mind) I believe that they are inclined to stick with what they’ve got for the moment.

Both Pat Shurmur and Kelly seem happy with their starting group, including Riley Cooper, who has six catches for 68 yards and a score on the season. They must be impressed with how he is helping as a blocker in the run game. Shurmur said that the reason why Damaris Johnson and tight ends James Casey and Zach Ertz are not on the field more is because they want to keep Cooper and Jason Avant in the game. Like a lot of you, I think Johnson and Ertz should be featured more.

Regardless, the Eagles seem pretty content with what they have.

From @chriscimo: is Vinny Curry going to get more playing time. He’s a great pass rusher

Yes, I believe he will. Curry registered a sack, a hurry and drew a holding penalty in just 12 snaps against the Chiefs. He has been struggling with some of the two-gap principles that Bill Davis is teaching, which has a lot to do with why he didn’t see the field until Week 3. But it sounds like he is making progress.

“Vinny had a good day.  He’s a good pass‑rusher,” said Davis. “He is getting better at the two‑gap stuff.  We’re excited about Vinny.  Each week different things go into it.  He had a nice game.”

Davis suggested that Curry will probably be active against Denver. Getting pressure on Peyton Manning is incredibly important, so there is no reason Curry shouldn’t see his playing time increase.

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