Todd Herremans’ voice barely rose above a whisper. In the wake of a 26-16 loss to his old coach, on a night where the veteran struggled badly, Herremans stood in front of his locker — the hood of his sweatshirt pulled tightly around his face — answering reporters’ question in a low, pain-filled voice.

“I was just disappointed,” said Herremans, now a few days removed from the Chiefs’ loss. “It was a win I really wanted to get. I was really frustrated by that holding call I had late. Just disappointed, you know?”

Herremans took it hard but seemed no worse for wear this week. He wore the same half-grin that he always does. Was accepting towards the media that approached his back-corner stall, even though he knew the questions would be largely about what is going wrong.

“It’s not like I don’t know that I’ve got to get better,” he said. “I know I’ve got to get better.”

Tim and Sheil broadcast live from Smiths at 19th and Chestnut tonight between 6 and 7 on 97.5 The Fanatic.

The show has been moved from its normal Thursday night slot this week because of the Eagles-Chiefs game.

Click here to listen live, and stay tuned for the podcast links.

According to Football Outsiders, 91 receivers have been targeted at least nine times this season.

Of that group, Riley Cooper ranks 84th in catch rate, which is simply the percentage of receptions per targets.

Cooper’s been targeted 16 times and come up with six catches for 68 yards (catch rate of 38 percent). But Chip Kelly expressed on several occasions today that he is happy with the wide receiver’s production.

“Riley’s done an unbelievable job, especially blocking on the perimeter, great red-zone target for us,” Kelly said.

Which team is best set up for a track meet on Sunday? Will the Eagles bring in any wide receiver help? And will Vinny Curry get more opportunities after an impressive debut? We try to answer all of that in the latest mailbag.

Brandon Boykin’s rookie season was not all that complicated.

His role on defense was easily defined. When opposing offenses were in three- or four-receiver sets, he entered the game, played the slot and for the most part, did a really good job.

But with a dramatic scheme change and a new defensive coordinator this year, Boykin might as well be wearing a red-and-white striped shirt instead of a green-and-white jersey on gamedays.

Where’s Brandon?

DeMeco Ryans doesn’t buy the theory making the rounds that suggests the Eagles’ offense is putting its defense in a tough spot.

The thinking goes like this: The offense plays fast all game long, but doesn’t always score or string together long drives. This leads to short breaks for the defense, too much time on the field and late-game fatigue.

On its surface, the theory seems to have some merit. The problem? There’s no real evidence to back it.

When Billy Davis and the Browns’ staff went looking for answers on how to slow down Peyton Manning, their search led them to Philadelphia.

This was last season when Davis was the linebackers coach and Cleveland was prepping to take on the Manning-led Broncos. The defensive coordinator was Dick Jauron, who was on Philadelphia’s staff when the Eagles beat Manning and the Colts 26-24 during the 2010 regular season.  Manning was 31-of-51 for 294 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in that game. Sean McDermott‘s defense registered six quarterback hits and sacked Manning three times.

So what worked?

LeSean McCoy started off his press conference with a smile on his face and the following message to deliver:

“I am 1-0 against Peyton Manning, I am,” he said, drawing laughs.

It’s true. The Eagles beat the Colts 26-24 back in 2010. McCoy ran for 95 yards in that one. Michael Vick accounted for 292 yards of offense and scored twice.

The 2013 version of the Eagles comes in as the No.2 ranked offense in the league, averaging 462 yards per game. McCoy is the league’s leading rusher, DeSean Jackson the second most productive receiver. Chip Kelly‘s attack was all the rage, particularly before a down performance against the Chiefs on Thursday. In this matchup, however, it is being totally overshadowed by the juggernaut on the other side.

Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles this week.

All offseason, there was talk about how much Chip Kelly would incorporate the read option into his offense at the NFL level.

Three games in, we have some answers. And the biggest takeaway? It’s been perhaps the most successful aspect of what the Eagles have done so far.

DeSean Jackson knows that if the Eagles are to hang with the Broncos on Sunday, their offense is going to have to be in high gear.

“As an offense we just feel like we have to go out there and basically go battle for battle with them, and be able to score as many points as they can and hopefully more,” he said.

The Eagles’ offense cooled off against Kansas City after two strong performances versus Washington and San Diego to open the season. It was no coincidence that Jackson’s game cooled right along with it. He had three catches for 62 yards and was kept out of the end zone Thursday. In the previous two games, he racked up 24 catches, 297 yards and a pair of scores.

“A lot of times guys are focusing on myself. Doing some good things in this offense obviously caused that,” he said. “It’s not a matter where I get frustrated. I understand at times when I run a certain route there might be two guys on me instead of one. I think that will help out the other receivers to be able get open and make big plays to help us win games, so guys aren’t always zoning in on me.”

Cary Williams and Connor Barwin both know what it’s like to beat Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

That puts them in somewhat select company. Williams’ Ravens handed the Broncos a loss in the divisional round of last year’s playoffs, and Barwin’s Texans squad won a 31-25 contest in September.

So surely, the two veterans can share their secrets with their teammates and Billy Davis this week, right?

Jason Peters did not have the type of dominant performance Thursday that we have come to expect from the left tackle. Matched up with Tamba Hali for much of the game, he yielded five quarterback hurries and gave up a sack. Hali is a good pass rusher, but Peters is used to handling good pass rushers.

Part of the issue is that Peters is working with a dislocated finger on his left hand. The injury happened in the opener against Washington (he left that game briefly) and he aggravated it Thursday against the Chiefs.

With the Eagles off since Thursday, Manning is in catch-up mode. And he doesn’t sound particularly happy about it.

“We’re coming off of a short week – it was nice of the NFL to give Philly [10] days and give us six,” Manning said. “So we’ve got to handle that.”

Kelly was informed of Manning’s comments, and was asked if he had any thoughts in response.

“No,” he said.

Is that a nice edge to have?

“Scheduling,” said Kelly. “When do we go play? If we’ve got to play in a parking lot, we’ll play in a parking lot. We don’t care.”