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Evan Mathis

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All-22: Breaking Down the Eagles’ Touchdowns

vicktd2_0913Here’s a look, using the coaches tape, at all four Eagles touchdowns from last week’s game against the Redskins.

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Game Review: Eagles Offense Vs. Redskins Defense

Lane JohnsonBelow is a position-by-position breakdown of how the Eagles performed on offense, after having re-watched the game.

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Player Survey: Which Eagle Will Have a Big Year?

Damaris JohnsonLast week, we walked around the Eagles’ locker room and approached players with the following request:

Give me one teammate who’s impressed you this summer and is primed for a big year.

Several players didn’t want to get specific, but others provided responses. Here is what they said.

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Lane Johnson To Be Targeted Monday Night

0V3J1000When the fire comes, chances are it’s going to be coming off the right edge. Not just because that’s Michael Vick‘s blindside, but also because of who is protecting it.

“If you had your choice, who are you going to try to go against from a tackle perspective?” asked Chip Kelly. “Right now, you’ve got an All Pro lining up at left tackle [and at right tackle] a very talented but still a rookie.  I think all rookies in this league are going to be tested no matter what position you play.”

Kelly has a point. Even if Lane Johnson, the No. 4 overall pick, does come in with a pedigree, he is still completely green. Given a choice between going after him or Jason Peters, you go Johnson all day until he gives you reason to change course. The rookie is going to be tested quite a bit.The Redskins have a pair of quality outside linebackers in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan that are sure to do just that Monday night.

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Eagles-Jaguars Game Review: The Offense

A position-by-position review of how the Eagles’ offense performed against the Jaguars, with extensive notes on Jason Peters and the line.

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No-22: What We Saw From the Eagles’ Offense

scrape1From the spread to the scrape to offensive line issues, here’s what we saw from the Eagles’ offense against the Jaguars after having reviewed the game.

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No-22: The Eagles’ New-School Triple Option

avant1a_0821Earlier this week, we looked at how the Eagles packaged the zone read with the bubble screen on several occasions against the Panthers.

The basic premise was simple: If the quarterback saw favorable numbers in the box, he went with the zone read. If he thought he had an advantage on the perimeter, he threw the screen. It was an either/or proposition.

But Chip Kelly and the Eagles ran a different play that actually combines the two. In other words, it’s a zone read and a bubble screen. Or essentially, a new-school triple option.

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What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Chip KellyCould the Eagles be a surprise team in 2013? Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Birds this week.

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Teammates Endorse Vick: ‘He Can Be So Deadly’

Michael VickThere seems to be no question in the Eagles’ locker room that Chip Kelly made the right decision in naming Michael Vick the starter.

Many of Vick’s teammates saw him go through a magical stretch in 2010, a spell of mediocrity in 2011 and an outright disaster in 2012.

Now he’s in a new offense, playing for a new coach. And even though Vick is 33, his teammates believe Kelly’s scheme is tailor-made for the veteran QB to succeed.

“The biggest thing with Michael Vick is, when you say his name, when you see him in the lineup, when you prepare for him, is the running ability that he has,” said LeSean McCoy. “In this offense, we do tons of running, as far as the quarterback and the running back, so you never know who has the ball. And we’re going at such a high tempo/pace in the offense that Mike can throw it, he can run it.

“This offense, it fits him so well. He can be so deadly. There’s times where we watch tape and he hands the ball off to me and then he’s going around with his fake and he’s taking two guys with him until they realize that he doesn’t have the ball. When that happens, you take less defenders out of the box where you don’t have to block ‘em.”

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Eagles-Panthers Game Review: The Offense

mccoy1aA position-by-position review of how the Eagles’ offense performed against the Panthers, after having reviewed the game.

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Kelce: Sports Science ‘Huge’ In Comeback From Major Injury

We have heard about the benefits of sports science when it comes to fine-tuning athletes and shortening recovery time following physical exertion. But what about when you’re fighting back from serious injury? Seems like an appropriate question, seeing as both Jeremy Maclin and Jason Phillips are about to start on the long road back from ACL tears.

Jason Kelce tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee last September against the Ravens. He began his rehab under Andy Reid and finished it under Chip Kelly. By the sounds of it, there is a noticeable difference in their staffs’ approach.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: OL Training Camp Preview

How good will Lane Johnson be as a rookie? What’s in store for Danny Watkins this season? Tackling those questions and more in our offensive line training camp preview.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Evan Mathis Back In the Mix

Well, this was supposed to be a positive blog post about the Eagles’ offensive line. Then word of Jason Peters‘ arrest for drag racing and  resisting came down last night, and suddenly that didn’t quite seem appropriate.

But if you’re looking for a reason to be optimistic, shift your focus away from the Pro Bowl tackle and toward Pro Bowl hopeful Evan Mathis.

The 31-year-old had minor surgery on his ankle this offseason and the expectation was that he wouldn’t be on the field again until training camp. But during last week’s minicamp, he was back in the mix.

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Projected Depth Chart: Eagles’ Offense

We went over the defense yesterday.

Here is the projected depth chart for the Eagles’ offense, based on what we saw during spring practices. Explanations below.

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Encouraging Signs For Eagles’ Offensive Line

Antonio Dixon is used to the pace and structure of the Eagles’ 11-on-11 team drills. He’s been participating in them all spring and knows what’s expected.

Jason Kelce, on the other hand, had been sitting out that portion of practice as he continued to recover from a torn ACL. But Tuesday, for the first time, Kelce lined up as the Eagles’ starting center, and he decided to go all out, mixing it up with Dixon on the very first snap.

“I think I was probably going a little bit harder than I should have in OTAs, and Antonio didn’t like it so we kind of got in a scuffle,” Kelce said with a laugh. “But it’s all good. We’ll be friends when we go back in there.”