Hello Friends!
What a complete and dominating performance against the Arizona Cardinals our Philadelphia Eagles had this past Sunday in a game where Carson Wentz showed exactly why the Eagles moved up in the draft to take him. Carson threw for 300+ yards and connected for 4 touchdown passes in a game that was a total route from the start.
Torrey Smith, Nelson Agholar, Trey Burton & Zach Ertz each caught a touchdown pass. Wentz is getting more and more comfortable with his receivers each and every week and it's only going to get better. On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles, while only getting two sacks, were in Carson Palmer's grill the entire game getting some hard hits on him and causing him to misfire with many of his throws. The Eagles defensive backs played a very solid game, but they have to do a better job of coming up with the interceptions when the opportunity arises. I counted at least 4 passes by Palmer that could have and should have been interceptions, but were dropped. The Eagles special teams were once again very solid with rookie kicker Jake Elliott looking more and more like he doesn't want to relinquish his job when Caleb Sturgis returns from injury. Jake hit on all his extra point attempts as well as two field goals; the kid looks like a keeper to me!
“The Hatchet's" Locker Room Was Electric!
Once again, the Locker Room was off the charts with excitement as well over 100 of our friends danced and cheered the entire game. I love it! This was the fifth game of the season and each week it seems that the crowds just keep getting bigger and bigger. I've said it a number of times and I'll say it again: we have the most awesome friends anyone could ask for and I love them all very much! The Locker Room is closed for this Thursday night’s game, and I'm already looking forward to our game vs. the Redskins on Monday night, Oct. 23, to party with our friends. We don't have much time to enjoy the big win over the Cardinals as the Eagles have a very tough test this Thursday night against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in Carolina.
What To Look For In This Week’s Game
1. A Tough Panthers Defense.
The Eagles had a cake walk last Sunday against the Cardinals, but it's going to be much tougher against the Panthers defense. The Panthers did a good job of retaining their defensive front, plus they brought back Julius Peppers, who is near the top of the NFL in sacks. Mario Addison, along with Peppers at defensive end, are playing solid football with the rest of the d-line contributing as well. The Panthers linebackers are really good. Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis & Shaq Thompson are all former first-round draft picks and are going to be a tough test for Carson Wentz and the offensive unit. It's going to take a total team effort to come out of Carolina with a "W" as this will be the best team the Eagles have faced thus far. That being said, I think that the Eagles should come into the game and at least try to establish a run game by pounding the rock with LaGarrette Blount to draw the linebackers up. This would allow for Carson Wentz to try some of those long bombs to Smith and Agholar, who have shown they can out run most defensive backs. Hopefully Wendell Smallwood will be back for Thursday night, but if he's unable to go then Blount, Clement & Barner will have to get the run game going. It looks like Lane Johnson will be out for Thursday with a concussion, and that is a big loss as he is probably the best right tackle in the NFL. We'll see who coach Pederson will plug in at that tackle spot to try and fill the void. The team hasn't announced anything as of this writing. On offense with or without Johnson, I look for the Eagles to once again go with a more balanced attack and I wouldn't be surprised to see Wentz make some huge plays with his legs as well as his arm! Keep an eye on that!
2. Contain Cam Newton.
On defense it looks like the Eagles will once again be without Fletcher Cox, who's still nursing a sore calf. Cox is by far the best player on the Eagles defensive side of the ball and is the defense’s heart and soul. Beau Allen did an admirable job filling in last Sunday vs. the Cardinals, but let's face it, there is only one Fletcher Cox. The Eagles will have their hands full with the Panthers QB Cam Newton, who is looking more like he did a couple years ago when he took the Panthers to the Super Bowl. He is a lot like Carson Wentz in that he can beat you with his legs as well as his arm, so the Eagles must put a spy on him and not let him get outside the pocket. At running back, the Panthers drafted Christian McCaffrey out of Stanford with the 8th pick in this year’s draft. McCaffrey is a versatile, shifty runner who the Panthers will move all around to try and get him into open space. He's also very good at catching the ball, so the Eagles must find a way to contain him or it could be a long night. Also at running back is the ageless Jonathan Stewart, who is still a very good player and one to keep an eye on. The wideouts that the Panthers rely on are the 6'5" Kelvin Benjamin & Devin Funchess. Benjamin is a beast when he wants to be and can destroy smaller corner backs with his size, especially with the fade passes or the jump balls. After losing Ted Ginn and Philly Brown to free agency, the Panthers drafted the speedy running backs McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel that they'll use at receiver. Their best receiver on the roster though is tight end Greg Olsen, but he will not play Thursday night due to an injury. However, the other Panthers tight end, big Ed Dickson, has filled in admirably for Olsen and is a hard-nosed player that the Eagles must account for. The Panthers offensive line is average and the Eagles must create pressure on Newton to get him off his mark and try to rattle him. Not an easy task, but I'm sure Jim Schwartz and the other defensive coaches will concoct some kind of a plan. It should be fun to watch!
3. Special Teams Magic.
When the Eagles lost their Swiss Army knife, Darren Sproles, for the season it could have been a disaster for our special teams units. It seems that's not the case; however, as Coach Fipps has the special teams playing at a high level. First we lose Sproles, then last week we lose Wendell Smallwood, so all the Eagles do is bring back Kenjon Barner and he busts a long kick return of 76 yards to set up a touchdown. Barner was lights out and the special teams didn't miss a beat. Our rookie kicker Jake Elliott continues to be impressive hitting on all his field goal and point after attempts. The ageless wonder Donnie "Long Ball" Jones is money in the bank with his booming punts; he has aged very well. For my money, my friend Jon Dorenbos was the best long snapper the Eagles ever had, but Rick Lovatto is doing an admirable job at handling the snaps.
Speaking of Jon Dorenbos, I've been told he's doing fine as he recovers from a very serious open heart surgery and I will keep you updated as I hear any news on Jon. Get well Big Jon. You have a lot of magic left in you!
The Panthers have big shoes to fill with the departure of Ted Ginn in free agency and they are hoping that the standout rookie Chris McCaffrey will be able to handle the returns. We will see how Dave Fipps and his special teams do in trying to keep him in check. It looks like the veteran Graham Gano will be handling the kicking duties for the Panthers and is an 8-year veteran. Last year, he had an off-year and battled hard to keep his job. He has been on the mark so far this year, but the Eagles special teams will test him BIG TIME!
As I said earlier, this game will be a very tough test for our Eagles and we'll see how Carson Wentz (who has the best passer rating in the NFL as of this writing) will handle the Panthers defense as well as a hostile crowd. Somehow I get the feeling that Carson will rise to the occasion in this prime time match-up and get the Eagles to 5 & 1 come late Thursday evening.
Well, that will about do it for me this week. Please check in with me next Thursday as I look back at the Panthers game as well as look ahead to the Eagles next game against the Washington Redskins. Until then, as always I wish you...
Love, Luck, Lollipops & Linguini,
Barry "The Hatchet" Vagnoni
Fly Eagles, Fly!
