Philadelphia Eagles Players/Positons to Watch

After a convincing 30-3 win in a sold out Monday night game in Jacksonville the Titans will go back to LP Field to play the City of Brotherly Love's favourite football team the Eagles.  The Eagles coached by the second longest tenured head coach (longest= Jeff Fisher) Andy Reid features a blitz happy 4-3 defence and a very explosive offence with A LOT of speed.  Now without further adieu here are the players/positions to watch:

The Quarterback Position

Similar to the situation with the Titans the Eagles feature a "pure pocket passer" and a scrambler.  The scramblers ended up taking the starting jobs back (Vick 2010 and VY 2009 respectively).  Vick has shown very good poise in the pocket and he has finally began to develop his ability as a passer and has flourished under Andy Reid's offence in the opening weeks of the season.  However due to a rib injury suffered in a division game against Washington two weeks ago has left him off the starting roster last week where Kevin Kolb (the starter in week 1 after being removed due to a concussion against the Packers) and company completely dismantled an Atlanta squad that was sitting on top the entire NFC.  Kolb will more than likely be the starter again this week and has shown that he does not work well under pressure (which is exactly what the Tennessee Defence has been able to do thus far) so the key to throw Kolb of his game and force him to make bad decisions is to establish the pass rush and get him on the turf. 

Jeremy Maclin

Without Pro-Bowler and former college teamate of the Titans' doghouse resident Lavelle Hawkins, DeSean Jackson you can look for 2nd year stand out Jeremy Maclin to get more looks in this game.  Maclin like Jackson has a lot of speed and isn't afraid to unleash it when needed.  He isn't a small receiver either and can make the tough catches much like fellow 2009 draft picks Kenny Britt and Hakeem Nicks so he is an ideal outside receiver with that rare combination of size speed and route running ability.  He is also very smart and can find those holes in a zone defence and knows exactly how to get open.  The best way to neutralize Maclin is to double cover him with a physical CB like Finnegan to play press coverage against him with safety help over top that will force Kolb to look elsewhere which could end in many opportunities for sacks based on our D-line's play as of late.  

Asante Samules and Nate Allen

Asante has become one of the very best CB's in the game today based on his ability to know exactly when to jump a route and is extremely affective in Andy Reid's blitz happy defence.  Another player that is a rising star in Philadelphia is the rookie safety from USF Nate Allen.  He is seemingly always around the football on every play, possesses very good ball skills, and is a very good tackler.  He reminds me of (unfairly) Brian Dawkins when he was an Eagle.  KC, VY, and (to an extent) CJ will have to be aware of these players while they are on the field.  

The D-Line

With Trent Cole in a little bit of a slump (sack-wise) and rookie Brandon Graham still learning the system this Eagles D-Line have not been in the sack column a whole lot this season but that doesn't mean they are not getting pressure. QBs have been getting the ball out quicker and without Asante Samules in the secondary the QBs able to do so without much pf a second thought.  But with the return of Samuels VY or KC might have to hold on to the ball for an extra second and that might be all this D-Line needs to get the sack.  The Titans O-Line will have their hands full with this group they have in Philly.

Honourable Mentions: LeSean McCoy, Eagles LB Corps, Eagles O-Line, Eagles Special Teams       

Keys To Victory:

• Use screens and draws to beat the blitz
• Throw the ball early
• Stay aggressive on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes
• Get to Kolb
• Force them to throw by stopping their running game
• Win The turnover battle
• Win the "battle in the trenches"