After watching last night’s debacle you have to keep telling yourself that it was just the first pre-season game.  Donovan McNabb didn’t play last night and that was a good thing with the way the Ravens’ defense was attacking the Eagles’ offense.  A.J. Feeley started the game and he completed 5 of 7 passes for 56 yards and he also ran the ball 1 time for 8 yards.  Kelly Holcomb also didn’t look too bad as he completed 7 of 9 passes for 75 yards.  Second round pick Kevin Kolb looked completely lost last night as he was putting the football on the grass.  He completed 11 of 20 passes for 77 yards but he has a long way to go before the Eagles can trust him on the field as he often looked like a deer in headlights last night in the pocket.  Rookie RB Tony Hunt also got a rude introduction to the NFL as he carried the ball 5 times for 0 yards and he also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg).  Ryan Moats also had a rough night as he carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards and he also caught a pass for 0 yards.  But the worst part for him is that he broke his ankle making a cut and his season is likely over.  Rookie TE Brent Celek was the lone skills player that stood out for the Eagles last night as he caught 4 passes for 59 yards (14.8 avg).  The Eagles spread the ball around to 16 different receivers so that they could evaluate what they have.  The offense looked pathetic last night but that also had something to do with the Ravens defense so give them their credit.  The Eagles finished up with 18 carries for 23 yards (1.3 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 36 passes for 160 yards. 

The Eagles defense has a lot of work to do as they appeared quite soft last night.  The Ravens ran the ball 31 times for 157 yards (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 40 passes for 228 yards.  Good thing this game doesn’t count as the Eagles were completely dominated last night.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270813033

The Eagles will go with Thomas Tapeh as their starting fullback again in 2007.  He played in all 16 games (8 starts) last season for the Eagles and he carried the ball 5 times for 9 yards (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 16 passes for 85 yards (5.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Tapeh has now played in 23 NFL games in his career (8 starts) and he’s carried the ball 17 times for 51 yards (3.0 ypc) and he has also caught 18 passes for 100 yards (5.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Jeremy Cain is a converted linebacker who will also play fullback this season.  He played in 8 games for the Eagles last year and he made 8 tackles.

David Akers has been one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL and last season was no different.  Akers made 78.3% of his field goal attempts and he converted all 48 of his extra points to finish with 102 points.  Akers hit 12 of 15 field goals of 39 yards or less and he also converted 6 of 8 kicks of 40+ yards.

Akers has now played in 125 career games in the NFL and he has scored 791 points which averages out to 6.3 points per game.  He has now made 173 of 212 field goals (81.6%) and he has converted 272 of 276 extra points.

The Eagles decided to draft Tony Hunt to lessen the wear and tear on Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter this season.  Westbrook will still be the main man for the Eagles as he’s an outstanding runner and receiver.  The Eagles will look to rest Westbrook a little more in short yardage and goal line situations as that is where Tony Hunt and Correll Buckhalter will take over.  Westbrook played in 15 games (14 starts) last season and he carried the ball 240 times for 1,217 yards (5.1 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught an amazing 77 passes for 699 yards (9.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Westbrook has been outstanding his whole career but he’s also a tad fragile so the Eagles must watch how many big hits he takes this season because he’s the player the Eagles would have the hardest time replacing on their offense.  Westbrook has now played in 70 games (49 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 736 times for 3,452 yards (4.7 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  He also has caught 257 passes for 2,436 yards (9.5 avg) with 18 TD grabs.

Correll Buckhalter had an inspiring season after missing the previous two years with serious injuries.  He played in all 16 games (1 start) for the Eagles and he carried the ball 83 times for 345 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 24 passes for 256 yards (10.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Buckhalter has been a good running back in his career when he has stayed healthy…which hasn’t been often.  That was the reason that the Eagles felt the need to draft Tony Hunt.  Still, Buckhalter will likely be Westbrook’s main backup at least for this season.  He has played in 46 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 338 times for 1,473 yards (4.4 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also has caught 47 passes for 519 yards (11.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Tony Hunt is a bulldozer with legs as a running back.  He will likely puch Buckhalter for carries this season and he will be mcuh more than that in the near future.  Hunt has been the main man at Penn State the last couple of seasons so he has played against good competition.  He was a very solid pick by the Eagles and he will be a key player in the future for the Eagles offense.

The Eagles tried hard to trade Ryan Moats on draft day but they found no takers so he will likely have a hard time making the Eagles final roster.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) last season in Philly and he carried the ball 22 times for 69 yards (3.1 ypc) with 0 TD runs.  Moats just doesn’t appear to be in the Eagles plans and that’s a shame because he is not that bad of a football player.  Moats has played in 15 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 77 times for 347 yards (4.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 4 passes for 7 yards (1.8 avg).