The Eagles will be without 26-year old starting RG Nick Cole for at least 1 week due to swelling in his left knee.  He has started all 3 games for the Eagles so far this year.  29-year old veteran Reggie Wells will replace Cole as long as he is out of action.  Wells has played in 1 game for the Eagles so far this year and he has yet to start a game.  Wells is a decent backup with a lot of starting experiece so he should be able to do a solid job while Cole recovers.

The Eagles completed dominated the Jaguars yesterday in Florida.  Michael Vick had another outstanding game as he completed 17 of 31 passes for 291 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 30 yards (7.5 ypc) with a TD run.  Lesean McCoy pitched in with 54 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 7 yards (3.5 avg).  Desean Jackson (5 rec, 153 yards, TD) and Jeremy Maclin (4 rec, 83 yards, 2 TDs) led the way for the Eagles in this game.  The Eagles finished  up with 106 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes for 267 yards.

The defense was outstanding yesterday as they sacked David Garrard six times.  DE Trent Cole (8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 4 QB hits) and DT Trevor Laws (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Eagles’ D in this game.  The Jaguars finished up with 130 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 30 passes for 54 yards.  The Eagles are now 2-1 on the year.

This game will really test the Eagles as the Jaguars are a much better team than the Lions who gave the Eagles fits last week.  The Jaguars also play a lot better at home than on the road.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  Andy Reid’s offense is still pass first even with Michael Vick at QB and I don’t see than changing this weekend.  Michael Vick will have to be careful not to force the ball to DeSean Jackson if he’s not open because CB Rashean Mathis is a big play corner.  Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Jason Avant and Lesean McCoy out of the backfield will likely have increased roles in the passing game this week.  Eagles’ QBs have been sacked 12 times already this season so the O-Line better give Michael Vick time to throw so he doesn’t make mistakes.  Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick will also get their fair share of carries in this game against a Jags’ D that is allowing 120.0 yards rushing and 4.0 ypc.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to try to be balanced on offense so that the D doesn’t gang up on Maurice Jones-Drew.  Jones-Drew will likely get his yards against an Eagles’ D that is allowing 123.5 yards rushing and 4.2 ypc so far this year.  David Garrard had problems with the Chargers’ blitzing last weekend and the Eagles will also bring the heat.  Garrard will likely try to get rid of the ball quickly to Mike Thomas, Mike Sims-Walker, Marcedes Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew out of the backfield.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 27, EAGLES 24

The Eagles drafted 22-year old RB Lesean McCoy last year with the idea that he would eventually replace Brian Westbrook.  He played in 16 games last season for the Eagles in which he carried the ball 155 times for 637 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he also caught 40 passes for 308 yards (7.7 avg).  The Eagles were convinced after watching McCoy last season that he was more than capable of replacing Brian Westbrook so they released him.  McCoy is proving that was a smart decision for the Eagles.  In his first two games this year, McCoy has carried the ball 23 times for 155 yards (6.7 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 9 passes for 55 yards (6.1 avg) this year.  Eagles’ QBs are 9 for 9 when throwing to McCoy as he has a great set of hands.  The sky is the limit for Lesean McCoy as long as he can handle the beating he’s going to take.

The Eagles have signed 24-year old RB Joique Bell off the Bills’ practice squad.  Bell is a undrafted rookie out of tiny Wayne State (Michigan).  He was really impressive in the pre-season for the Bills.  He played in all 4 pre-season games for the Bills and he carried the ball 27 times for 152 yards (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Bell also caught 4 passes for 15 yards (3.8 avg) during the pre-season.  By adding Bell the Eagles decided to cut ties with 28-year old WR Hank Baskett who has been released.  Baskett did not get into any games this year for the Eagles as he has been passed up on the depth chart by rookie WR Riley Cooper.  Baskett played in 48 games (11 starts) in his four years with the Eagles and he has caught 72 passes for 1,052 yards (14.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

The Eagles rushed out to an early lead in this game before having to hang on for dear life late.  Michael Vick looked sharp in his first start in four years as he completed 21 of 34 passes for 284 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 37 yards (5.3 ypc) earlier today.  Lesean McCoy had a monster game on the ground for the Eagles today.  He carried the ball 16 times for 120 yards (7.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  McCoy also caught 4 passes for 8 yards (2.0 avg) today.  WRs Desean Jackson (4 rec, 135 yards, TD) and Jeremy Maclin (3 rec, 26 yards, TD) led the way for the Eagles in the passing game.  The Eagles finished up with 162 yards rushing on 28 carries (5.8 ypc) and they completed 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards in this contest.

The D didn’t play too well for the Eagles in this game but they did pick off a couple of passes.  LB Omar Gaither led the way for the Eagles’ D today with 11 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  CB Ellis Hobbs (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception) and rookie second round pick (S) Nate Allen finished up with 4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception in this game.  The Lions finished up with 115 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 45 passes for 329 yards in this game.  The Eagles have to feel fortunate to be 1-1 on the year as the Lions put up a hell of a fight today.

Both of these teams put up good fights before losing in their season openers.  That wasn’t all they lost as both starting QBs (Kevin Kolb, Matthew Stafford) were knocked out of the game setting up a 2nd week match-up of back-up QBs in Michael Vick and Shaun Hill.  Here is a close look at the match-ups:

When the Eagles have the football:  The Bears rolled up 463 total years (101 rushing, 362 passing) against the Lions last weekend in Chicago.  This sets up the Eagles well with Michael Vick at QB this week.  He played well in his first real game action since his time with the Falcons last week.  Vick and Lesean McCoy will challenge the new and improved front seven of the Lions in the running game.  Vick’s rolling out of the pocket could also set up some big plays down the field to Jeremy Maclin and Desean Jackson.

When the Lions have the ball:  I think the Lions are going to be fired up for their season opener.  I have a feeling that Jahvid Best will have some success on the ground on the fast turf surface of Ford Field against an Eagles’ D that allowed 132 yards (4.0 ypc) against the Packers last weekend.  With Shaun Hill starting at QB the Eagles need to keep tab on the TEs (Tony Scheffler and Brandon Pettigrew) because he doesn’t have a strong arm.  They will still likely try to force the ball to Calvin Johnson though even if the Eagles double team him which could lead to some big mistakes.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 23, LIONS 20

The Eagles have signed 25-year old fullback Owen Schmitt.  Schmitt played in 15 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 6 passes for 21 yards (3.5 avg) with a TD grab.  Schmitt has now played in 30 games in his two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 5 times for 21 yards (4.2 ypc).  He has also caught 12 passes for 50 yards (4.2 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career so far.  This was a good landing place for Schmitt as the Eagles need help at fullback after losing Leonard Weaver for the year.

Kevin Kolb suffered a wicked looking concussion last Sunday as Packers’ OLB Clay Matthews drove his head into the turf.  Kolb completed 5 of 10 passes for 24 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 1 yard while on the field Sunday.  Doctor’s won’t clear Kolb to return to practice until Friday at the earliest meaning that Michael Vick could get the start against the Lions this Sunday.  Vick played great in Kolb’s absence last Sunday.  He completed 16 of 24 passes (66.7%) for 175 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (101.9 QB Rating).  Vick also carried the ball 11 times for 103 yards (9.4 ypc) against the Packers last Sunday.  Andy Reid has made it perfectly clear that Kevin Kolb will return to the starting lineup as soon as he is cleared to return to action.

Starting inside linebacker Stewart Bradley suffered a wicked concussion against the Packers last week.  He collapsed on the field and then for some reason the Eagles allowed him to go back into the game later.  He finished with 1 tackle and he might have to miss some time as he won’t be cleared to practice until at least Friday.  Look for 26-year old Omar Gaither to start in Bradley’s spot this Sunday against the Lions.  Gaither had 5 tackles against the Packers last Sunday after Bradley left the game.  He played in 5 games for the Eagles last season in which he had 30 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.5 sacks.  Gaither will do a decent job while Bradley is out of action but the Eagles will miss Bradley.