Rookie CB Jorrick Calvin was acquired from the Cardinals in a deal during training camp (he as a 6th round pick by the Cardinals last April).  Calvin has made a huge impact on the team on special teams.  Calvin has played in 6 games for the Eagles so far this year and he has returned 7 punts for 160 yards (22.9 avg).  He has also returned 7 punts for 93 yards (13.3 avg) so far this year.  Calvin only has 1 tackle so far this year but the Eagles don’t really need him on D.  This is looking like a steal of a deal for the Eagles.

Rookie safety Nate Allen was picked in the second round last April out of South Florida.  He has been a starter since day #1 for the Eagles.  Allen has played in 7 games for the Eagles so far this year and he has 31 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 6 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  The Eagles look like they have hit a homer with Nate Allen as he is a impact playmaker at the back end of the defense.  He has a very, very bright future for the Eagles.

The Eagles were actually ahead in this game 19-10 with 13:26 left in the game before the roof caved in on them.  Kevin Kolb was not too good today for the Eagles.  He completed 26 of 48 passes for 231 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (one of which was returned 41-yards for a TD by Titans’ corner Cortland Finnegan).  Kolb also carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc) and he lost a fumble.  Lesean McCoy only rushed for 48 yards on 16 carries (3.0 ypc) in this game but he also caught 6 passes for 54 yards (9.0 avg).  Jason Avant (6 rec, 60 yards), Riley Cooper (3 rec, 51 yards, TD) and Jeremy Maclin (5 rec, 42 yards) all pitched in for the Eagles in the passing game today.  The Eagles finished up with 99 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 48 passes for 227 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:24.

The defense went all out to stop Chris Johnson (24 carries, 66 yards) which they did but they forgot all about WR Kenny Britt who caught an amazing 7 passes for 225 yards (32.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs against the Eagles today!  DT Antonio Dixon led the way for the Eagles’ D today with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit.  DE Juqua Parker (fumble recovery), CB Asante Samuel (interception) and safety Quintin Mikell (interception) all made big plays for the Eagles on D today.  The Titans finished up with 75 yards rushing on 26 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes for 253 yards.  The Eagles are now 4-3 on the season after this loss.

This game will be a very interesting contrast in styles as the Eagles love to throw the ball while the Titans are a running team.  The Eagles are road warriors as they are 3-0 on the year away from home.  The Titans are only 1-2 at home this year as they also seem to like to play on the road better than at home.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Eagles might decide to mix in the running game a little more this week as Eagles’ QBs have been sacked 20 times this year while the Titans already have 24 sacks!  This means that the Eagles will also likely shorten up the passing game trying to get the ball to Jason Avant, Brent Celek and Lesean McCoy.  That doesn’t mean that the Eagles won’t throw deep because Jeremy Maclin is one of the fastest players in the NFL.  To take a shot deep it will likely be off playaction.  Plays will be there to be made through the air as the Titans are still allowing 231 yards passing per game despite all of the sacks.

When the Titans have the ball:  Kerry Collins is likely to start this Sunday against the Eagles due to Vince Young’s knee injury last Monday Night.  The Titans are going to run the ball with Chris Johnson and Javon Ringer against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 115.7 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.  The Eagles will be blitzing Kerry Collins a lot as he tends to make mistakes in the face of a good pass rush.  The Titans don’t have a lot of threats in the passing game as they are only averaging 157.2  yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 30, TITANS 23

When anyone starts talking about great pass rushing DEs, Trent Cole’s name is rarely brought up.  28-year old Cole has played in six games for the Eagles so far this year and he has 31 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Cole has now played in 85 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 343 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 52 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and 1 interception (he returned it 19 yards for a TD).  Trent Cole is Philadelphia’s great secret in sports as he is a excellent football player.

26-year old Kevin Kolb & 30-year old Michael Vick give the Eagles a dynamic combination at QB.  Michael Vick is the starter when healthy according to Andy Reid.  He said the same thing about Kevin Kolb earlier in the year and he started Vick anyway so you have to take his words with a grain of salt.  Vick has played well this year as he has played in 4 games in which he has completed 59 of 96 passes (61.5%) for 799 yards with 6 TD passes and 0 INTs (108.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 26 times for 187 yards (7.2 ypc) with 1 TD carry so far this year.  While those are impressive numbers, Kevin Kolb is also putting up great numbers.  Kolb has played in 4 games this year too and he has completed 71 of 105 passes (67.6%) for 804 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (98.3 QB Rating).  Kolb has also carried the ball 7 times for 39 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.  So no matter which QB Andy Reid decides to go with the Eagles’ offense should continue to operate like a well oiled machine.

The Eagles with be without their best offensive player for a while due to a severe concussion suffered at the hands of the Falcons last Sunday.  CB Dunta Robinson hit Desean Jackson so hard that he knocked himself out too in one of the biggest collisions in quite some time.  Jackson has played in all six of the Eagles games so far and he has caught 19 passes for 395 yards (20.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 6 times for 67 yards (11.2 ypc) with a TD run and he has also returned 10 punts for 76 yards (7.6 avg) so far this year.  Jason Avant, Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin will have to pick up the slack until Jackson is ready to return to action.  He might be out longer than most people expect as he suffered some memory loss due to the hit.

The Eagles thrashed the Falcons today.  Kevin Kolb tried to stake a claim that he should be the starting QB even after Michael Vick gets healthy.  Kolb completed 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Lesean McCoy had a so-so game carrying the ball 21 times for 64 yards (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 21 yards (5.3 avg).  Eldra Buckley pitched in with 40 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.3 ypc) today.  Jeremy Maclin led the way in the passing game for the Eagles with 7 grabs for 159 yards (22.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jason Avant (5 rec, 62 yards) and Brent Celek (4 rec, 46 yards) pitched in for the Eagles in the passing game.  Desean Jackson made a huge impact in this game for the Eagles before having to leave with a injury.  Jackson caught 1 pass for 34 yards (a TD) and he also carried the ball 2 times for 44 yards (22.0 ypc) with a TD run.  The Eagles finished up with 154 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 29 passes for 320 yards.

The defense was solid all day long for the Eagles today against a solid Falcons’ offense.  LB Stewart Bradley (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and DE Trent Cole (5 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Eagles today on D.  Asante Samuel (interception) and Daryl Tapp (fumble recovery) also made some big plays for the Eagles today.  The Falcons finished up with 65 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 42 passes for 228 yards.  The Eagles are now 4-2 on the season.

The Falcons have won four games in a row including road wins at New Orleans and at Cleveland.  The Eagles are 3-0 on the road but they are 0-2 at home this year.  Here is a closer look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Eagles always come out throwing the ball and they will again this Sunday.  Kevin Kolb will have to get rid of the ball quickly as Eagles’ QBs have been sacked 18 times already this year and he will have to be careful because the Falcons already have 10 INTs this year.  With the passing game likely to be of the shorter variety, Brent Celek, Lesean McCoy and Jason Avant will likely get more targets than usual.  Don’t worry though, Eagles’ fans, they will still take a few deep shots to Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.  The Eagles will also make sure that Lesean McCoy gets his touches against a Falcons’ D that is allowing 4.2 yards per carry this year.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are going to come out running the ball with Michael Turner against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 125.8 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  Turner is extremely hard to bring down because he’s short but thick so the Eagles got to make sure tackles on him.  The Eagles are going to send the house after Matt Ryan to try to force him into making some mistakes with the ball.  That will be easier said than done as he’s usually pretty smart as to where to go with the football.  The Eagles better keeps tabs on Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez the whole game as they have caught 61 of the 109 passes completed this year by the Falcons.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, EAGLES 24

The Eagles have acquired 27-year old RB Jerome Harrison from the Browns for 27-year old RB Mike Bell.  Harrison played in 4 games for the Browns this year and he has carried the ball 31 times for 91 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also has caught 4 passes for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  Harrison has now played in 51 games in his five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 302 times for 1,401 yards (4.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 61 passes for 444 yards (7.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his NFL career so far.  Mike Bell played in 5 games for the Eagles this year and he had 16 carries for 28 yards (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  This was a steal for the Eagles as Harrison has a nice upside.