The Eagles look great on defense last night, but so-so offensively.  Michael Vick was under heat all night long and he took some big shots from the Browns.  Vick completed 10 of 18 passes for 98 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 24 yards (6.0 ypc) with 1 TD run but he also lost a fumble on a sack.  Vince Young finished up the game by completing 9 of 12 passes for 58 yards without a TD pass or interception.  Young also carried the ball 4 times for 24 yards (6.0 ypc) with 1 TD run, but like Vick, he also lost a fumble.  Dion Lewis led the way in the running game for the Eagles last night with 9 carries for 41 yards (4.6 ypc).  Ronnie Brown also looked good as he carried the ball 6 times for 41 yards (6.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 15 yards (5.0 avg).  Lesean McCoy only rushed for 12 yards on 6 carries (2.0 ypc) last night but he also caught 7 passes for 69 yards (9.9 avg).  The Eagles finished up with 147 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 30 passes (63.3%) for 135 yards last night but they still had possession of the football for 34:44.

The defense was outstanding most of the night for the Eagles.  Safety Kurt Coleman (5 tackles), LB Casey Matthews (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and safety Nate Allen (4 tackles) led the way for the Eagles’ D last night.  CB Asante Samuel pitched in with an interception last night.  The Browns finished up with 103 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 28 passes (57.1%) for 139 yards.  The Eagles are now 2-1 on the preseason.

25-year old WR Chad Hall played in 8 games (1 start) as a rookie for the Eagles last year and he caught 11 passes for 115 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 9 times for 29 yards (3.2 ypc) last year.  He was going to be a longshot to make the team in 2011.  But, he is playing really well so far in the pre-season for the Eagles as he has caught 8 passes for 102 yards (12.8 avg) in his first two games.  It will be interesting to see if Hall snags a spot on the final roster in 2011.  He does play a lot on special teams and that might get him over the hump.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Eagles have released Chad Hall.

The Philadelphia Eagles might try to run the ball a little bit more in 2011.  23-year old Lesean McCoy will be the main man in the running game for the Eagles once again in 2011.  He played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Eagles last year and he carried the ball 207 times for 1,080 yards (5.2 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  McCoy also caught 78 passes for 592 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs in what were essentially extended handoffs.  McCoy is a very tough runner despite his size and he has very underrated speed as he can get down the field.  McCoy has now played in 31 games (17 starts) in the first two years with the Eagles and he has carried the ball 362 times for 1,717 yards (4.7 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also has caught 118 passes for 900 yards (7.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.

29-year old Ronnie Brown was signed to backup Lesean McCoy in 2011.  Brown played in 16 games (all starts) for the Dolphins last year and he carried the ball 200 times for 734 yards (3.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 33 passes for 242 yards (7.3 avg) last season.  Brown is a good all-around back and he should fit right in with the Eagles.  Brown has played in 76 games (71 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,128 times for 4,815 yards (4.3 ypc) with 36 TD runs.  He has also caught 184 passes for 1,491 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far in his career.

20-year old rookie Dion Lewis will be the Eagles’ #3 RB in 2011.  He is on the small side at 5’7″, 193 pounds but he’s tough for his size.  I don’t see him developing into much more than a 3rd down back in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE EAGLES RBS IN 2011:  B+

The Philadelphia Eagles have re-signed 30-year old G/T Reggie Wells.  Wells played in 8 games (1 start) for the Eagles last season.  He has now played in 112 games (91 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  The Eagles were lucky that Wells was still available on the free agent market.  His versatility and knowledge of the playbook makes this a very solid signing for the Eagles.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Eagles have released Reggie Wells.

The Eagles were pushed around for three quarters (they were down 24-0) before a lot of guys that have no chance to make the team stepped up and showed some spunk.  Michael Vick was pathetic last night as he completed 5 of 12 passes for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  Vince Young was awful too as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 34 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (it was an awful pick).  Mike Kafka finished the game at QB and he looked sharp in completing 14 of 19 passes for 160 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 24 yards (4.8 ypc) last night.  Ronnie Brown looked pretty good last night with 25 yards on 6 carries (4.2 ypc) last night.  Lesean McCoy also looked good with 25 yards rushing on 4 carries (6.3 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  Dion Lewis pitched in with 2 carries for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) and 2 catches for 48 yards (24.0 avg) but he also lost a fumble.  WRs Johnnie Lee Higgins (7 rec, 54 yards), Rod Harper (3 rec, 37 yards) and Gerald Jones (3 rec, 36 yards and 2 TD grabs) led the way in the passing game for the Eagles last night.  The Eagles finished up with 98 yards rushing on 18 carries (5.4 ypc) and he also completed 24 of 39 passes (61.5%) for 237 yards last night.  They only had the ball for 21:09 last night and that is pretty awful.

The Eagles’ D looked pretty awful last night.  Safeties Kurt Coleman (11 tackles) and Jarrad Page (7 tackles) led the way for the D last night.  LB Moise Fokou pitched in with 5 tackles and 1 pass defensed last night.  The Steelers rushed for 144 yards on 39 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 259 yards last night.  The Eagles are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Eagles have waived 23-year old undrafted rookie QB Jerrod Johnson.  Johnson played in the first pre-season game for the Eagles and he completed both of his pass attempts for 2 yards (79.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for -2 yards (-1.0 ypc).  The Eagles might bring him back if one of the top three QBs (Vick, Young or Kafka) get injured.  Other than that, I don’t see him returning to the team in 2011.

The Eagles won this game by playing great defense and being ball hogs on offense as they had possession of the ball for 35:46.  Michael Vick was pretty sharp as he completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 74 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Vince Young followed with a brief appearance as he completed 3 of 5 passes (60%) for 45 yards.  Mike Kafka got extensive P.T. last night and he made some nice throws and some terrible ones.  Kafka completed 13 of 19 passes (68.4%) for 132 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (it was a pretty ugly one).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) last night.  Undrafted rookie Jerrod Johnson finished up the game by completing his only 2 pass attempts, good for 2 yards.  RBs Dion Lewis (10 carries, 26 yards, 2.6 ypc) and Ronnie Brown (9 carries, 22 yards, 2.4 ypc) led the way on the ground for the Eagles last night as they didn’t run the ball too well.  WR Chad Hall led the way in the passing game for the Eagles last night with 5 catches for 82 yards (16.4 avg).  WR Riley Cooper (1 rec, 42 yards) and TE Brent Celek (1 rec, 3 yards and a TD) also pitched in for the Eagles in the passing game last night.  The Eagles only rushed for 88 yards on 32 carries (2.8 ypc) but they completed 22 of 32 passes  (68.8%) for 232 yards last night.  The Eagles need to work on the running game and finishing drives.  That being said, it still was only the first exhibition game.

The Eagles had six sacks last night as they were harrassing the Ravens’ QBs all night long!  LB Brian Rolle (4 tackles) and DE Darryl Tapp (3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Eagles’ D last night.  Safeties Jaiquawn Jarrett and Jarrad Page each pitched in last night with 1 interception apiece.  The Ravens rushed for 107 yards on 20 carries (5.4 ypc) last night and they completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 206 yards last night.  The defense looked pretty darn good last night for the Eagles.

The Eagles have signed 26-year old WR Steve Smith to a 1-year, $4 million dollar deal with $2 million of it guaranteed.  Smith is coming off of knee surgery and he won’t likely be ready to play until mid-October.  Still, I like this move for the Eagles as they stole Smith away from the division rival New York Giants.  Smith played in 9 games (7 starts) for the Giants last year and he caught 48 passes for 529 yards (11.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 46 games (26 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 220 passes for 2,386 yards (10.8 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Smith is a good WR when he’s healthy, so I like this move for the Eagles.

31-year old lefty tossing QB Michael Vick is hoping for a nice encore in 2011 after stunning everyone (except himself) with his level of play last year.  Vick played in 12 games (11 starts) for the Eagles last year and he completed 233 of 372 passes (62.6%) for 3,018 yards with 21 TD passes and 6 INTs (100.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 100 times for 676 yards (6.8 ypc) with 9 TD runs last year.  Everyone always knew that Vick could run the ball, but he shocked everyone with his accuracy throwing the football.  It will be interesting to see in 2011 if last year was a career year for Vick or just the beginning of a very nice run with the Eagles.  Vick has now played in 98 games (78 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has completed 1,169 of 2,115 passes (55.3%) for 14,609 yards with 93 TD passes and 58 INTs (80.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 653 times for 4,630 yards (7.1 ypc) with 32 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Vick is now 46-31-1 (59.7%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.  Vick has never played as good as he did last season, so the Eagles are praying that it wasn’t a mirage.

The Eagles signed 28-year old Vince Young to a 1-year deal to back up Michael Vick.  Young played in 9 games (8 starts) for the Titans last year and he completed 93 of 156 passes (59.6%) for 1,255 yards with 10 TD passes and 3 INTs (98.6 QB Rating).  Young also carried the ball 25 times for 125 yards (5.0 ypc) last year.  Young has a very similar skill set to Michael Vick, so he should be more than able to run the offense if need be.  Young has now played in 54 games (47 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 689 of 1,190 passes (57.9%) for 8,098 yards with 42 TD passes and 42 INTs (75.7 QB Rating).  Young has also carried the ball 264 times for 1,380 yards (5.2 ypc) with 12 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Young is 30-17 (63.8%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.  If Young has his head on straight this year, he will revive his NFL career just like Vick did.

24-year old Mike Kafka wasn’t viewed as quite ready to be the #2 QB this year, that is why Vince Young was signed to a 1-year deal.  Chances are that Kafka will be ready to be the #2 QB in 2012 and beyond for the Eagles.  He will do a lot more watching and learning in 2011.

23-year old Jerrod Johnson is a undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M.  He has a really strong arm and he will have a good chance of sticking with the Eagles on the practice squad.  That could change though if one of the top 3 QBs on the Eagles gets hurt before the season starts….which would make him the #3 QB.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE EAGLES QBS IN 2011:  A

The Eagles kept busy as they have signed 29-year old OLB Chris Wilson.  Wilson played in all 16 games for the Redskins last year and he had 18 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 64 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 65 tackles, 6 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and 3 forced fumbles.  Wilson will give the Eagles more depth and LB and he should be able to help them on special teams too.  This was a solid pickup so late in free agency.