4-0. Preseason Champs!

I half watched this along with the announcers whose job it was to watch. Some notes:

• The "star" of the game was Bryce Brown. He'll make the team.
• Both third string TEs made some plays. I wonder if they'll keep either.
• Foles still looked competent and had some nice throws again.
• Trent Edwards looked good again and didn't throw an interception again.
• Last preseason's trendy complaint was about all the touchbacks. This preseason's is about the fake refs and how much they're going to screw up. Like the regular refs never screwed up and cost teams games.
• Brian Baldinger said, "DeSean Jackson literally flies."
• Jeff Lurie said 8-8 will get Andy Reid fired, just not with those exact words.

Enjoy your three day weekend.

Foles steam ahead or Foles gold?

While Michael Vick was never learning any lessons back in Philadelphia, Nick Foles got his first start in Cleveland and made the most of it. Though his first series ended in a pick, his next 2 ended in TD passes after the defense and special teams set him up with very short fields. By the end of his night Foles was 12 of 19 for 146 yards and had 2 other drives that led to field goals. Foles continued to show poise, confidence and patience as well as a strong and accurate arm. He also seems to already know where to the put the ball in relation to the defender. When Vick gets hurt by week 2 Foles will not be a deer in the headlights, but I also don't expect him to make it look as easy as he has been when defenses start blitzing and scheming to confuse the crap out of a rookie.

I find it harder to judge the defense because the Browns offense just seemed really poor. The Browns were careless with ball security, dropped a bunch of passes and were out of sync. They were crap except for the game's opening drive where they easily moved into the red zone before Landri rushed in on a screen and strip sacked the Browns next QB bust, Brandon Weeden.

That play set up the rest of the game as the Eagles defensive line easily got into the Browns backfield with their rush and even thwarted the run. But the defense also continued to get stupid penalties such as 3 "lining up in the neutral zone" infractions. But fortunately the Browns ineptitude was far greater than the usual Eagles stupidity and the Eagles won easily, 27-10.

Players that stood out included Foles, Damaris Johnson with 2 great catches and some nice punt returns, Kendricks somewhat in his limited time, Phillip Hunt, rookie safety Phillip Thomas with some tackles and pass defenses, and rookie linebacker Ryan Rau.

Players that are trending bust include DeMeco Ryans and Demetress Bell, Jason Peters supposed replacement. Casey Matthews will be cut.

Last fake game is at 6:30 this Thursday vs. the Jets.

Eagles win again, but starters are awful again

While New England rested a good portion of its best players, the Eagles played all their starters yet were outplayed and beaten. The defense was its usual terrible self. Sure they got sacks, but on third down New England's second teamers converted more often than not. The defense made rookie QB Ryan Mallett look like Tom Brady. The defense is also soft as tapioca pudding. The defense was sucking so much Reid lost it for the first time I've ever seen (and during a preseason game no less) and was caught on camera screaming at Cullen Jenkins who stood up and yelled back. This will be one topic of discussion on the sports talk radio.

The primary topic of discussion though will be Michael Vick and Nick Foles. So far in 2 preseason games Vick has gotten knocked out of the game on his 6th play of each and played a total of 5 minutes. His first injury was bad luck, but his second was the typical stupid Vick play - wildly and blindly spinning around in the pocket, throwing a ball up for grabs that should have been picked, while putting himself in a completely vulnerable position to get crushed. And Vick was crushed, right in the ribs. The rookie QBs in the game on both teams showed more football smarts than Vick when put in similar positions.

Foles once again in relief looked poised and made several impressive throws. He also moved the offense fairly efficiently while Vick did next to nothing but get hurt again. Granted Foles was once again not playing the other team's best, but he still threaded passes and put them right where they needed to be and most significantly got rid of the ball quickly and on target. His one pick was underthrown and was partially the result of indecision. Of course fans will get carried away and begin anointing him the starter.

The other big topic of discussion will be the 20 penalties with 16 being accepted for 131 yards. This team is just as stupid and careless as ever. They've learned nothing from last year.

There were a few Eagles players that did look good with Foles standing out the most. Kendricks once again made plays and is the ONE guy on the defense that can recognize a screen. Philip Hunt continued his good pass rushing and had a strip. McCoy ran well on his few touches, DRC made some plays and got a pick that was nullified by a penalty (of course), and Clay Harbor made bunch of catches including a toe tapper in the back corner of the endzone for a TD.

Fire Castillo.

Eagles steal one from the Steelers

If the first teams remained in the entire game the Eagles would have been rolled. The starting defense had all the elements from last year present:

• Can't stop the run
• Can't tackle
• Confused in coverages
• Can't get off the field, even on third and longs
• Still stupid - the #1 killer of their season last year

The starting offense mustered a whole 6 plays - 2 three and outs. Their biggest victory of the night might have been Vick's thumb x-rays were negative after he hit Kelce's helmet on a follow through. The night was saved though by the second and third teamers who played well and on offense executed way better than the starters. Then with 12 seconds left Henery kicked a 51 yard field goal right down the middle to win it 24-23.

Of the players worth paying attention to, Kafka was mediocre but Nick Foles was impressive digging the Eagles out of their 13-0 hole. NFL retread Trent Edwards even looked good in the 2 minute drill leading the team into position for the game winning field goal. Damaris Johnson looked like DeSean Jr. with his quickness on some punt returns and the long bomb he caught and ran in for a TD. Kendricks, the linebacker they drafted, was making plays and showed good speed. I didn't notice DeMeco Ryans do anything of note and the run defense is still horrible. Fletcher Cox didn't stand out, but Vinny Curry made several plays in the backfield. Jaiquawn Jarrett looked pretty bad.

Next game is August 20th at New England.