By Chris Sherman
After an un-naturally long wait for our Eagles Football, we’re finally here on Tuesday ready to see a game. Yes, the game should have been played Monday pre-evening, yes this gives us a super-short week to prepare for Dallas, and yes, NBC, rather than common sense, seems to wield an unsettlingly large amount of power in the scheduling department, but I’m all complained-out on this particular subject. Instead I’m looking forward to game-time, and tonight looks to me to be a very enjoyable night.
I completely expect the Eagles to mop the floor with Minnesota tonight. This won’t be quite so lopsided as the second Washington game, but it shouldn’t be a slugfest or another come-from-behind victory either. I’m thinking the Eagles will start off with a modest 7-point lead and will gradually grow it bigger and bigger so by the 4th quarter the game will be out of reach for Minnesota.
I like the match-ups. We have an offense that scores a lot of passing touchdowns vs. a defense that gives up a lot of passing touchdowns. Minnesota’s defense is geared to defend the run on early downs and force 3rd-and-longs, which should be vulnerable to Philadelphia’s quick-strike-offense. Meanwhile, I think the pass will open up the ground-game so Shady should get some good yards-per-touch tonight, particularly with screen passes and RB-draw plays.
On the other side of the field, Minnesota relies almost solely on the running game. Philadelphia has the 9th best rushing defense in the NFL and that includes games before Antonio Dixon, Juqua Parker, Moise Fokou, and Dimitri Patterson were starters. If you take the sample of weeks 5+ (according to profootballreference.com), Philadelphia has the 6th best rushing defense in yards per carry (3.84) and 2nd best rushing defense in total rushing yardage (891). The Vikings’ passing attack has been negligible and is now relying on a rookie QB to keep the chains moving.
The Eagles defense isn’t air-tight, and I definitely expect to give up at least 14 points, but I don’t believe Minnesota’s offense has a prayer of keeping up with the Eagles’ offense. Even if Michael Vick gets injured (I’m knocking on wood, spinning 3 times and spitting, everything to keep this being a jinx), I think Kevin Kolb could destroy Minnesota.
On the downside…. If Michael Vick has a terrible game (and isn’t benched), we’re in trouble. We won’t be able to rely on the running game to carry the offense, and as I said, our defense always gives up some point.
I worry about our red-zone offense. My earlier boasts are based on the Eagles’ ability to score long touchdowns. Minnesota’s secondary will look much better in a confined space and a forced-running game will play right into Minnesota’s hands. My victory scenario relies on a shootout, and repeated settling for field goals may not out-pace the Vikings.
I also worry about our kickoff/punt coverage giving Minnesota and their rookie QB a consistently short field and therefore a gift of confidence if they manage to push into our side of the field repeatedly.
All that said, these reservations do not combine for disaster very often and I remain confident in getting the big ‘W’ tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment