Eagle weaknesses

Even though the Eagles were winning 10-3 when the starters came out tonight, this game exposed some weaknesses.

• The receivers were never open. They had no separation. As a result, the offense struggled to move the ball. Aside from a single broken play and some Balitmore penalties, the Eagles offense was stagnant. This is going to be a lingering problem. Speaking of receivers, where is Reggie Brown? I keep reading that he is having a great camp, but he's not even getting looks in the games. Are defenses actually rolling coverage to his side? Or is he just unable to shake a single defender?


• The front seven did a nice job against the run, holding Jamal Lewis to 3 yards/carry. But they did not generate consistent pressure on McNair (14-18-180) and as a result, he completed a ton of passes and kept drives going on third down. Matt McCoy needs to work on his pass rush...the two times I saw him blitz, he was single-blocked by the RB. That's not going to cut it. I'd rather see Barber starting on the weak side, until McCoy is a little more polished.


• The back-up OL, once again, looked horrendous. This is troubling, as I was expecting the Eagles to have great depth at this position.

My optimism has been tempered by this game. Clearly the dominating performances by the Eagles starters in the previous two contests were a reflection of the poor competition. Against a good defense, the Eagles will have trouble moving the ball all season. Westbrook is their scariest option in the passing game, and when he's injured, I expect them to struggle mightily.