Ugly Finale

[time2rock]

Ugly Finale

Posted: August 28th, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The last preseason game is always weird. Football is a team game, but the preseason finale is more about individuals than the team. Guys are competing for the final five to 10 spots on the roster. They are competing for practice squad spots. You focus more on individuals than the team. With starters and key backups sitting out, the actual results aren’t as important as how individual players do.

No matter how you slice this game, it was ugly. The Dolphins played their starters on offense and defense. They dominated the Eagles. Watching Mac McCain and K’Von Wallace try to cover Tyreek Hill was not fun. He’s the fastest guy in the league…they’re backups. It went as you would expect. The biggest issue for me was how the Eagles struggled with the basics, blocking and tackling. Nick Sirianni expressed his displeasure with the performance after the game.

Still, there were some good moments and performances. Let’s focus on the guys who helped themselves. I haven’t had a chance to re-watch it so this is my first impression of what happened.

Devon Allen – He didn’t stand out to me at all on offense, but he was terrific as a gunner in punt coverage. He flew down the field and made one tackle. The next time he flew down and helped to cause a fumble. Allen is a complete project, but his speed jumps off the tape and he shows up on STs. He may have played his way onto the roster in the past two weeks.

Grant Calcaterra – The rookie TE made his Eagles debut. He caught 2 passes for 30 yards. He showed good hands and some RAC ability. Looked athletic. Blocking is not his strong suit. Got destroyed on a run play. Was driven a couple of yards back. Looked better on other plays, but needs a ton of work. Effort is there, but must get stronger and improve his technique.

Reed Blankenship – He’s played well in each game. Was in on 5 tackles. Beyond that, he’s a physical player who can really pop runners/receivers (see below). I think he has a legit shot to make the roster.

Jason Huntley – I’ve not been impressed with him this summer, but Huntley played well in Miami. He was elusive and showed some burst. This was before his highlight play, a 67-yard TD run. I don’t like him for the roster, but he should be on the practice squad.

Kyron Johnson – Led the team with 7 tackles. He was disruptive on multiple plays and showed a good motor.

Patrick Johnson – Patrick had the team’s only sack, which came as a result of good effort. He had to work to get by the RT and then kept working until he got free and to the QB.

John Hightower – This might have been his best game as an Eagle. 5-52. No highlights, but caught short passes and worked the middle of the field. That’s been a weakness of his over the years. I don’t know if this game is enough to get him on the practice squad, but I think he helped himself.

Matt Leo – Solid at DE. Recovered a fumble on STs. Plays hard and has good strength.

***

Here are a few guys who really struggled.

JaCoby Stevens – They have to let him go. Terrible showing. Blockers killed him. Missed multiple tackles. Needs to move to safety to have any shot of staying in the league.

Mac McCain – Terrible in coverage and vs the run. Ugh.

Reid Sinnett – Yikes. 12-22-104. Threw a pick-six. Made several off-target throws. Just didn’t look good. I’ll be shocked if he makes the roster.

***

There didn’t appear to be any key injuries. That’s always good news.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/08/ugly-finale/

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[weko]

Time to cut Reagor Taylor and Wallace, forgettable 1st 3rd and 4th round picks. Blankenship has to make the team over Wallace. Stevens has to go and i am yet to believe that the 6th round USC DT has really improved until he plays better in a game. Gannon is a huge question mark. Lots of talent on D but the reserves looked uncompetitive as a group. We need to cut draft picks if they can’t play. Bad outing in Miami. Team didn’t look ready to play. Coaching staff had a bad week

[time2rock]

The only 2 I disagree with are Huntley and Leo.  I don't think either looked good (not even OK) last night.  I wouldn't keep either ... not even on the practice squad.  I'd sooner grab a RB after teams make their cuts on Tuesday to add to our practice squad.  

And with the help needed at S, I don't understand why they aren't at least giving Stevens a look there.  He was a solid S at LSU.  He most certainly isn't going to make it as a LB soooo ... 

[weko]

3 hours ago, time2rock said:

The only 2 I disagree with are Huntley and Leo.  I don't think either looked good (not even OK) last night.  I wouldn't keep either ... not even on the practice squad.  I'd sooner grab a RB after teams make their cuts on Tuesday to add to our practice squad.  

And with the help needed at S, I don't understand why they aren't at least giving Stevens a look there.  He was a solid S at LSU.  He most certainly isn't going to make it as a LB soooo ... 

The reserves on D looked bad across the board save Blankenship.  I'm worried that Gannon might be our weakest link.  Our scheme this preseason has featured two DLmen with 2 smallish LB types at DE.  We got gashed by the run when we showed that alignment.  I hope we do much better when the starters are in but as of now i don't have confidence in Gannon at all.

[time2rock]

22 minutes ago, weko said:

The reserves on D looked bad across the board save Blankenship.  I'm worried that Gannon might be our weakest link.  Our scheme this preseason has featured two DLmen with 2 smallish LB types at DE.  We got gashed by the run when we showed that alignment.  I hope we do much better when the starters are in but as of now i don't have confidence in Gannon at all.

Thinking probably went vanilla on purpose to not show anything.  Hoping that is the case.  But yeah Gannon has as much to prove as Hurts does.

[eggs]

We obviously need help at safety and need to do something after cuts. RB is a concern so we need to make sure Jordan Howard stays available if anything happens to Sanders, especially because Gainwell is not a real NFL threat and we also don’t have a big back. Other than that, I think we’re ok, although I do wish we had a couple better DL prospects for PS for depth, but I guess you can’t have everything.