Patrick’s Q&A:
Pat: The Eagles offen- sive line struggled in the first two games of the sea- son. What did you think of their performance against the New York Jets?
Kevin: The offensive line was inconsistent in game three but improved. Andrew Gardner, the Eagles top guard, was injured in the game and could miss the rest of the season so that is definitely a worry for them. The line still needs to play well for four quarters until I think the fans should stop wor- rying about it. Matt Tobin is the favorite to take over for Gardner. With all-pro guard Evan Mathis being released in the offseason, Tobin is sort of the backup to the backup. There is no doubt it is a concern.
Pat: What did you think of the performance of Sam Bradford?
Kevin: Bradford did not impress me. Statistically he was not horrible but he still was not getting the ball downfield.
It should worry the fans that he is not completing any passes past 15 yards and honestly not many pass 10 yards. Dump off passes can only work for so long. A quarterback has to be able to spread the field and make the defense think. Otherwise, the offense becomes one dimensional and predict- able.
Pat: Ryan Matthews rushed for over 100 yards on Sunday. Do you think he is going to keep get- ting a lot of touches when Murray gets back?
Kevin: I think most people believe Ryan Matthews and DeMarco Murray are not far apart when talking about talent. Honestly, if it was not for the big year Murray had last year someone could argue Matthews is undoubtedly better. With all that said, I still believe Murray is the top back for the Eagles and he will get the bulk of the carries. They paid him the big bucks for a reason and I expect he will produce sooner rather than later.
Kevin’s Q&A:
Kevin: The New York Jets scored 17 points against the Ea- gles defense. What did you think about the play of the defense?
Pat: The defense played solid. The Jets
number one quarterback and running back were injured, as well as Eric Decker who is one of their top receivers. So, it was definitely not the biggest test for the Eagles but more importantly they played well against an offense that they should have. That has to count for something. The second- ary has improved each week and it needs to still improve. The defensive line is the strength of the team.
Kevin: Cody Parkey is out for the season with torn muscles in his groin. How do you think that af- fects the Eagles season?
Pat: Losing a kicker into the season is a pretty big deal. It is hard enough to find a consistent kicker but now the Eagles have to sign someone that was not good enough to be on any of the other 31 teams. They signed Caleb Sturgis who started two years for the Miami Dolphins but also missed eight field goals in each of those seasons. It is definitely a position to keep a very close eye on. Kickers can make or break a season. Who knows maybe Stur- gis will be incredible and outperform Parkey, or maybe not.
Kevin: The Eagles are now sitting at 1-2. They are tied for last place in the division but the divi- sion leading Cowboys are only 2-1 and without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant for the foreseeable future. What do you think of the Eagles chances to win the NFC East?
Pat: I think the Eagles are the favorite right now to win the NFC East. May- be by default but no mat- ter the case they are better than the Giants and the Redskins for sure. I think the Cowboys are slightly better when healthy but as you mentioned they are without their best two players.
