Tonight the Eagles take on the Jaguars at the Linc, and there is a lot on the line for several fringe players trying to make the final roster. Here’s what I’ll be watching…
One of these two QBs will be getting a lot of attention tonight.
- Some guy named Michael Vick will be making his Eagles debut tonight and it might get a tad bit of attention around the NFL. It will be intriguing to see if he still has the physical gifts he had prior to his prison sentence.
- You gotta figure at this point that two out of the following three wide receivers are going to make the roster: Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown, and Brandon Gibson. Sheil Kapadia brings up some speculation that Brown could see a lot of work as a way of showing him off to up his value in a trade to the Jets or Ravens.
- Stacey Andrews will make his Eagles debut along the O-line tonight. I’m sure a lot of eyes will be focused on Winston Justice at right tackle as well, considering he may be the Week 1 starter if Shawn Andrews can’t go. Jason Peters will have to improve after giving up a sack against the Pats in his only preseason appearance thus far.
- Brian Westbrook will make his preseason debut. To be honest I don’t even care how he looks, I just want him to stay healthy. I can’t imagine he’ll be out there past the first few drives.
- Joe Mays and Matt Wilhelm will both have a chance to take over the starting middle linebacker job. Neither has impressed through the first two games.
- A couple of backups who will be looking to build off strong performances in Indy: TE Rob Myers and RB Eldra Buckley. Myers may be a longshot to make the team (especially with former-Cowboy Tony Curtis now on the roster), but neither Matt Schobel nor Eugene Bright have looked good this preseason, so you have to figure the door is open at least a little bit for the undrafted free agent.
- Jeremy Maclin needs to show he can hang on to a few punts and make more of an impact as a receiver. I wouldn’t be surprised if Desean Jackson returns a punt or two either.
- Ellis Hobbs was terrible against the Colts. At the start of the preseason he was battling Sheldon Brown for a starting job, but I would assume Brown has that locked up. As of now Hobbs is battling Joselio Hansen for the nickelback spot.
- Former first round pick Jason Babin has looked outstanding through the first two preseason games. If he spends anywhere near the same amount of time in the Jags backfield as he did in Indy he should have a spot on this team come week 1 in Carolina.
Additional Reading:
- Les Bowen tries to predict the final 53-man roster.
- Iggles Blog has plenty of insight into tonight’s game.
- Inside the Iggles takes a look at linebacker Moise Fokou.
