August 16, 2015
They're back! The Eagles have their first preseason game under their belt, and they performed in style, dismantling the talented Indianapolis Colts in a 36-10 romp. Win or lose, as always, our postgame 10 awards!
Chip Kelly announced on Friday that Sam Bradford would not be playing in the Eagles' first preseason game, but that didn't stop Bradford from suiting up in full pads for warmups anyway. Bradford is now Shoulderpads Guy's new favorite player.
All throughout training camp, Nelson Agholor got glowing reviews for his speed and slippery running style. On the Eagles' second series, he jumped for a poorly thrown pass from Mark Sanchez, slipped a defender, and took it to the house. So... Now you've gotten a taste of what he is.
But he hasn't been without his bad moments too. He will occasionally drop an easy one, which you also saw in the second quarter.
Also, it's confirmed that "Snagholor" will be Nelson Agholor's nickname going forward.
Nelson Snagholor at his finest.
— Alex Smith (@AlexSmith720) August 16, 2015
Please make a note of it.
Seriously, that dude made two great throws on the Eagles' second TD drive, one on the run to his left, and then a deep ball to Miles Austin.
You can see why the Eagles liked Eric Rowe when they traded up in the second round to get him. They like their corners big and physical, and he forced a fumble on a nice pop on Phillip Dorsett. Rowe was beaten on the play, but I wouldn't worry about that so much. Dorsett was among the fastest players in the country a year ago, and was a first round pick of the Colts. Rowe is not going to be covering players like Dorsett man-to-man in the slot, or at least he shouldn't be. It doesn't fit his skill set.
In what was an insanely dumb punt considering the situation (about 20 seconds left in the first half), Colts punter Pat McAfee out-kicked his coverage on a 65 yard bomb, and Barner took it back 92 yards for a punt return TD. Barner broke a tackle, and made a few guys miss along the way. He kinda looked like a beefier version of Darren Sproles.
I thought Watkins' coverage was OK today, but holy hell was that a terrible tackle attempt of Colts 12th string RB Josh Robinson, that led to a Colts TD.
Parkey missed a PAT and a 34 yard field goal. Don't want to panic yet, but yikes.
Ed Reynolds intercepted Bryan Bennett twice, making him the NFL's interception leader after Week 1 of the preseason. All that remains to be determined is whether Ed Reynolds will be the league MVP, or just the Defensive Player of the Year.
Undrafted free agent TE Eric Tomlinson had 5 catches for 61 yards in his Eagles debut. He has stood out in recent practices, and could push for a roster spot with Zach Ertz currently on the shelf.
Also, he has long hair, which helps.
When Tim Tebow entered the game in the third quarter, he was cheered lustily by the home fans, to the point where he needed to wave his arms to tell the crowd to be quiet. In other words, literally the first thing Tim Tebow ever did as an Eagle was tell the fans to shut up. They would chant his name a minute later.
On the first play of his Eagles career, Tebow told the fans to be quiet. And then he rested. pic.twitter.com/takIEK9lo5
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 16, 2015
And yes, I realize his thumbs are inverted. Probably explains some of his throws today.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
