August 13, 2023
BALTIMORE, MD — The Eagles fell in Baltimore to the Ravens 20-19 in their preseason opener. I'll hit you with my takes from the second half of this evening...
• Tanner McKee: NFL quarterback. I'm calling it! He's a legit pro QB. McKee took shots in one-on-one coverage in his encouraging first half. He did that early in the second half, too. Much apologies to my fellow Irish Catholics throughout the Delaware Valley, but he's the clear-cut No. 3 QB over third-year Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book.
McKee made a great throw on fourth down in the red zone to Joseph Ngata in the back of the end zone, but Ngata was just out of bounds. McKee looked crafty, throwing on the run with second-level pressure cracking down on him.
• Defensive end Janarius Robinson got some decent pressure late in the first half and continued that on the opening drive of the second, including a hurry of Ravens QB Tyler Huntley. The Eagles are stacked with edge rushers, but he made the most of his opportunities in Baltimore. Robinson should make the practice squad.
• If the Eagles weren't flush with young talent along the interior defensive line, there might be more buzz about seventh-round rookie Moro Ojomo. The 249th-overall pick back in the spring, Ojomo has flashed at times during camp and had a nice run stuff with the Ravens in the red zone early in the third quarter. It's a numbers game for Ojomo with Fletcher Cox, the Georgia guys and Milton Williams clearly ahead of him, but I like him more as the fifth defensive tackle than Marlon Tuipulotu. I mentioned this earlier in the month, but could Ojomo be a stealth IR "redshirt" candidate? I'm not sure he'd clear waivers if he was cut in an attempt to sign him back to the team's practice squad.
• Rick Lovato: The "GRIT" Award winner! After the Eagles punted on their first drive of the third quarter, Lovato recovered a fumble from Baltimore returner James Proche. My thought process when it comes down to a team's given long snapper is that if you know their name, that usually means something went wrong. Tonight, it was because he was more than "just" a specialist.
• I alluded to it in my first-half observations, but rookie safety Sydney Brown has some burst. While working with the third-team defense in the third quarter, he made a great open-field tackle on Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell. I'm eager to see how he holds up in coverage during joint practices with the Browns this week.
• Eli Ricks Pick 6! I've discussed the Eagles' crew of young corners tonight and it's going to take flashy plays to stand out from the crowd. Taking one back to the house with a great jump on the ball will absolutely do that. I loved Nick Sirianni going for two down one after that even with them coming up empty. It's not a real game, so go wild.
Eli Ricks Pick-6! @Eagles
— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2023
📺: #PHIvsBAL on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/bBFpXewtKp pic.twitter.com/refIXSyIj3
After the Eagles' three starting corners, I'd rank the rest of the dudes hanging around as follows: Josh Jobe, Zech McPhearson, Ricks, Kelee Ringo, Mario Goodrich, Josiah Scott, Mekhi Garner and Greedy Williams.
• Mekhi Garner looked a bit lost on the Ravens' opening drive of the second half, allowing a touchdown in coverage to Baltimore receiver Tylan Wallace. Given how many young guys the Eagles have at corner fighting for back-of-the-roster jobs, I'd like to see if Garner could play safety. Not sure he's a corner at the next level.
Garner is an undrated rookie out of LSU and that's the exact type of success archetype the Eagles should be trying to fill out their roster with, but it's a numbers crunch. He forced a fumble on a punt on the Eagles' ensuing drive, so maybe a safety-special teams combo guy is his way to an NFL future.
• There isn't a single linebacker on this roster who I trust to stick anyone in coverage.
• Kennedy Brooks had a fourth-quarter fumble. While the Eagles are keeping up the facade that there's a five-way race for the RB1 position, they are completely leaving Brooks out of that conversation. Brooks receives barely any action in practice and it's a rough turn of events to do this in one of your few chances to get noticed both within this organization and around the league.
• Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is a hardo for wanting this preseason winning streak as much as he clearly does. The record now stands at 24 games.
• Ian Book acted as if he was controlling Michael Vick in "Madden NFL 2004" with his fourth-quarter scramble that resulted in a sack and a 21-yard loss. Again, McKee is locking all windows and doors when it comes to the QB3 job.
• I saw multiple adult Eagles fans wearing customized jerseys. I respect the hardcore of the hardcore supporters traveling down I-95 for a meaningless game, but it's a hard no on that piece of sports apparel for me. The two cases where it's acceptable to do so: 1. You're in elementary school or at an even younger age. Kids can do whatever. 2. The team actually made the jersey for you like you're Drake or Diplo after doing a concert at a team's venue. Otherwise, just grab a $12 t-shirt from Acme and take it down a notch!
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