Philadelphia Eagles Preseason Review: Wentz, Jeffery, Smith
The Philadelphia Eagles showed us what they are capable of in their third preseason game. Can they come out on top during the regular season?
Since the beginning of the 2017 NFL Preseason, the discussion around the Philadelphia Eagles has been about the additions of the wide outs: Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. Fans have been waiting quite some time to see what these two new additions mean for the team, as well as how the second year quarterback Carson Wentz will fair.
There was no doubt that one of the Eagles biggest issues was with the wide receiver position. After a season of dropped passes, and limited play-making on the field. The Eagles were missing that deep threat.
As usual, there are high hopes and dreams of a positive future, including a winning 2017 season. At the beginning of the preseason, fans didn’t get a true feeling of what to expect this season, due to limited play from starting players.
The first preseason game was against the Green Bay Packers, which resulted in one decent play from Wentz, and the remainder of the game being handled by third string quarterback Matt McGloin. Due to a minor injury, Alshon Jeffery didn’t take the field. So, the question about our new receivers went unanswered, and the Eagles were defeated by the Packers 24-9.
Soon after the first preseason game, the Eagles front office made more changes. Recently, the Eagles traded wide receiver Jordan Matthews for the Buffalo Bills cornerback, Ronald Darby. This trade had caused some concern, due to the worry that chemistry between Wentz and Matthews was already established.
A Long-Awaited Glimpse
This past Thursday night the Eagles faced the Miami Dolphins, and we finally got a taste of what the Eagles could look like during the regular season.
Wide receivers Jeffery and Smith took the field, and the magic happened. In the first quarter, Wentz threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith. At the end of the quarter, Wentz threw a 15-yard pass to Jeffery. Wentz looked poised and confident while completing his passes and hitting his targets.
Defensively things went well at times, but not so well at others. When it comes to the good, linebacker Mychal Kendricks made an impressive play. In the second quarter, Kendricks intercepted a pass and returned it for 31 yards.
Darby had an outstanding debut against his former team the Buffalo Bills, where he intercepted a pass for a 48-yard return, but things didn’t go as smoothly this week. Darby’s coverage wasn’t as solid which results in a penalty and a touchdown pass for the Dolphins.
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Overall, the Eagles looked good. Of course there still quite a bit of room for improvement. It looks like the Eagles have found their missing puzzle pieces. Now it is just time for the Eagles to put it all together, and solidify the big picture. The Philadelphia Eagles now have a 2-1 record in the preseason. The final Preseason game will be against the New York Jets on Thursday, August 31, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. ET.