Eagles Still a Mystery

You've heard all the talk, but after a surely rigorous, four-week long training camp and a bevy of four preseason games does anyone really know what to expect from this year's version of the Eagles? Can anything about them truly be designated as a given?

Take their third preseason game, a 27-13 loss to the Steelers, a team that harbors legitimate Super Bowl aspirations of their own. The only thing that rates as a certainty from that contest is that the Eagles wound up on the short end of it.

Beyond that, ambiguity reigned. It started with star quarterback Donovan McNabb, still in the infancy of a return from last season's season-ending knee injury. McNabb completed a credible 5 of 11 passes for-60 yards, but was sacked twice, prompting further questions about the strength of the right knee he had operated on just a few months ago.

Then there was running back Bryant Westbrook who gained just 2-yards on a single carry after voicing his desire all summer long to tote more of the load to the tune of 20 or more carries a game. After such an outing, one has to wonder if the Eagles are in tune with Bryant's desired game plan and, if not, how much he ultimately might be with theirs?

In McNabb's stead, rookie backup Kevin Kolb came on to pass for an eye-popping 242 yards on 26-for-37 passing, but just how much of that can be taken to heart given much of it came against a patchwork Steelers' defense?

Speaking of defense, the Eagles first string unit allowed Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw at a clip of 19 yards per completion, culminating in a 247 yard passing night. Roethlisberger's onslaught featured an assortment of passes, but the Eagles looked particularly vulnerable against the screen and slant play.

“They got us off balance a bit,” noted cornerback Sheldon Brown, “but overall I think we need to work on tackling.” Yet another keen observation, as Eagle defenders seemed to be flailing all night trying to bring down Steelers ball carriers.

For what it's worth, Eagles' coach Andy Reid didn't seem to disheartened by all the carnage. "There were some good things tonight,” he maintained. “And there were some things we obviously need to work on. No. 1, we need to get everybody back in there and practicing and ready to go. And we've got to cut down on penalties [eight for 56 yards] and some of the missed alignments we had, and we'll be fine."

Only time will tell.

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