Eagles Acquire J.J. Arrington from Broncos

The Eagles made a trade yesterday acquiring J.J. Arrington from the denver Broncos, while giving up linebacker Joe Mays. Arrington did not play last season at all with knee problems, and will still need to pass a physical today.

Arrington was a 2nd round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2005, but never really had abreakout season. Arrington's career high in yards was his rookie year when he ran for 370 yards and 3 TD's.

Joe Mays was a 6th round draft pick by the Eagles in 2008 out of North Dakota State. The Eagles had high hopes for Mays, and made him a starter last season at the middle linebacker position at one point in place of Stewart Bradley, but Mays struggled as a starter, and never ended up getting into games very much. It was tough to imagine a spot for Mays getting much time this season at the linebacker spot with a crowded situation.

If J.J. Arrington does not make the team, the Eagles will receive a 6th round draft pick in 2012, which might end up being the case.

Eagles-Jaguars Postgame

The Eagles beat the Jaguars 33-32 with a nice 4th quarter comeback on Thursday night in their 3rd preseason game. The score does not indicate how poorly the Eagles actually played. They needed a 4th quarter comeback by Kevin Kolb to win the game.

The Eagles offense and defense really continue to be very average. They looked average in the first preseason game, but did some good things, so I wasn't too worried. They also did not look very impressive in the 2nd game against the Colts, and that trend continued last night in preseason Game 3.

The actual result of the game last night is not very significant, I wanted to see the players make plays, and see how the Eagles try to use Mike Vick. It didn't take long for Vick to see the field, he came on for the 2nd play of the game, and threw a shovel pass to McCoy. It became apparent fairly quickly that there was no flow to this almost alternating plays for McNabb and Vick, and the play calling was way too gimmicky, even when McNabb was under center. If this were the regular season, I would be yelling at Reid to run the ball more. Of course that isn't too easy when the offensive line in my opinion has been horrible this preseason. I understand there are multiple injuries on the offensive line, so lets hope that this unit gets better once the season starts.

Shawn Andrews and Todd Herramans did not play, and it was revealed after the game that Herramans will have surgery and will miss the start of the regular season, and will miss multiple weeks of the regular season. Stacy Andrews did start, and couldn't make it as far as the regular starters went, but apparently, it was more of a precaution as to why he was taken out. Jason Peters didn't play... ohhh he actually did play, you just wouldn't have known that he showed up. Peters has not been good this preseason. It's hard for me to tell how a center is doing, so I'm not sure if Jamaal Jackson looks good, but the overall unit flat out looks bad. McNabb has pressure on him almost every time he drops back to pass, and has to keep plays alive by getting out of the pocket and trying to make something happen. The O-Line run blocked well in the first preseason game, yet I haven't seen them open up a hole on an inside run in the past 2 games. The running backs are running into walls when they try to run up the middle. The offensive line is a unit that has to get back by the regular season.

The play calling was also an area of concern for me. Like I said earlier, if this were the regular season, I would be yelling at Reid to run the ball more. I understand you wanted to get Vick involved, and I liked that they did that, but the play calling just wasn't there, and it got gimmicky very quickly. I would like to Vick line up in the slot more often on multiple plays in a row, whether you plan to use him on a play or not. Keep McNabb under center, and have Vick in the slot. This way, you don't have to do anything gimmicky, you run the regular offense (yes, I want to see Vick go out for passes), you don't have to keep running McNabb and Vick on and off the field, and you have multiple weapons on the field at one time. I'm not sure who calls the plays at this point, probably Reid because he is so arrogant, but the play calling needs to get better in the regular season. I don't anticipate this however, as the play calling in my opinion has not been good for years. Morningweg is a below average offensive coordinator.

On defense, the 1st team is still getting points scored on them, and letting teams drive down the field. This defense was the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL, and 1st ranked in the NFC last season, and I think for the Eagles to be successful, their defense needs to be in the top 10 at worst. Losing Stewart Bradley is still hurting this team, as Joe Mays has been a non-factor at the middle linebacker position. In fact, the entire linebacking corps have been mostly invisible in the preseason, besides rookie Moise Fokou, who has been a beast. I will say the Eagles did a better job of getting to the QB, and disrupted many plays by getting in the Jaguars' quarterbacks faces. On the line, Trent Cole stood out, and was in the backfield a lot. Asante Samuel continues to play well, and had a pick last night. I think Quintin Mikell is also playing well, but you expect that out of him.

The Eagles do have some things to work on still, and need to improve in multiple areas. If they run this team and this game out in the regular season, they will be completely average. But this is what preseason is for, to work on the kinks, and get ready to play well in Week 1 of the regular season. Lets hope that the Eagles are ready to Week 1 against the Panthers.

Eagles Camp Battles

As training camp comes into full swing, let's take a look at some of the position battles going on at Eagles training camp.

Middle Linebacker

It is a shame that this has become a battle for the starter, as it wasn't a week ago when Stewart Bradley was healthy. Bradley is one of the best young linebackers in the league, and was probably going to make the pro bowl this season. Not only that, he was definitely one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball, which is especially important now without Brian Dawkins, or Jim Johnson around.

Anyways, the middle linebacker battle seems to be between 2nd year player Joe Mays, Omar Gaither, and newly acquired Matt Wilhelm, who spent last season with the Chargers. Joe Mays appears to have the upper hand, as he has been taking all the reps at starting middle linebacker since Bradley got injured. Gaither has played middle linebacker for the Eagles in the past, and did a decent job there. Wilhelm also has plenty of experience, but was recently released by the Chargers. I personally am a big Joe Mays fan. The guy looks like a beast when you watch him play. He is a little undersized, but really attacks the ball and runs downhill. Mays should do a good job against the run, but needs to improve his play against the pass.

Free Safety

With Brian Dawkins no longer on the team, this position is almost impossible to fill, not only on the field, but also from a leadership standpoint. This battle appears to be very close, as is between Quintin Demps and Sean Jones. Demps started out taking all the first team reps, but Jones has been taking some of that action lately. Demps flat out was not good in the last game he played as an Eagle against the Cardinals. He got burned by Larry Fitzgerald on a long touchdown pass, and failed to wrap up Tim Hightower down at the goal line, which could have kept Hightower out of the end zone. The coaching staff has been talking about how good Demps looks, and I'm hoping he has improved. However, we give the nod at starting free safety to Sean Jones. Jones, the former starter with the Cleveland Browns has the experience, and has very good size, while still being fast. Jones also is a guy who picks off a lot of passes, something the Eagles need from their secondary.

Left Defensive End

The starting left defensive end battle includes in incumbent starter, Juqua Parker, along with Victor Abiamiri, and Chris Clemons. All three of these players contributed effectively last season, and should all see time this season. There isn't much to say about this position battle, especially since Abiamiri has been injured throughout camp. Parker has been an effective starter, but seems to wear down easily every season. Parker goes games without making a play. I was hoping that Abiamiri would come in and win the job, as there is still a lot of hype around Abiamiri. The guy is a monster out there, and can stop the run as well as get to the quarterback.

Third Running Back

The 3rd running back might not be all that important, as the Eagles rarely use two running backs during a game. This battle appears to be between Lorenzo Booker, Eldra Buckley, and Kyle Eckel. I believe that the Eagles are only going to keep 4 running backs/fullbacks. Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, and Leonard Weaver are locks. These three will see a lot of time during the regular season. Booker, and Eckel both saw time with the Eagles last season. From what I have heard and seen, neither Booker, nor Eckel have had a great camp thus far, while Buckley has been impressive. In my opinion, I like Lorenzo Booker, but he brings nothing to the team that you don't already have in Westbrook and McCoy. Booker is a smaller running back, and he is really small. He doesn't have the strength to break tackles, or pick up blitzes consistently. I thought Kyle Eckel looked very good when he played last year for the Eagles, and would have no problem with him making the team as the 3rd running back. I also am liking what I see out of Buckley, who spent last season on the Chargers practice squad. Buckley is a bigger back who runs real hard.

There is still a long way to go in training camp, and still all four preseason games to play, so these position battles should start shaping out as we get closer to the regular season.