On Second Thought: The Eagles At Ravens Edition

The Eagles have obvious issues at linebacker and with the depth at wide receiver, along with some less apparent ones.

Aug 9, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore looks on as quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) throws before a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

BALTIMORE - A late night in Baltimore with an interesting ending thanks to Ravens rookie quarterback Emory Jones gave way to an 'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' vibe as the remnants of tropical strong Debbie finally waived goodbye to the I-95 corridor.

A 16-13 win over a perennial preseason powerhouse was never going to eliminate the evaluation on the long bus ride home for Nick Sirianni and Co. And there was more to be optimistic about for the Eagles' brass. Still, there were some troubling signs as well.

The concerns were already known when it came to the linebacker position and the depth of the receiver group and they were stamped and validated by a talented Ravens team sitting most of its key players.  Some less obvious potential issues unveiled themselves when the red light came on as well.

THE LINEBACKERS - It was good and bad in Baltimore.

The current starters – Devon White and Zack Baun – had some troubles in limited reps (14 snaps for each) and the backups showed some signs with Nakobe Dean (19) performing much better than his average practice showing, rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr.  (a position-high 29 reps) continuing his rapid ascent and second-year athlete Ben VanSumeren (19) helping unleash on Jones late to aid Patrick Johnson during the strip sack that essentially won the game for Philadelphia.

It seems evident that when teams start game-planning for Vic Fangio’s defense, the smart ones at least, are going to try to take advantage of the linebackers in space. 

The good news is that the Eagles’ depth seems solid but the trick for Fangio is going to be finding two LBs that can hold up against top-tier offenses.

DEPTH AT WR - This is never going to be an obvious deficiency as long as A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are healthy. Without the two WRs in the lineup as part of a group of 23 who did not play for the Eagles it became evident early on that backups quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee were going to be throwing to players generating little separation.

On the first drone of the game Ravens’ first-round pick Nate Wiggins was able to blanket rookie Johnny Wilson, John Ross, and Joseph Ngata in coverage.

The only Eagles’ WR who could consistently generate any kind of space was Britain Covey, a player whose size (5-foot-8, 173) limits him to slot work and creates some potential durability concerns. Covey took a big hit on Friday night after generating some nice manufactured movement on a WR screen.

The eventual return of Parris Campbell from a groin injury is the in-house "answer," meaning this position remains the most likely one GM Howie Roseman may address from outside the organization.

OFFENSIVE DEFAULT SETTING - With quarterback Jalen Hurts and the top playmakers (Brown, Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and running back Saquon Barkley) taking the night off and game-planning off the table, it revealed the DNA of Kellen Moore as a play-caller.

And it looked somewhat conservative and unwilling to test the defense with the longest pass play of the day being 11 yards.

By the second half, the Baltimore defensive backs were comfortable with the understanding no one was getting behind them. Even Jacob Harris, who ran a 4.39 coming out of Central Florida in 2021 couldn’t breathe and it wasn’t the stifling humidity as much as telegraphing the default setting by Moore.

REGRESSION TO THE MEAN FOR JAKE ELLIOTT - Elliott has been so good since his outlier 2020 season (80 of 88 field goals overall and 15 of 17 from 50-plus) that it’s almost impossible for him to continue at that pace. 

A 49-yard game-winning mulligan thanks to the poor ball security of a rookie QB4 will wash away a missed PAT and 50-yarder by the Eagles’ Pro Bowl kicker for many. For others, it revealed that the idea that Elliott will continue his 2021 through 2023 pace in perpetuity is a little pie in the sky.

Elliott will be good, perhaps even very good,  but he is human and expect more hiccups this season.

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