NEW YORK JETS
THURSDAY 7:00 Lincoln Financial Field PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
NEEDS TO STEP UP:
RB Cedric O’Neal: Cut a week ago and just re-signed, O’Neal’s chances of making this team are almost nil when you first look at the surface. However, when you factor in how delicate Wendell Smallwood (hamstring, concussion) has proven to be, it only makes sense to take a longer look at O’Neal. Given how underwhelming RB/WR Byron Marshall has been despite plenty of opportunity (23 carries in 3 games) vs mostly back-ups; it only makes sense to give O’Neal more than the 9 carries he’s had so far. He also is the only RB on the roster besides Ryan Mathews who gives us any real bulk for short yardage situations.
Back in 2010, as we went into the 4th preseason game (vs the Jets), rookie FS Kurt Coleman had no real shot at making the Eagles roster. If you recall, (and I do clearly), in that game he recovered 2 fumbles, BOTH of which he returned for TD’s. He made the team. He later became a starter. Last year he picked off 7 passes for Carolina and started in a Super Bowl. All he needed was an opportunity to show what he could do.
That’s not to say that O’Neal will make a splash, but it IS to say, that he hasn’t really gotten a fair look, to this point. I’d like to see O’Neal get that opportunity in this game. And I want to see what he does if he gets it.
WE MUST CONTAIN:
There is no external opponent to focus on stopping this week. Every obstacle the Eagles face this week, comes from within.
EAGLES STORY LINE:
This game will be played almost entirely by back-ups and guys “on the bubble”. Key back-ups will be trying not to get hurt, and bubble guys will be doing all they can to impress coaches. You may see a handful of great plays made this week, by guys you’ll never hear from again.
BOTTOM LINE:
Staying healthy and making it hard for a coach cut you. Those are the focuses of this week.
PREDICTION:
Eagles 21 – Jets 20
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
You guys used to give me crap about Kurt Coleman
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You did used to get crap about Coleman. I always said that our Safeties were used wrong, with us playing so much Single-high coverage. It’s something I continued to say (all over this site) after Coleman and Reid were both gone.
Coleman like many Eagles DB’s (Macho Harris, Earl Wolff, Jaiquawn Jarrett, etc.) were playing in a system that made every DB look bad. I KEPT talking about how lack of Safety help was what was hurting our CB’s.
No matter who we brought in at CB, all of a sudden none of them could play anymore. And no one but me seemed to get why.
What’s funny is that today, our CB’s aren’t nearly as talented, but because they’re going to get Cover Two help, they’re going to look like Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor out there.
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