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OUR Offensive Line kept our QB’s upright, and kept our ground game churning out yards and scores. When the dust settled it was Eagles 21, Browns 20. We’ll look to improve on that dominance this week, against the Miami Dolphins.

A win would be cute, but it’s neither here nor there. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have seventeen, possibly twenty, very long weeks coming up, and injuries are part of the game. This week isn’t about the opponent. It’s about picking the best depth possible, from the men battling to keep their dreams alive.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus the: Dolphins

1) Pass Rush: Someone get a sack. Doesn’t matter who. Two games and not one sack so far. That’s not Eagles football. Wait, let me amend my statement! It does matter who gets it. The sack has to come from a player who isn’t a DB. Also, it has to be a tackle in the backfield. None of that QB run out of bounds for a loss, bullshit. A real sack.

2) Some TE involvement: The passing game is all WR right now, and that doesn’t work. WR’s help keep S’s out of the box, but it’s a TE who’s a receiving threat, which loosens the box for the RB. No one is asking for a 50 yard bomb to a TE, but TE Noah Togiai’s 6 catches for 35 yards (5.8 ypr) represents the team’s best, through two games. 

3) Kick Return Impact: If someone can break a couple of big returns, they will make this team. This team needs a return threat. Period!

4) Flash from a DE: Even if a DE doesn’t get a sack, something has to pop out there. For both of these games, we’ve been gashed for rushing yardage on the boundaries. If not dominant pass rush, we need to see a DE show real run contain. That means make, or cause a tackle for a loss, on his side of the line.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

This is just a preseason game. Winning doesn’t mean the final score, it means finding the right pieces to help us build our roster. If they’re smart, our guys will compete against each other, and not the Fish.

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Prediction: EAGLES 21 – Dolphins 18

WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.