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THE opener didn’t go quite as well as we were hoping. We wanted to see the Offense differentiate itself from the Kevin Patullo era, and unless you are a student of the game, you didn’t really see that.

If you are a student of the game, seeing the QB not in Shotgun all the time was awesome. The motion that caused the opposing defense to shift around, almost felt like watching some other team. I can’t wait to see the starters using this.

That said, I expect that some of these back-ups are going to distance themselves from others this week.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner. It’s to discuss which tactics will give our Eagles the best chance to defeat this week’s opponent. Except in preseason. Winning would be nice, but these games aren’t for that. They’re for helping us establish depth, and to perhaps uncover a gem or two.

So here’s what I’ll be keeping an eye on, in this match-up:

1) Better Routes: I get that we were running “vanilla” packages, but some of our route concepts made it difficult to push the ball downfield, without pushing it into crowded areas. (This is an inherent problem with bunching receivers.)

If Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion is insistent on WR bunches or clusters, he’s got to figure out a way to get them quickly out of each other’s area. Clumps of receivers attract clumps of defenders, and we saw how that worked out last week.

2) Ty Up the End: I said when he was drafted that DT Ty Robinson would likely be more effective at DE. Last year at DT he struggled with moving the line of scrimmage. At 288 pounds, his DT strength isn’t as impressive in the NFL as it was in college.

At DE however, he shows monster potential. His strength on the edge, combined with his movement in space, would make him into a nasty, strong-side run defender. Last week he played mostly RDE, but we really need to see him get more snaps at LDE.

3) Make Special Teams Special: We haven’t had a dangerous return man, since before Darren Sproles tore his MCL. While it’s true that WR Britain Covey has averaged good numbers per return, let’s not pretend that he’s a threat to break one.

No one is afraid of Covey. In fact, with some of the hits he takes, I spend more time being afraid for him. I’d like to see somebody step up and play returner like it’s their only way onto an NFL roster.

4) Big Plays and Big Mistakes: Some of the guys playing tonight won’t be in football in about three weeks. I want to see guys gambling and taking chances on themselves. Just playing with abandon, as opposed to playing tight. I want to come out of this game cheering for a long-shot.

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As I said last week, it’s been a while since I just sort of sat back, and watched a game as a fan. I’m going to mostly focus on that during the preseason. I’ll be ready to go in time for the season, but for right now, especially with no starters to watch, I’m going to keep the pressure on myself, low, and not sweat deadlines too much.

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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, then you are a fool 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.