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Eagles @ Redskins

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Until fairly recently, it wasn't clear who would start the opener at quarterback for the Washington Redskins or the Philadelphia Eagles.

 

While Michael Vick had to win the job in the preseason, Robert Griffin III wasn't given a chance to take the field but will finally be back under center Monday night when his Redskins try to spoil Chip Kelly's debut as Eagles coach.

 

Even though Dr. James Andrews cleared Griffin last week, coach Mike Shanahan did not officially say he would start Week 1 until Monday. Shanahan and Griffin butted heads a bit during training camp, with the quarterback wanting to see more practice time and action in games while the coach used a cautious approach.

 

"You're always trying to take a look at what's in the best interest of your football team, obviously the health of your football team as well," Shanahan said. "But if we didn't feel like Robert was full-go, and he was ready to play and do all the things that you ask a guy to do, he would not be playing in this game.

 

"We believe he can do everything that a quarterback is asked to do."

 

That's plenty more than just being a pocket passer when it comes to Griffin, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw for 20 TDs, compared to five interceptions, and 3,200 yards while finishing as the league's third-highest rated passer with a rookie-record 102.4 mark.

 

Griffin now takes his first snap in an NFL game since re-injuring his right knee in a playoff loss to Seattle, having undergone reconstructive surgery which left his status for the opener in doubt all offseason.

 

Some teammates are saying he is now practicing as if the knee is no issue whatsoever.

 

"Robert is back. He's back to being himself," linebacker Brian Orakpo said.

 

Eagles fans hope Vick can get back to being the kind of player who so often dominated in 2010, leading a run to the playoffs, instead of the turnover-prone and injury-plagued one from the past two years.

 

It is Kelly's job to help make that happen, having named Vick the starter over second-year player Nick Foles to run the high-energy offensive style he brings from Oregon. With Kelly having stressed the ground game despite his fast-paced style running the Ducks, Vick has been encouraged to run more despite injury woes which sometimes came from reckless scrambling.

 

"I'm going to have the opportunity to do what I want to do in this offense and run the football," the 33-year-old Vick said. "And yes, I will be a threat. I think you've got to take on a certain mindset that you're going to play the game all-out."

 

Vick had more turnovers (15) than total touchdowns (13) last year and had only one rushing TD for the second straight season after having nine in 2010.

 

Kelly has been pleased with his progress in the preseason, during which he was 20 of 28 for 333 yards and four touchdowns to go with 73 yards rushing.

 

"The biggest thing with Mike that you saw was just his growth and improvement. He just kept learning the system," Kelly told the team's official website. "... His willingness to learn, his passion for the game of football was evidenced since the first day we saw him."

 

While Vick may target deep threat DeSean Jackson even more after fellow starting receiver Jeremy Maclin was lost for the season, LeSean McCoy should get plenty of touches after being limited to 200 carries in 12 games under coach Andy Reid last year while totaling five touchdowns.

 

Alfred Morris nearly doubled McCoy's rushing output (1,613 yards to 840), providing a potent 1-2 punch of rookies for the Redskins offense. The former sixth-round pick set a single-season franchise record and finished second in the NFL to Adrian Peterson, helping Washington finish 10-6 and win its first NFC East title since 1999.

 

While the Redskins won their final seven regular-season games, the Eagles dropped 11 of 12 to finish 4-12 for their worst record in 14 years.

 

Philadelphia lost both meetings with the Redskins, though Foles started both. Vick has won his last three games against them, throwing for 905 yards and eight touchdowns.

 

Griffin completed 30 of 39 passes for 398 yards and six TDs in last season's sweep, and he rushed for 84 yards in a 31-6 win when the Eagles visited FedEx Field.

 

That was the only time the Redskins didn't allow at least 16 points last season as the defense ranked 28th, though they're hoping to improve with Orakpo - a two-time Pro Bowler - back after missing 14 games last season with a torn pectoral.

 

Only Tennessee and New Orleans gave up more points than Philadelphia, which is switching to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Billy Davis. The secondary will surely be tested by Griffin, with newcomers Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher taking over at cornerback for former Pro Bowlers Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

 

"RG3 is a great player," Williams said. "We understand he's going to bring his A game. So are we. We're going to find out what those guys are about."

 

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC

 

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:Eagles: 21

:Redskins: 34

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I feel like this will be a fun game to watch, but the Redskins have a better defense and that will, ultimately, give them the win.

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Based on what we've see so far, I can't see the Eagles defense holding anyone to 10 points.

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I am overly excited about this game. I think this game has two potential scenarios. The Redskins blow us out or we win by a close margin. I think it's very important to run the ball a lot tonight and that our offensive line do great in pass protection. We had bad o-line play last year but the Redskins had success with playing press man with our receivers on the outside with a safety over top and sending the pressure with stunt blitzes. If our pass protection can give Vick some time, we could have some success. If their defense does approach us in that fashion, hopefully we can do some damage in the screen game and HB draws. One reason why I'm excited about Kelly is that I believe he will make the needed adjustments and play situational football. I believe the big key for our defense is to try and stop Alfred Morris. I expect to see a great deal of him in this game. Also not to mention RG3 who is still a definite threat until proven otherwise. But I think Alfred Morris having success will definitely open up the passing game and it will hurt us. We definitely need to apply pressure to RG3 or he will tear us apart. I'm a little hype and riding the optimism train right now but I'm riding with my Eagles until my eyes show me otherwise.

 

:Eagles: 27

 

:Redskins: 24

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Actually taking Philly in this one.

 

:Eagles: 28

:Redskins: 24

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Based on what we've see so far, I can't see the Eagles defense holding anyone to 10 points.

 

There's no accounting for wishful thinking...

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1238173_10151845145794171_1153453056_n.j

 

So siked about this game!! :rock: It has the potential to be a shootout and have high fly offense(s).

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It's like the original hybrid quarterback versus the finished product.

 

:Eagles: 31

:Redskins: 21

 

(this is me being hopeful, I think the 'skins win)

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Eagles declared DE Vinny Curry, QB Matt Barkley, TE Emil Igwenagu, OT Dennis Kelly, OG Matt Tobin and CB Shaun Prater inactive for Week 1 against the Redskins.

Curry's deactivation comes after he spent much of camp with the second- and third-team defenses. Barkley could be inactive all 16 games this season depending on the health of Michael Vick.

 

 

Redskins declared SS Brandon Meriweather, RB Evan Royster, QB Pat White, QB Rex Grossman, G/C Josh LeRibeus, S Jose Gumbs and NT Chris Neild inactive for Week 1 against the Eagles.

Reed Doughty will start at strong safety after Meriweather tweaked his groin in last Monday's practice. Royster's deactivation leaves open a slot for rookie RB Chris Thompson, who's expected to see time on punt returns. With White and Grossman both inactive, the Redskins have just Kirk Cousins behind Robert Griffin III.

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I hate the entire NFC East but Redskins most because their fans are just so deluded and annoying. (I live in Redskins' country.) Seeing them struggle (again) will be satisfying, especially with the people who thought RG3 was Jesus or something last year.

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We won't be doing this every week (it's certainly helped that RG3 is not himself), but what an introduction by Chip Kelly. It truly is the beginning of a new era.

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Very impressed with the Eagles. Redskins seem to finally be getting into a little groove right here, but it's probably going to be too late.

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The score says otherwise, but that was an ass-whupping.

 

And now, hopefully people will shut the fuck up about RG3. The way people talk, we have no choice but expect him to die at 33 and ascend into Heaven.

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I was so hype about this game and it definitely delivered. Our first half was simply amazing. I loved how sharp we looked on the first drive. Even more so that on the first drive that Chip Kelly went for it on 4th and 1. I love the aggressive tone and that's when Chip Kelly made his first statement in his coaching attitude. However, we had a ill called turnover a few yards from the endzone. The fumble call was definitely a bad one in my opinion.

 

https://twitter.com/WorldofIsaac/status/377209134082314241/photo/1

 

That clearly looks like a forward pass to me. But, these things happen in this game and it's nothing we can do about it. I love how we responded on the Redskins next possession with Trent Coles fumble forced who was extremely active tonight. We scored immediately after that with nice pass Vick to Desean Jackson. I loved the fast tempo of our offense throughout the first half. Vick made some good plays (decisions) , Desean Jackson was getting a lot of looks moving the chains and Lesean Mccoy simply was unstoppable. He had over 100 yards before halftime; straight beast. Our offense really stepped up and scored 14 points off both of our turnovers.

 

Our defense was amazing for 3 quarters. Mychal Kendricks was all over the place and had a great game recording 10 tackles. He also got a few hits on RG3 and punished him in one particular collision (see my sig). There has been a lot of speculation about Trent Cole after his lackluster season last year and his absence in the preseason. He showed everyone up tonight and had a great game. His first forced fumble was a momentum changer and he was disruptive in the backfield all night. Boykin made a good impact with getting a pick and defended 3 passes. However, Cary Williams gets the slight nudge for defensive MVP getting an amazing interception, a sack on RG3 and a clutch defended pass on 4th and 15 in the 4th quarter; crunch time. Oh yeah, and Fletcher Cox. This kid is such a talent. He only had 3 tackles and a sack but he was constantly pushing the pocket creating plays for other defenders.

 

Our offensive line shined at times (especially Evan Mathis; so underrated) of the game but definitely needs some work because we had several pass protection breakdowns where defenders came free and got to Vick. That's unacceptable and needs to be cleaned up. Our special Teams was simply awesome. Great coverage defending returns and Donnie Jones was phenomenal. He punted 4 balls inside the 20; 3 inside the 10.

 

In the 2nd half outside of Mccoys amazing 34 yard TD run, our offense slowed down. I definitely noticed in the 4th that Mccoy was gassed which somewhat had me concerned about sustaining this tempo all season and the affect on our players. RG3 definitely appeared rusty which is natural because he hasn't played in preseason and hasn't been in real game time speed for a while. He did began to make some plays later in the game. Our defense didn't allow any points for 44 minutes which is awesome. Even more surprising is that we shut down the Redskins rushing attack. Alfred Morris didn't appear to be as effective not running the read option. When RG3 began making plays, I'm not sure if it was because our defense was playing to conservative in the prevent defense or if RG3 was simply getting hot. Either way, our offense was stalling and our defense was giving way for a comeback.

 

Overall, it was still an exciting game. I definitely saw some things that were good and other things that need improvement. It just feels good coming out of that game with a win and no significant injuries. I look forward to seeing how our team responds game in and game out.

Edited by dutchff7
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