Game 2 Preview - 2007

washington redskins at philadelphia eagles

a horrible, horrible loss last week against a talented but unbalanced packers team got the started on a sour note. blech. despite the loss, there were some positive signs -- especially on defense -- so let's hope andy hasn't lost his touch at avoiding back-to-back losses and the birds come out fired up and focused for this game.

footballoutsiders.com
- eagles come into the game ranked at 2nd in DAVE (factors in preseason projections) and 17th in VOA (too early in the season for defense adjusted rankings) -- 22nd on offense, 5th on defense, and a predictable 30th on special teams
- redskins come in ranked 8th in DAVE and 13th in VOA -- 13th on offense, 18th on defense, and 12th on special teams

Eagles fans never thought they'd miss Reno Mahe, the no-frills return man who clung to their roster for several years despite his lack of razzle and complete absence of dazzle. After the Eagles handed the Packers 10 points on two muffed punts, the Philly Phaithful are actually clamoring for the return of Mahe. Or Brian Mitchell. Or Via Sikahema. Or Wally Henry.

Both the Redskins and Eagles played sloppy 16-13 games last week; the Eagles lost in Green Bay, but the Redskins won in overtime. The Redskins' win came at a heavy price: right tackle Jon Jansen, one of the team's best players, is out for the year with an ankle injury.

"It takes away a little bit from the win," right guard Randy Thomas said after the game. "I'm down about that. That's a blow, man. That's a rock."

With Jansen out, veteran Todd Wade will get the start. Wade was on the inactive list last week with a shoulder injury he claims will be a non-issue against the Eagles. "It's manageable. There's harnesses and things like that I'll wear, but I feel good about it," Wade told the Washington Post. "It's nothing I'm worried about."

Jason Campbell is the one who should be worried. The one thing the Eagles did especially well in Green Bay was pressure the quarterback. The Redskins won't put many points on the board, and the Eagles offense should be more in sync after a poor effort in the opener. That seven-point opening line may be scary, but the Eagles are much better than they looked on Sunday, while the Redskins looked just about right. Lay the points, take the Eagles and hide your head under a blanket every time the Redskins punt.

les bowen

THE 6 1/2-POINT spread here might be a lot for an Eagles offense that didn't establish much of anything in its opener. What the heck, though, I think the Birds are going to step up tonight, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. (Homerish? Well, I was the only Daily News writer to take the Packers last week.) And I don't think last week's strong defensive showing was a fluke - I really think this is a talented if inexperienced unit. Yeah, this would be easier if Lito Sheppard was playing, but the big thing is going to be stopping the run, and that isn't Sheppard's job.

Prediction

Eagles 20, Redskins 12

paul domowitch

Quarterback
Pick: Eagles

Running back
Pick: Even

Receiver
Pick: Redskins

Offensive line
Pick: Eagles

Defensive line
Pick: Eagles

Linebacker
Pick: Redskins

Secondary
Pick: Redskins

Special Teams
Pick: Even

Domo’s prediction: Eagles 20, Redskins 17

espn scouts inc

These teams enter this game with opposite mindsets. Philadelphia was shocked in its last-second loss at Green Bay while Washington was ecstatic to escape with an overtime home win over Miami. Neither offense looked very good, both quarterbacks seemed rusty and there was an alarming lack of big plays and explosiveness. Both defenses should play well in this game and there will be a lot of pressure on the respective offenses to be productive in blitz pickup and getting the ball to their hot receivers when they see the pressure coming, which will happen a lot from both of these defenses. Both running games should balance each other out. Washington gets it done with two backs, Portis and Betts, while the Eagles must get a big day from Westbrook. Philadelphia cannot afford to start 0-2 and it will play a lot better than it did in Week 1. The Eagles must fix their special teams problems because they cannot afford to give up big plays and field position in the kicking game. This game will be close and physical, but the differences will be McNabb playing a cleaner game than Jason Campbell.

Prediction: Eagles 24, Redskins 20

madden 08

Donovan McNabb's performance last week in Green Bay caused many to question the health of his surgically repaired right ACL. He quieted those concerns in the Eagles' 25-19 win over the Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. McNabb threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, his first a 3-yard touchdown to wide receiver Reggie Brown. After Washington scored on a field goal by Shaun Suisham, McNabb connected with Brown again for another touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

The Redskins defense grew stingy in the second quarter and enabled their offense to inflict some damage. Scoring on four straight possessions, including a touchdown pass from Jason Campbell to Santana Moss and a 50-yard Suisham field goal, the Redskins built a 19-14 halftime lead. McNabb and Westbrook took over in the second half. With the Eagles pinned deep in their own territory, Westbrook compiled 37 total yards to set up a 58-yard touchdown pass from McNabb to Kevin Curtis. Westbrook ran in a two-point conversion, David Akers knocked in late a field goal, and the Eagle defense stifled any hopes for a Washington comeback.

Prediction: Eagles 25 - Redskins 19

accuscore

The Eagles made an inexcusable error not having a reliable return specialist. Donovan McNabb will look to take the game out of the hands of the special teams and into his own capable hands. He is forecasted for 260+ yards and his TD to INT ratio is nearly 3 to 1. The Redskins Jason Cambell is forecasted for a passer rating of just 72, but he does scramble for key first downs and is averaging over 20 yds rushing to help get those first downs.

Philly RB Brian Westbrook and Clinton Portis are running for virtually identical rushing totals. Both are averaging 18 carries, 86 yards and .5 rushing touchdowns per sim. Westbrook has the fantasy edge thanks to his game high 4.5 receptions leading to 44 more yards.

Philadelphia is heavily favored having a 68% chance of winning and a nearly 40% chance of getting a double digit win.

Prediction: Eagles 23.8 - Redskins 17.7

what i think
i came into the season thinking the eagles would lose one of their first two games (i ran through every game of the season for the 4 nfc east teams when making my season predictions), but figured the birds to win the opener and lose to the redskins. while the birds have been bad in the opener under big red, i certainly was surprised to see how sloppy they looked and how poor the special teams were. unfortunately, the loss last week makes winning this week pretty important. it's not a "must win", but it sure is a game they damn well better win.

redskins o vs. eagles d
the redskins appear to have gone back to joe gibbs football, meaning power running game with play action deep passing and what i find to be the most entertaining kind of football. last season, the redskins ate the eagles d-tackles alive and basically pushed them wherever they wanted. i expect things to be a little different this year. having bunkley playing the nose instead of patterson, who is back playing 3-technique, means the middle should be at least a little stouter than last year. this will be the most important on-field matchup in this game -- the redskins o-line against the eagles d-tackles.

the second most important matchup will be gocong against cooley. the eagles have not been able to stop a decent tight end since emmons left in free agency. this will be gocong's first chance to line up against a top flight TE. for years now, the eagles haven't been able to stop the reverse action naked bootleg play where the TE drags across the field. let's see if that changes this game.
a game like this is where jim johnson has to earn his money. he has to control and befuddle first year starter jason campbell and be able to get consistent pressure on him. lito being out is a concern, but if this is probably the best opponent for him to miss a game.

eagles o vs. redskins d
the redskins d has an incredibly talented secondary (only nickel back smoot wasn't a high first round pick) and a very good to great d-coordinator. however, big red has shown that he can successfully attack and scheme for williams. some d-coordinators (e.g. john fox, belichick, lebeau) seem to have big red's number, but gregg williams isn't one of them.

mcnabb has historically played well against redskins, though i don't think that is necesarily relevant because many of those plays don made with his feet and he's not the same player anymore/yet.

the redskins under williams have generally been a very blitz happy team (even more than the eagles under JJ) and i don't expect that to change. with mcnabb's mobility limited, the o-line must play well. i'm hoping the eagles come out and make this a smash mouth game. draw taylor and landry close to the LOS and then throw over the top. probably won't happen, but one can hope.

bottom line
i'm expecting the skins to be the eagles biggest challenger this season, so this is an important matchup. it should be a tough, physical game. the eagles are the more desperate team coming into this game, and should be fired up playing in front of the home crowd. the teams are similar in terms of talent with the only real difference being at QB. limited mcnabb should still better than jason campbell. expect him to be a lot sharper than he was against the packers and expect him to get better protection as well.

prediction
eagles 20 - redskins 13