Pittsburgh was a complete dud for the Eagles starters. And Thursday night is their only chance to redeem themselves.
The Eagles starters were outgained 262-71 and outscored 14-0 by the Steelers last Thursday in Pittsburgh, and unless head coach Andy Reid strays from convention and lets his regulars play in the preseason finale, the Eagles Thursday night home game against the Browns will be their final tuneup for the regular season.
Reid has said his starting offense and defense will play about three quarters Thursday, or more than the starters played combined in the first two preseason games. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles finish the preseason a week from Thursday against the Jets at the Meadowlands.
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Its going to be a great opportunity for us, linebacker Moise Fokou said. The first game (against the Ravens), youre just in there for a second and barely get warmed up and get a feel for the game. The second game, that was just a bad team effort. This third game is going to be a real good audition to see where were at as a team, as starters, and were looking forward to it.
We need to go out there and perform. This is a dress rehearsal to see where were at as a football team, and weve got to go out there and act like it is a real game and put our best foot forward. Theres a lot at stake, especially being an almost completely different and new team than last year. We have to go out there and try to jell together and be Eagles football. Its going to be interesting and fun, and were looking forward to it.
Nobody is looking for redemption Thursday evening more than Michael Vick, who threw 12 passes against the Steelers, completed five of them to Eagles and had three intercepted by Steelers.
Im just looking forward to getting back out on the field, playing, 110 percent effort and just doing what I love to do, and thats playing football and playing smart football and having a good time playing the game, Vick said.
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I know why I made the mistakes that I made and how I can correct them, and Im just going to go out this weekend and try to put on a great performance. As long as Im out there, even though its preseason, its still a game.
Hard to believe that this team gathered for the first time at Lehigh just four weeks ago, opening day is just 17 days away, and Thursday night will likely be the last time we see Vick, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Trent Cole, Asante Samuel and the rest of the starters in uniform before Sept. 11 in St. Louis.
That reality has created a sense of urgency around the Eagles this past week.
Honestly, I wish we could have that off-season time back now, Vick said. But I think that we have a lot of smart guys on our team and we just have to cram a lot in. But I honestly know, if we would have had OTAs and minicamps we would have been way ahead of schedule as far as what were doing. But as of right now I like where were at. We can build from where we are now, and I think a lot of good things will happen.
With a new defensive coaching staff, new schemes on both lines, and the possibility of as many as 13 new starters from last year, the Eagles missed the off-season practices more than most other NFL teams.
Theres a real sense that the first month of the season could be quite sloppy. But a quality three quarters Thursday night by the starters will go a long way toward easing the fears of players and coachesand fansthat this team just cant be ready in time for the opener.
All 32 teams have been short-changed on time, Fokou said. Honestly, its going to be interesting to see how the season goes, and how long it takes until youre going to see pretty good football.
Weve changed more than most teams, but thats something were going to have to take care of at practice, take care of internally. Theres a lot of new faces, but its part of the business. We have to be ready.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com.