Didinger: Eagles-Cardinals Scouting Report

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Sizing up Sundays game between the Eagles (3-5) and Arizona Cardinals (2-6) at Lincoln Financial Field.

When the Eagles have the ball
The Arizona defense was awful early this season. It was thought perhaps the players were overwhelmed with the new system installed by first-year coordinator Ray Horton. He is a 3-4 coach, who served on the Pittsburgh staff under Dick LeBeau and his playbook was a challenge for the Arizona players. They have been through three different defensive coordinators in five years.

So Horton simplified some things. He reduced the number of blitzes and streamlined the coverages so players didnt have to make as many decisions on the fly. He hoped it might cut down on the mental mistakes. There did seem to be some improvement in last weeks game, a 19-13 win over St. Louis, although the fact it came against a 1-7 team obviously helped.

This is a much tougher matchup for the Cardinals. The Eagles have many more weapons and a lot more speed than the Rams. Early in the season, the Cardinals had problems with Carolinas Cam Newton and Pittsburghs Ben Roethlisberger, quarterbacks who can move around, extend plays and make throws on the run. Mike Vick would be the worst sort of nightmare for a defense like that unless it is dramatically improved.

Rookie Sam Acho, a physical 260-pounder from Texas, has moved ahead of veteran Joey Porter at one linebacker spot. He has three sacks. Ex-Eagle Stewart Bradley is a backup at inside linebacker. He has seen limited action (18 tackles) and doesnt seem to fit the 3-4 scheme.

The front seven was better last week, limiting the Rams to an average of 5.1 yards per snap and allowing no play longer than 26 yards but, again, it was the Rams. Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell are the ends on the three-man line. The 6-8, 300-pound Campbell leads the Cardinals with 4.5 sacks. With his height and long arms, he is always a threat to tip a pass and create a turnover and thats especially true playing against a shorter quarterback such as Vick. Thats assuming the Cardinals can keep Vick in the pocket.

The Arizona defense ranks 28th in the league overall, but it is better against the run (16th) than the pass (29th). Opponents are averaging less than four yards per rushing attempt on the Cardinals and that ranks eighth. But that doesnt mean the Eagles should forget about running the ball this week. They still are the No. 1 rushing team in the NFL, even though they called more than twice as many passes (44) as runs (19) against Chicago.

LeSean McCoy should get a minimum of 20 carries in this game. He is too good a runner not to feature him in the game plan regardless of the opponent. He did, after all, record his career-high 185 yards against Dallas, the No. 1 rush defense in the league at the time.

We keep waiting for DeSean Jackson to have a breakout game. He has just eight catches for 93 yards in the last three games. He has not scored since Week 5 in Buffalo and his last touchdown prior to that was in the opener against the Rams. He has been much too quiet. That could change Sunday because Arizona has allowed 38 pass plays of 20 yards or longer. It sounds made to order for D-Jack to have a big day.

When the Cardinals have the ball
Sunday will be a homecoming for Kevin Kolb. We just dont know if the ex-Eagle will be on the field or on the sideline. A turf toe injury sidelined Kolb last week and he may miss this game as well. Second-year quarterback John Skelton practiced with the first-team offense this week and all signs point to him starting on Sunday.

Skelton started last week against the Rams. On the plus side, he completed 20 of 35 passes for 222 yards. On the minus side, he took two safeties. Still, Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt thought Skelton showed poise and, lets face it, he now has as many wins (one) as Kolb this season and he has made six fewer starts.

Whether it is Kolb or Skelton under center, the Eagles defensive approach will be the same. Neither quarterback is particularly mobile, which means they can be forced into hurried throws. Kolb has eight interceptions and eight touchdown passes, not a good ratio. He has not looked comfortable in the Arizona offense. He ranks 23rd in passing efficiency and he has been sacked 24 times.

The Eagles need to get their pass rush going after a very quiet night against Chicago. The Eagles failed to record a sack on Jay Cutler and the Bears quarterback was able to pick them apart on third down, successfully converting seven of 14 opportunities. The Eagles even resorted to blitzing in some situations, which they had not done most of the year.

The Cardinals offensive line isnt very good. Baltimore sacked Kolb six times. The Rams sacked Skelton three times last Sunday. Tackles Levi Brown and Brandon Keith will have trouble with Trent Cole and Jason Babin who were invisibleexcept for Babins costly penaltyagainst the Bears. Cullen Jenkins has been quiet, too, with seven tackles and no sacks the last three games. He should be more productive working against this Arizona front.

Arizonas biggest threat, obviously, is wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He is 6-3 and 215 pounds with speed and the body control of a circus acrobat. Considering how poorly the Eagles secondary played against Chicagoit could not cover either Roy Williams or Earl Bennett on third downit has to concern defensive coordinator Juan Castillo as he prepares for a true game-breaker like Fitzgerald.

This might be a time to employ the same strategy they used against Dallas and put Nnamdi Asomugha in man coverage on Fitzgerald. Former Cardinal Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie knows Fitzgerald from going against him in practice, but it would be hard to trust DRC with that task after the pitiful performance he put on against the Bears.

Whenever you talk about the Eagles, you have to talk about the run defense, which broke down again Monday night. The Bears gained 164 yards on 34 carries, an average of 4.8 yards a crack. Arizona does not appear capable of doing much damage on the groundBeanie Wells had 20 yards on 10 carries against the Ramsbut against this defense, you never know.

Special teams
The Eagles coverage teams did an excellent job against Chicagos Devin Hester, limiting him to 30 yards on three kickoff returns with a long of 18. Hester had one punt return for 19 yards. Thats as good as you can hope for against the player with the most kick return touchdowns (16) in NFL history.

But the Eagles will have to be just as good Sunday because Arizona rookie Patrick Peterson already has three punt return touchdowns, including a 99-yarder in overtime to win last weeks game against the Rams. The Cardinals also have a pretty good kickoff return man in LaRod Stephens-Howling (24.8 yard average).

Alex Henery was successful on his last six field goal tries, including a 47-yarder that just cleared the bar Monday night. Arizona kicker Jay Feely is not having a good season with three misses on 11 field goal attempts.

At this point, we can say rookie Chas Henry punts the ball better than he throws it, but thats not saying much. His 35.0 yard net average ranks 30th in the league and his dying-quail pass attempt, which fell incomplete Monday, was instant blooper reel material.

Intangibles
Fans will get a chance to discuss which team got the better of the Kolb for DRC trade. Given their production so far, it will be a short discussion. You could call it a wash, although washout might be more accurate. The Eagles will get Arizonas second-round pick in next years draft and with the way the Cardinals are playing that should be a high pick.

Prediction
When a team has lost six of its last seven games at home as the Eagles have, there is no such thing as home-field advantage so we wont even factor in the Linc, the fans and all that stuff.

There is, however, a clear pattern that favors the Eagles. They dont beat good teamsthey are 0-5 against opponents that currently have a winning recordbut they do beat bad teams. Their three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 8-16.

This just in: the Cardinals are a bad team.

Eagles 31, Cardinals 10

E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net.

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