On Sunday, I asked offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg if he would be comfortable starting the regular season with two rookiescenter Jason Kelce and guard Danny Watkinsplaying side-by-side.
I asked the question because the Eagles open the season with back-to-back road games in what figure to be very loud domesSt. Louis and Atlantawhich will make it harder for the linemen to communicate. Combine that with the normal jitters that go along with a pro debut and it has the potential to be very ugly.
If theyre the right type of players, Mornhinweg said, then theres absolutely no problem at all.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
After Thursdays preseason test, it is fair to ask if the two rookies are, indeed, the right players. I still believe Kelce and Watkins will be good players and legitimate starters at some point, but are they ready to be that now?
Thats what Mornhinweg and the other coaches have to decide because whats at stake, really, is Michael Vicks health and the quarterbacks health is merely the key to the Eagles season.
Vick took several big hits in the 24-14 win over Cleveland and a few were the direct result of the work-in-progress right side of the lineKelce, Watkins and right tackle King Dunlapbreaking down.
Sometimes it was a communication problem. Other times, the linemen simply got beat. But the end result was the same: Vick was driven into the ground. Each time it happened, the Eagles season teetered on the brink. They cant go on this way, they just cant.
It is easy to see how this could happen. You take two rookies plus Dunlap, who still is a project himself, put them with a new line coach (Howard Mudd) and a new scheme, then you take away mini-camps and limit the practice time at training camp, you cant expect things to go smoothly.
So what we saw Thursday is no surprise. The question is, what do the Eagles do about it?
They have two weeks to get ready for the regular season. Do they stay with the current alignment or do they shuffle the deck? If they stay with these starters, does coach Andy Reid play them in the final preseason gameLord knows, they need the workor does he follow his normal practice and give them the night off?
These are all good questions and, surely, they are front and center as the coaches watch the tape of Thursdays game.
Taking each position individually
Right tackle
It looks like Dunlap will be the guy, at least to start the season. Winston Justice still hasnt practiced and Ryan Harris needs back surgery so Dunlap has the job.
Actually, the King hasnt played badly. He was pretty good in Pittsburgh and except for a mixup on one protection, he was OK Thursday. He did a nice job blocking down on the defensive end to clear a path for Vicks touchdown run. He doesnt fit the Mudd mold of smaller, quicker linemen, but he will have to do for now since the coaches seem reluctant to move Todd Herremans over from left guard, which actually happened on Saturday. (I still think thats the best solution, but thats just me.)
Right guard
The Eagles drafted Watkins in the first round to be a starter and he will be the starter, but he has struggled big time. He was late reporting to camp so he was behind from the start and he has not caught up.
Watkins didnt play well in the first two preseason games, but it wasnt an issue because he wasnt on the field for that many snaps against Baltimore and the whole team stunk in Pittsburgh so he wasnt singled out. Thursday was different. Watkins played a lot and he was beaten badly on several occasions. His rookie-ness was there for all to see.
On the third play from scrimmage, Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor ran past Watkins and ran over Kelce to sack Vick and force a fumble. On the next series, Taylor gave Watkins a quick move and shot past him without being touched. Vick got rid of the ball, but Taylor was right on top of him.
Some people wondered why Taylor dominated Watkins since they were teammates at Baylor and practiced against each other every day. But Taylor has an advantage. He is playing his natural position and Watkins is playing a new position. Watkins was a tackle at Baylor and he is just now learning to play guard. It is a big adjustment.
Driving home from the game, I heard a lot of talk show callers rip Watkins. Several were ready to write him off as a bust and a wasted draft pick. Relax, folks. I firmly believe the rookie will be a good player once he gets his feet on the ground.
Watkins has to learn the basics of playing a new position and he has to adjust to the speed of the game. There is more to think about playing inside. There is more movement on the defensive side. Things happen faster. It can make a young players head spin.
It appears Watkins is still trying to figure things out as the ball is being snapped. As a result, he is slow reacting. In college, his biggest asset was his aggressiveness. He attacked people. He is not attacking people now because he is too busy thinking. He is playing tentatively and he cant be effective playing that way.
Once he gets comfortable, he will be more physical and hell start to look like a first-round draft pick. Trouble is, he has to play to get to that point and how many games like the one Thursday will it take before the light comes on? Can the Eagles live with that growth process? More to the point, can Vick survive it?
Given the fact there is no one behind Watkins ready to step in, they dont have a choice. Mudd just has to somehow shorten the rookies learning curve.
Center
It is clear the coaches want Kelce to win the job. The rookie has ability and you saw on Ronnie Browns touchdown run when Kelce got out in front to block why Mudd likes him. He is the prototype of the mobile lineman Mudd likes.
Kelce will be the Eagles starting center at some point, but should he be the starter now? Jamaal Jackson is a solid veteran who could step in and stabilize the situation. He has always been good at making line calls and recognizing a blitz, all the stuff that has to be done before the ball is snapped.
It is asking a lot of Kelce to put that responsibility on his shoulders now, especially for a team that is gearing up for a championship run. If he cant do it, then it is one more thing Vick has to do and he already has his hands full trying to get his own pre-snap reads.
It seems to me the best thing to do would be to put Jackson back at center. Im sure Vick would be more comfortable and it could only help Watkins to have a been-there, done-that veteran at his left shoulder to lean on.
The Eagles were a good pass protecting team when they had Jackson at center. They havent been a good pass protecting team since he went to the sidelines. I dont think thats a coincidence. The Eagles need to put him back on the field.
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net