July 31, 2015
Tony Gutierrez/AP
Can Nolan Carroll hold off Eric Rowe for the starting corner spot opposite Byron Maxwell?
Training camp is now only two days away, and although we've discussed the roster at length during the slow time over the last two months, here is a ranking of the seven starting training camp battles.
Malcolm Jenkins will start at one safety spot, and if OTAs and minicamp were any indication, coverted cornerback Walter Thurmond will start opposite Jenkins. Thurmond played well earlier this summer at his new spot, distancing himself from Earl Wolff, who simply cannot stay healthy. For Wolff, it's more of a question at this point whether he'll even make the team, as opposed to becoming a starter.
This isn't much of a battle here, in my view. Potential injuries aside, unless Sam Bradford is absolutely God-awful while Mark Sanchez lights it up, Bradford is going to be the Eagles' starting QB in 2015.
If I'm an opposing defensive coordinator and I see Brent Celek trot onto the field instead of Zach Ertz, that's perfectly fine by me. Ertz is a weapon and a mismatch creator. Want to put an extra DB in the game to cover him? Expect the Eagles to pound the run. Want to try to cover Ertz with a linebacker? Good luck with that. And yet, Celek gets far more playing time because he's a better blocker. Can Ertz improve his blocking enough to unseat Celek as the starter at TE?
In my view, I think it'd be crazy to take Jordan Matthews off the field. The Eagles mostly stay in three wide receiver sets, and in those situations, expect Matthews to resume his role in the slot. However, when they go with two wides, Matthews should stay in and line up on the outside.
I also expect Nelson Agholor to start Week 1, and produce immediately. He just looks like the real deal to me.
So the real battle here is Josh Huff vs Riley Cooper vs Miles Austin. Huff has the most natural ability and explosion of the three, but he needs to refine some of the more nuanced aspects of the position. The Eagles would love to see Huff go out and earn more playing time, but they're not just going to hand it to him. Their opinion of Cooper is clearly far higher than yours is.
Assuming Kiko Alonso has fully recovered from his ACL tear a year ago, he will probably get the most snaps at ILB, and possibly never come off the field. The real battle here is DeMeco Ryans vs Mychal Kendricks, the Eagles ILB starters of a year ago. How will their snaps be divided? Training camp could be a window into that dynamic.
Allen Barbre is essentially a lock to start at LG next to Jason Peters this season, but the RG spot is an unknown at this point. It seemed as though Tobin was the front-runner after the Eagles cut Evan Mathis. But after the Eagles rotated a number of players in at RG with the first team offense during minicamp, I'm not so sure. This spot appears to be wide open. Can one of the above guys step up?
This is my favorite of the training camp battles. Rookie vs vet. The Eagles were all over Rowe during the pre-draft process, and then made an aggressive move to trade up to get him in the second round. Clearly they see a bright future for him. But can he be a starter Year 1? The Eagles would certainly love to see Rowe go out and put his stamp on a starting spot, but they aren't just going to hand it to him. It would also probably be unwise to put a player on the field at perhaps the most unforgiving position on the field who isn't ready.
This battle is all about Rowe. If he can show he's ready to be the man, both physically and mentally, he'll win the job. If not, the Eagles have a fallback in Carroll, who has starting experience.
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