Preseason Preview at Baltimore

These won’t be as elaborate as my regular season previews, but I’ll still talk about the preseason games. I’ll list some players and things to look out for. With all the injuries, some younger guys and backups are going to have the chance to show what they can do, for better or worse.

Draft picks: Obviously, Kevin Kolb is going to get quite a bit of playing time, probably about a whole half. It’ll be his first real game action in his career, and against a team with a deep defense like Baltimore, he might not play so well. Cooler heads should prevail and realize that he’s not a bust yet. Victor Abiamiri will get plenty of time to play, especially if Howard’s groin pull keeps him out of the game. He’ll get a chance to rotate in with the 2’s with McDougle, so he’ll be playing on and off for much of the game. Tony Hunt, C.J. Gaddis and Rashad Barksdale should see a lot of time, especially if Westbrook and Dawkins don’t play.

Second year players: Last year’s draft has potential to be one of Reid’s best, but certain guys need to step up this year. Brodrick Bunkley, Chris Gocong and Jeremy Bloom figure to play pretty big roles in this team’s success, and the rest of the guys provide depth. Winston Justice and Max Jean-Gilles are one snap away from playing, and Avant, Gaither and Ramsey all saw their share of snaps last year. These inexperienced guys all have to be ready because the Eagles are counting on them to help get back to the Super Bowl.

Position battles: Baskett and Avant will be on the field at the same time for much of the game on Monday, but whoever plays better will be the guy on the field when opening week rolls around. They’re battling each other for the slot receiver position. Baskett has more upside, so I expect him to get the job again. The FB job is apparently up for grabs again, which kind of surprises me because Tapeh did a good job last year. On the D-Line, a bunch of guys are battling to get snaps, including the new DTs Ian Scott and Monte Reagor, as well as former draft picks Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley. No spot is secure inside. Two spots at Linebacker aren’t decided yet; Chris Gocong and Jeremiah Trotter currently get the starting nods, but Stewart Bradley and Omar Gaither will be challenging them. Dirk is battling Rocca to be the starting punter.

Guys fighting to make it onto the roster: We have more RBs than we can carry, so guys like Nate Ilaoa and Ryan Moats are playing for their jobs. Greg Lewis leads the large pack of receivers trying to stay on the roster, and there have been a number of impressive young guys catching passes in camp. There’s a bit of a logjam at TE. Fortunately (for the backups, not the Eagles,) LJ Smith is hurt, so there are plenty of snaps available for them to prove themselves. Matt Schobel’s job is probably safe, but with Brent Celek and Lee Vickers, he still has to work hard. Jerome McDougle is probably out of time, but he’s been good in practice so far, and he needs to translate that into games without committing several penalties on every play.

Offensive Line depth: Almost every guy on our second team line could start for several teams in the league, and it’s fun to watch these guys block. With Andrews most likely out, Max Jean-Gilles will get a good chance to prove that he will be a starting lineman in this league. Winston Justice and Nick Cole will get a lot of time at LT and C respectively, and Pat McCoy is another good backup at RT. The running game shouldn’t miss a beat when the backups enter the game.

There are a few things to watch. I’ll breakdown and talk about some of the action on Tuesday after the game.