EAGLES NOTEBOOK: Into the Great Unknown for Eagles, Falcons
The Eagles are on the brink of beginning their great season of the unknown.
The same thing could really be said for Sunday’s opponent, the Atlanta Falcons. They, like the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, have a rookie head coach in Arthur Smith.
Sirianni has spent much of August saying that the great unknown is to his team’s advantage.
He didn’t show much on offense or defense. Heck, he hardly played any of his starters on either side of the ball.
Well, that works two ways this weekend.
“I think it's to both of our advantages,” said the Eagles’ head coach. “I'm imagining they thought the same thing that we did. That's pretty common on new staffs.
"So, they haven't shown some things either. We just got to go back and look at tape of any of our time in the past. But, again, not a lot of film on either of us, but (Atlanta defensive coordinator) Dean (Pees) has called some plays, and Coach Pees is a really good defensive coordinator and he’s been a good defensive coordinator for a lot of years.”
Pees is 72. Meanwhile, Smith is just 39.
The Eagles, outside of O-line Jeff Stoutland, 59, and D-line coach Tracy Rocker, 55, are mostly led by a band of 30- and 40-somethings.
ANOTHER CB SIGNING
It is true that the strength of the Eagles this season will be along both the offensive and defensive lines.
It’s also true that one of the most concerning positions on the team is cornerback. Not so much the starters. Darius Slay and Steve Nelson are better than what a lot of NFL teams have.
It’s the depth that is a worry.
After Slay and Nelson, they have Avonte Maddox, who can work outside, but will be used in the slot, rookie Zech McPhearson, and, well, two guys the Eagles signed in the last few days.
On Tuesday, they poached the Denver Broncos’ practice squad for Mac McCain, just days after they signed Andre Chachere.
McCain is an undrafted free agent from North Carolina A&T. He is 6-0, 175 pounds, and started all 29 games for the Aggies over his three seasons with them.
Chachere, who is 6-0, 197, and 25-years-old, was claimed off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts last Thursday. He first entered the league with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent from San Jose State.
SINGLETON NOW A CAPTAIN
It was just a year ago that Alex Singleton had to sweat final cuts.
On Monday, he was one of six players named a team captain for the season, along with Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Rodney McLeod, Jason Kelce, and Jalen Hurts.
Singleton was waived six times, including once by the Eagles, before landing on the Eagles’ 53-man roster heading into last year.
He made it, but his role was going to be just as a special team player if that.
Heck, Singleton didn’t even know if he would have that opportunity or be inactive on game day. Nate Gerry was still around, and the coaching staff was enamored with him.
Alex Singleton
John McMullen/SI.com Eagle Maven
“I didn’t know if I was going to be here Week 1,” said Singleton remembering last summer. “Obviously, I was, and obviously, the role is a little bigger. I know I’ll be playing some defense. It’s something I’m proud of, but yeah, just like it was last year, preparing the same way and excited to finally be in a game week.”
Singleton didn’t crash the lineup full-time until Week 6 when Gerry got hurt, but he had made an impact two weeks earlier with a pick-6 touchdown against the 49ers, one of the Eagles’ four wins all year.
Singleton then had double-digit tackles in six of the final 11 games and ended up leading the team in tackles with 120.
Obviously, Singleton is a captain for the first time, as is Hurts.
This is the fourth time Kelce and Cox have been season captains. It’s three times for Graham and twice now for McLeod.
The captains were selected by their teammates.
“There were some other guys that got votes too, but those were the six that got the most votes,” said head coach Nick Sirianni. “No surprise to me. They've been great leaders since I've gotten here, and they've been great leaders in the past.
“So really excited for them to lead our football team. Again, when we talked about role, one of the main roles they have being voted as captain, that's a big responsibility when your peers vote you as a captain. So excited for the challenge they have ahead and for them to lead our football team.”
PS PROTECTED
The Eagles have opted to protect OL Le'Raven Clark, WR John Hightower, RB Jordan Howard, and S Elijah Riley on their practice squad. They can elevate two of those players prior to Sunday's kickoff.
The best guess here is they will be Hightower and Riley.
MORE: Philadelphia Eagles 2021 Season Preview
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
