On the road again…the Eagles are in Tampa to take on the Buccaneers in a 2-1 battle of teams and the game has many interesting angles to consider: Tampa Bay ended the Eagles’ 2023 season…both teams must overcome significant obstacles. injuries…the quarterbacks both played at Oklahoma (OK, no one really cares) and, finally, the Bucs’ defensive strength is something the Eagles have addressed and improved against in many ways during the offseason.
That’s an important spot for an Eagles team that would like to get to 3-1 and get through the bye week on a high, heal up and come back strong for the second half of the regular season. On that note, some intrigue…
- Tampa Bay is all about defense under pressure. How do the Eagles handle this?
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles is one of the best in the business at creating pressure, timing his blitzes and keeping attacks out of sync. The Eagles know this all too well and that’s why they feel they are in a prepared situation with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and quarterback Jalen Hurts on the same page and Hurts performing well against the blitz this season. season.
Still, Moore knows Bowles will show off looks Sunday at Raymond James Stadium he’s never shown before.
“Todd will always have his different flavors. He’s going to play against us, there might be some stuff that builds on that, and there might be some new components that he pulls out and tries to stress you out in different ways. manners because he knows you’ll expect it,” Moore said. “He’s doing a great job. When I was elsewhere we played him a few times and every game seems to have a different flavor. It’s not necessarily whether he won or lost, it will be a different flavor and a different challenge every week. We have to do a good job of having our answers and understanding our tools and the adjustments we may or may not need to make.
Let the chess match begin.
- Injuries are a factor for both teams
Boy, are they ever. Tampa Bay won’t have standout safety Antoine Winfield Jr. or defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and they have other key players dealing with injuries. The Eagles, of course, are without wide receiver DeVonta Smith and wide receiver AJ Brown (hamstring) and right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion) are questionable.
Philadelphia last week showed off its depth along the offensive line when Johnson and Mekhi Becton were injured in the win over New Orleans and Fred Johnson and Tyler Steen stepped in and played very, very well. Parris Campbell and Jahan Dotson played a lot at wide receiver and contributed to the victory. Kelee Ringo replaced Darius Slay at cornerback and did a good job.
It will be pretty much the same this week. Depth is essential. The Eagles need to create some offense without Smith and potentially Brown, who hasn’t played since the first game in Brazil. What is Moore doing here? This is another big challenge for a master strategist in offensive thinking.
