Twitter Mailbag: Marty, Vick And A Sunday Pick

Every Thursday we select a few of your Twitter questions and provide the long-form answers they deserve. For a chance to have your question published on Birds 24/7, send it to @Tim_McManus.

Let’s start with 97.5 The Fanatic Phillies beat reporter Pat Gallen, who is demonstrating his multitasking skills by both documenting the Phils’ improbable rise from the ashes and submitting Eagles questions for the mailbag at the same time.

From @PatGallen_975:  Eagles need to leave 1 or 2 TE’s in to block more, especially if Maclin is out. Thoughts?

I think the highest priority has to go to making Vick feel secure in the pocket, particularly against a team like Baltimore that can intimidate on reputation alone. Sheil did an awesome job of breaking down the offense (and defense) on the all-22 tape. One thing he showed us is how much the receiving tandem of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can accomplish even when in a 2-on-7 situation. Maclin’s availability is in question (and Jackson sat out Thursday with a sore hammy), but the fact remains that extra route runners can be sacrificed in the name of better protection. They can’t pretend that King Dunlap is Jason Peters.

Brent Celek and Clay Harbor were targeted a total of 14 times against the Browns, and combined for seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

From @AGold_89: What type of adjustments do you foresee Marty and Andy making in the offense to get Vick his confidence back?

As much as you would like to think that there will be more balance to the offensive attack moving forward, Marty Mornhinweg didn’t exactly sound like he was ready to repent and roll with the run because of the struggles against the Browns.

“Just because it didn’t work very well, because of the penalties and turnovers, doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right thing to do,” said Mornhinweg.

Reading between the lines, I think the coaching staff overall was satisfied with the approach philosophically. They feel that the penalties put them in situations where they were forced to call more pass plays, leading to the slanted run-pass ratio. If the offense avoids mistakes there should be more of a running game, the theory goes.

Also, I wrote here about some communication issues Sunday that need to get corrected. If they do, Vick should be all the more comfortable back there.

@Lemur421: Who is the Eagles backup long snapper? Seems relevant after what happened to Raiders last week.

We have it all covered for you here on Birds 24/7. Brent Celek is the backup long snapper. And if you want to know who the backup-backup is, the answer is Jason Kelce. Bobby April said that the reserves get to work on snapping daily at training camp, but for just about a half hour a week in-season.

From @EricHilderbrand: everyone rightly hammered Reid on Jarrett, but he gets no love for taking Coleman in 7th rd? Am I the only Coleman fan?

Fair. And no, I think there are a lot of  Kurt Coleman fans out there, especially after he bounced back from that brutal collision with Trent Richardson. He definitely won Juan Castillo over on that play.

“I went up to Kurt and I told him, ‘Kurt, I respect you so much.’ To get hit like that and the guy doesn’t come out, is unbelievable,” Castillo said. “I just went up to him and said, ‘I respect you so much for the way you handle yourself.’ He says, ‘Juan, I have a daughter to support. I have a family to support.’ You know what, that says a lot.”

From @DiDDy915: eagles or ravens on sunday?

Eagles are favored by about three points in this one, which is counter-intuitive after watching both teams play in Week 1. This is very much an Eagles line, so the smart money is probably on Philadelphia. But I just can’t picture a shaky quarterback with hobbled receivers getting it done against Baltimore’s defense.

Ravens 20, Eagles 16.