Zone Read: Eagles-Colts, the Day After
***
SNAP COUNTS
The offense:
| Total Snaps | Percentage Of Snaps | |
|---|---|---|
| QUARTERBACKS | ||
| Nick Foles | 68 | 100% |
| OFFENSIVE LINE | ||
| Jason Peters | 68 | 100% |
| Dennis Kelly | 68 | 100% |
| Jason Kelce | 68 | 100% |
| Todd Herremans | 68 | 100% |
| Andrew Gardner | 68 | 68% |
| RUNNING BACKS | ||
| LeSean McCoy | 49 | 72% |
| Darren Sproles | 25 | 37% |
| WIDE RECEIVERS | ||
| Riley Cooper | 60 | 88% |
| Jeremy Maclin | 57 | 84% |
| Jordan Matthews | 34 | 50% |
| Jeff Maehl | 7 | 10% |
| Brad Smith | 1 | 1% |
| TIGHT ENDS | ||
| Zach Ertz | 52 | 76% |
| Brent Celek | 46 | 68% |
| James Casey | 9 | 13% |
We’ve discussed Sproles plenty, but I couldn’t believe he played only 25 snaps. He touched the football on 11 of those, or 44 percent of the time.
Ertz, meanwhile, played more snaps than Celek – 52 to 46. I think there will be weeks when the Eagles lean on the run and Celek plays more. But when the Eagles need to move the ball through the air, Ertz has to be on the field.
The defense:
| Total Snaps | Percentage Of Snaps | |
|---|---|---|
DEFENSIVE LINE|
| | |
| Fletcher Cox | 61 | 85% |
| Cedric Thornton | 50 | 69% |
| Bennie Logan | 43 | 60% |
| Vinny Curry | 20 | 28% |
| Beau Allen | 10 | 14% |
| Brandon Bair | 11 | 15% |
| OUTSIDE LBs | ||
| Connor Barwin | 62 | 86% |
| Trent Cole | 59 | 82% |
| Brandon Graham | 23 | 32% |
| INSIDE LBs | ||
| DeMeco Ryans | 72 | 100% |
| Mychal Kendricks | 53 | 74% |
| Casey Matthews | 14 | 19% |
| Emmanuel Acho | 2 | 3% |
| CORNERBACKS | ||
| Cary Williams | 72 | 100% |
| Bradley Fletcher | 70 | 97% |
| Brandon Boykin | 21 | 29% |
| Nolan Carroll II | 5 | 7% |
| SAFETIES | ||
| Malcolm Jenkins | 72 | 100% |
| Nate Allen | 72 | 100% |
No real surprises among the defensive linemen or outside linebackers. Fletcher Cox deserves a shout-out. He forced a Richardson fumble in the third quarter. The offense scored on the ensuing possession to tie the game.
So much for giving DeMeco Ryans more of a breather this year. He’s played all but two snaps through the first two games. Ryans led the Eagles with 10 tackles against Indy. When Mychal Kendricks went down with a calf injury, Casey Matthews backed him up. Emmanuel Acho also got on the field.
When Bradley Fletcher went out briefly, Carroll stepped in. Brandon Boykin only played 21 snaps because of how the Colts were deploying their personnel.
***
GUESSING THE LINE: EAGLES (-6)
The Redskins come to town next week for the Birds’ first game against a divisional opponent.
Washington looked bad in Week 1 against the Texans, but bounced back with a dominant victory against Jacksonville. It’ll be Kurt Cousins under center for Washington.
The Eagles are at home and have looked like the better team. We’ll mark them down as 6-point favorites.