Free Nfl Picks Philadelphia at Jacksonville

Philadelphia Eagles at Jacksonville Jaguars

September 26th, 2010 4:05 PM PST

Line: Philadelphia -3

Free NFL Predictions of the week.

Both of these teams are hard to read. The Eagles understandably lost to a fantastic Green Bay team. They beat the Lions, but barely edged out the Lions. Barely only counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and when there is a spread involved. The Jaguars looked great against Denver and then dropped a game against a Charger team who couldn’t handle Kansas City. Inconsistency is frustrating and exciting. With Michael Vick getting the nod over potential future franchise quarterback Kevin Kolb, everything is riding on this game for Vick and head coach Andy Reid.

Keys to the Game

• Michael Vick needs to get moving. Creating time with his feet allows his receivers more time to get open down the field. When one of your receivers has sub 4.4 speed, this means big play potential. Desean Jackson is one of the biggest home run threats in the league and can take any pass to the house. Catching a corner sleeping means trouble for the Jaguars. Michael Vick is going to want to move outside the pocket, so the Jaguars running some sort of defensive end contain defense will limit his ability to bootleg at will. Vick is dangerous when left unaccounted for and the Jaguars certainly will spy him throughout the game.

• Lesean McCoy needs to be watched at all times. It is going to be difficult for the Jags to have their attention on so many people at once, but over compensating for Vick will leave Lesean McCoy with open space and nobody in sight. Vick creates mismatches and Lesean McCoy saw the benefits of it last week. McCoy is shifty and hard to tackle in the open field. He already has four touchdowns on the year; three of them coming last week.

• The Jacksonville linebackers need to be timid. The Eagles are not a four yards in a cloud of dust offense. They are flashy, explosive, and high octane. With an offense like that, it is easy to get frustrated and go into attack mode. The Jaguar linebackers need to stay put and let the plays develop. Pressure will only flush Vick into the open field. Making him drop back and throw the ball makes him less comfortable. The Eagles will put up points this way, but at least the Jaguars won’t end up chasing Vick up and down the field.

• The Jaguars can’t be one dimensional. The Jaguars have Maurice Jones-Drew on offense. That’s pretty much the extent of their play calling in a losing effort. When Garrard plays well, the opposing defense is forced to switch up the game plan. Most of the time, shutting down Jones-Drew means the Jaguars are going to collapse. By getting something going with the pass, maybe the Eagles won’t be so quick to run blitz.

I don’t see the Jaguars having an answer to the new Eagle’s offense. They have the fire power to put up insane numbers. A loss could get out of control quickly if the Jags decide to lie down and take the beating. Home field won’t be a factor here, as they are in Jacksonville. Get ready for the Michael Vick experience, if nothing else it will be fun to watch.

Free NFL Pick: Eagles -3

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