Preview: Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles (Preseason)

Tonight the Carolina Panthers will play the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, PA at eight. 

In the Panthers' first preseason game against the Colts, their starters dominated.  All doubts aside, whether you like it or not, they did. 

Defensive end Julius Peppers awakened from his season-longer slumber of 2007, putting consistent pressure on Colts quarterback Jim Sorgi and completely overmatching left tackle Tony Ugoh. 

The new, rebuilt offensive line looked amazing.  It created huge holes for running back DeAngelo Williams to run through (Jonathan Stewart didn't play because of a minor toe injury).  With the O-Line's help, Williams ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. 

Starting quarterback Jake Delhomme didn't get many chances to throw the ball—his lone pass was an incompletion—but his elbow held up fine. 

Rookie linebacker Dan Connor had a successful NFL debut, amassing six tackles, a figure that led the team. 

At the end of the night, the Panthers won 23-20 in overtime on a John Kasay field goal.  Carolina won the game on their third try—a botched snap and a missed field goal marred their first two chances at the win. 

But let's concentrate on the game at hand now. 

The Panthers held Indianapolis running back Joseph Addai to zero yards on four carries.  It will be interesting to see if they can contain Eagles back Brian Westbrook that well.  As good as the Panthers' defense appears to be this season, Westbrook is a top-three back in the NFL—Addai isn't.  But the Panthers will be able to play the run more because the Eagles only have one passable receiver—Kevin Curtis.

In 2007 Curtis recorded 77 catches for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns.  Philly's next best receiver, Reggie Brown, had 61 receptions for 780 yards and four scores.

But not only is Westbrook better than Addai, he has a much bigger offensive line to run behind.  The Eagles only have one offensive lineman weighing under 330 pounds—left guard Todd Herremans at 321 pounds.  The Colts only have one offensive lineman over 301 pounds—left tackle Ryan Diem at 320 pounds.  The question is whether Peppers can be the same force he was against the Colts.  If he does, it just might free up the rest of the defensive line.  But no matter what Peppers does, he may not be able to help the other three D-linemen—they don't match up well with Philly's brick wall of an offensive line.    

The Eagles defense has improved this offseason, if only marginally, with the addition of cornerback Asante Samuel.

But even so, the Panthers offensive line will face a challenge this week they didn't have to deal with last week: two skilled defensive linemen.

Eagles right DE Trent Cole registered 70 tackles, 12.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles last season.  Left defensive tackle Mike Patterson totaled 67 tackles and four sacks last year.  While the Trent Cole-Jordan Gross matchup is even, Patterson could challenge the chemistry of center Ryan Kalil and right guard Keydrick Vincent.  Or he could present a formidable stopper to either of them man-to-man.  In any event, Patterson could cause some chaos in the Carolina backfield.

However, if the offensive line can create some running room for Williams—or Stewart, if he plays—he will eat up a lot of yardage.  Philly's linebackers are inexperienced and have proved little.  Outside linebackers Chris Gocong and Omar Gaither only have 168 tackles and one sack, forced fumble, and interception between them in four seasons in the NFL combined.  Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley is only coming into his second year in the pros, and he only had 18 tackles, a sack, and an interception in 16 games (and one start) last year.  The Panthers should attack the linebackers' area of the field with short passes. 

The Eagles secondary isn't anything special either.  The only standout is CB Asante Samuel, who compiled 44 tackles and six interceptions in 16 games (and 14 starts) last year.  Aside from him, no one has more than 74 tackles (S Quintin Mikell) or three interceptions (CB Sheldon Brown). 

The Eagles' offense has the potential to put up 25 points per game—if only because of Brian Westbrook—and their defense is namely three standouts.  Other than that, the Eagles look pretty average.  I think that this game will turn out much better than the 27-10 demolition the Eagles dealt the Panthers this time last year. 

*Good news: MLB Jon Beason, after sitting out last week's game with an ankle injury, will play tonight.       

*However, nine injured players didn't go to Philadelphia: receiver Dwayne Jarrett (bruised leg), receiver Steve Smith (concussion), cornerback Ken Lucas (broken nose), receiver DJ Hackett (toe), cornerback Chris Gamble (hamstring), tight end Gary Barnidge (gluteal strain), defensive tackle Ian Scott (knee), and receiver Ryne Robinson.