Week One Game Prediction: Eagles Will Easily Defeat the Rams

It's been a busy preseason for the Philadelphia Eagles who've added some of the highest profile players in the league via free agency and trades. The Eagles landed the highest profile free agent in Nnamdi Asomugha and acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie through a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. 

They also landed several other players such as Ronnie Brown, Vince Young, Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins prompting some people to proclaim the Eagles the “Dream Team” of the NFL for 2011. With all the moves that the Eagles have made this offseason, they have left two gaping holes unanswered that could prove to be costly going into Week 1. 

First and foremost the offensive line has yet to prove itself and based on preseason results, seem to be the biggest question mark for the Eagles because of the importance of protecting MVP candidate quarterback Michael Vick. 

In the second game of the preseason, the Eagles played the Pittsburgh Steelers and were virtually exposed on the offensive side of the ball. Even though the Steelers blitzed very few times the Eagles offensive line still struggled to keep Vick upright. Vick began to panic in the pocket even on plays where the pressure was not imminent and as a result he was intercepted three times.

The other Eagles' concern is at middle linebacker where rookie Casey Mathews will be making his regular season debut as the game day quarterback of the Eagles' defense.  

Starting a rookie at middle linebacker is comparable to starting a rookie at quarterback, he will have his ups and downs. With a rookie you would hope the athleticism of the player will overshadow the inevitable mistakes that will be expected from a first-year player. Casey Mathews has Hall of Fame blood lines, however, he’s still a rookie that will be in charge of play-calling, pre-play line adjustments and run stopping, all of which he has done a below average job of in the preseason. 

This week the Eagles face a St. Louis Rams team that will test both of the Eagles' weakest attributes. Last year the Rams were one of the most frequent blitzing defenses in the league blitzing 17 percent of the time. If the Rams have examined the game film from last year and the line struggles from this preseason, they will surely test Vick and the offensive line early with several overload blitzes.  

Even with the NFL lockout this year Michael Vick made a point to master the blitz read, so this should be a great barometer test for one of the highest powered offenses from last season. 

The Rams will also test the Eagles' interior defense by pounding the ball up the middle with Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson. Jackson is known for being a big, fast, powerful runner and with a rookie in charge of corralling him this could be a long day for the front seven of the Eagles defense.  

On ESPN radio’s “Colin Cowherd Morning Show” NFL analyst Mark Schlereth and Trent Dilfer predicted that the Eagles will fall to the Rams in Week 1 because of their preseason weaknesses. I don’t put a lot of stock into the preseason because the games don’t count and most teams do not reveal their full arsenal during this period. Teams try new offenses and defensive schemes designed to test new players to get an idea of who could make the team better. 

The Eagles will score a lot of points this year and will have the horses to run the ball with LeSean McCoy and bruiser Ronnie Brown. This will add the element of ball control to the Eagles' offense, something that they didn’t have last year. 

The Rams have an average at best defense that will be charged with the task of defending the deep ball with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin back in the fold, and containing the most dangerous quarterback in the game Michael Vick.

Sunday will also mark the debut of new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Except for the preseason, no team has seen a game plan by Castillo and because of this, it will be hard for the Rams to make a solid plan of attack against the Eagles defense. Castillo will be watched closely to see if he is making the right adjustments as the game progresses. 

I predict the Eagles will overpower the Rams and jump on top early causing the Rams to air the ball out more than they would like. By throwing the ball the Rams will be playing to the Eagles' strengths with Asomugha, Cromartie and Samuels lurking around in the secondary. 

The Eagles offense with a variety of weapons will allow for Michael Vick to simply be the ball distributor this game. I look for Brent Celek and DeSean Jackson to have big games this week. The Eagles should win 28 to 10.