Philadelphia Eagles News

Good morning, Eagles fans! The players are off following Thursday night's loss to the Titans in the preseason opener. The team returns to action at the NovaCare Complex bright and early Saturday morning with a 9:15 a.m. practice. In this edition of Morning Roundup presented by Microsoft, we get to recap a game – albeit a preseason affair. Let’s get right to it. 1. Game Recap: Nate Sudfeld injured in 27-10 loss to Tennessee In the first preseason game of the year, quarterback Nate Sudfeld suffered a broken wrist on his left, non-throwing arm late in the second quarter. Head coach Doug Pederson said that Sudfeld will have surgery on Friday, but it is not a season-ending injury. For more takeaways from the game check out the full story here. “Dallas Goedert, who started as Zach Ertz was off for the night, led the Eagles in the huddle and on the field. The second-year tight end caught three balls of the five targeted at him. His first catch resulted in a 24-yard gain and he racked up 50 yards in the first half.” 2. What are the Eagles' options at backup quarterback? Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro listed five scenarios that could play out for the Eagles in terms of handling the quarterback depth chart behind Carson Wentz while Sudfeld is on the mend. Here is one of them: Ride the storm. Go with Wentz and Kessler and Thorson through the remainder of the preseason and give Kessler and Thorson plenty of reps, however many rough patches they may encounter. Kessler has been in the league a few seasons, has won some games, knows his way around the pressure of the regular season. He has elevated his game in the last couple of weeks – Pederson spoke confidently of Kessler in a television broadcast production meeting on Wednesday before the preseason opener – and every rep he takes will help. “It’s just nice to get those first team reps out of the way,” Kessler said. “You know, live game reps. The first play (after Sudfeld’s injury), they brought Cover 0 on me (an all-out blitz) so it was kind of an introduction to playing here, which is nice. It’s something to build off of, something to learn from. I made some good reads and some stuff I could have fixed. That’s kind of just part of it. “I think I’ve played a lot better lately because I’m settling into the offense more. Every day, that’s going to improve. I feel for Nate. I know he’s going to be there for me. I feel like we have a long way to go in this preseason and it’s my job to improve every day.” Another option is Coach Pederson coming out of retirement. No, it's not, but he joked about it in his post-game press conference.3. Pederson's focus remains getting starters ready for season opener Over a dozen projected starters didn't play Thursday night against the Titans. The injury to Sudfeld highlights the tightrope that coaches walk with needing to make sure that players are ready for the season. Coach Pederson said that Sudfeld's injury doesn't change the preparation plans. "We don’t play the Washington Redskins for a few more weeks so the goal is to get ready for that," Pederson said. "But I have to evaluate these guys in the next couple of weeks and see if they need to play in some of these games and make decisions that way. You have to be smart with it and give them enough work. They are getting great work in practice, which has been very pleasing to me and we are going to continue down that path." 4. Marken Michel's touchdown proves to be the Eagles' highlight of the game With the lone touchdown of the game for the Eagles, wide receiver Marken Michel started his preseason off on the right foot with a 75-yard catch-and-run. The University of Massachusetts product was a part of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders before joining the Eagles this Training Camp. The second play of the Eagles' first drive of the second quarter, ultimately ended up being a play Michel will never forget. “It was definitely a big moment. I feel blessed. God has taken me through a lot, and he’s brought me through a lot. He prepared me for this moment. A lot of people would be like ‘yeah, yeah whatever,’ but I literally dreamed about this play. Literally," Michel said. "I dreamed about running a post and catching it and scoring just like that. It happened. God allowed it to happen today. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”5. Dallas Goedert among standout players for Eagles Spadaro was on the field for the game as the sideline reporter for the Eagles Entertainment Broadcast on Thursday night. He offered 14 observations including an outstanding performance from the team's top draft pick in 2018: Tight end Dallas Goedert looked terrific, and that’s not the least bit surprising. He’s been on point all spring and summer. Goedert is just so big and strong and he catches the ball well and when he has it in his hands, well, he’s fantastic. The anticipated 1-2 tight end punch of Zach Ertz and Goedert is going to be a huge part of this offense. "I felt like it was a good day with the little bit I played," Goedert said. "I was just excited to hit somebody else. We weren’t playing the same defense that we have for the last two weeks, so it was fun. We got out there and just kind of did what we could and we’ll get back to it on Saturday." 6. Bobby Walston to be inducted into Eagles Hall of Fame on Fantennial Weekend One of the most versatile players in franchise history, Bobby Walston will be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame on Sunday, Sept. 22 when the Eagles host the Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. The official announcement was made during a special halftime ceremony Thursday evening as part of the Eagles Legends Homecoming Game in which over 90 franchise greats returned to celebrate their time with the Eagles. “As we fondly look back on and celebrate 100 years of history in the National Football League, we found that Bobby’s induction into the Eagles Hall of Fame this year would be very fitting,” said Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles Chairman and CEO. “During the selection process, we really wanted to take a careful look at our history and honor someone who was deserving, but may have been overlooked over the years. Bobby was versatile, an NFL Champion, and one of the most talented pass-catchers of his era. In addition to being part of the 1950’s All-Decade team, Bobby Walston set a powerful example for the generations of players that followed him at his position.”

Philadelphia Eagles News

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