“He Had People Scared”

Week 1 is now in the books for the Philadelphia Eagles with a 38-35 victory over the Detroit Lions with many takeaways to be had from both the offense and defense.

On the latest episode of “Q&A” on Inside The Birds, former Eagles Jason Avant and Quintin Mikell return to breakdown performances from Week 1 and preview the upcoming Monday Night Football matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

AJ Brown lived up to the hype in his Eagles debut with 10 receptions for 155 yards.

Run Defense

Quintin Mikell: “It’s game one. Tackling is always going to be an issue game one, gap integrity is always going to be an issue game one. I think the gameplan that the Lions came into the game with was very good. They said you know what? (Darius) Slay is really a cover corner, (James) Bradberry is more of a cover corner, let’s force those guys to make one-on-one tackles. If you noticed, really all run plays were trying to hit off tackle and were trying to put those corners in a situation where it’s a one-on-one tackle. Moving forward, you have to have your safeties have the proper gap integrity, but you have to have some corners that are going to come up and make a play…I think the linebacking corps, even though they did much better than they had previously, they need to learn to get off blocks and get to the football a little bit better.”

Marcus Epps

Jason Avant: “I want to give a shout out to Epps. I can count on my hand the number of negative plays he had; I think he had two from my evaluation. But he made some serious plays, the one on the inside of the screen where he beat the linemen and he was like 12 yards away. That’s how you come up to play the game, just multiple good plays I can think of. Overall, I thought he played an incredible game. He had 10 tackles, you don’t want to have 10 tackles all of the time tomorrow, but a lot of them were needed.”

Mikell: “I loved the way he played. When he made that play on the screen and he got fired up, that right there is the embodiment of what it means to play emotional football. It’s almost like after that play, it picked everyone’s game up even further. One play like that can make a huge difference. I had a feeling he would be that type of player. He seems hungry, he seems nasty, he seems like he wants this opportunity to play and he’s going to take advantage of it, so I was happy to see him play successful. I hope that continues for him.”

AJ Brown

Avant: “I was thoroughly impressed by AJ Brown the entire game of just making people move, being a big old guy understanding how to run a slant. He had people scared. He ran a 15 yard out route, but he was moving so fast, when he stuck it, he ended up gaining like 30 yards because they were afraid because he already went by them. Just having that presence just reminded me that we haven’t had a true number one [receiver] in this city in a long time.”

Jalen Hurts

Avant: “The real about Jalen Hurts is that he played a really good game. He did everything that he could in order to advance this team and help them win. They’re not winning this game unless he scampers for 15 yards on a third and 15, unless he picks up a third and five here and there or makes a big play. All of those things change the way they play defense…The thing that has to improve: He has to keep his eyes up and not anticipate the pressure getting home. There were times where they sent a blitz, you have enough blockers for the blitz, but being startled by the blitz caused him to try to bring his eyes down and try to escape when he had an outlet to throw.”

Mikell: “He was taking some shots. I would probably say three or four of his runs were off of designed pass plays. I was impressed with him recognizing the Cover 2 Man coverages and taking off.”

Devonta Smith

Avant: “As a receiver, as a competitor, you want the ball and that’s fine. But also, you have to know what the good of the team is and you have to be able to compartmentalize that…Devonta Smith, I think he’s mature enough to handle it because remember, he came from Alabama. It’s a long laundry list of dudes that were in front of him so he knows how to be number two.”

Minnesota Vikings Week 2 Matchup

Avant: “The Eagles defense has to show a lot better in coverage and also quarterback pressure in order to have a shot this week. That’s the biggest thing. I think the offense will be able to score on the offense. The Vikings give up some points, even though they played well versus the Packers this week. The earnest is on the defense to shut down Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, contain Kirk Cousins and that’s going to happen through pass rush and/or amazing coverage.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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