Ain’t The Aint’s

The Philadelphia Eagles have a tough task ahead of them on Sunday, taking on a surging New Orleans Saints offense.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher previewed the Week 3 matchup.

GETTY IMAGES: QB Derek Carr and the Saints offense have scored 40+ points in each of their first two games of the season.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Adam Caplan: “[Friday] is a big day for him because if he doesn’t play, it’s a position that they have no depth in at all…if Gardner-Johnson can’t play are they really going to start Tristin McCollum?”

Geoff Mosher: “If you’re not even playing (Cooper) DeJean at nickel because he is just the backup and only dime corner, then you’re not going to be playing him full time at nickel and moving Avonte Maddox to safety.”

Jalen Hurts

Mosher: “If you’re Dennis Allen and you know you like to play a lot of man [coverage] and bring a lot of pressure, you might be watching the tape saying you are going to be a little more selective on how you blitz that guy, because he’s doing well against that but if his front four can pressure him off his spot, they win.”

Caplan: “Hurts breaks himself down. That ruins the progression. When the first read is to (Dallas) Goedert and he moves to the right, the play is over.”

Saquon Barkley

Mosher: “I don’t think this is going to be a big Saquon Barkley game the way the first two games have been. Just from watching the Saints defensive front, they’re not a big splashy name front, but they’re getting the job done.”

Caplan: “The backs have to catch the football in this game. You’re playing in that dome, sometimes you can’t hear, you don’t have A.J. (Brown), check the ball down if you don’t have it.” 

Klint Kubiak

Mosher: “The running scheme that the Eagles are going to see on Sunday is very similar to the one that the Atlanta Falcons run. You’re going to see a lot of wide zone. There’s going to be a lot of motion, under center, moving parts. This time you’re going to have to play it better.”

Caplan: “This is the new scheme that they’re running. Klint Kubiak obviously has the Shanahan connection.”

Derek Carr

Mosher: “This offense has unlocked Derek Carr for two weeks. Carr is driving the ball in a way we haven’t seen. I don’t know how long that can last. He’s obviously comfortable because he has been given time. They’re running the ball explosively and because of that, when they go do their play action, Derek Carr has a lot of time…If you can just stop (Alvin) Kamara, clean up the run, and get the Saints into some second down and third and manageable, I guarantee you the Derek Carr that we have seen for the last five years will be back.”

Caplan: “He can be such a trainwreck. He’s so talented, but has never come close to the player he should be.”

Alvin Kamara

Mosher: “If the Eagles are not corrected in time, we know that Alvin Kamara is probably going to have a good game.”

Caplan: “He can still cut upfield, that was the thing that surprised me.”

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