Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Written By Bob Cunningham On Saturday, October 10, 2009

Josh Johnson will certainly have his hands full this week.



Coming off the bye week, the Eagles are looking at a much different starting lineup than they've had in the past, including the few games they've played this season.

Donovan McNabb will be returning to the field after missing two games with a broken rib, Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis will be giving way to the rookies LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin respectively, Jeremiah Trotter starts his third stint in Philadelphia as the Eagles' starting middle linebacker, and the Eagles will be employing a rotation and the guard positions.

Stacy Andrews will start on the right side while Nick Cole starts on the left. Max Jean-Gilles will be rotating in on both sides in order to help keep Andrews fresh as he's still not 100 percent recovered from offseason knee surgery.

This isn't exactly unexpected, but it will certainly create some growing pains. The offense will be giving up 13 years of playing experience in order to start the rookies, but Reid and Co. expect that the youth will give them more of an explosive factor. Westbrook and Curtis will still get significant playing time, but they are now role players on offense and will be treated as such.

The situation on defense is a bit different as the younger Omar Gaither will be supplanted by Trotter, who has not started in two years. At one point, Trotter was arguably in the top three of the best starting middle linebackers in the league, but now at 32 years of age and not having played at all in 2008, it will be very interesting to see what he can still do.

The saying, of course, is "any given Sunday," but it would be an astounding upset if the Bucs were able to pull this one out against the Eagles. The Andy Reid-led Eagles are 10-0 coming off the bye week, and should look to continue that streak against a rebuilding Tampa Bay team.

Regardless of the record or caliber of the team they're playing, the Eagles will focus on certain areas in order to make sure they beat the Bucs. So, let's take a look at what they will be focusing on, and what will make or break this game for Philly.


How Will Trotter Play in His First Game Back?

A lot of Philly fans are excited about seeing Trott play his first game as an Eagle since the 2006 season, but to be frank, I'm worried and have no idea what to expect from the Axe man.

Don't get me wrong, I hope he can still play. I was one of the many fans left with my jaw on the floor after learning that he had been cut before the '07 season, but after seeing him take on a backup role in Tampa Bay, then sit out completely in '08, I figured his career was over.

This is really nothing more than Reid thinking he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by signing Trott, but realistically speaking, the Axe man was only this team's fourth option at middle linebacker. And really, he wasn't even on the team's radar.

Trotter is the one who begged and pleaded with Reid to just give him a workout and see what he could still do, starting after Stewart Bradley tore up his knee during practice. Trotter said he would send Reid text messages asking for a shot, but that Reid didn't take him seriously.

When Reid didn't even think Trott was being serious about coming back, even though he was telling him he was, it shows that Trotter making a return in 2009 had not crossed anyone's mind.

Bradley was obviously the first choice to play the middle, then it was Joe Mays, then it was Omar Gaither, and now it's Trotter. We can all hope that the Axe man can still chop some wood, and he certainly believes that he can, but for now it's easy to be skeptical, and very difficult to be optimistic that this move will actually work out.


Stop Cadillac Williams and the Running Game

Coming off his second major knee injury (or "blown tire," if you will), Cadillac Williams looks like he's ready to make a full comeback and, at the moment, is really the only source of offense that the Bucs can muster.

For whatever reason, they went ahead and sat Byron Leftwich, a guy who was more of a victim of a terrible team than his own downfalls, so now on top of having that same terrible team, they have a young quarterback literally learning on the run.

They're going to begin to lean on Cadillac to carry their team, so if the Eagles can get to him in the backfield they should be able to kill the running game, which will force the young quarterback to carry the team.

Which, for a swarming Sean McDermott defense, certainly plays into the Eagles hand.


Make Josh Johnson Play Quarterback

This may sound obvious, but it's going to be difficult for that same swarming Eagles defense to not play into Johnson's strengths as a running quarterback.

If the Eagles blitz Johnson, it will open up running lanes for him and give him a chance to really make some plays with his legs. Instead, they need to trust their linebackers to read and react to the run rather than blitzing to stop Cadillac, and keep the secondary back in coverage.

This way, you force Johnson to read the defense and pass the ball, which at this point is a weakness for the young quarterback.

My feeling is that the Eagles will have a lot of opportunities for turnovers during this game. Whether it's forcing Johnson to fumble because he's holding the ball too long, or exploiting his inability to read a defense, the Eagles will have a chance to make an impact on defense and could very well have the game wrapped up on defense before the offense even takes the field.


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