Eagles Scoop: Coleman hopes for better effort against Steelers
Published: Thursday, August 09, 2012
By MATT CHANDIK
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@MattChandik
BETHLEHEM ? Kurt Coleman doesn?t have any warm, fuzzy memories of the last time the Eagles took on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a preseason game.
?Last year, they got a hold of us,? Coleman said of the Steelers? 24-14 win in Week 2 of the 2011 preseason. ?I remember watching the film over the weekend, and we didn?t look so good. So we have a lot of redemption as far as our own pride and coming out there strong. We want to start the preseason off right so we can go into the season with all of our weapons loaded and ready to go.?
Coleman and the Eagles will get that chance tonight when they host Pittsburgh at 7:30 at Lincoln Financial Field in the preseason opener for both teams.
The game marks the first game back on the sidelines for Andy Reid since his 29-year-old son Garrett?s death Sunday. Reid could have easily skipped the Keystone State battle ? no one could have possibly blamed him ? but he indicated that Garrett wouldn?t have wanted it that way.
?You feel the strength of the team,? Reid said. ?I felt it with my family the past couple of days, and I feel it with the team. I?m a football coach, that?s what I do, and I know my son wouldn?t want it any other way.?
Reid indicated that the Eagles would give a quarter of play to all four of their quarterbacks, in order of their spot on the depth chart. Michael Vick will play the first quarter and he?ll be followed by Mike Kafka, rookie Nick Foles and Trent Edwards, respectively.
Defensive ends Trent Cole and Jason Babin, safety Nate Allen, tight end Brent Celek, wide receiver Riley Cooper, cornerback Cliff Harris and offensive lineman Brandon Washington will all miss the game with injuries. Those injuries could hinder the chances Harris and Washington have of making the team. Harris, an undrafted free agent out of Oregon, has been impressive in camp, but it?s hard to make the team while in the training room. Washington hasn?t received the same type of praise as Harris, and he needs to play to prove that he?s one of the best 53 players available.
Coleman, though, doesn?t have that problem. He admitted that last year?s Steelers game still sticks in his craw. The way he tells the story, maybe it shouldn?t have been so surprising when the Eagles came out so slow defensively out of the gates a year ago.
?It really was (a wake-up call),? Coleman said. ?It really set in when I was watching (the film). Nobody was on the same page, it was just really sloppy football. I think partly due to the lockout and everything, but no excuses being said. We just didn?t play well. So this year, I think we?re going to come out and play like we have out here in training camp.?