The Philadelphia Eagles have been two completely different teams this season, depending on who has been taking the snaps. With Kevin Kolb at center, things have almost come to a standstill with the pass attack mainly consisting of short routes and checkdowns. His favorite target has been Brent Celek, who seems to disappear when Vick is calling the shots. The wideouts, however, have been much more productive with Vick than Kolb. Desean Jackson had both his 100 yard games when Kolb was on the bench compared to only 49 total yards with him starting, and all four of Maclins touchdowns have been thrown by Mike Vick. Lesean McCoy has been the only stable part of the Eagles offense, amassing 273 yards on 50 carries and with four rushing touchdowns to date. Defensively, the Eagles have been able to shut teams down through the air as they are ranked fifth in the league allowing only 168 yards a game. But surprisingly, opponents have had great success on the ground putting up 139 yards a game, which is something this unit has excelled at in years past. You can be certain this is something they have addressed during the week as they are about the face one of the league’s best backs in Frank Gore on the road.
With very high hopes coming into the 2010 season, things could not have started any worse for the San Francisco 49ers. The way they lost last week was devastating, as Nate Clements interception had the win in hand, only to be stripped away by Roddy White as the Falcons went on to kick a winning field goal and defeat the Niners by two. This is basically a must win for San Francisco, as they begin a very winnable stretch during which they play five of six at home. Much of San Francisco’s troubles stem from their inability to establish the run game, ranking 28th in the league with 78 yards a game despite having an elite playmaker in the backfield. Frank Gore still been very much involved as he leads the team in both rushing and receiving on the year, tallying up 533 yards from scrimmage to date. Alex Smith has been ineffectively (to put it nicely) with only three touchdowns and seven picks on the year, having only one good game which came against the Saints on Monday night. The Niners defense has been disappointing as well considering the talent on this unit, allowing 25.8 points a game which ranks 27th in the NFL. They have definitely dug themselves a large whole thus far, but considering they play in the NFC West they can definitely get themselves back in the division race.
The 49ers are continuing to live on their talent alone when it comes to the oddsmakers and the spreads they put out, with this team doing nothing so far this year to be favored by 3.5 points. However, the argument can be made that the Eagles have looked just as bad if not worse with Kevin Kolb in the lineup, with their quarterback continuing to look lost when it comes to running their offense. This is not a strong pick, but I do expect for San Francisco finally get their run game going and get their first win here at home. Watch San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Live HD Stream Online Watch Live Online
