Eagles-Ravens Film Review: Thoughts on Eli Stowers, Markel Bell, Willie Lampkin, and much more

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: It’s preseason!

We are back! Sort of. The Eagles’ preseason opener was hardly an inspiring return to watching the Eagles. I am not interested in using a preseason game featuring almost no established starters to make sweeping declarations about Sean Mannion. The Eagles have repeatedly demonstrated that they are happy to sacrifice preseason entertainment to protect important players and conceal the more meaningful parts of the playbook. Whether you agree with that approach or not, this organization does not treat these games as rehearsals for its actual offense.

There were still some early indications of Mannion’s influence, particularly in the running game. As part of the run-game data we are tracking for our Patreon this season, I charted six Outside Zone runs and three Duo runs. That is not a large enough sample to declare that the Eagles have transformed their offensive identity, but the emphasis was noticeable. The structure of the running game was more interesting than the results, especially when you add in more under center runs.

The other important piece of context is that Baltimore’s defense was not nearly as vanilla as the Eagles’ offense. Jesse Minter called several creative pressures and tested the communication and protection rules of an inexperienced offensive line. By comparison, the Eagles kept everything extremely basic.

The opening clip summarizes much of the first-team offense. The Eagles used Grant Calcaterra and Eli Stowers together, but neither currently looks capable of giving them the blocking they would need from a legitimate two-tight-end package. Calcaterra is fortunate not to be penalized here, while Stowers’ usage throughout the game was strange. We repeatedly asked a player drafted primarily for his receiving ability to perform difficult assignments as an attached blocker.

I am choosing to view that as a deliberate preseason test rather than a preview of Stowers’ regular season role. If the Eagles genuinely wanted a tight end to function primarily as an in-line blocker, they probably would not have drafted someone with Stowers’ skill set. His blocking improved slightly as the game progressed, but the early results were rough.

The positive in this clip is Markel Bell at right tackle. Bell initially loses the rep and lets the defender penetrate the backfield, but his recovery ability is outstanding for a player his size. He has unusual movement traits for such a massive offensive lineman. His technique isn’t always clean, but he can recover from positions that would be difficult for most tackles. He looks like he belongs at this level, which is awesome. I watched both Bell and Willie Lampkin very closely in this one, and I liked what I saw!

The quarterback play was the most disappointing part of the offense. Andy Dalton completed three of six passes for 20 yards, Tanner McKee averaged only 3.5 yards per attempt, and the passing game never developed any rhythm. Both quarterbacks left plays on the field.

On this rep, Dalton feels the interior pressure created by Drew Kendall losing ground and speeds up his process unnecessarily. The Eagles are running Crash, and the out route will come open if Dalton allows the concept to develop. Instead, he decides before the play has fully unfolded that the ball must come out. He throws early toward the covered receiver rather than remaining patient enough to find the open route.

There is a difference between playing quickly and playing hurriedly. A quarterback should respond to pressure, but he cannot allow the mere possibility of contact to destroy the timing and progression of the concept. Tank Bigsby does an excellent job in protection, giving Dalton the opportunity to remain in the pocket. Maybe he doesn’t want to get hit in the preseason, but he should do better here.

Stowers’ willingness here concerns me a little. He looks like he has a total lack of play strength and knows it. On this rep, he is responsible for kicking out the edge defender, but he slows down before contact and allows the defender to initiate the collision. Once that happens, Stowers is driven directly back into the intended running lane. Again, I almost don’t want to blame him because this isn’t what he should be doing in the regular season.

When evaluating tight-end blocking, I am generally more forgiving of technical imperfections if the player demonstrates sufficient physicality and commitment. This rep goes beyond imperfect technique. Stowers approaches the collision tentatively, loses all of his momentum, and gives himself no chance to create any sort of power. It is a particularly difficult assignment for his current skill set, but he still has to attack it with greater conviction.

This rep also highlights the primary concern with Bell, and why he was drafted outside of the first couple of rounds. His height can work against him in the running game because naturally lower defenders can get underneath his pads. Bell comes out too upright, loses the leverage battle, and ends up blocking high. His upper-body strength allows him to survive some of these situations, but he will need to play with better pad level against NFL starters. Lampkin, unsurprisingly, is once again looking for a defender to finish. Lampkin plays every rep like his life depends on it. He’s infectious. He flies around every single play!

EJ Jenkins is obviously unlikely to make the final roster, but he consistently plays hard and has produced some enjoyable blocking reps whenever he has received preseason opportunities. Here, he executes his assignment on Outside Zone and gives the runner space to work. Stowers also does better here, so I should point that out for balance!

It was encouraging to see them have success running Outside Zone from under center. Again, I would avoid making definitive statements about Mannion’s offense from preseason, but this looked like a deliberate area of emphasis. Bell is excellent once again on this play. He gets out of his stance quickly, establishes meaningful contact, and uses his enormous upper body to control and displace the edge defender. Lampkin also shows why his short-area quickness matters. He moves into space comfortably, locates his second-level target, and finishes the block. The Eagles’ offensive line depth was the most encouraging part of the game, which is a positive early sign for this new coaching staff.

The Ravens did a good job changing the pressure picture, yet the Eagles often provided their quarterbacks with a viable answer. Tanner McKee did not handle second-level pressure well in this game. The Ravens send pressure here, and the Eagles handle the initial rush reasonably well. They slide to the left and end up getting everyone blocked. However, the Ravens send one more defender than the protection can account for. Stowers reacts correctly (something I highlighted as a strength of his post-draft) by making himself available as the quick outlet. McKee has enough information to understand where the ball needs to go, but he holds it and takes the sack.

This is especially damaging for a quarterback who lacks high-end pocket creativity. McKee is not likely to consistently escape free rushers or turn broken plays into positive gains, so his internal clock and decisiveness have to protect him. Once he recognizes that the defense has produced an unblocked rusher, the ball must come out.

Cole Payton was exactly as advertised! Volatile, aggressive, and extremely entertaining. He completed four of nine passes for 37 yards and a touchdown while adding 45 rushing yards on three attempts. He also made several decisions that could easily have resulted in turnovers. The outcome of every Payton dropback feels uncertain, but that is what makes him an ideal quarterback for the second half of preseason games.

This throw is outrageously aggressive and should probably be intercepted. Payton trusts his arm and attacks a window that is not really available. He is going to make plays this preseason, but he is also going to put the football in danger a lot of the time. His internal clock must speed up, and he needs to better understand when aggression becomes recklessness.

I watched the backup tackles closely. Cameron Williams played 23 snaps at right tackle and had a promising game. His arm length is immediately apparent, and he is quick enough out of his stance to prevent rushers from attacking his frame before they can establish contact. Williams had some mental-processing issues in the running game, which helps explain why Bell currently appears to be ahead of him, but the physical tools are obvious. Developing Bell and Williams should be one of the offensive line staff’s main preseason priorities.

This is much better. Payton uses his eyes to influence the underneath defender before returning to the curl and delivering the ball on time. Again, preseason disclaimer, but I thought the Eagles had quite a lot of vertical route concepts with an option route underneath it (such as this), which I didn’t see often last year.

Williams looks clean in pass protection again. I watched him closely alongside Myles Hinton, and Williams was the more impressive player. His length widens the margin for error because he can make contact before the rusher reaches his frame, while his footwork allows him to remain square rather than immediately opening the gate. Micah Morris also had some solid moments. It is important not to overreact when these players are facing backup defensive linemen, but the Eagles appear to have several developmental options worth investing in. Bell and long-term physical tools.

We have to finish with the Eagles’ only touchdown. The offense finally generated some life during a nine-play, 59-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, with Payton’s mobility becoming the defining feature. He converted a fourth down with a 17-yard scramble, added another 15-yards on a designed run, and then escaped the pocket before finding Ezukanma for the score.

Once again, the backup offensive line gives him a solid initial pocket. Payton does not abandon the structure immediately, but when the play breaks down, he has the athleticism to escape and extend it. He then makes an excellent throw while moving outside the pocket. This is Cole Payton for you! His aggression will create mistakes, but his arm talent and movement skills can also produce something when the original play stops functioning.

The overall offensive performance was undeniably poor. However, preseason film should primarily be used to identify traits and developmental possibilities rather than predict regular-season success. That is more valuable than pretending this stripped-down version of the offense tells us anything definitive about Mannion’s eventual regular-season unit.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast Eagles-Ravens Film Review: Thoughts on Eli. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here! We are running a 50% sale until the end of Week 1!