Well, that went fast. Call us crazy, but the first Philadelphia Eagles preseason game is in the books. We can’t wait for the next one. We have so much to talk about already. Maybe we’re just football junkies.

It’s not like it matters, but Philly wins this one by a final score of 16-13. The boys put in some work. Some of them really stepped up. How about some studs and duds after this one?

Boy! Watching a guy named Jeremiah Trotter run around and make plays almost brought tears to our eyes. Junior had a great night. Six tackles tied Ben VanSumeren for the team lead… Four of Trot’s stops were solo… A sack and an extra hit on the quarterback certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

We saw a great first half from two guys we hope can be decent backups on offense (and another fighting to make the team). Britain Covey led Philly’s first half skill players in receptions with four snags for 25 yards. John Ross was right behind him with three catches, but he had the highest receiving yardage total (28).

Grant Calcaterra did what he was asked to do, catching both targets and racking up 14 receiving yards.

Jalyx Hunt is hard to ignore. He was outstanding in his first preseason appearance. A former safety, he seemed comfortable in coverage. Four solo tackles were the highlight of his night. He did what you would expect from a rookie: make the most of your opportunities.

He even showed some nice closing speed on a Josh Johnson QB scramble. He didn’t prevent a first down, but he may have prevented a TD.

Will Shipley’s pass protection was criticized during training camp, but his blitz pickup on a third-down attempt during Philly’s second offensive drive helped it last longer.

The rookie has started well and can continue to build. Seven carries resulted in 23 yards. He also recorded a reception that resulted in another seven (and a trip to the end zone) and two kick returns for 48 yards.

Five points… 248 yards… A 49.6 average, a long of 54 yards and two downs inside the 20-yard line. Braden Mann, if he carries this over into the regular season and does this consistently, could be in a position to run for public office.

Patrick Johnson has quietly had a good camp. He played a good game in the season opener.

He made four tackles (two solo), a sack, a QB hit, and a forced fumble. After a missed FG by Jake Elliott, he hit a free one to give Jake another chance. Elliott hit it, but let’s not forget it was Patrick who gave him the chance.

Ainias Smith seemed to be running on quicksand at times. He struggled as a returner.

Okay, if he can’t even help as a returner, do we really need him on the roster? He totaled 13 yards on three punt returns. He fumbled one, but it rolled out.

Meanwhile, Britain Covey’s lone punt return went for 26 yards. We’ll give Smith some credit here. He hauled in a nice third-down catch to move the chains on 3rd-and-5.

After a decent camp last year, Joseph Ngata’s engine ran out of steam when the lights came on during pre-season. So far, there hasn’t been much to talk about during camp or the first practice match.

His three targets showed much of what we are used to seeing. He was covered in cover. He did not fight back to the ball. He did not register a single catch.

It’s too early to tell, but we’re starting to get some slow-motion Quez Watkins vibes. By the way, if you’re interested, Quez blew a punt for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his debut for his new football team.

Before the game started, we thought. Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. wouldn’t have made the team if we had to introduce a 53-man starting lineup before kickoff. That’s fine. It’s preseason and this is how opportunities come, right?

All Albert O. had to do was seize the opportunity.

Well… Albert O didn’t. He looked slow, and three of the passes thrown his way fell harmlessly onto the grass. Yeah, this guy can’t play.

The man many saw as the presumed QB2 could surely muster up some reserves, right?… Well… That’s what we saw in this episode of Kenny Pickett.

We know the match didn’t count, but we’re not sure we’ve ever seen him look more uncomfortable than he did most of the time in this match.

It started out well. At one point his passer rating was over 100 and he had thrown a TD pass. Then he remembered that he was… well… Kenny Pickett…

22 attempts… 14 completions… 89 yards passing and a TD toss… An 87.1 passer rating… Two sacks for a loss of 15 yards… That’s the stat line.

That’s not terrible. That’s not great. But again. We expected more.

Smith’s stats weren’t all that bad. He made four tackles. One resulted in a loss of yardage. He made a sack and an extra hit on the QB, but it always felt like something was missing

Smith is going at the reserves hard during training, but we should also see some of that smoke development when he lets players play who make the team.

We’re not panicking yet, but we are concerned. Nolan Smith is missing far too often. There were times when we found ourselves paying more attention to Jalyx Hunt than to him.

We thought we’d have some fun with this one. After Philly’s first TD of the preseason, Jake Elliott missed the PAT. Then, with less than 30 seconds to play, he missed a 50-yard field goal that would have given the Eagles the lead…

But then he got another chance.

As time expired, Jake fired one from 49 yards, but hey… Let’s be honest, even if we’re talking about Jake Elliott. He cost Philly four points, right?

What do you think? Is it better to cut him off and cut ties now? Again, we are just teasing… Please don’t send us any of those nasty emails. We are not worried about his future.