National Football League

What you need to know for Eagles vs. Bengals on FOX

Published Aug. 21, 2010 12:25 a.m. ET

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Viewers Guide-Philadelphia Eagles/Cincinnati Bengals

Some things to watch:

• The starters expected to play a half for the Eagles.

• Philadelphia will still be without two starters on the offensive line, LG Todd Herremans (foot) and C Jamaal Jackson. Timing and cohesiveness could be an issue going into the regular season. Both players came off the PUP list recently, but neither participated in team drills. It will be interesting to see how Cincinnati’s underrated defensive line performs against Philadelphia’s replacements, C/G Mike McGlynn, who will start for Jackson, and G Max Jean-Gilles, who will start for Herremans. Both started last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

• This is a huge game for undrafted free agent RB/WR/PR Chad Hall. The diminutive rookie, at times, has wowed practice observers. He had a very good game against Jacksonville last week, but as a source said, Hall’s margin of error is miniscule. He must perform at a high level every time he’s in the game to increase his chances of making the 53-man roster.

• The Battle for the fourth and fifth receiver jobs will continue to heat up between rookie Riley Cooper and veterans Hank Baskett and Kelley Washington. Cincinnati has very little proven depth behind starters Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, so those three receivers could get their chance to prove themselves further in this game.

• Because Cincinnati is more of a power running team on offense, it will be interesting to see how WLB Ernie Sims holds up. Personnel sources said Sims’ biggest problem is holding up against the run and overrunning plays. So far with Philadelphia, that has not been a problem for him, but he’ll likely get tested against the Bengals.

• While the Bengals are deeper than they have ever been at receiver since Marvin Lewis took over as head coach, there is still one missing element to their passing game. The deep pass still has been absent so far in the preseason, an issue which was ongoing last season. First-round pick TE Jermaine Gresham will be used as a vertical threat this season, so it will be interesting if they use him against Philadelphia, who usually struggles covering that position.

• With the decision to waive backup C Jonathan Luigs, seventh-round pick Reggie Stephens is now the backup to starter Kyle Cook. Stephens should get a lot of playing time in this game, so the coaches should get a pretty good idea of where he’s at in his development.

• It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer uses second-year OLB Michael Johnson in this matchup. Johnson has been used as a standup rush linebacker, or “joker,” and a defensive end. The joker position was made famous by the late Jim Johnson, Philadelphia’s long-time defensive coordinator.