It's easy to be overly analytical when it comes to preseason games. Teams use them to fine-tune aspects of their squads and figure out who will make the cut. Heck, teams don't even gameplan for one another.
Still, the Eagles showed Thursday night that their preseason opener against the Steelers was indeed a tune-up.
With the offense sidelined for the majority of the first quarter, the starters didn't have time to do much of anything. Vick finished the night 3-of-4 for 6 yards before leaving with a left thumb injury. Fortunately, X-rays that were taken at halftime revealed that Vick did not break any bones.
Vick was disappointed in his team's first outing of the year, though he knows it's still early.
"The ones, the offense and the defense, could have done a better job in moving the ball and stopping the Steelers' offense and we didn't do it, but we'll go back and watch the film and correct it," Vick said. "That's why we're professionals."
The Eagles' aerial assault didn't have a chance to do much. Jeremy Maclin was sidelined due to a hamstring injury sustained during warm-ups, while DeSean Jackson only had one catch for 5 yards.
"Honestly, I was kind of frustrated," Jackson said. "The first quarter went by kind of fast …so, it was kind of unfortunate. The offense came in with like five minutes left and then we came in with a three-and-out, so we were able to go out there in the second quarter and get a little bit of reps.
"We're just anxious, man. We want to get back out there and get it going."
The Eagles' ground game never had a chance to get it going either. Running back LeSean McCoy was limited to only one carry for a 2-yard loss. Still, the All-Pro wasn't concerned.
"We look forward to making plays and we weren't making them today," McCoy said. "But that's what the preseason's for. It's for kind of going through the motions of it, getting it right, (getting) the timing of everything. We'll be fine though. Give it a couple of games and we'll be fine."
The Eagles now have 10 days to prepare for their second preseason contest against the Patriots. While Thursday night may not have gone the offense's way, there is a silver lining – Vick is already hungry for another shot Eagles' cross-state foes.
"The good thing is we've got them in the regular season and I'll have the chance to play against them for four quarters, so we'll see how that works out," Vick said.
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