(Getty)
Tebow Time? It’s possible. In fact, it’s probable.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts open their preseason schedule on Sunday afternoon with the last game of week one and there’s a good chance that the fans will see the former standout make his return to an NFL field.
The Eagles have struggled with some injuries throughout training camp, including a banged up DeMarco Murray, so don’t expect to see many of the starters out there for too long. Chip Kelly isn’t going to take any chances with his guys this early in the preseason.
On the Colts side of things, the focus will be on defense. The squad knows what they have in Andrew Luck and after giving receiver T.Y. Hilton a five-year contract extension earlier this week, the Colts aren’t worried about the arsenal they’ve built on offense. Defense, however, is a different story, especially against an offense that moves as fast as the Eagles do. Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano told reporters, “You can’t just throw them out there, specifically when you’re facing the type of offense we’re facing.”
The Basics
Who:
Indianapolis Colts vs. Philadelphia Eagles
When:
Sunday, August 16 at 1 p.m. ET
Channel:
NFL Network. The game will also be shown locally on FOX 59 in Indianapolis and NBC 10 in Philadelphia. Click here for a full TV schedule.
Where:
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Line:
Team by (line) (use Bovada for line)
Last Meeting:
Eagles 30, Colts 27 on September 15 in Indianapolis
Scouting the Colts
Colts WR T.Y. Hilton will be in Indianapolis for awhile after signing a big-money contract extension earlier this week. (Getty)
It’s been a good week to be a Colts fan.
Indianapolis announced that the team signed fourth-year receiver T.Y. Hilton to a five-year, $65 million contract extension on Thursday with $39 million guaranteed. That guaranteed money is nearly twice as much as any other player on the Colts roster. But while it seems like a lot of dough, and it certainly is, it also bodes well for the future of the Colts offense.
Not only is Hilton an exceptionally talented receiver, he’s also got one of the best quarterbacks in the league throwing to him. According to ESPN, Andrew Luck has a 60.5 completion percentage to Hilton. He’s also thrown 19 touchdowns to Hilton and 27 to the rest of the Indianapolis receiving corps.
Sure, neither Luck nor Hilton will play much on Sunday afternoon but the now contract-sanctioned longevity of their partnership bodes well for Indianapolis.
Scouting the Eagles
Sam Bradford will have to wait a little longer for his Eagles debut after coach Chip Kelly announced he would sit out the preseason opener. (Getty)
There are a lot of quarterbacks on the Philadelphia Eagles roster. Like a lot.
The question of which one of those quarterbacks will be the opening day starter next month has been the highlight of Eagles training camp and even with his notoriously injury-prone knees it seemed Sam Bradford had taken a bit of a lead on the competition. So, naturally he’ll sit out of the preseason opener. In all likelihood, the decision was made to save those injury-prone knees and it does make sense considering Bradford probably would only seen a few snaps anyway.
Still, it also opens up the door for the rest of the Eagles vast quarterback contingent. That means Mark Sanchez will get the start on Friday night. Who will back him up? According to Philadelphia’s unofficial depth chart Matt Barkley is sitting on the third string and then Tim Tebow. That’s right, we will probably get some ‘Tebow Time’ on Sunday afternoon.
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