New-era Eagles still relying on air attack

It might be a new Eagles era with a new quarterback, but it is still Andy Reid's team and it has a familiar offensive approach, at least early on.

That means through two preseason games, the Eagles have continued their reliance on passing plays, calling for throws on 63 percent of the first team's snaps in three quarters of play.

The Eagles still prefer the scalpel to the hammer.

The approach has led to familiar positives: big gains and occasional fireworks, such as DeSean Jackson's four catches for 74 yards Friday in a 22-9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. And there have also been equally familiar frustrations, including struggles in the red zone.

Behind quarterback Kevin Kolb, the Eagles have mostly tried to throw the ball for touchdowns near the goal line rather than taking a power approach favored by many other teams.

In nine red-zone snaps for the Eagles' first team this preseason, six have been pass plays. (One on Friday would have been a score if not for an illegal-formation penalty.) In addition, the Eagles called three consecutive passes from the Bengals' 22-yard line Friday night. Each was incomplete.

"We need to do better in the red zone," Kolb said Friday, facing questions about once again moving the offense well in the middle of the field but failing to produce touchdowns. "When we get down there, we need to be able to execute."

The Eagles have used a pass-first offense for years: Each season from 2007 through 2009, the Eagles threw on 58 percent to 59 percent of their offensive plays, similar to the run-pass ratio this preseason.

The approach has often worked well. Last year, the team ranked fifth in the NFL in scoring. And when the Eagles did chose to run last season, they showed that they could, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.

But in Friday's game, the rushing attack stalled almost entirely. The offensive line, starting two backups and permitting pressure on Kolb, could not open holes against Cincinnati. Aside from a 17-yard LeSean McCoy burst, the first-team running backs had 11 yards on eight called running plays.

"We didn't come out and do what we wanted to do tonight," said fullback Leonard Weaver.

The Eagles tried formation wrinkles to little effect.

"We have to get our running game going. After a while, the defensive line gets gassed and the passing game starts to open up a little bit," Kolb said.