Eagle Eye: What to keep an eye on in today's game

Here are a few things to keep an eye on as the Eagles host the Falcons:

What's up with the special teams? It seems nearly every week the Eagles are giving up a big return. Can they tighten things up? Or is this the week they let a really big one go and allow a runback for a touchdown?

We've seen the bad Kevin Kolb (Week 1), the OK Kolb (against the Redskins), and last week we saw the good Kolb. He faces a tough Atlanta defense on Sunday. Can he continue his progress or will fans be missing Michael Vick?

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said DeSean Jackson was getting the "Jerry Rice" treatment, with teams focusing their coverage on him. Can he get open anyway? And can the Eagles find creative ways to get their biggest playmaker the ball?

With defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley out, Antonio Dixon and Trevor Laws will play much larger roles than they ever have. Dixon is more of a run stuffer, and Laws rushes the passer. How do they hold up with more snaps and responsibility?

Who are these Eagles really? Their Week 1 game was too odd to help with any conclusions, and Weeks 2 through 5 featured soft opponents. Seeing the Eagles against a real contender Sunday should tell us much more about their real identity.

Michael Vick will not start at quarterback, and may dress only as the backup or third quarterback, but there will still be some additional juice when his former team invades the Linc on Sunday. Don't think for a second that Atlanta coach Mike Smith hasn't reminded his squad about last season's game when Andy Reid rubbed Vick's redemption tour into the faces of the Falcons when he inserted the then-reserve quarterback late into a blowout to throw a number of unnecessary passes.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, in Exton, and is a part of the region's fine history of producing quality signal callers, having played at Penn Charter in the Inter-Ac League. So give the local kid a cheer before the game and then resume the in-game hate for opposing quarterbacks.

Pay close attention to how the Eagles' defense communicates - sometimes via hand-signal - when Atlanta switches into its no-huddle, hurry-up offense. On Thursday and Friday, the Eagles practiced indoors so that they could simulate crowd noise. Normally this practice is reserved for road game preparation for offensive play-calling. But the Eagles' defense had trouble communicating late in last week's 49ers game, and while Lincoln Financial Field fans will not be jeering their own defense (we think), they will be boisterous when the Falcons' offense takes the field.