There will be a lot of eyes on cornerback Ellis Hobbs and the other players lining up at the Eagles left cornerback position when the entire Birds squad participates in OTA practices starting  today and ending next Thursday.
These two weeks of workouts will be the final team practices prior to the start of training camp in late July.  There are a number of important decisions which should be made concerning a number of key positions.
Right cornerback is one of them.
Nickel back Joselio Hanson will probably be Hobbs’ stiffest competition at the position.¬†¬† Rookie Trevard Lindley will get plenty of chances and second-year defensive back Macho Harris is trying to make the switch from safety to cornerback.
I would also be a good thing if somebody steps up at the weak safety spot by making a statement during these OTA’s.¬† The candidates for the position are veteran Marlin Jackson, rookie Nate Allen and third-year guy Quintin Demps.
Jackson wasn’t moving great during the rookie OTA’s, Allen is still learning what he’s supposed to be doing on each coverage while Demps is still trying to prove he’s not a liability back there when the other team puts the ball in the air deep.
I’m sure the Eagles are hoping that Allen is able to master the system and win this job because this is the reason they drafted him.
The center position is unsettled with Nick Cole, Mike McGlynn, A.Q.Shipley and Dallas Reynolds.¬† I don’t think they’re going to start Cole at the position so McGlynn, Shipley and Reynolds need to prove to everybody that they can make the calls and adjustments needed to pick up blitzes.
Other issues which can be seen when the team works out without the pads on will be the ability or inability to make consistent snaps in the shotgun formation.
I don’t think I’m going to be thrilled with the guy who emerges from this competition unless the Eagles go out and get veteran center to start until Jamaal Jackson gets healthy.
it’s fair to say a team with so many questions from quarterback, to Center, to Safety, to Corner, will not be in the playoffs. The defense as a whole is in question, and theirs no apparent leaders with experience on this team. Yes, Cole is a pro bowl DE, but he’s not a fiery leader likea (Dawk) was, and bradley have never fulfilled the teams expectations in the middle, with a serious injury slowing his progression. When a team does not have solid players they know are the clear choice, it’s a recipe for disaster. competition is good only when the players competing are high caliber players. Eagles get ready for the post Mcnabb season. This season will make you understand Mcnabb’s importance to this organization, and Reid will be exposed for his lack of talent evaluation, and coaching acumen.
Dude – seriously, stop – every time you post you again prove you know nothing. In 2005 – the year after the SB, they had all the talent, all the ‘firey leaders’ , McNabb, no questions on defense, clear choices at every position… you just don’t know what you are talking about – it was something totally different came along and blew the team up. There is ZERO reason to believe the eagles won’t compete for the division and the playoffs, as they have done for what 8 of the last 10 or so years. All teams have questions, all teams have turnover, and everything is a recipe for disaster. Recent articles (wasn’t it in Philly.com) list the team as the 6th best organization in football, and direclty contradict your statements about Reids coaching and talent evaluation. Every major draft magazine, based on historical facts and data, contradict your talent evaluation statement. Didn’t you write you were switching to the Redskins or something a few posts back?
That is fine. Knew that they weren’t going to fill in all of the defensive spots in 1 season. I am fine with not making the playoffs this year as long as he team takes some strides. Better than making the playoffs and then flaming out in the first round. Then use the draft and FA to fill in the rest of the holes. These problems were there pre-McNabb, so get over it. He doesn’t play center, LB and CB also.
If Kolb stinks then you can gloat, which I am sure you will. Even if he doesn’t stink you will still point out any mistake that he made forgetting that Saint Donovan ever made any. But if the team loses because of defensive breakdowns, that is not Kolb’s fault. Just keep that in mind.
Navy, give song a break. he knows that predicting the end of season outcomes of NFL teams, long before the start of training camp, is very easy and highly dependable practice. That’s really all it is. If you throw a coin up in the air, it will come down. If you drink alcohol, you’ll get drunk, and if you predict a NFL season before it’s preludes begin, you’ll be right. Certain things are certain in this world, and Song is just pointing out one of them.
coaching acumen lol nice songs
Songs, did the flyers have any questions going into this season? How about a week before the playoffs started? How bout during the Boston series. What world do you live in? I life in one where unpredictable things happen all the time, especially in sports. You think the Saints were like ‘boy, we sure are glad we have no question marks at any positions this year’ prior to their superbowl winning season? I’m not predicting a successful season, a playoff birth, a superbowl or anything. Why? Because I’ve learned from the past. Meanwhile, the questions marks you point to are surely question marks, and yeah, there’s a bunch of them. But you’re drawing conclusions from them that contradict simple and clear cut logic- they will play games this year, and they might win some, we don’t know. And if they win enough, they get into the playoffs. Etc….
navy, you are remembering correctly. songs did proclaim the he was a redskins fan in an earlier posting. i guess he can jump on that bandwagon with the guv and philwil
Last year Moises Fokou created a issues for the Eagles defense in the little time that he played. This year there will be 3-4 starters that will be “Learning on the Job” and with many of them there’s a question about whether they are even starting caliber players. To expect anything more than a Keystone Cops routine through the first half of the season if not this whole season is just delusional.
Now there is talk outside the Eagles organization about the future of Andy Reid, the head coach/executive vice president of football operations.If the Eagles are unable to win this season, will Reid join Tom Heckert Рand his old friend and mentor, Mike Holmgren Рin Cleveland? And would Reid’s successor here be offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, who seems to be Kolb’s biggest booster? Would it be Tony Dungy, who helped with the Michael Vick experiment? Jon Gruden? … With key changes organizationally and in terms of personnel, if the Eagles slide out of the money, Reid might be hard-pressed to convince himself that anything other than loyalty would be reason enough to stick with the Eagles through 2013. He almost certainly would find more job security in Cleveland.— Montgomery Times Herald
pwill – kudos on finding something to back up your side. But I read the article, and it’s citing absolutely nothing, just one man’s speculation. That first sentence, says that there is talk outside the organization about Reid… blah, other than mention the coaches name, which of course happens, the only person he cites as doing so is HIMSELF. If he means ‘talk about the future of Andy Reid’ – as discussing the contract extension he got, uh, what does that indicate – nothing.
yep all specualtion but makes sense to see the whole article check out benmaller.com
Look for these people to win out:
FS = Nate Allen – he’s smart enough to win the job, unlike Demps.
Left CB = Macho Harris – look for him to surprise some people. If he’s not the starting left CB, I still see him getting some playing time.
C = McGlynn – I think this guy is going to bring a nasty streak that this O-line and team needs. And he’s smarter than people realize. Nick Cole is a versatile backup but he is not a starting center.
Some good ones Edogma..
I agree at FS that Allen nails the Starter’s spot down and also at Center where McGlynn steps up and does a good job..
LCB is really open with 3-4 players having a shot, at the end of camp, I think E Hobbs wins out,
with Hanson, Patterson ,Lindley & Pope all fighting for back-up & nickle and dime packages..
I think Marlin Jackson becomes a back-up at Safety while Macho/Demps fight it out for the last roster spot/back-up in the Secondary (barring injuries) with the edge going to Macho for his versatility thought Demps has proven to be a good kick-off returner..
i think nate allen is givin the position just to save face for d5 trade reagardles if he’s ready or not. it doesnt matter we started macho harris and quentin demps there in the past obviously no concern to management who plays that position we r talking bout a coach who started a season wo a punt or kick returner he waits till we lose a game because of thing be4 he tries to fix them so nate gets 2 lose a cpl gms 1st be4 any real competition there
oh willy, you’re so jaded and unreasonable. Gotta love your consistency. You actually think that the team, including Reid, McDermott, and LeBeau will be looking at the safety’s in this camp, training camp and preseason, and ignoring who plays well, who doesn’t and instead will be thinking about a guy who plays QB for another team when deciding who plays safety this year. Do you realize how dumb that sounds? You may be so wrapped up in Donovan and the trade that it clouds your judgment, fine dude, that’s your choice, but to say the Eagles coaches think the same way is ridiculously egocentric and mislead.
Oh Shilly Willy don’t be so silly and call someone egocentric. Alchocol clouds your judgement.
I said I was drunk when I posted once and now you think it’s every time. Who’s being silly. Alcohol in moderation is recommended by doctors and it is widely known that unless you have a disease, soberness follows and the ‘clouded judgment’ you refer to goes away.
And eating in moderation is recomended. However, I’ve know people to have four day hangovers,
The good news is: the damage to the brain cells, for the most part, isn’t permanent. The brain repairs itself but the recovery process does change nerve-cell structure. So most function returns to normal but some does not.
Schiller,
You must be drinking…
Coach LeBeau coahes for PIttsburgh… You must have meant D Jauron… C’Mon Man…
Ha yeah, those french vowels always get me. And if every mistake anyone makes is due to alcohol….