The Eagles have two rookie draft picks who haven’t been signed.¬† It’s no surprise that the two picks are first round selection Brandon Graham and second round choice Nate Allen.
Of the two, Allen is the guy who can least afford to miss time at training camp.  The rookies report next Monday July 26 and Allen needs to be one of the guys showing up.
Unfortunately if more players who were drafted ahead of him don’t sign between now and Monday, Allen will likely miss the opening day or two of camp and not be able to get some valuable reps and individual coaching attention.
Yes, it’s true that Allen and Graham along with the other Eagles rookies have spent a good deal of time with their coaches after being drafted but they weren’t allowed to practice all the things that are going to be required during the season.
Putting on the pads changes things and Allen needs to be out there as much as possible learning his craft.  He needs to get the chance to try to tackle NFL wide receivers, tight ends and running backs in the open field.
He’s projected to start at a position which isn’t the easiest to learn. Graham on the other hand will be fine as long as he can get off on the ball and get to the quarterback.
The Birds are counting on this youngster to step in and start at a position which has to direct other players on what they should do on certain plays.  Most of the time mistakes at the safety position equal touchdowns by the opposing team.
This kid needs to be in camp when it starts and if he isn’t it’s going to mean trouble for the Birds.¬† He’ll either be so far behind that it will prevent him from starting¬† or he’ll start anyway despite being behind and wind up hurting the team with crucial mistakes.
The Eagles and Allen have got to look at the situation, see what’s at stake and get a deal done.¬† Graham will be fine as long as he’s ready to get to the quarterback when he shows up.
I agree 100% G and have mentioned a few times on here about the importance of have N Allen in from Day # 1.. Kind of surprising the the Coaching staff and AR have built this kid up and stating publicy that he will be the starter going into camp after a couple of OTA workouts… I am perplexed for the public statesments for 2 reasons…
#1) This will give Allen’s Agent a ton of leverage once negoiations begin about getting maximum $$$ up front,which typically goes against how the Eagles handle such signings and especially with draft picks
#2) Naming Allen the starter after 2 weeks of OTA’s also means the poor shape the Safety position is in at the present time and that the Eagles have little confidence in Q Demps/M HArris or anyone else on their roster who can play at the position…
Allen may end up being the highest paid 2nd Round pick in this years Draft and more than the Eagles were originally wanting to pay (Since they opened their mouths publicy about him being the Starter) Allen may also end up being a great player with a 10 year career as a Starter in the NFL..
But the way this has been handled has me concerned that maybe too much pressure is being put on this kid right away which could backfire, especially if there is a hold-out situation,This is not how you want to bring high draft picks in with even high expectations and probably in this case higher $$$ than most 2nd Rounders get and the added pressure of expecting to be a Starter from Day 1..
This will be very interesting to watch and Allen will be more important piece of this new Eagle Defense than Graham will be starting out .. Allen needs to be in from Day 1 and it’s no going to cost the Eagles a little more that what they were planning…
lol who wrote the article here paulman or g
i swear your comments are longer than the article itself very sad
Another season where one has to scratch their head and wonder “ok…so exactly why isn’t Sheldon Brown in an Eagles uniform and starting at free safety again?”
because sheldon got hurt last yr amidst his best season
he got hurt like week 9 and didnt miss a game toughed it out for the team because we didnt have any backups
he is a classy pro so therefore the eagles must do what they usually do with these guys
dawk d5 westb sheldon just business as usual
but there is no backlash so they just continue to do this the linc will sell out regardless of who is playing i could suit up start at qb to a sold out house it dont matter who’s in the uniform yall will root
very sad
I go back to the fact that the Eagles Secondary gave up 27 TD passes last year (3rd or 4th worst in the NFL), Was it all S Brown, absolutely not, the Safety position was train wreck last year as was the Secondary Coach (Stewart) who was hired from the Cowboys…
I have no problem with getting some new players in there for 3 of the 4 Starting players last season (Brown,Sammuel & Mickell) are all Veteran players who have been with the Eagles for a while and bottom line, were not very good as a Unit… It was, what it was …
I can hear Merl on the Radio now, PW goes back to pass, trips over his jock strap and loses another 10 yards and here comes Sav Rocca on to punt…
no 1 asked u
Pauly, if you would allow me to pontificat upon your 27 TD passes allowed by our Secondary. I would also say that the lack of QB pressure by our DLine and our LB’s was the tangible other teams exploited to get the ball vertical. Given enough time, any QB in the league will be able to connect downfield. The shell game we played last season w/ our LB’s wasn’t a good choice. We should’ve stuck with someone, even if they didn’t play very well, just to have the consistancy and then play around their weaknesses to support them.
And if I may post something I heard on NFLnetwork last night. Former Texans OLineman Pitts (I think) is holding private workouts in AZ where several teams are looking at him, including the Eagles, after he’s gone through some serious injury rehab. Souolnds like us don’t it.
*pontificate* sorry
Butch and Pwill – the thing with Sheldon is that HE NEVER EVER EVER – uh…. oh yeah.. EVER would agree to play safety. He doesn’t want to, has never played the position and it sybols a ‘losing a step’ transition for an older DB – ala troy vincent at one point. For an aging CB to switch to safety – ESPECIALLY against his will, that’s a huge ego hit that he was very unwilling to take. Also the man has lost his legs and may regain them, but why fill a hole (which prior to drafting Allen they clearly had), with an unwilling, banged up, aging, at best short term solution, and one who wants to make even more money at that!?!?!? THATS WHY SHELDON ISN’T PLAYING SAFTEY FOR THE EAGLES. It would be bad for Mr. Brown, and for the Eagles. What’s hard to get about that?
I am not buying that Triple Well
I believe the Eagles D had 44 Sacks last year which tied for 3rd with the Dolphins in the entire NFL
(right behind the Vikings and Steelers) They also had 25 Int’s and 11 Forced Fumbles…
I think the problem is a lack of coverage skills, coverage schemes and biting on too many short routes and pump fakes therefore leaving WR’s open deep and behind them…
You remember the Bears game in the middle of the last season on MNF where QB Cutler overthrew like 3 times to Bears WR’s/Te’s who got behind the Eagles DB’s and coulda,woulda had TD’s …
Bottom line, the Eagles Secondary was very poor last year, no 2 ways about it and especially in the Red Zone.. How many times did Brown/Sammuel play 8-10 years off the WR when the other team is in te Red-Zone… are you kidding me.. You have to get up and in players faces once in the Red Zone and make opposing WR’s earn every step/yard .. Was this Coaching or the Players or both…
I don’t know but it drove me crazy to see it happen again and again with poor results and easy TD receptions by the other teams…
“should be play 8-10 yards off a receiver”….
1st of all i didnt put em at safety
2nd i said in my post he was our best cb for about the 1st 10 games till he hurt the hamstring
so if he was our best cb i obviously didnt see any aging that would limit his play
3rd u only have 1 starting cb on the team
4th u say it like its wr or te a position where we have depth
once again eagles choose downgrading over upgrading
schill u still fail to see my issues i see
from day1 i say if u upgrade i dont have a problem with a move
u trade d5 u bring me brees or even a phil rivers im lovin it
u trade sheldo to start ellis hobbs there is no ratioanlization for this not even from u front office schill that will make any sense
so y is that so hard for u to get
re Guard Pitts from Texans..
Eagles have epressed some interest in him earlier from sources, but he has had recent injuries and supposedly, his work ethic has been questioned in the past.. He also is looking for Big $$$ which means he would probably fit up the Washingtob Redskins alley for they are still in need of quality O/Lineman..
Buffalo Bills another team who may be interested but usually shy away from such players
I miss Brian Westbrook. Just throwing that out there. Out of all the changes, I regret his the most. In his prime he was my favorite.
what are you gonna cry or something?? send him a card or buy a puppy, he’s gone dude.
The guy was a great player but I hope he never plays again, those head injuries are serious stuff. Does anyone remember what happened with Andre Waters??? Hang’em up BWest.
i know right? can McCoy come close?
who knows?? sophmore slump?? hope not. can Bell add something? maybe. Weaver is a good veteran that we can depend on, but until we start playing you never know how young player are going to react to new situations.
I think a McCoy/Bell is a good combo at RB.
I don’t think McCoy is an every down back week after week over the course of a long season… Rotating them will keep them fresher over the course of the season…
Let McCoy get 12-16 touches a game, Bell 8-10 touches and Weaver 6-10 touches
and they will all be better off as the team will be too…(these touches include pass receptions out of the backfield)
McCoy does does not have the break away speed that Westbrook did. If he did he would be awesome.
McCoy will get a little bigger and stronger and needs to improve in his pass blocking ability and
protecting the ball like 99% of every young RB in the NFL. He’s off to a great start though