For all the talk about Jason Peters, Stacy Andrews, or the drafting of Jeremy Maclin, the best offseason move by the Eagles may have been the pickup of fullback Leonard Weaver.
If you recall, Weaver’s name was linked to the Eagles initially floating around the rumor mill, but nothing came of it. Weaver and the Eagles were still looked at as a potential match but most saw him going to Tampa Bay, or perhaps back to Seattle.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Eagles picked up the offer and did what they could to make sure that Weaver was brought into town. The Eagles only pursue a player so heavily when they know that they will make an impact.
Even though it’s still early into the season, only about halfway through training camp, one can already see the impact that his presence is making.
On a certain play ran today, you could see right away that it was nothing more than a fullback lead into the 4-hole. The defense read this and immediately followed Weaver. They already know that where Weaver is going, the play is going.
Weaver was leading the way for LeSean McCoy, who upon noticing that the defense had stuffed the hole, bounced back through a wide-open cut-back lane for a nice eight-yard gain.
Weaver was the sole reason that the cut-back lane was open in the first place. Because the defense respects him as a lead-blocker, they all flowed to him, creating space back on the left side. A shifty guy like Brian Westbrook or McCoy will have no problem bouncing back through that lane for first downs.
On top of the blocking, Weaver is showing that he has soft hands, especially for a fullback, and can be a legitimate threat of out the backfield. He’s a guy that a linebacker will have to keep an eye on, and just that slight hesitation will create a lot of room in the passing game for Westbrook and McCoy.
Then there’s the running aspect for short-yardage situations. Weaver is quick enough to gain the two or three yards needed, and shifty enough to perhaps even break a couple.
In all, Weaver will be the triple-threat at fullback that the Eagles have been lacking for a long while.
