Eagles rookie safety Kurt Coleman has already accomplished what each rookie and free agent has to do during the first three days of camp.¬† He’s made his coach notice him.
This was very important for the youngster because his reps will be cut down going forward, now that second round safety, Nate Allen has signed.  Regardless, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott was talking about him yesterday after practice.
McDermott spent quite a few minutes of his news conference talking about Coleman’s aggressiveness in the end zone on a couple of pass plays during the red zone work.¬† He put his helmet under the chin of one of the wide receivers and the ball fell on the ground incomplete.
I know what was going through McDermott’s mind because it was going through mine.¬† A punishing hitter at that free safety position will make receivers hear footsteps on every throw across the middle.
Of course it’s very early in the process and Coleman has a long way to go. I don’t know how fast he is and can he run with the faster receivers in the league without getting toasted consistently.¬† How does he play the deep ball in the air?¬† Can he make the open field tackle?¬† I will study him today and let you know this afternoon about what I see.
He’s still learning the defenses even though McDermott said Coleman, who missed most of the OTA’s because school was still in session at Ohio State, came to Philadelphia after he graduated and spent time with some of the assistant coaches familiarizing himself with the coverages.
Les Bowen of Philly.com writes an article which is surely to interest some of you old-timers. It’s about the passing of legendary intimadator Jack Tatum of Oakland Raider and Ohio State fame.¬† Tatum died yesterday of a heart attack at the age of 61.¬† He was a vicious hitter and once hit a Patriots wide out, Darryl Stingley, and the wide receiver never was paralyzed from the neck down due to the collision.
Coleman has more in common with Tatum than just playing the same position at the same university.  In much the same way that Tatum hit Stingley and he never walked again, Coleman hit a wide receiver teammate, Tyson Gentry, in practice at Ohio State and that young man is also paralyzed.
Coleman said he had talked to Tatum numerous times but had never talked to him about collisions and subsequent injuries.¬† Bowen’s articles touches on Coleman’s conversations with Gentry and how the young injured receiver helped Coleman get free from guilt of causing the injury.
Every defense needs one or two people known for bringing the hat. It would help greatly if we’ve found such a player.
Don’t be surprised if this guy end up starting over Allen in the future. Remember the hype on Demps? Banner “We felt good about the Demp’s upside after one year in JJ’s defense which helped us in the decision that allowed B Dawkins into free agency ulitimately leading to his signing with the Denver Broncos”.