The Eagles a very competitive battle yesterday at their morning practice. As usual, you could hear and see cornerback Asante Samuel. In his best line of the day, he called out offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg after the defense stopped the offense short of the goalline by saying, “You’ve got to kick another field goal, Marty”.
There were plenty of fights during what was their best practice of the training camp. Offensive tackle King Dunlap vs. defensive end Daniel Te’o Nesheim, rookie guard Danny Watkins vs. linebacker Moise Fokou and defensive end Darryl Tapp vs. offensive guard/center Jason Kelce. This is good for a football team as long as it doesn’t get in the way of concentration. All these guys are relatively young players who have to prove themselves.
“I don’t know what happened today,” said Michael Vick. “The last couple days the offense got the best of the defense. And a couple days before that, the defense got the best of the offense. It was just one of those days, on both sides of the ball, we were like, ‘We’re going to win on each and every down.’ And that’s what it takes to become champions.”
Yes, the offense had their best practice yesterday and Vick was the guy who made it happen. He threw a bomb to the fastest current wide receiver he has, Johnnie Lee Higgins. Jason Avant made a one-handed grab that got everybody up off their feet.
New defensive end Jason Babin showed us why it was good idea to sign him. He took over for awhile by overpowering blockers and getting into the backfield. Babin showed us an explosiveness that will make teams give him as much attention as Trent Cole gets on the other side.
Good to hear the competitive juices were flowing. I’m just praying the Desean and Maclin get some work in soon and start to make an impact AND that the injury bug doesn’t hit us. Can’t wait for the regular season to start!
Eyes, i was worried about the same thing… i think andy is finally learning from the past and is monitoring the injuries and not pushing his guys too much too soon… were working to win the SB not the best practice field player smh lol… Vick, babin, cullen jenkins, mccoy, and casey matthews have all shinned in camp, lets hope they can put it all together…
Guys like i said before WATCH CASEY MATTHEWS, rookie of the year…hes having a great camp… cant wait to see him play this thursday night!
Anyone have any thoughts on how LB Rolle is looking as well as TE C Harbor..
I am hoping Harbor steps up to push Celek this Season as the Receiving TE while Donald Lee is the blocking/Red-Zone/Short-yardage TE..
Philly.com is reporting that the rookie center from cinn. is likely to unseat Jamaal Jackson at center. A vastly improved offensive line will make Vick
put up video game stats. This is almost too good to be true. I must be on “Another Earth”.
I stated at beginning of Camp that it was no given that J Jackson would simply come back and win the porsiton of the starting Center and that he may have a difficult time winning the starters spot due to his large size, and not very good conditioning and endurance which is not what Coach R Mudd prefer’s.. He likes smaller but more athletic type of OL.. Jackson is also coming off 2 missed Seasons with injuries so who knows if the speed of the game has passed him by a bit.. I would not be surprised to see a Kelce,McGlynn and even a AQ Shipley all battle it out for the Center while JJ gets released and frees up more $$$ under the Cap so the EAgles can use the extra dollars for D-Jax.. I also thnik that W Justice will not see action this season and may be another Roster casualty if he isn’t placed on the IR list to begin with.. Coach R Mudd will be calling the shots and I have to believe that Coach AR will go with his recommendations though Andy has always liked the real big fellas along the OL..
Keep in mind also that Vick will have more control at the line, the center wont have the responsibility of calling out the Mike or the blitzer or switching pass protections, thats now Vicks job to do, they just need good blockers keeping Vick clean… Being a rookie means nothing if Kelce can do it keep him there and start him… Jackson isnt needed like before because of the change in responsibilities…
We may very well see an opening day O/Line as this
LT – Peters, LG-Herramans, C – Kelce or McGlynn, RG- Watkins RT- R Harris
Back-ups could be K Dunlap/F Topou at OT’s
and then have Vandervelde, McGlynn or Kelce & AQ Shipley as back-ups to the Interior Lilne Positions.. I believe if J Jackson cannot win the starters position, that he will be released to free up some $$$, I also beleive that WJ will remain on PUP list and possibly IR if his Knee doesn’t repsond/heal in a timely manner..
@paul….I believe that Mathis is going to give Herramans a run for the LG spot.
My Bad about Mathis, Greenfan,
I knew there was another player in the mix and went brain dead..
Mathis will compete for starters time and at least be a back-up guard..
Wouldn’t a nice OL look like this
LT Peters, LG Mathis, C McGlynn/Kelce, RG Watkins, RT Herremans
I don’t know paul, I think Harris will be our best RT.
As much as I like him, I think that Herremans is not a lock to be a starter.
Lastly, the best addition to the OL this year is Coach Mudd. I like the group that he is putting together. Physical with decent depth to help with the inevidable injuries that happen during the course of a season. I think the OL may actually start becoming one of the strong points of the team again.
They say Harris is very athletic and has a lot of upside and I agree that the biggest addition is COach Mudd Himself… Watching the Colts over the years, it was really their O/Line that allowed Manning and those WR’s to do what what they were able to do..There was a 3-4 Season stretch where Manning was sacked like 10-12 Times an entire season.. Iamgaine if the Eagles cut down their Sacks by 50% which is very possible, look at how bad playes are negated and how many good plays can come out of it..
I think Mathis,Vandervelde,Watkins are the Guards of the Future moving forward
I doubt that Herramans is in jeapordy of losing his job. He has been our best OL for the past few years – only problem is his nagging/lingering foot issues. He’s a consistent injury concern. Plus he’s one of Reid’s boys – a solid OL draft pick that didn’t go wacky/backy (big kid)….his starting role is safe as long as he’s healthy in my book….
@ schill….these days, if you are an O-lineman…I thinkit matters more to be one of “Mudd’s Boys” rather than Reid’s.
greenfan – fair enough. Whatever gets the job done. I don’t care who they are as long as the OL is better than last year and protects Vick.
if herramans does not start , i would consider that a camp shocker!
Same here Nev856
The only Starter who I thought whose job would be in jeopardy is J Jackson for his lack of conditioning & enduarnce and his loverall large size is not what Mudd like’s or prefers in his OL.. and possibly the FB with Rookie Draft pick S Havilli maybe beating out O Schmitt .. Has anyone heard or seen how Havilli has looked so far.
On Defense I thought M Patterson would be in a battle to keep his starters DT spot before his seizure ever occured nad now he has more improtant things to take care of.. I do think K Coleman starts the Season opposite of NAte Allen until JArret gets up to speed and takes over by mid-season