Todd Herremans didn’t have time to talk to the media yesterday before practice. He knows that talking isn’t going to get him ready for his new assignment at his new position. He wants to get as many reps as possible as soon as possible.
The veteran offensive lineman knows that he has to work at right tackle until he trains his body to deal with the change to the right side and the change in the increase in the speed of the pass rushers. He can’t be thinking too much at the position, he’s got to be reacting instinctively and be fundamentally sound in his movements.
“Every day I do it, it’s going to feel a lot better,” he said. “You do something for 6 to 7 years in a row and then try to do the reverse, it’s going to feel a little different initially.”
“The more snaps that me and Danny can take together [the better]. Just figuring out how each other plays. At the same time, I’m getting used to playing right tackle. It’s going to take a little time, but we’ve got more than enough time before the opener.
“I don’t feel like we’re going to go into the opener unprepared. We’re going to be ready to go when we play the Rams.”
He and rookie guard Danny Watkins must be on the same page with regard to how they’re going to block each defensive front. If a guy lines up in the gap in between they have to know who is going to get him. If a couple of players stack in that gap, they have to know how they’re going to block it.
“Todd’s a versatile player,” Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “He’s got the ability to play tackle. However, that doesn’t do it. Todd understands that it’s going to take a lot of hard work and preparation here from the day that he (was moved) until the first ballgame to get this thing done the right way.”
Mornhinwig spoke with confidence yesterday, but he knows that continuity is one of the keys to good offensive lines. Continuity requires time, but time isn’t available.
“I know it can work,” Mornhinweg said. “I’m quite happy with their play. I’m very confident that it will work. It’s a difficult thing to do. It’s a difficult thing with the center position alone. But I’m real confident that they will be playing at a high level very quickly.”
Seriously, if Mornhinweg thought it wasn’t going to work, would he tell us in the media.
You have to let the coaches do their job. They know far more than we do or else we would be working as coaches instead of them.
Which is exactly the reason he should have ben placed at RT from Day 1 when it was known that WJ was still hurting and would be out for up to 5-6 weeks and possibly longer..
I do think that Dunlap is not a bad back-up and can be a spot starter once in a while… Look around the NFL, whenever a OT goes down, it a serious issue for any teams for there are not a whole lot of good experienced OT availalbe to come in a play at a high level..which is why the Top Ot’s are paid a high salary and why so many are Drafted in the 1st Round..
The coaches thought that the King and Harris were going to battle it out for the starting RT spot…Harris got injured..they then gave the King a shot at winning the starting spot..He didnt…so AR played the Big Joker to win the last suit
I’ll trust the coaches judgment, that”s what they get paid for. As long as it works i’m not concerned about age, rookies and all that.
“I would have parked closer”, said Brett Favre in that monday morning quarterback commercial.
Well said, Bucket.
Too little, too late! Why not wait until opening game time? Dopes! He might be fine, but he hasn’t played there in 7 years, he’s got a lingering foot issue & he does not have enough time or leeway to improve. Especially with 2 rookies next to him. Vick better get a shock proof, kevlar, flack jacket!
Eric, I appreciate your perspective, it seems alarmingly reasonable, levelheaded and balanced. That said, I think you are missing the points – posters on GCobb know EVERYTHING and the coaches know NOTHING. Why don’t you get that?
(please note the sarcasm)
Yeah Buddy you’re on the WRONG SITE for that kind of talk…
oh I forgot
(please note the sarcasm)
LMAO
Everyone needs to remember that the Eagles did not expect missing WJ this entire camp and possibly now the 1st month of the Season..
Due to lock-out, and him being the players Rep, he fell way behind on his re-hab and was slow to recover, The Eagles plan was to have WJ and Dunlap fight it out at RT during camp (which is why no RT was Drafted) ..Then when new CBA was in place and the Eagles were made aware of WJ lingering injury and the fact that it would be 5-6-8 weeks more before he was ready, then Plan B kicked in which was acquiring one in Free-agency (R Harris)
Gurode is definitely a better center than Jamaal Jackson, hes a multiple yr probowler and very aggressive at the point of attack, a real mauler, against both the run and the pass… i would rather have a player like him on the team. So I would release jackson out right and sign Gurode to help groom kelce since gurode is 32 yrs old but i dont see it happening bc there really high on the rookie kelce… Id actually keep winston justice for depth purposes bc were thin at RT and as much as i dont wanna admit it, justice is our best RT at this point, (we dont know about herremans yet) I dont like dunlap and wouldnt mind if they released him too but they probably wont bc again lack of depth at RT…
Continued
Then due to OT R Harris lingering back issues and subsequent surgery
then the Eagles fell back to Plan C which is to use T Herremans if all else fails..
(Herremans is kind of like what FEMA is to the State and Local Emergency Responder Groups are)
I honestly do think that Herremans will prove himself quickly there and we will have 2 probowl tackles this yr…
Herremans will be our permanent RT for yrs to come. Whats great is that hes relatively young
Herreman’s has been itching to play OT ever since he came out of College..
I am expecting him to play well and at a high level and to remain as the #1 Starter for a while even though he may have a shaky start with the small quick DE’s at first, but he will work hard and battle and play well
I don’t think he will be anywhere near Pro-Bowl Caliber as JH states above, but he will be a consistent player as he always has been. Eventually this means WJ is expendable and be traded but that won’t happen until next Off-Season. I also believe that E Mathis will be fine at LG and will play well..
Our FO can’t acquire pro bowlers at every position. We have to go with questionable talent at some position(s). My only question concerns whether the middle of the offensive line is the place to do so.
If we’re short at receivers and the QB is well protected, he can wait for the play to develop or run. If we’re short at running back, we need only remember that this is an Andy Reid team. Even if you’re questionable at offensive tackle, you can somewhat offset that with play-calling. But if your center and/or guard are being pushed back into the QB ‘s face, he doesn’t have time to set up and maybe not even time to hand-off.
I’m no football genius, so perhaps I’m missing something, but it seems that the middle of the O line should have been of paramount concern. After all, we have some experience with the outcome of things when your center is weak in pass protection. Anyone recall Hank Fraley and Richard Seymour? McNabb got the blame, but Fraley got him killed from the very first play and it never stopped.
After the first couple of weeks, the boo birds will be out. “I told you so” is all you’ll hear.
About week 6-8 they will be eating crow and nowhere to be found.
Eric
What happens in Week 18?
Gotta protect the QB, especially a $100M QB. All the pro bowl receivers in the world aren’t going to be any use if Vick doesn’t have time to throw to them. Offensive line should have been top concern for this team. A couple of rookies that aren’t ready for prime time isn’t going to cut it. I’m not sure what free agents were out there last month, but I’d have rather seen them sure up the OL with some top notch talent then go after 2 pro bowl corners and an another receiver that’s injured. Not that they weren’t excellent acquisitions, but OL should have been taken care of first. There were too many question marks going into the preseason with the injuries and the rookies. AR knows this and should have acted on it sooner. Hopefully things will work out, but at this point there’s not much room for error. Guess we’ll see what happens.
If we have a week 18, we can all say the coaches did something right.
For the Record, there were not a top OL in Free-agency that actually changed teams.. I can think of only a few .. Guard Harry Dahl from the Falcons to the Rams, OT Charles Johnson went from the Colts to the Vikings, Center O Kruetz went from the Bears to the Saints, Eagles signed MAthis and Harrls.
But when you saw the big names that were out there, most of them remained with their own teams At the OT Position all these players resigned with their own teams Clabo resigned with Falcons, M Light with Patriots, D Free with Cowboys, J Brown with the Redskins , Bushrod with the Saints,
AT Guard Position, C Nicks resigned w/Saints, D Joseph resigned w/Bucs, M Yanda resigned with Ravens, Blalock resigned with Falcons
Now OG D Colledge did leave the Packers and signed with the Cardinals
Center D Bass left the 49ers adn signed with the Giants.. .
Bottom line, Good OL have to be groomed and developed within a system that best suits their abilities,snmarts and coachability..The Eagles are going thru this with Coach Mudd now (and was probably 3-4 years too late) but anyways, I am glad they are doing it for the way I look at it, this new Starting 5 cannot be any worse then what was out there last Season and as they get more time together, could end up being a pretty good OL, It won”t happen overnight, but is wasn’t happening with last years group either.. A little patience will be needed..
Food for thought? The below portion of an article from the boys at NFL.com. I think we might come to realize during the season that Andy and the boys might be just a wee bit smarter than we thought, and a whole lot smarter than any of us, even after taking that smart pill in the film “Limitless”.
Anyway interested in what you guys think about this. Haven’t made up my mind totally but I am gettng there. I think this team is going to blow our mind, and humble us all, except maybe the annoited haters called by the great deity to torment their fellow Eagle mates.
ARTICLE:
To defend the more wide-open offenses, defenses have been resculpted, too.
Run-stuffing, facemask-bending inside linebackers are outdated, unless they can also run and cover tight ends like Green Bay’s Desmond Bishop. In-the-box strong safeties are on the endangered list. Teams must have two safeties who can play in space to cover slot receivers, tight ends and running backs. Being a third cornerback also is a badge of honor, not a stigma, since teams are forced to play so much nickel coverage.
The Packers proved last season that a team can’t have enough cornerbacks. The Eagles followed suit this offseason, adding top-tier corners Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha to go with Pro Bowl corner Asante Samuel.
“This is a matchup league and you have to get match-up speed, athleticism, strength and power to match up,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “If you’re not matching up in athleticism and speed to cover your side of the field given the strength of the passing teams in this league, then that team could struggle.
END
As always LONG LIVE THE EAGLES”
Oh by the way, The Steelers, you know the grand run team that many want my Eagles to be, well they had more passing plays last season than run plays, though I must admit the two numbers were closer than the Eagles. Still I don’t want to hear anyone cherping about the Steelers being a run team.
Eagles continue to be pioneers for the black QB. 80% on NFL teams have never had a black QB take a snap for them. The Eagles have had 3 of the top 5 black NFL QBS of all time. Amazing. My top 5 QBS of all time. #1 Warren Moon, #2 Randall Cunningham(For those of you who never saw Randall he was more exciting than Vick, he had a gun, he could do it all), #3 Donovan McNabb, #4 Mike Vick, #5 Doug Williams(Just b/c of maybe the greatest quarter inSB history).
goldenfag — enough with your racial diatribe. That’s all you give a damn about. We will never move on as a HUMAN race when people keep bringing up race in subjects that don’t matter.
I don’t give a damn if my QB was purple, just win me a damn Superbowl.
not good at all, our offensive line is gong to kill us this year!
I dont like this offensive line at all
im not saying they wont come together eventually but loose 4 games home field could be out the window
Can`t have pro-bowlers at all positions all the time…
earlier in 2000s Eagles` go `whole hog`(punWalker…etc) on OL-DL with Runyan, Tra, Mayberry, Hugh, Hollis, Simon,….the complaint…..No `skill position guys…esp WR…
now there`s skilled WRs and the O-line in young and struggling…..Only hope is that both GB and Pitt made it too SB with what many considered sub-par or injured O-lines…..
I like what Birds doing revamping the O-line. Kelce, Watkins Herremans (all in their 20s) will be a nice right side….I think they`ll be fine in 2 years from now….(about what it takes for a young O-line to mesh). The fact that a Line takes a couple years to mesh is another reason why I think the VIck signing was a little strange…..the Line will be coming together when he`s 33 or 34….
Birdfag obviously it doesnt matter to you because your white. Typical white answer. Fake ass Philadelphian.. But anyway to some of us seeing a African American QB succeed and an orginization continuosly give African Americans a chance to be QB in the NFL is noteworthy. Cudos to the Eagles for giveing Vick a chance. Country ass lol.
I remember in the 2004 Super Bowl against the Patriots the middle of the offensive line was a problem. That was seven years ago and today we still may have the same problem. Also from highlight films the linebackers didn’t fare too well either.
Ok Dag – I didn;t know that only black people were Philadelphians…everyone else is fake….
I have been driving down to see Eagles`games for 25 years…and you know what…I see discrepancies between blacks and whites that I find difficult to comprehend…..that being said it pisses me off when you bring up the `you`re white` business.
Here`s a story for you.
I was at the 2002 NFC Champ game VS the Bucs. I had bought scalper tix $$ for myself and a buddy….we were on about the 10 yrd line…down low.. Mcnabb throws that terrible pick in the 4th and the guy behind me says…`we`ll never win with a n—-r QB“ (so I understand – its exists) I couldnt believe he said that. That word doesnt exist in my world…..rest assured that security got involved when I let that ignoramus understand that I didn not agree with his assesesment (I was a big McNabb fan – had seen him play several times at the `Cuse – and wanted Birds to draft him in 1999)….
I get that some african americans might be extra `proud`(best word I could think of) when you see black QBs succeed (I`m assuming this transfers to other areas of society – Obama, Rice, Powell) but please understand that the rest of the world doesn“t think its that big a deal. Black QBs have been common in the CFL since the early 80s. Wonen and people of different races are again common in our governments. The last 4 mayors of my town were woman, man, woman, homosexual man. ITS NO BIG DEAL.
So not all white people think the way you think they do. Its isnt all about race-gender-sexuality man. Give it up.
That being said, you know my stance on VIck. Ì remember returning to the 2004 NFC championship game….the tension in the air was tangible….everyone worried…not me. I told everyone, `we`re playing against Vick….he will screw it up. He`s terrible. Bingo. I think he“s a bad QB. Not because he`s black. I don`t think hes that bright. I dont think he fits the metric of what makes a great NFL QB (smart, 4 yr college starter, high comp %)`. I don`t like the way he bails on a play over and over. Ì hate how he carries the ball at his hip. I dont think he ever had to work on his “QBing`skills (from HS to College to 6 years in NFL) and you can`t teach an old dog new tricks. But I could care less about his skin colour.
For once, I applaud VinnietheVictor.
And for your information Dag, I’m not white.
You know what’s scary?
People usually go against fans who are critical concerning the Eagles, so I’ve examined this critiques and have come to a startling conclusion.
These critics have not only been accurate in their skepticism…..
We can not point one instance when concerned about a player…these same critics/fans were wrong.
These critics seen McDougal in a few games and knew he was a wasted 1st rounder.
These critics knew immediately Pinkston and Thrash were 4th and 5th receivers on most teams at best.
These critics knew we should have signed Mawae instead of gooing with Hank Fraley.
These critics knew We should not have let Trotter Walk away in a year we were contending for it all and pick up the likes of Kirkland and Blaine Bishop to replace a more talented Damon Moore.
These critics knew Reno Mahe had no business playing in the CFL, let alone the NFL….and with him we ignored kick/punt returns for years.
We all knew Matt McCoy and Sean Considine were garbage immediately.
We all knew Kolb should not have been picked in a year weapons to compliment Mcnabb was priority.
This is just to name a few.
Not to mention the Andrew brothers debacle.
We had a vast improvement with Takeo Spikes and every fan wanted him signed long term…His caliber of play have never been replaced. Simms had concerns coming in..He was what we thought he was. Even the coaching positions were questioned by fans…
Why give a joke of a coach like Segrest a promotion from special teams (which was atrocious) to coach the secondary?
We we screaming!!!!!!
JJ was ailing for some time and we let his heir apparent go to Arch rivals to help them win a championship.
There were more reputable defensive coordinators when McDermott was thrusted into the job. ..where is Mcdernott now?
The Fans seen this before he was fired….Yet guys on this site was towing the same line..
“Give him time”
This was said for all these guys…
Can someone name one guy that we gave time and was concerned about that actually panned out?
Winston Justice?
We’ve been calling for his cut for years..and he singlehandedly allowed Matthews to kill Vick in the playoffs.
Now..Let’s bring it current
We’re now here with the same concerns and I’ll go on record and say our concerns will be the reason this team does not get the prize.
Juan Castillo will be overmatched and be out as the defensive coordinator once this season is done.
That will be Reid’s next scapegoat.
See, what people fail to understand is that if there’s a top young candidate hired as defensive coordinator that succeeds..and we don’t win it all?
That Coach will replace Reid….He’s smart and understand how it works.
JJ was too old to threaten him.
Sean McD was too inexperienced to replace them.
And Juan is just happy to be there and pose no threat whatsoever.
Justice will be cut like we’ve been crying for them to do for years. Watkins will never be anything special..like we said when they drafted him.
We had the same weird look at our Television when he was picked as when Kolb was drafted.
Matthews will get run over and cost us a game or two before being demoted to the position of special teams like we’ve suggested from the beginning.
Kelce will be embarrassed in the middle forcing Reid to ease Jamaal Jackson back in place.
The safety position will improve with Jarrett…Allen will be cut in the near future adding to the many mistakes we’ve made drafting in the top rounds.
paste it and remember this day…..
OK I got it all out.
Feel better..Go Eagles!
SONGS, AMEN BROTHA, AMEN!
No follow up is necessary!
For everyone bad personnel move or roster spot the Eagles gave, I’ll give you two that were good. Of course you’re going to stay negative if you just look at the negative aspect of things…moron.
Songs you forgot the 2 most important failures/issues to date
#1) The new Cheerleader Uniforms
#2) Switching to the rounded,feminine looking “Numerals” on the Teams Jersey’s which add to their softness as a team… Go back to the block numbers …