The Eagles will start Jarrad Page at one of the safety positions with Kurt Coleman starting at the other. Of course defensive coordinator Juan Castillo took the time to say that he was confident in all of his safeties.
During his weekly news conference today, Castillo was again talking about fundamentals and running full speed to the football today. He talked about his linebackers being drilled on using their hands to take on and get off blocks rather than their shoulder pads. Some how he gets to talking about fundamentals on every question you ask.
Castillo has a great deal of respect for Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The first year defensive coordinator says McDaniels is using plays from a variety of offensive systems. I expect him to keep things simple for quarterback Sam Bradford. They’re going to run the ball right at the Eagles and run play action passes off of it, if they’re successful running the bacll.
Castillo had no problem saying that Bradford looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
He raved about Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola, who tried out for the Eagles years ago. Castillo remembers when he tried out for the Eagles and he said he’s a great football player and a great competitor. He said Amendola lines up all over. As for where he lines up, sometimes he’s inside, sometimes he’s outside, other times he’s in the middle.
Castillo said he doesn’t get nervous about this upcoming game although it’s a challenge, but he did talk about something he does get nervous about. That took us to his teenage and young adult sons. He says he gets nervous at night while thinking about what they’re up to at college.
The defensive coordinator isn’t concerned about missing the OTA’s and mini camps because everybody else missed them as well. He believes the team in the best condition will be able to win the early season games.
He said that this game is the first step to bring a NFL championship to Philadelphia.
Only game action will give me a barometer by which to gauge his words.
exciting……Page will have us all asking.
Dawk who?
I like Jarrad Page. He’s not Dawkins….and I would like to see more of a HEALTHY Nate Allen, but Page can handle it.
An excellent pick-up and will be a great mentor for the other 3/4 Young Safeties on the Roster.. I expect he will be the starter up until the Bye week along with Kurt Coleman until NAte Allen is 100 % healthy.. Page reminds me a little of Q Mickell but a much more physical hitter and tackler, He does not have great recovery speed on the deep routes would be his only reall weakness, but he is a smart, heady player just like K Coleman is and they should make a nice combo starting out the Season
if it is a nice combo and it works why change it????? i think when nate gets back to 100% there should be a rotation amongst the 3 safeties page..allen..and coleman..and when jarrett gets up to speed he should join the rotation so it keeps everyone fresh and gives everyone a chance to play…being fresh is important come playoff time when most starters are banged up…
Castillo seems to be the only coach on this team who has a pair. Thats what I’m talking about, he wants the toughest players out there. Damn nepotism and family names, what can you do for this defense now is the name of the game.
I also can’t discount MM, I think he is a great OC and coach, and if it was up to him, he wouldn’t be starting Watkins either; rather, he wouldn’t just annoint a player based on name recognition or pick in the draft – you have to work your tail off and earn the position.
I think bottom line with this Defense,
We will see about 20 players rotated in and out all games depending on who they are playings, scores of the game, differenct situations..
This should help keep eveyone focused,energized and ready to perform at a high level…
I see 7-8 DL Rotating all game long (T Cole/Jenkins probably getting the most snaps)
I see 5-6 LB’s Rotating in and out with Chaney and ROlle probably getting the most snaps
I see 5 CB’s playing with Asmo/SAmmuel & DCR getting the most snaps but will see HAnson and Hughes out there a lot too..
At Safety, I see Page,Coleman & Allen all getting snaps with even Colt Anderson and Jarrett out there on certain packages or to give th regulars a rest here or there
The Packers utilized their Defensive Roster like this and the Patriots have done this for years with Success.. It’s a game of match-ups and keeping players focused and energizes and also helps the teams morale where more players are getting a chance to make plays and become contributors ..
rocko – I don’t think they annointed watkins – or that they ever annoint anybody – look at how fast they make changes – donovan benched, kolb then vick..the media annoints. They were just playing watkins there, hopeing he’d catch on quick and earn the starting job. That didn’t happen yet, so they’re going with DeVan. But who said he was annointed?
Not a fan of making him defensive coordinator, but love the Man-up attitude.
Hope the players respond.
Schiler..would you like me to paste the qoute in which Andy annointed Watkins the starter when drafted?
Man, I missed you guys, and the amazing opening game.
Out here in San Diego, we had that blackout and we handled it like Champs lol.
We’re so spoiled out here and dependent on electricity it’s ridiculous.
Power was out from 3:45pm until 1:46am.
At least I got my ESPN text alerts during the game lol.
The Southwest Region was blacked out! The Great Power Outage of 2011
Schill, stop blaming the friggen media for everything. The beat writers & the people who are close to the team, are just reporting what the coaching staff has said. I agree, some of the reporters are hacks, but God Almighty, are you out of touch & in Wonderland! Media, media, media, media STFU already!!!
Songs, don’t even waste your time or breath. It’s a lost cause, because we don’t know what we’re talking about, & are just being negative.
BTW, someone please give Castillo a tranquilizer. This guy is going to have a stroke before years end! LOL!! I love his spunk, I just hope it carries over to his coaching. Another giant questionable move, for square peg, in round hole Andy!
I was shown a vision during that blackout.
It was hard to make out the image completely, but it looked as if Andy Reid and Michael Vick were on stage, receiving the Lombardi Trophy.
Vick raised the trophy sky high to stadium wide cheers, and I think Lurie and Reid hugged.
The last thing I remember was hearing Desean say “we finally stung their asses!”
As I was waking up, Vick’s voice was echoing, “they can’t design a defense to stop me!”
Songs, yes please. Please post that quote.
schill…ABC.com 4/29/2011
Qoutes from Andy Reid
“I know it’s not a glamour position, but it’s a crucial position in this sport,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “This is a guy that’s a tough, tough guy and he has phenomenal character on and off the field. He’s a class act.”
more….
“He’ll bring toughness and a blue-collar attitude to the offense,” Reid said. “He’s very powerful in the core and in his jam. Those are hard things to teach and he has that.”
more….
“Watkins will step in and start at right guard.’
from the brownsville herald
The Eagles are one of the most active teams during the draft. They traded up in the first round the last two years and have made 29 draft-day trades over the last eight years. With Watkins on the board, though, they stayed put.
“This was the guy we wanted,” Reid said.
Schill…want some more qoutes?
Check out watkins reaction on draft day.
Watkins, an offensive lineman from Baylor, was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 23rd pick of the NFL draft on Thursday night.
“I thought it was the wrong number,” Watkins said of the phone call he received from the Eagles. “I was really excited.”
Watkins didn’t expect to get pick so early.
he thought it was the wrong phone number.
you want more schill?
Songs, first, thanks for coming through for me. You’re such a good friend to offer something, then when I requested that you follow through with your offer – you delivered.
that said, only one of those quotes, this one: “Watkins will step in and start at right guard.” – is relevant to the conversation. DD and I were talking about whether Watkins was “annointed” the starting right guard.
The rest of those quotes are about how good of a prospect Watkins is/was perceived to be, and his reaction to getting drafted when he did. Not him starting at RG. And all of that can still be valid if he ends up playing well for the team in the next few years. For you to say otherwise at this point is childish and doing something that our society has an expression for – making an ass out of all of us.
NOW – to that 1 relevant quote – He said that at that point. He’s a leader. He changed his mind. That’s it. If you’re driving a car – and you tell your passenger, “I’m going to take Kelly Drive downtown”. But then when you turn around the bend in on the Schuylkill, you see that Kelly Drive is flooded big time and traffic is at a standstill (this happened to many yesterday). If you then stay on the Schuylkill instead, is that a big deal, worthy of criticing the driver and a red flag? F*ck no, it’s just a leader making a decision, maybe changing their mind with new information.
I know it’s worthless to use ‘expressions’ with you because you’re a person who either is oblivious to, ignores, or rejects common wisdom – but you and DD are MAKING MOUTAINS OUT OF A MOLEHILL!
Schiller — why? Why continue to waste your time with these morons?
Birdo – Excellent question! I think the answer is somewhere between me feeling strongly compelled to promote reason and clear sense in the ‘cognitive distortion’ rich environment that is Philly sports, and addiction! I’ve always been fanatical about both philly sports and understanding cognitive and social psychology and I love the interaction between those two passions. I find the psych. of Philly continuously fulfilling to my fascination/yearning for understanding. And I get a dopamine hit (‘kicks’/enjoyment) from discussing these topics.
I guess it’s just the same enjoyment (in my own way) that Paulman gets from joking about predictions, or songs gets from releasing his impassioned rants (displaced frustrations about lack of superbowls)….
It’s a healthy and functional pasttime for me and a functional outlet for my stress/and escape from work/life stress.
On a Side note,
Anyone know the Circulation of the “Brownsville Herald”..
It’s about 85 (when you count the Sunday Comics) …
I just thought I would put it out there….
Birdo, because our opinions differ from yours, doesn’t make us morons. I’m actually highly educated & very successful in life. I’m just too passionate & brutally honest, for some of you mindless, zombie, stepfords. It just shows who the real morons are, with some of the stupid crap, that comes out of your mouths. You can’t think for yourselves. You just go by what Reid feeds you. Lets get something straight, I love the Eagles, but i’m not going to come on here to appease you zombies. If there is something that is blatantly being ignored, not fixed, by your football God Andy Reid, i’m going to point it out. I don’t give a $#!T who likes it or not. Some of you un-named guys, are just like Reid, condescending, arrogant, stubborn, delusional, know it all, creeps, that do nothing but talk down to people. Grow a bean bag. Not everything is kittens, puppies & roses.
I don’t mind you having your opinion — but the way some of you come to your opinion and the reasoning you give is ASININE. Like saying Andy Reid sucks with first round picks — really?! really?! Look it up. Four pro bowlers with one on the verge. Choke on it.
Some of you guys want me to talk about their positives, here you go- They have good receivers, a good young RB, good D-Line, good CB’s. But it is not enough to compensate for the horrific O-Line, the lack of LB quality, the mediocre Safeties, the quantity of inexperience & rookies & most of all, the nightmarish, predictable, coaching philosophy! I left Vick out as neutral, because his talent, will be overshadowed by the horrific O-Line & coaching.
DD – I believe that you’re a true fan and wish the best for the team and that your passion (nobody can question that) comes out as frustration/’hate’. But I’m pretty confident that your passion/emotion whatever you want to call it – makes you speak in exaggerations that sound (your exaggerations, not you) dumb. Here’s what I’m talking about – you over and over again say things like “the ignored it or did nothing” – like the Oline. THEY DID NOT IGNORE IT OR NOT ADDRESS IT. There are 5 or six new players on the OL and there are several guys who were on it last year who are gone. That is change. That is intervention. That is action – the opposite of ignoring it. You can argue that some of those changes didn’t workout at all – see Ryan Harris, injured and not on the team. Or didn’t work well at this point – Watkins not starting. And you can speculate or assume and say that the changes will not lead to good or improved oline play – in the future – that’s your opinion/prediction. But to say that they ignored it or did nothing to address it is BULLSHIT. I know you didn’t intend to speak BULLSHIT but can you see how your passion/perhaps your way of expressing yourself has resulted in you SPEAKING BULLSHIT?
Opinions are one thing, but if you and I are standing outside the LINC and you tell me “It’s pathetic that there’s no professional football field in Philly”, then I will call BULLSHIT.
Birdo – with all due respect, how is the OL horrific. The total # of times that any person on the face of the earth, in the history of the earth, has seen the Oline that will start on Sunday perform is a whopping 0! 0!. They have never done anything right or wrong, great or horrible EVER. How can they be horrific if they’ve never been anything before? You can say there’s a question mark or question marks – because that’s true. But horrific? how do you use an extreme word to describe something that has never existed?
That’s like saying – that hybrid santaclau/unicorn thing is expertly articulate.
WHOA, my bad! Birdo – that last comment wasn’t for you.
DDCAR – it WAS for YOU. READ IT
Schill, hahaha!!! GO BIRDS!!
birdo..I see the light now. Youre right.
Hiring a below average offensive line coach to coach our entire defense is brillilance at it’s best.
drafting stiffs on the defensive side of the ball in the first round half of Reid’s time here is normal.
The philosophy developing low round picks like Nick Cole,MJG, and King Dunlap at low salaries to one day take on starting roles wa ingenius.
Letting go of legitimate talent like Dawk and Sheldon, only to replace them with younger, cheaper garbage was shrewd, but nessasary business.
Reno Mahe was a greek god at the return position…An BYU stud that had “sure hands”, as Andy put it. Who needed to search for a legitimate returner on such a strong teams? I mean….we did have a strong offense and good players at defense right?
I mean we can’t have above average talent at every position. So the Mahe’s of the world are there when there’s no pro bowlers to sign.
Drafting a 27 year old man in the first round who will be over 30 after his rookie contract is done, was innovative. This have never been done in the history of football.
Putting an undersized Linebacker in the middle of our line does not remind him of the mistake he made with Matt Mccoy.
Andy’s game time management is unique and he’ll prove you can win in spite of poor game time mangement, weird coach shuffles, and bad drafting in the 1st 3 rounds.
Andy put his players in position to win..and when we lose?
He promises to put players in a position to win next season.
I get it now.
Look…it was so bad before Andy, we should appreciate all the shortcomings even if we don’t win a superbowl in his era.
“Almost” is better than “Not a chance”.
So, I raise my beer to almost winning it all….with gracious solitude knowing what could have been, only if we would have gotten the few perptual blindspots corrected for one year.
And the one year it almost came together?…new england had better spys than us.
Birdo..I apologize.
Let’s get on board and ride this wagon until the one wheel fall off in the playoffs.
the wheel may be the one place Andy ignored.
“TIME’ YOURS”
songs, you remember to eat food and get sleep in the past few days? You’re back to the ‘before’ part of a recent snickers commercial. Take your meds too?