Behind Enemy Lines: Preseason Week 1 at Eagles

[jmt57]

Some views and news from Philly's perspective: columns from the Philadelphia Daily News


Ellis Hobbs update

The presumption that Ellis Hobbs will overtake Sheldon Brown in the aftermath of Brown's unhappiness with his contract and subsequent trade demand seems to be unfounded thus far.

When asked about the corner rotation for Thursday's preseason opener, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said it would be just like it has been at training camp.

"Sheldon and Asante will start and they will also work themselves in," McDermott said. "Then we’ll go from there.”

McDermott described Hobbs as "absorbing the defense right now."
Interestingly, excellent Boston Globe beat reporter Mike Reiss noted that Hobbs would be the fifth or sixth best corner on the Patriots roster right now.

I did get a chuckle in the comment section where a fan calls out Reiss for his opinion, and then declares that the only CB on the Pats depth chart that would be above Hobbs right now is Darius Butler.


Eagles eager to see what Myers does at Tight End

The Eagles have said they're really interested in seeing what tight end Rob Myers can do tomorrow night in the preseason opener against New England, even though Myers went undrafted out of Utah State, even though he wasn't in anybody's training camp when they signed him last weekend.

Fake guitar and field goal attempts at Eagles camp

You can tell the team is ready to leave Lehigh - for the second day in a row, the morning session was less than crisp. Donovan McNabb tried to liven things up by mugging for the crowd, leading cheers and playing air guitar on the sideline. Fans were given schedule refrigerator magnets on Fan Appreciation Day.

Clemons set to step in at defensive end for Eagles

Trent Cole is out of the discussion for now, which is just fine - Cole's sprained AC joint should be healed by the time the season starts, a month from tomorrow. The Eagles know what they can expect from him.

New defensive coordinator Sean McDermott needs to find out about his other defensive ends, a process that starts in earnest with tomorrow night's preseason opener at Lincoln Financial Field against the New England Patriots.

Eagles coaching intern's quarterback dream was fun while it lasted

"Life's crazy and it's full of opportunities," Nagy was saying yesterday morning, after he pulled on the No. 9 red jersey and practiced as the Eagles' third-string quarterback. He is 31 years old, out of the University of Delaware and the Arena Football League. He had never gotten a sniff in an NFL training camp. He was with the Eagles for his second summer as a coaching intern, preparing for the rest of his life.

And now he was playing, suddenly, because the Eagles needed a quarterback for a short period of time while backup Kevin Kolb recovered from a knee sprain. And now it was past midnight, Monday going into Tuesday, and the playbook was put away. "I was laying in bed, and I just got done, and just laid down and was thinking, and had a smile on my face that this is happening," Nagy said. "That might be all it is. It may be more. I don't know. But how can you not have a smile on your face with this opportunity?"

Clock strikes midnight on Eagles Cinderella story

By the end of the afternoon practice, however, the would-be Eagles quarterback was close-mouthed after the team released a terse statement saying the NFL had rejected his contract. Nagy was back to being a coaching intern.

In a matter of hours, one of the few feel-good stories of a training camp full of lousy ones had regressed into a minor public-relations blunder.

 

[Gwedd]

I'll be watching to see what Rob Myers can do. I'm also an alumnus of Utah State, and Aggie pride runs deep.

 

[jmt57]

Here's an Eagles training camp rundown from one of their sports talk radio stations: Training Camp: What Did We Learn Today? - Tuesday, August 11th > 950 ESPN > Blogs

If the Birds' first-string passing attack is looking sharp (which it does), and receivers DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant, and Jeremy Maclin are all enjoying productive to above average camps (which they are), then logic dictates someone is throwing them catchable balls that give their routes payoff. That person is Donovan McNabb.

Not only has McNabb produced positive results on the field, he's made sure to keep the club cohesive amidst a training camp that's featured its fair share of unanticipated adversity. Injuries have slowed the development of a revamped projected starting offensive line designed to protect him, and TE Cornelius Ingram's ACL tear cost McNabb a rookie receiving option with whom he had been developing comfort and chemistry. Through it all, in addition to the absence of RB Brian Westbrook, McNabb has projected nothing but an upbeat attitude. If his belief has wavered, he hasn't shown it.

 

[jmt57]

From the Eagles team website, the expected starting lineups: Philadelphia Eagles

Offense: QB Donovan McNabb, RB LeSean McCoy, FB Leonard Weaver, WR Kevin Curtis, LT Jason Peters, LG Nick Cole, C Jamaal Jackson, RG Max Jean-Gilles, RT Winston Justice, TE Brent Celek, WR DeSean Jackson

Defense: LDE Juqua Parker, LDT Mike Patterson, RDT Brodrick Bunkley, RDE Darren Howard, WLB Akeem Jordan, MLB Joe Mays, SLB Chris Gocong, LCB Asante Samuel, SS Quintin Mikell, FS Quintin Demps, RCB Sheldon Brown

 

[jmt57]

Philly Fan Forums

Concrete Field seems to be dominated with talk about injuries, with an occasional "should we sign Vick?" comment.

700 level seems to be upholding Philly's reputation for cynicsm and negativity.

IgglePhans would probably enjoy WEEI; looks like there's more baseball talk than football discussion.

Wingheads focuses on football but doesn't appear to get as much traffic.

Go Birds looks like a site that does a great job of collecting columns about the Eagles, but generates almost no discussion.

 

[jmt57]

Reid sets game rotation

Reid sets game rotation from philadelphiaeagles.com

In injury news, Todd Herremans will be held out of the game, and perhaps the entire preseason, with a stress reaction in a bone right above the arch in his foot. Reid said it might be a four week injury, but Herremans is expected to be ready for the regular season opener in Carolina.

Stacy Andrews will also be held out of the game for caution's sake, although he is improving. The other players who will not play Thursday night are Trevor Laws, Victor Abiamiri, Shawn Andrews, Brian Westbrook, Stewart Bradley, Cornelius Ingram, Kevin Kolb, Trent Cole, and Matt Schobel.

As for the quarterbacks, newly signed Adam DiMichele might get some action in the fourth quarter, although it will be mostly on short passes and hand-offs, Reid said. DiMichele is getting a crash course in the offense today, although he was with the team in mini camp.

 

[jmt57]

Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves

I would imagine the rookie from Maryland will see a good amount of playing time Thursday:

Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves from philadelphiaeagles.com

As training camp comes to a close, one of the standout players has been rookie linebacker Moise Fokou. The seventh-round pick came into camp part of a loaded linebacker corps and has ascended to the second-team strongside linebacker on the official depth chart.

"He's got a skill set of strength and quickness and then he's got a very serious approach to the game," said defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. "That's big for a rookie, to come in and have that background and really not have to learn that part of it. It's a step in the right direction."

Indeed, Fokou credits his work off the field as much as his work on the field for his rise up the linebacker ladder.

"I've been staying in my playbook," Fokou said, "And once you get that part down, I think it allows your natural athleticism to come out because you're not thinking so much on the field, you're just reacting."

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves

I would imagine the rookie from Maryland will see a good amount of playing time Thursday:

Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves from philadelphiaeagles.com

Thanks for posting the links...Fokou is not a new name to the draft forum, he was one of the Linebackers NE scouted closely for the draft. His reported playing weight was a bit low for NE's 3-4 base, but if Fokou is working into second team SLB for Philly because of his strength, quickness, and smarts I can see why NE was sniffing around him.

 

[jmt57]

Re: Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves

Thanks for posting the links...Fokou is not a new name to the draft forum, he was one of the Linebackers NE scouted closely for the draft. His reported playing weight was a bit low for NE's 3-4 base, but if Fokou is working into second team SLB for Philly because of his strength, quickness, and smarts I can see why NE was sniffing around him.

Congrats on post #15k!

Yeah, I remember a lot of good things being said about Fokou before the draft too. I'll be curious to see how he does Thursday.

 

[slash83]

Lets get it onnnn!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Donovan is a year older than Tommy and is approaching a couple of make-or-break seasons. The Pats are the only AFC team I'd want to see deny him a ring.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: Seventh-Round Pick Fokou Making Waves

Congrats on post #15k!

Meh, I talk too much.

 

[spacecrime]

Some views and news from Philly's perspective: columns from the Philadelphia Daily News


Ellis Hobbs update

I did get a chuckle in the comment section where a fan calls out Reiss for his opinion, and then declares that the only CB on the Pats depth chart that would be above Hobbs right now is Darius Butler.

Yeah, that was a funny comment. It isn't just Reiss's opinioin. Why did this guy think BB traded away Hobbs and kept Wheatley/Willhite and signed Springs/Bodden? Because BB thought Hobbs was better?

But even funnier was the guy who answered him claiming to live in NE and implying Reiss didn't know what he was talking about. Maybe he was confusing Reiss with Felger.

 

[jmt57]

Yeah, that was a funny comment. It isn't just Reiss's opinioin. Why did this guy think BB traded away Hobbs and kept Wheatley/Willhite and signed Springs/Bodden? Because BB thought Hobbs was better?

But even funnier was the guy who answered him claiming to live in NE and implying Reiss didn't know what he was talking about. Maybe he was confusing Reiss with Felger.

Well it is humorous that this Philly fan got the incorrect trifecta of:

• Reiss doesn't know what he's talking about
• Butler would be ahead of Hobbs on the Pats depth chart
• Hobbs would be ahead of Bodden, Wheatley, Wilhite and Springs

- all in one comment, while at the same time declaring himself to be an expert to Eagle fans of all Pats information.

 

[Deus Irae]

Well it is humorous that this Philly fan got the incorrect trifecta of:

• Reiss doesn't know what he's talking about
• Butler would be ahead of Hobbs on the Pats depth chart
• Hobbs would be ahead of Bodden, Wheatley, Wilhite and Springs

- all in one comment, while at the same time declaring himself to be an expert to Eagle fans of all Pats information.

Given that none among us knows where Hobbs would be slotted, the Eagles fan is no worse than the Patriots fans mocking him.

 

[Joker]

cut everybody some slack...fans mock ex-players...SOP for ANY team's fans

 

[Patspsycho]

Given that none among us knows where Hobbs would be slotted, the Eagles fan is no worse than the Patriots fans mocking him.

He is #3 CB on the Eagles depth chart. Not even starting.

 

[Deus Irae]

He is #3 on the Eagles depth chart. Not even starting.

So?


............

 

[Patspsycho]

So?


............

Isn't that, in a manner of speaking, knowing where Hobbs is "slotted"?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Isn't that, in a manner of speaking, knowing where Hobbs is "slotted"?

Not in the New England hierarchy, he was a starter here and the new guys would have needed to take his job away - for all the folks predicting Springs as a starter, he hasn't even displaced Wilhite who is the only returning starter to finish last season. Let's not forget, BB was reluctant to trade Hobbs and initially turned down the Eagles, it wasn't until he had time to weigh the various factors and options before deciding to use Ellis to get his interior OL in the draft.