Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Random Stuff

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ProFootballTalk had a post up this morning where a league source or two was unhappy with the Eagles signing Matt Nagy to be the temp QB. They wondered if that was like the team having an 81 man roster.

No way. Go suck an egg. Big Red wanted Nagy around to help as a coaching intern, but also to be a fall back plan if an emergency QB was needed. There is no rule about that as far as I know. That is Reid being smart. The guy isn't an 81st player if he's not practicing with the team. One source mentioned the fact that Nagy threw some balls to Westy the other day as a problem. Again, no. Coaches throw to players all the time. How would Nagy tossing some passes to Westy be all that different than Mornhinweg? Sure, Nagy is younger and can still pass for a player, but he's not out there in a uniform. Nagy is working with the coaches, not the players. Nagy isn't running gassers. He didn't have to pass a conditioning test. Teams are jealous because Big Red pulled a Belichick and got creative.

PFT Story

HANK GETS HURT...A LITTLE

Hank Baskett suffered a knee injury today at camp. He left on the cart and put a scare into some fans, but apparently it was just a hyperextension. Those can hurt like a son of a gun, but nothing tears. We don't know if Hank will play on Thursday, but he should be fine in a few days.


TE SHOPPING

If you want to depress yourself take a look around the league at the TEs on everyone's roster. There just aren't many guys that are likely to be available. Luckily, there should be a couple of teams we can talk to.

The Titans have 4 good TEs right now: Bo Scaife, Alge Crumpler, Craig Stevens, and Jared Cook. They could keep all 4. Scaife is undersized, but is a good receiver and adequate blocker. He's got the Franchise Tag on him this year. Crumpler is the veteran pass catcher who has developed into a good blocker. And apparently he likes the food in Nashville. Alge looked pretty fat the other night. The announcers said nothing, but he clearly had a big gut (something I know all too well). I wonder if the Titans are mad about that at all. Stevens is a 2nd year guy from Cal. He's athletic and a good blocker. They took him in the 4th round so that's a player they like. Cook is the gifted prospect from this year's draft. He's not going anywhere.

Tennessee could deal Scaife if they are comfortable with Crumpler as the starter. I don't think Bo is in their long term plans. They could trade Alge. He's older and out of shape. The young guys are likely sticking around.

Denver has a solid group as well. They have: Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler, Jeb Putzier, Richard Quinn, and Marquez Branson. Graham is the starter. He can block and catch and knows the offense from his time with the Pats. Scheffler is big and athletic. He's a gifted receiver. There was talk of them trying to deal him prior to the draft, but nothing went down. Putzier is a good backup. Quinn was a 2nd round pick this year and isn't going anywhere. Branson was a late round pick and is a body for camp/the future.

Scheffler would make the most sense to go, but then again he is very talented. Would they be willing to deal him away? I tend to think so, but I'm curious what the asking price will be. They could keep Tony and move Putzier. That would allow them to keep the better player on the roster. Jeb would be a solid target to come here as a backup. He had some injury issues last year, but has been a good backup for several years.

The Pats and Colts also have big TE groups, but I'm not sure they'd be willing to deal anyone we'd want.

What we need to hope for is some young TEs to have really good summers and then make a veteran expendable. Any preseason game you watch should involved cheering for the TEs of both teams to play well. Unless you are watching the Boys and Skins, of course.

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