* Brian Westbrook is not participating right now because of a sore ankle. I'd be lying if I said this was no big deal. It's only June and this might be nothing, but I'm never happy hearing about Westy having an injury in the offseason. He had surgery to clean up his knee a couple of months back and that got me excited that we might have a healthy RB all year. Now this.
The good news is that a sore ankle basically needs rest. He'll have 7 or 8 weeks to rest until Training Camp. That should get him close to 100 percent. From there, keep your fingers crossed. This is another reason that I'm more focused on LeSean McCoy than Maclin.
* Sheldon Brown skipped the OTA and is staying home. That's fine with me. His presence isn't required and that gives more reps to guys like Ellis Hobbs and Jack Ikegwuonu. Those guys need every rep they can get so they can get up to speed with the way we want things done. Ellis is adjusting to the Eagles. Jack is adjusting to the NFL.
* DE Greg Ellis got cut by Dallas recently. Should the Eagles be interested? I have mixed feelings. We need to find out whether Victor Abiamiri is the LDE of the future. He needs to get on the field as much as possible. Would Ellis come here knowing he might be a backup? Would he "demand" a starting job?
Juqua Parker is challenging Victor for the LDE job right now. I think that is a ploy by the coaches to keep Victor motivated. They know this is a big year for him. Juqua is a terrific role player, but only a marginal starter. Victor has to win the job and show he can be a productive starter.
I'd be fine with adding Greg Ellis to split reps with VA and help tutor him. Ellis had 8 sacks last year. He can still get to the QB. The tricky part is figuring out how everyone would play. Obviously Juqua would get cut or traded. That would still leave you with:
LDE - Abiamiri ... Ellis ... Clemons
RDE - T. Cole .... Howard .. Bryan Smith
That's a crowded set of DEs. You could pull Darren Howard out and make him a pure DT. That's still 5 guys that you want to get on the field.
I'll never object to the Eagles adding a good pass rusher. I'm just not sure Ellis is a slam dunk guy to go after. Abiamiri is a better run defender. And in obvious passing situations, Clemons will play LDE. Man, this is so different than 2003 when Marco Coleman and ND Kalu were the DEs and we had nothing behind them.
I've asked about whether the team has shown any interest in Ellis, but haven't heard a word. The Eagles love DL so it won't shock me to see them at least talk to his agent. It'll be interesting to see if the Eagles actually make a play for Greg.
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3 comments:
Now hearing that Westbrook might need to have the ankle cleaned out and he's done till the start of the season.
Westbrook is many things but durable he is not. : (
Look on the bright side! McCoy could end up getting a ton of reps in Training Camp and having a big rookie season like Slaton (HOU) or Forte (CHI). Rookie RB's can have big seasons. Buckhalter was great as a rookie. He had 586 yards while splitting time in the backfield, then came back from injury 2 seasons later to score 8 TD's.
Buckhalter wasn't supposed to be near the talent McCoy is.
Fortunately its just TC he'll be missing, but it now worries me that we'll have another not 100% westbrook this year. He looked very pedestrian last year while dealing with his injuries, his explosiveness and elusiveness especially didn't seem to be where they were. I'd love to have him back to his '05/'06 form.
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