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VICTOR OUCHDONTHURTME?
I'm not going to get carried away with Victor Abiamiri being on the shelf for a few weeks, but I'm not happy with the news. VA had wrist problems last summer. Now he's out til mid-August with a pectoral muscle injury that happened while lifting weights. I still have high hopes for VA, but having him hurt each summer is a bad trend. You must be able to stay on the field.
VA will miss TC and a preseason game, maybe two. That isn't going to be a major setback for him, but it doesn't help him. VA knows the scheme. He has the talent. He needs reps to work on his game. He'll still have a couple of weeks of practice and a PS game or two in order to get ready.
Will we look around for help at LDE? Maybe. The fact that the Eagles put a bid on Jeremy Jarmon tells you they aren't completely satisfied with the current group. The most interesting player that is available is Derrick Burgess of OAK. He was an Eagle for 4 years. He plays LDE. The Raiders reportedly shopped him on draft weekend. I'd love to bring him in, but the Eagles are probably going to go slow to see how VA's injury heals and how the other players look. The injury isn't supposed to be very serious. It also isn't supposed to linger or hamper him beyond mid-August.
WESTY DOING WELL
Brian Westbrook is rehabbing well according to Big Red. That's great news...if he's telling the 100% truth. I haven't heard anything different, but I do wonder if Reid would actually tell the media/public anything different. I fully anticipate Westy getting back to practice in 2 or 3 weeks. That should be more than enough time for him to shake off the rust and hop back into his Superman costume.
STACY TO PRACTICE
I'm happy (and surprised)to hear that RG Stacy Andrews will be practicing right off the bat. He tore his ACL at the end of the 2008 season. Those injuries all heal differently and have crazy timetables. Apparently Stacy is ahead of schedule. I was Doubting Thomas about whether he'd be able to go this soon, but I'm happy to be wrong. Very happy. We have some serious change on the OL. The more work those guys get together in the summer, the better off we'll be in the season.
PINKY ATTACK
Todd Pinkston is a coaching intern for us this summer. I don't know what the hell to think of that revelation. I wasn't happy when we picked him. I wasn't happy when he got alligator arms a few times. I wasn't happy with his game vs CAR in the 2003 NFC-CG. I guess you could say he wasn't my favorite player. Still, he was an okay guy who had a couple of good years for us. Maybe he's going to be a better coach than player. The first time I see a receiver duck over the middle at Lehigh, I'm going after Pinky.
Brandon Whiting is also a coaching intern. He could be a good coach. Brandon was an overachiever. Smart player as well. Made the most of his ability and should have good knowledge of technique. He wasn't one of those guys who got by on talent and athleticism.
SITE STUFF
Thanks for the input on the appearance of the site. I'll keep it simple. Joel Buchsbaum had a very basic look on his PFW internet pieces. PFT is pretty simple. Drudge Report is very basic. I have no problem with people who like fancy sites with all kinds of graphics, colors, photos, and stuff like that, but I prefer to focus on content. I'll keep you guys updated.
If you come here in the next week or so and the site is having problems, you know I'm "experimenting"...which really means making a mistake and panicking.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
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10 comments:
Will Bryan Smith get time to possibly prove himself now? Or does he go behind Cole?
I think the plan was to keep Smith primarily at RDE as Cole's backup, but that could change now. We still have Juqua and Clemons on the left side. UDFA Josh Gaines can eat up practice reps.
And there is always Darren Howard.
Tommy, read today that Mcnabb was running sprints after practice. Thats the kind of action that shows a little more dedication than he has in the past. Its one thing to talk about giving it your all, and its another to put in the work to make yourself truly prepared. Mcnabb has had some problems with getting winded during games the last few years, maybe he's really putting in some extra physical prep this year?
I like how we all sort of overlook Howard, the 2009 team leader in sacks.
About McNabb... When has he NOT shown dedication, though? He does intense training on his own in the Arizona heat every summer. Now he runs a couple sprints after practice and he's "dedicated."
The only time I can recall McNabb getting winded is when we're trying to pull off a furious comeback and he's running around every play trying to make something happen. That is the heaven/hell aspect of a mobile QB. He can move around and create things, but he also will wear down because of the amount of running he does.
McNabb has always worked hard from what I've seen. His body has changed over the years. Part of that is getting older and adding some pounds. I also think some QBs like being bigger to be able to better withstand getting hit, whether that really works or not.
McNabb has gotten better over the years at being aggressive in TC in dealing with the rookies and trying to be more of a leader. He was really helpful with Reggie, Hank, and DeSean.
I hope the young guys pay attention to what the vets say and do. They can learn a lot, but also get a feel for how desperate this team is to go all the way. This team has a chance to be really good if the guys stay focused, work hard, and play up to their potential.
Speaking of Darren Howard and the DE position, do you know how many of his sacks last season came as DE rather than as DT in the nickel?
I don't have the specific numbers, but most of his sacks came from DT. He was much more effective in there.
Darren did have a few good moments at DE. His snaps there went down as the season wore on and VA and Clemons played more.
Damn Tommy, Is it just me or are there a whole lot of unsigned first round picks going into this years TC's? I know theres holdouts every year, but its seemed to me like at least half of the draft picks are usually signed heading into the first week of TC.
Its frustrating to think that Maclin is missing time. It seems so crucial for him to be in practice considering the probability that he'll need to work on a lot of aspects of the pro game.
It's not a big deal if Maclin misses this week. If he starts missing Friday and on then it could get to be a little problem. If you doubt what I say, take a look at eagles live on pe.com. The scrimmage they did are a total joke.
I just saw Andy Reid's Tuesday press conference. He was open, relaxed and said a lot of good stuff. Every off season he does a radio interview I think on WIP where he is open and relaxed like he was today. But previously he never (that I saw) carried that attitude into training camp or the season. If this is indeed a real change, Eagles fans are in for a treat this year. Of course it would also be nice if the Eagles win all the big games as well.
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