Saturday Stuff

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Sorry for the late post. Busy, busy day of college football.

My PE.com column is up. I talked about where the team is after 4 games and covered the Raiders game as well.

-- Link --

STUFF

* Todd Herremans practiced last week with the scout team. He's hoping to practice with the starters this week and possibly start vs WAS. That would be great. Todd was our best run blocker last year and would instantly upgrade the interior of the line, assuming he is truly healthy and ready to go. You would slide Nick Cole over to RG and we'd have a pretty good set of blockers.

* The Eagles recently added CB Stoney Woodson to the Practice Squad. They let LB J Leman go. Woodson (5'11, 197) isn't a great athlete, but he was a solid SEC cover corner. He spent time this summer with the Giants. I don't know if the Eagles liked him more for his college tape or something he showed in the preseason. Had 4 INTs as a Senior. I wondered if they brought him in as a S or CB. He played both spots at South Carolina, but seemed to find a home at CB.

* I talked to a buddy on the phone this afternoon. We were talking about the state of the roster and he brought up Cornelius Ingram. As loaded as our offense is we could be even better with a guy like him as the #2 TE. Ingram is athletic and skilled enough to be considered a weapon. Let's hope that knee is right by next summer.

Another guy we talked about is DT Antonio Dixon. He is arguably the biggest surprise of them all. I liked the Eagles move to claim him when WAS let him go. We've needed a big body to add to the mix. You can't coach size. I think the cry for a huge DT was overblown in recent years, but I did want one added as a role player for those times when a big DT can make a difference. Bunk and Patt are terrific run defenders. Still, we play in the NFC East and there are times when you'd love a huge guy to plug in there form some snaps.

Once we signed Dixon, I expected him to spend most of the season inactive. We have the starters plus Laws and the other guys who see time at DT. Dixon just didn't fit in. Oh, but he did. Antonio obviously took to Rory Segrest's coaching and he's played better each week. He is "only" a role player right now, but Dixon is developing into a good role player. He's starting to figure out how to play up to his size/strength. You don't want gentle giants. We want big bullies.

I don't know what the rest of the year holds for Dixon. Will he continue to get better? It's certainly possible. He has good natural talent. I saw that last year when he was a Senior at Miami. He was just an inconsistent player. Dixon has embraced his role as a backup. He'll continue to get snaps as he plays well. It wouldn't surprise me to see him have success against the Raiders. They don't have the most gifted C in the world. Dixon gets lined up right over the C in some sets and is powerful enough to just drive the guy straight back. The real test for him, along with our whole defense, will be NFC-E games. Andre Gurode and Sean O'Hara are good Centers. Dixon won't be able to simply overpower them. It will be interesting to see how he fairs against quality blockers.

COLLEGE TALK

* The QB class for this year's draft looked great 2 months ago. Sam Bradford was a Top 5 pick. Colt McCoy was in the mix to be a high pick. Jevan Snead had some fans and was thought to be a guy who could go really high. Bradford re-injured his shoulder today and could miss the rest of the year. He could come back to school or head for the NFL. McCoy isn't having a great year like he did in 2008. Snead is really struggling.

Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen is having a huge year and could jump to the head of the QB class. He's only a Junior and isn't a lock to come out.

We'll see what happens the 2nd half of the season. There is still a lot of football to be played. McCoy could help himself with a strong finish. Bradford might be able to return to the field. Crazy year for QBs.
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