I told you during the OTA workouts that rookie Ricky Sapp didn’t look like a NFL linebacker to me.¬† I guess the Eagles agreed with me because they had Sapp lining up as a defensive end yesterday after working him out as a linebacker during the OTA’s.
He’s dealing with the same problem that former Eagles linebacker and current Cleveland Browns Chris Gocong dealt with as he tried to make the transition from college defensive end to NFL linebacker.¬† When you are trained to attack first as a defensive end, then play a position where you have to read then attack, it becomes a struggle.
Sapp seems too stiff and unsure of himself at the outside linebacker spot.¬† I think he could play the Joker position after he gets acclimated to the speed of the NFL game, but it’s going to take awhile.
I like the way he looks at defensive end.¬† I don’t know how much time he will see at the position but he will add to their depth.
After practice yesterday Sapp talked about playing defensive end as compared to linebacker.¬† “It‚Äôs a lot different, Sapp told a group of reporters. “I think that when you play D-end I think that it is more aggressive when you are going forward, I think the biggest difference for me is that I am used to going forward like dropping back for coverage, so once I get that out of my mind I think that I‚Äôll be fine.‚Äù
Good. Now they can’t mess up his career by making him play a position he cannot play. Now his career is in his own hands.
Here here, Scorp!
Hmmm can he play safety??? Just kiddin!
@ Wellwellwell, Paulman probably thinks he can
Great Scorp, now you said his name. Now we’ll get trade alerts…although they are funny sometimes..
Yeah I know. He should be coming any minute with a page long response LOL. Paulman is cool though and the trade predictions are funny sometimes.
No comment
Shocker of the day
Though, I do have to commend Paul on agreeing with me yesterday that Alex Hall won’t make the team – albeit after Paul listed him as someone who would make it – he was already cut – TODAY.
Paulman, schiller is give you props for agreeing with HIM. LOLOLOLOL. If that isn’t the most arrogant thing I’ve ever heard. I love it schill.
Glad you appreciate the humor scorpy
I do man. Just messing with you.
Everyone told them Gocong was not a linebacker….did they listen? Wasted another high round pick being smarter than everyone else and turn around and try the same thing with Sapp this year. This FO is ridiculous…We are going to see Gocong at DE with the Browns this year and realize we could have just switched him to his natural position and used the pick this year on another position…..like help in the secondary. I wish for one year we can go into a season without a blind spot. The FO is so smart..one year..”We don’t need receivers”, another, “Reno Mahe have sure hands”, another, we can plug in a DT to play fullback..”We don’t need a conventional FB in our style of WCO “. “We can trade out of the 1st round and still get the same calibur player in the 2nd round….”there’s really no difference”….”Kolb hit the receivers in stride and get the ball out quick” Really? Now the blind spot is now we can plug any “joe” at corner which is the last line of defense before the goalline. Wake up people this organization is a fraud! Can we go in a year without a noticable blind spot? and if the fans notice these things does that mean the FO ignores them? If so….why?
duly noted and deserved
Can’t wait to get my Chad Hall jersey…
I had Alex Hall making the squad originally on a earlier post (about a month ago) but have since then made a few revisions.
I did not have Hall making the FInal Cut for this years defense which was posted back on Monday
7/26 under article titled “Playoffs A must”.
Songs – First of all – I find it hilarious that you try to convince people of stuff using your version of reason but then you speak of being smart as a negative. Otherwise – Gocong is a prototypical 3-4 Outside LB. He is listed on the Browns website as an LB and there’s only 1 person on their roster listed as a DE – and he’s 40 pounds heavier than Gocong. They do however have many guys listed as “DL” – yeah, that’s the deal with 3-4 teams. Gocong is an NFL LB. Many teams convert college DE’s to LBs – it happens all the time, but some fans chose to think the Eagles made it up. You could argue that trying to do it in a 4-3 Defense is dumb/was wrong, but it was worth a try and they aborted it after some time. Point is, this whole idea that the Eagles are alone in trying to convert players to different positions is utterly BS – look around the league.
To WWW,
Chad Hall has a shot at 5th WR/Kick-off Returner and will be an interesting player to watch in camp.
A lot depends on the play of Safety Q Demps, If Demps competes and shows that he’ a solid #3 Safety behind Mickell/Allen, then I think Demps lands a roster spot and becomes the Kick-off returner too..
If Demps lays an egg like he did in last year’s camp, then he will be cut which opens up the Kick-Off Return position and helps Hall’s chances big time. I don’t think the Eagles will have E Hobbs returning kicks anylonger and will let him just concentrate full time on playing CB.
Wasn’t Jason Peters a TE in College and the Buffalo Bills (signed him as an undrafted free-agent) and then converted him to LT who has happened to make All-Pro 2 times in his career so far..
Yep, and Anthony Spencer, the ever so famed guy who fans thought the birdz would pick had they not sent the pick to Dallas for the Kolb pick – was DE in college who plays LB in the NFL. The same haters who love to bring him up, are the ones who criticize the Eagles for trying to do the same for Gocong. Clearly Spencer worked out better than Gocong, but their point is contradictory to their other criticism.
2 words, Mike Vrabel
Chad Hall couold be Kolbs Wes Welker. With Kolb preceived to be better at short/medium routes and timing, having the small cat-quick player like Hall is, it could be a potent combo.
uh wellwellwell, ever hear of Desean Jackson? He’s the small cat-quick player. Welker is unique and I’m sick of hearing that every smallish fast guy (throw in race if you want – you’re welcome phillywill) is like Welker. Welker is built bigger than Hall. They’re not really that similar. Sorry to snap, but the ‘like wes welker’ thing has gotten WAY too overplayed.
I think Hall will have to win out a spot as a Return guy (Kick-offs and some Punts)
A 5th WR spot has to be able to contribute on Special teams as well or won’t make the final cut..
It also will be interesting to see how the TE spot shapes up.. Maybe TE’s Harbor or Ingram take a spot
normally set aside as a 5th WR, but will really be lined up all over the place more like a H-Back..
Schill, I get what you’re saying. Same thing was said about Danny Ammendola last year however he fumbles more than Adrian Peterson. To me, C Hall is more of a feel good story with how he came into the league, he’s a longshot and a scrapper. DJax..I don’t see him busting up through the middle too much like Welker does and DJax’s bread and butter is the vertical game and long slants IMO (not that he can’t/won’t take it up the middle) I just don’t know at this point who I would compare C Hall to as a point of reference.
Schill, don’t be simple here….3-4 and 4-3 are two entirely different fronts.
an outside linebacker in the 3-4 is a DE in a 4-3…period.
You can’t draft an outside rusher from college and make him a linebacker in a 4-3 with the added cover duty….That’s what the Eagles tried to do twice. Now if the Eagles had a base 3-4 defense this woud not be a discussion…Now, name one team running a 4-3 that drafted an outside rusher and converted him to play linebacker in the 4-3…name one…
Fair enough. I don’t think Hall’s going up the middle either though – by any means. I agree totally with the feel good story. But, as paulman pointed out, it’s doubtful he’ll get snaps at WR on game days if he makes the team. You’re going to take 10,18,81, and Cooper, or Celek, Weaver, or Shady off the field to put him on? Probably not. I’m more interested in guys like Clayton, Cheney, Lindley and Coleman in terms of wildcards to watch. Only because there’s room to be had at SAM, backup MLB, RCB and S.
Songs – you said yourself that Gocong would be a DE in cleaveland. Not so. That was my point. I can’t name a DE-LB on a 4-3 team. I never said I could. They tried something. It didn’t work out. You’re sitting here picking gripes about 1 mistake made by a team years ago. Only to be a hater. Nobody is unsure of your opinion of the FO/Reid. You have done a fantastic job of making it clear. Now do you have anything new to offer. Or something to say about people that are on the Eagles now? Other than ‘kolb sucks’ or ‘kolb aint done nothing yet (WE ALL FREAKIN KNOW THAT)’?
Using examples like Peters and Spencer doesn’t prove anything. There are way more players that played another position in college and coaches tried to convert them and they failed. There will always be exceptions to the rule but some guys are talented enough to make the transition but most aren’t. It’s hard to do it for the first time in the NFL. It’s already hard enough to adjust to the speed of the NFL and playing against more talented guys, but learning another position just compounds the difficulty and every simply can’t do it.
Bring up a guy like Peters who was undrafted as a TE. Why? Because he probably should not have been playing TE in the first place which is why he wasn’t drafted. He wasn’t good enough at that position. So they moved him to his natural position. I tend to think that guys who are able to make the transition are 1. talented enough to do so or 2. Weren’t playing the best position for them in college and now are. In some cases a guy is better off in a different position but in MOST cases they are more successful playing the same position as college or a different spot on the same level. exceptions don’t make the rule.
Either way, the Eagles moved him back. They haven’t done well WHEN THEY MOVED a guy into a different position. Not talking about taking a player that another team converted. But they haven’t done very well with converting themselves. Having said that, I’m glad they moved him back and I hope they move players around as they see fit and it works. If it doesn’t, put the guy back in his natural position instead of wasting his career away.
I will continue, so when they fail eveyone will know these things were discussed yet the FO continued their incompetence. Treat your players right….stop going into seasons with glaring blind spots then yank our chains by telling us you had problems in the same area we asked you to address a year prior. stop experimenting…until you win a SB you’re not in any position to attempt to be smarter than everyone else. Commit to the run and stop using the same excuses. Get a strong pedigree of “OL men” that can run block and get “1” freakin yard in key instances. Stop being so freakin cheap with players that have proven themselves and overpaying for FA that have not given your team anything breaking team moral. Get a freakin Corner to play opposite Asante. get a high pedigree Safety since you botched the situation with BDawk and last but not least get away from thinking you are the salary cap champions…the league now have caught up and do it better than you. BECOME THE GOLDEN STANDARD!!!!!
Wait, I’m still not clear on it Songs – what do you think of/want from the FO? And I LOVE how you think that the whole league has the salary cap figured out. That to me epitomizes how clueless you really are.
Songs, you are all over the map.
They have mismanaged a lot of areas, but this draft they were clearly trying to find a DE to play opposite Cole. I would have loved Earl Thomas at the spot, but they really like Graham. They like Nate Allen, so maybe he can be the guy. You can’t always fill every spot in FA or the draft.
BTW, I think that DeSean has pretty much taken care of your Mahe complaint and Weaver is the most productive fullback in the league. As far as kickoffs go, maybe this Hall kid could be the answer. I think that have done a pretty good job of taking care of the lack of weapons thing too.
Honestly, I don’t know how good this team will be this year, but they have a lot of potential and youth on both sides of the ball. This might not be a SB team now, but with another year and another offseason maybe they will be on their way. Think of it as competitive rebuilding.