From the sound of a number of Eagles offensive players, it doesn’t look like the starters are going to play against the New York Jets. I understand Andy Reid’s desire to stay away from injuries but this offense needs more work.
They were totally out of sync against the Chiefs, yet Reid doesn’t look like he’s going to change his mind at this time. You and I know that DeSean Jackson isn’t going anywhere near the football field until the regular season starts. He will speak to the media after practice, so we should be able to get definite answer from him.
Here are some opinions I got from Eagles players about the starters not playing in the final preseason game.
In the locker room a few minutes ago, Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver says they’re already preparing for the Green Bay Packers and the backups will play in this one but you won’t see the starters. Weaver isn’t concerned about the poor performance against the Chiefs, he thinks this squad will be able to rebound and get themselves ready for an outstanding effort against the Pack.
In his words, “all of the mistakes are correctable”.
Starting safety Quintin Mikell and his fellow starters plan on contributing to the next game by helping their backup teammates get prepared.
Rookie defensive end Brandon Graham says it’s not tough for him to focus on a preseason game because he’s not used to preseason games. The youngster says he plays every game like it counts and that’s the way he avoids having the coach correct his mistakes.
Rookie Riley Cooper was all business as he talked about keeping up his level of play. Cooper didn’t want to hear anything about what he had accomplished up to this point. The former Florida Gators says he’s not taking anything for granted as he approaches the Eagles final game of the preseason.
Veteran cornerback Ellis Hobbs says he’s focused on the preparation for the game vs. the Jets regardless of whether he plays or not. Hobbs doesn’t appreciate the fact that he and the rest of the starters will get the chance to rest is something he looks forward to. Hobbs says he relishes the chance to let his body get closer to 100%.
The former New England Patriots feels the Eagles defense is ready to go.
Wide receiver Hank Baskett who is battling for a position on the roster, talked about the special teams and their development. Baskett will likely make or break his competition with wide receiver Kelley Washington based on how he does on special teams. Right now he’s battling uphill because Reid said Washington was one of the best special teams contributors in the league.
Rookie Trevard Lindley,who got the chance to play with the first team defense in nickel situations on Friday, is excited about the chance to play more against the Jets on Thursday. He feels he’s getting more comfortable and is looking forward to getting better.
Lindley said he wasn’t awed by getting the chance to play with the first team nickel defense and likes to get up in the face of wide receivers and be physical with them.
If the first team offense and defense don’t play, it’s safe to say that the Birds will be relatively healthy when the season starts and that’s not a bad thing.
We’ll hear from Andy later in the afternoon.
No surprise at all and the safe,smart play..
The Eagles are finally getting 2/5 of their O/Line together with Herremans and hopefully J Jackson by
the 1st Game.. What good is a good drive or 2 really mean or accomplish versus the Jet’s back-ups most likely, on Thursday when the real season begins in 2 weeks.. They are better off, stayging healthy and getting their preparations for the Packers..
I believe the Risk of getting players hurt in a meaninigless game outweighhs the benefit of and another series or two with the #1’s… Let the young guys play who busted their butts all camp and won’t make the roster and stay injury free with the players you will need for the next 4 months of Football Season …
Good…we’ll probably see a TD in the first quarter…..I wonder how many points Green bay will be favored for the 1st game of the week?
I’m guessing Packers by 9 in Vegas..Kafka is a pretty sharp QB..I wont mind watching him play..
Kafka may be the sleeper like Brady was to NE.
Kafka looked pretty sharp, head turning, eyes scanning, actually going through his reads, unlike Kolb who continues to stare down his target – rarely scanning the entire field after a snap – with or without time, he has not made good decisions.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kafka gets the starting nod at some point this season or next. The Kolb experiment may not last 16 games.
Yeah, the contract extension for Kolb of only 1 year, CBA or no CBA, is rather telling.
who is returning kickoffs this year? will hobbs get a chance at it?
I told everyone when hall was drafted he was Reno Mahe yet all the over optimistic fans were claiming I was just haing on the team. Look, Andy haves this weird fasinations with these type characters and I think it’s a hldover from his college coaching days. Look Andy, this is the pros and you do’t look at a kid at the pro stage and think you can make him perform at this level. If there was no Eagles Reno Mahe would have been in a semi pro league somewhere. stop wasting picks on projects and address positions with players who have the experience and size, and speed o perform at a prov level. Period. This team is not on a level to experiment. Get a real freakin return person.
This team is a mess. Thanks Andy. Hey Banner sign him to a 10 year extension.
Let’s all give Songs the credit he deserves. Afterall, he did pick the longshot at best, competing for the 8th wide reciever/ 5th running back spots that don’t exist on this team, to not make this team…and he didn’t. Now don’t stop there, songs went on to correctly pat himself on the prediction, and analyze the implication – the wasted draft pick… uh the one for round 9 that happens months before the draft…songs everybody knew hall probably woundnt make the team. And he was a no risk high reward free agent signing – that’s right, he wasn’t drafted so no cost/waste on the team…and the eagles have the best punt returner and a kick returner who was best before so behind that, all you can do is experiment!
Yes rokko, this team which has thrown 0 ints, given up 0 yards, 0 tds, and lost 0 games is a clear mess.
Songs, every year Reid cuts at least 27 people, and each and every one of them is a serious indictment of the front office’s failures to pick the right players right? Or does the nfl require them to trim the roster from 80 to 53 and does training camp generally require more bodies to take the reps and hits.
Not to Change the Subject,
Anyone see how well Joe mAys played tonight versus the Steelers,
1 Sacks, 2 pressures, 1 tackle in the backfield for a loss that I saw in the 3rd Quarter..
Also did anyone see how well their 5th RD Draft Pick Parrish Cox from Oklahoma State played..
He played the 1st Half in place of Champ Baily and defended about 3-4 passes plus had an interception in the End Zone.. I know there were a few of us who really liked this kid for the Eagles in the draft and the Broncos grabbed him with their 5th Pick.. (lot of people think was 2nd Round Talent)..
Sigh. Same old refrain from some on here. Last time I checked, Eagles are STILL 0-0 in the 2010 regular season. I heard a caller on WIP making a big stink about the fact Kolb was like the only starting QB in the NFL without a TD. Funny, somewhere I missed how Kolb also dropped the TD pass he threw to himself in the first game. I thought it was Celek with an uncharacteristic drop but I guess I was wrong. And amazingly Kolb managed to play both Tackle positions as well as QB on the TD pass to Avant in the 2nd game that was called back b/c both Tackles (Kevin Kolb) didn’t line up on the LOS. Now Kolb certainly did NOT play well I Friday’s game. He took 2 sacks b/c he didn’t see the free blitzer and hit the back in the flat. He never turned his head so he never saw the blitz coming. Still, I am confident that he will fix that. This is Kevin’s first year as the starter. I expect growing pains, but seriously, everybody needs to chill out.
xman , you chill out
Do you think this team go to the playoffs this year?
Yeah, Chad Hall = Jeremy Bloom.
I’m hoping the D keeps us in games, and our returners give us good field position.
In the red zone, I’d like to see Kolb with a three step drop and a throw – in the Chiefs game, watching him wait for something to develop while in the red zone looked like someone who is afraid to make a play, afraid to make a mistake; so instead he did nothing.
Eagles have as good as a chance as anyone else, for who knows, the season hasn’t started..
The Cowboys Starters were manhandled by the Texans 23-0 the other night thru the 1st 3 Quaters,which makes 3 straight gamed their #1 offense hasn’t produced much either.
The Giants starters were losing 20-3 the other night before substitutions wer made in the 3rd quarter
The Redskins are not playing/practicing McNabb due to injured ankle so the NFC East is up for grabs
I think in 2010, I also think the NFC East is a weaker Division this year than the NFC North & South and will probably only get the Division Winner in as a Playoff Team … so it’s up for grabs starting out.
The good thing starting out is that there are very few serious injuries with any starters and in fact C J JAckson should be returning soon with Herremans to shore up the weakest spot so far (O/Line)
The Defense is looking improved with tackling,pressure on the QB and suprisngly, the Secondary has played well over-all though I am not too excited playing offenses like the Jags/Chiefs so far, but they held their own versus a talented offense in the Bengals..
Eagles get their O/Line healthy, and the need to address the Back-up TE and back-up RB situation
as well as the kick-off/punt return guy as well as Special Teams Coverage teams in general..
Well done Schiller..The team is not a mess..
we need a petition to get andy outta here (harry k style)
hire chuckie please
For all you folks ragging about Hall – remember one thing chuckleheads – the dude has spent the last two years NOT playing football. He’s spent the last two years fufilling his service requirment for attending the Air Force Academy – he was NOT drafted – he was signed as a free agent – KUDOS to Andy Reid and the organization for giving him a shot at his dream –
SONGS – yes – I think the Eagles will make the playoffs. Yes, I think Kolb will have a very good year. Yes, I think the Eagles will struggle early and then get rolling as the season progresses – Why – 2 of those 3 things typically happen every year – Kolb will figure it out and the D is much better –
Perhaps if Chad Hall got a block or 2 on KO’s he might be able to get more than 5 or 6 yards.
Hear, hear..navy..Ya know Songs, you come off as a 90 year old miserable crab of a person..just bitching about anything..bitch.bitch..bitch..bitch..bitch.