Eagles second round draft pick University of California linebacker Mychal Kendricks was very active this weekend at the Eagles rookie practices. He showed his 4.41 speed on Saturday on one play when he ran with one of the tight ends deep downfield about 30 yards and picked off a pass by quarterback Nick Foles.
Kendricks and his young teammates are getting a taste of what it’s going to be like to play in the NFL. They’re not wearing equipment and there’s no hitting, but they’re running plays and executing their assignments.
The big difference for Kendricks and his young teammates is the speed of the NFL game.
“It was moving fast. A lot went in, but overall I think we did pretty good as a team. The defensive squad did well today”, Kendricks said this weekend.
Speed is the first thing that jumps out at you about Kendricks. The youngster is fast and very sharp in his understanding of the game.
“We’re just doing some cover four”, Kendricks said after the Saturday morning workout. “Anything that has to do with cover four, that’s what we’re working on today. Even in the second practice, that’s all we’re doing. That’s what we’re focusing on and that’s what we’re trying to get better at.”
Kendricks is ahead of most young linebackers because his dad played running back for the Eagles years ago.
I think Kendricks has the instincts and ability to be a big play linebacker. He’s smart and he plays with tremendous intensity. You must have a high football intelligence in order to be able to study opponents and decipher what you should expect out of different formations in specific situations.
Kendricks seems to have that gym rat mentality. He’ll be looking at tapes of the upcoming opponents, so he can anticipate what the opposing offenses will do. He’ll be the guy watching tapes at home at night to get an extra advantage.
This young man is also a hitter with tremendous explosion at the point of attack. I expect to see him causing some fumbles with big hits.
What do you think as a former LB G-Man, Does Kendricks have the moves to be a good NFL LB, the speed,fluidity, change of direction that it takes to play with the big boys… How about BOykin, what’s your impressions of him.. Over at Eagles.Com, he looked pretty impressive and very quick in all the drills…
Then you add the 2 DL in Cox and CUrry, and the Eagles could have drafted 4 players not only to make in impact in 2012 but a solid foundation for years to come ..
The Eagles fans loved this draft for a reason…
It was the first time in years Andy Reid and company made common sense selections….
The only exotic pick was the last one, on a complete bum that could not make it in college because he did not start. Now he’s going to make it in the NFL were he’ll be sitting the bench behind shady???
Outside of that selection Andy kept his cheeseburger eating hands out and let the offensive line coach and defensive line coach have their way…
NFL coaches are not that much smarter than most of the diehard fans. Football is football, and it’s not a complicated game. Every now and then a innovator like Bill Walsh or Tom Landry comes along, but mostly its common sense.
Defense still wins championships…
The Giants have shut down the Bills and Patriot offenses in their superbowl victories. At the time they were both supposed to be unstoppable. The 49ers shut down Dan Marino and his unstoppable offense.
If Andy keeps making common sense decisions, then the fans will support him. It’s when he gets on his “I’m smarter then the rest of the world kick” and does stupid stuff like making an offensive line coach the defensive coordinator or passing 12 plays in a row or not running the best back in the NFL in the 4th quarter to hold or extend a lead, or bumbles time outs or challenges, that fans start screaming at the TV set in disbelief…
I am glad that G seems to think this young guy can play, but it is still early. Ernie Sims was a demon up at Lehigh, and he didn’t help the Birds at all. But it is still better to look good early, than to look crummy.
GO SIXERS.
The tackle from purdue sucks! He won’t last
Joe Friday…great point….I had the same Ernie Sims flashback about Kendricks…hopefully we are both wrong and the guy turns out to be a stud.
I see no comparision to Ernie Sims, Remember the only ones around the NFL who were speaking highly of SIms were the Eagles who traded for him.. It was no secret that many NFL Observors already had him pegged as a bust for the Lions… In Fact, G-Man pointed out in one of his original analysis of Sim’s play onc ehe arrived in Philly CAMp that even though Sims was very athletic, that he did not about very natural and struggled at recognizing formations and plays and to be honest, I think G-Man was covering up for the fact that he didn’t think Sims had any real “football smarts” which I would say we could all agree on his asessment of Sims..
I have not heard any of these deficiencies about kendricks, in fact, I’ve been reading who this guy studies his opponents, knows his Defensive calls and responsibilities of all 11 players on Defense and in fact is quite a bright fellow with a high Football IQ.. Kendricks is a player, Sims was an overhyped player by the Eagles machinery in which meany in the local media and fans bought into..
@ Pman…you state that “Sims was an overhyped player by the Eagles machinery in which meany in the local media and fans bought into.”
You are correct, but that is the same stage that we are currently with this crop of draft picks….trying to parce the hype from actual ability is just what we are trying to do. Ernie Sims was a former 1st round draft pick, in the Top 10 of that draft if I remember correctly. The comparison with Kendricks is that at the same time of the year, we got similar reports about Sims when they were running around in shorts….don’t you remember all of the “shark in the water” comments about Sims??
I don’t want to speak for JoeFriday, but I believe that Kendricks will be a good player for us, but truth be told I also thought that Sims was going to help the team also when we first saw him at training camp.
Did anybody else see the segment on ESPN about Donovan’s 15-20 pound weight loss and Reids endorment of him to other teams in the league?
Merril Hodge was pretty hard on Donnie, saying that they guy doesn’t have a good work ethic when it comes to the classroom, and says that this is why he did so poorly in Washington and Minnesota….it was an interesting debate, and McNabb is saying that he only wants to go someplace where he can be a starter.
Anybody else see this? Any thoughts??
I agree with some of your comments greenfan, but I personalyl did not buy into it for I never thought Sims was a Top NFL LB by any means regardless of whar the Eagles and local media stated.. He was very average and undiscplined his first few Seasons on a bad Lions team, but he never lived up to expectations there so he came in as a new team with a fresh start, but bottom line, he produced the same results which were minimal..
I’veseen Kendricks play and think he’s a legitimate NFL LB and will contribute and make plays.. I am not saying he’s the next Patrrick WIllis but he has all the tools including the FOotball smarts to be a very productive player in the NFL and this is someting that Sims always lacked in my opinion… I lke the Kendricks pick, I am not so sure about playing the SAM position and would prefer him to play WILL and eventually take over for Ryans in the Middle in 2-3 years time
As far as McNabb, if a decent Team has a QB injury during Summer Camp/Presseason then I can see him getting a call from teams like the Ravens,Falcons,Bengals,49ers, Cardinals who are potential playoff caliber teams and don’t really have quality experienced back-ups behind their Starters.. It’s nice to see him working out hard and losing weight, but unfortunately, he should have been doing this 2 years ago when the Eagles Traded him which should have opened his eyes about his conditioning, preparation and work ethic, it’s taken him 2 lost years to realize this and now it’s probably too late, he could probably be a serviceable QB on a good team where he isn’t asked to do a whole lot, but the days of him slinging the ball 40= times a game are over..
greenfan — stick a fork in him.
What about Matthews?
he’s ass and needs to be cut ASap and take Juan Ca-stink-o with him.
Songs – you are an idiot – and an ass – and i don;t care who goes – but can they pretty please take your lame, no nothing, whiney douche ass with them!
GReen – saw that article – I know that dude George Whitfeild he was working with on his throwing mechanics – Gearge – oh about 5 years ago – was a guy that worked guys (middle school and high school JV) guys out trying to make varsity the next year – folks would fly in from Texas to spend a week learning to be a QB – everything from film to reads – but his big thing was FOOTWORK. We actually had a conversation about Donovan McNabb and his throwing motion adn George told me he would love the chance – now the dude has BLOWN UP – he helped someone get ready for a combine and he is now the ‘QB guy’ – nicest, most polite fellow. I met a number of prospective college QBs (Tate Forcier and Lindley from SDSU) watching him –
I think Donovan is a great guy to be the #2 – I was surprised to hear about his work ethic becuase when he was with the eagles he had an outstanding work ethic…
I think he can still play, and if soemone needs a solid #2 (I think Miami..) he coul dbe their guy
Hell, we need a solid number 2.
McNabb is better than every QB on our team except Vick…and he can run this offense so there’s little drop off if Vick gets hurt.
The Eagles would be wise to sign McNabb and drop those bums behind Vick.
Songs – on this topic I do not disagree – it would not bother me if they signed McNabb to be a back up… my gut is that 1) MCNabb wants to start, 2) jhe will want too much money (looking for extensions on Maclin and McCoy ) and 3) Donovan would be too big a distraction (too much conversation about his commnets) to look past and try and bring him in.
Navy…is Mcnabb better than every backup we have? Can he win games if Vick gets hurt?
If so, those issues you’ve mentioned is a small price to pay to win….or let’s just lose games if Vick goes down.
Are we trying to win games or what?
What in the hell is wrong with Eagles fans giving reasons not to have better players?
McNabb had 11 years to get the job done and didn’t — good riddance.
Songs – I guess you missed my opening statement – on this topic we do NOT disagree – I just don;t think it will happen –
Navy — you don’t think it will happen because it would be STUPID for it to happen. We don’t need distractions. We have our QB. Then we have young guys ready to back him up if need be.
This is Mike Vick’s team.
Having McNabb on board would just be a distraction.
agreed BoB – #3 on my list of reasons why I don;t think it will – if you saw the program – the guys from NFL live were interviewing Reid and they asked him what would he say if a team called him up and asked him about MCNabb –
I certainly wasn’t guessing that Kendricks will turn out to be like Sims. It is ignorant to go making guesses when almost no information is collected yet. I expect him to play well for the Eagles and earn his keep while he is here, but it is early in the process. Na Brown “best hands on the field” at Lehigh every year, there are a million guys like that. They look good at the start and then fall flat. I certainly do not think MK will be one of those guys, but to be honest, we won’t really know much until November or so. Kendricks has good measureables, a decent pedigree and solid game tape. Now we will wait and see how it transfers to playing at the next level, but it is still better to look good early, than it is to look bad and try to make up ground on the fly.
I agree with your assesment JoeFriday,
We won’t know jack about about any of the Rookies,or any of the new Players (like LT D Bell and MLB Ryan) until they actually start playing though there is some history with Bell & Ryan playing on other teams with different schemes and responsibilities,etc,etc.. but no doubt, it is always better to look good in all of these drills and workouts from get go.. This MK apeears very confident in his own ability and seems to have a very strong work-ethic & a strong sense of pride to be an impact player which is a great start for a young player to have…
Marvin Lewis……
Coming out of Arizona State, Vontaze Burfict was viewed as a risky proposition, and he ultimately went undrafted. But Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says he was happy to sign Burfict as an undrafted free agent because there’s no risk at all to that.
“I don’t know what down side there is. I think he’s a young man who has fallen from graces everywhere,” Lewis said on NFL Network’s Total Access. “Through the draft process, obviously at Arizona State, he didn’t play very well as a senior player. But when you watch some of the things he did on tape, “he has the hips, the snap, he has the ability to play under and through blocks”, and that’s what you’re looking for in a linebacker. We’re providing the opportunity for Vontaze. He’ll continue to get better. He’s changing his body physically from the body that played in the ’11 season at Arizona State. He’s a much lighter player now again, and I’m pleased with what he did last week in our rookie camp. I want to see him continue to get better and it’ll be fun next week when we get the full team out here in OTAs.”
Lewis didn’t seem to appreciate a question about whether the Bengals overlook character issues with players, saying that there’s nothing wrong with giving a shot to a young man who will try to prove himself worthy of making the team.
“We didn’t pick him,” Lewis said. “We signed him after the draft as a college free agent. There’s been a lot of players picked by a lot of teams that have had a very checkered past. This is all about Vontaze’s future and not what he’s done in the past.”
Burfict still has an uphill climb to make the Bengals’ roster, just as every undrafted free agent does. But Lewis is excited to give him the chance.
As I said….”Low Risk – High Reward.”
For a team like our Eagles who had the worse linebackers in the league this could have been a good opportunity to bolster the linebacking corp…but we would rather keep garbage ass players like Matthews and Fokou when either of them has the upside compared to Burfict.
Songs- are you Burfict? Come clean.
Songs- Burfict is not here because he has made VERY poor choices in his life. He’s a young man who already has blown millions by modeling himself after rappers and gang bangers instead of MLK and tony dunge. He has spent his life living for SELF and has shown. This has nothing to do with talent…. he may or may not be a good LB. But as a human…… he is trash. I wish him luck… i hope he turns it around…. but i for one am glad he is not here right now.
Songs, about Mathews…..
I dont know if he sucks yet. What I DO know is that we have not had good coaching at the LB spot for as long as i can remember. How do we bury a guy like Mays on our depth chart to then watch him start on a good D? I jumped up and down about how this guy was good and yet….. poof… gone. We have seen this before….. Witherspoon came in… played well…. poof GONE. My big hope is that they let Ryans coach the LB’s because he is better than anything we have coaching right now. I want to see MORE of mathews. I want to see him IN THE RIGHT POSITIONS to make plays.
Good points Stevo….you really hit it on the head.
Not sure why we keep talking about Burflict, because if he does turn it around and become the stud that his raw talent shows glimpses of, everyone on GCobb will know that his #1 fan was Songs, long before most others!!
stevo, aren’t you a preacher, why judge a young man harshly for making mistakes, I am sure you have done things you would be ashamed to post here, burfict had a rough upbringing and wisdom comes from experience,, and all these socalled model players tutors, they had a lot of help in life, lets see what the man can do with a little help
Guys, forget about Burfict’s behavior or relationship with coaches issues. Forget about his combine (lack of) performance. Forget about his weight. His interviews. His immaturity.
WHAT MATTERS MOST IS THAT GAME TAPE TELLS PEOPLE ONE THING ABOUT THE PLAYER – SHITTY LB.