On Saturday morning, the Eagles had some bad news to pass along regarding one of their backup quarterbacks and their offensive line.
Quarterback Mike Kafka has a broken left hand. Someone stepped on the backup’s non-throwing hand during Thursday’s game, and he will be out for three to four weeks.
Kafka played a terrible game on Thursday, and he will now miss the next three weeks of practice and games. This is a tough break for a player that has a lot to prove to the organization. Now his valuable reps will go to rookie Nick Foles and veteran Trent Edwards. With Andy Reid keeping all of his options open at quarterback, Foles has a chance to convince the coach that he can be trusted as the primary backup, and Edwards has a chance to prove he can be more valuable to the team than Kafka.
Meanwhile, apparently the Eagles haven’t liked what they’ve seen of left tackle Demetress Bell so far. They’ve benched the former Buffalo Bill in favor of King Dunlap. The reason for Bell’s benching isn’t clear at this point, but no matter what the reason is, its a very bad sign for this offensive line.
Bell was billed as a quality left tackle who, while not at Jason Peters’ level, could come in and keep the offensive line’s play at a high level. For the Eagles to lose confidence in him so quickly, and turn things over to Dunlap this soon is alarming. It’s very reminiscent of 2009 when the Eagles gave a big contract to Stacy Andrews, only to bench him one game into the regular season in favor of Max Jean-Gilles.
By taking Bell out of the lineup, the Eagles have made it known that the left tackle position is a serious concern, which is bad news for a quarterback like Michael Vick who has a lot of trouble staying healthy.
The Eagles have 15 million in cap space I say go trade for a Tackle if possible.
We will see what Foles can do; if the coaching staff takes the KISS approach with him, I think he will be good ….Edwards can manage a game…Vick is not leading us to a Super Bowl in any case.
Offensive line, Bell, that’s a worry..
Bell just needs some fine tuning. I think Foles will be the backup and a future draft pick or two for us.
I still think Burress would be a nice red zone player to have. If Dallas goes after him we need to offer more so they have less.
Why would we want to trade a player who has tremendous upside and could be a future franchise QB
Why would we want to trade a player who has tremendous upside and could be a future franchise QB for us (AT LONG LAST) with the proper development? Kafka I could see. Maybe Arizona would want him (NOT! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me. LOL!).
Damn this is bad news. Wasn’t the team high on Bell during the mini camps? I mean i thought we were all hearing how well he was doing in practice. This really is terrible news. I DO NOT trust Dunlap what so ever. And i say bring back Mcnabb as our back up to Vick. Does anyone trust Foles, or Edwards as our #2 QB? I sure as hell don’t. I do like Foles, but i don’t think he’s ready to take on that role if Kafka doesn’t pan out.
I think more of a motvational tool to get Bellup t ospeed and in a hurry so I would bot bury him just yet… I do beleve the Eagles can always shift Herremans to LT, and play Danny Watkins at RT (remember he played OT his last 2 years at Baylor) and then slide in Mike Gibson in at RG.. They should be fine
Losing Kafka means that Edwards remanins an Eagle as the primary back-up with Foles wating in the wings .. Kafka will probably go on IR for if he misses the rest of summer cap and preseason, there is no way he comes back in September as the #2 QB, they will bag him for the year on IR and let Edwards/Foles remain as #2 & #3 respectfully for the 2012 Season..
Haave you lost any of your posts
Couple of trade Rumors floating around in my head about these Eagles..
Eagles Trade WR jeremy Maclin to the ST Louis Rams for OT Jason Smith and a 3rd Round Draft Pick for 2013.. Smith was a Top Pick for the Rams a few Seasons ago but has underachieved in his 4 Years with the Rams and did have some minor foot injurires andhas played in 3 Different Offensive Systems in his 4 Seasons with the Rams, but word is that Howard Mudd was very high on him when he came out of College and believes he can get him to play to his athletic ability which is off the ccharts when motivated.. The key is Eagles getting a 3rd Rounder in return for the Eagles are currently pretty deep at the WR position and MAclin will be heading into his Contract Year and has longed to play closer to hom in Missouri where he is from and the Rams could really use a legitimate WR on their Roster.. A Win-Win for everyone and Coach Jeff Fishers obviously has a close connection with AR..
The other rumor I have come up with is the Eagles Trading CB Nnamdi Asmoguh to theJacksonville Jaguars for Safety Dwan Landry and a 2nd Round PIck in 2013… Lndry becomes the Starting Strong Safety and is the last missing piece for the Eagles Secondary… The Eagles have depth at CB with MArsh,Hanson,Boykin and Lindley to pick-up the slack for Asmmeanwhile they obtain Landry who was the Free-Agent I wanted the Eagles to sign last year instead of wasting $11 Million on Asmo to begin with…
One last trade, Which is not a rumor, is the Eagles Trading DE Darryl Tapp to the Pats,Colts or Browns for a 5th Round Draft Pick after the next Preseason game…
I wonder if the Demetrius Bell is more along the lines of being a corrective measure for a poor attitude or something similar? Even though it’s just preseason and it was a short time in for first team offense Vick stayed clean and didn’t seam overly pressured.
This is great news….get Kafka the hell outta here.
Foles have “IT”
I want to see more of Foles…and if Vick don’t step up then bench hi ass for Foles.
I don’t get Dave spadero.he seems like he doesn’t want Trent Edwards to make this team over Kafka.I say foles and Edwards for the number 2 and 3 spot.left tackle spot is a major concern of mine.Peters had that athletic ability to shed blocks and get down field to the second.d level in the screen.I don’t know fellow Eagles fanatics.I’ll leave the expert knowledge to you fellas
Drake – noone listens to Dave Spadaro buddy; he’s a team toolbag man.
If Vick does get hurt, sit his arse down and the next man (Foles) in. i like his size and his ability to take charge when given the time. Foles may be our future Qb if Vick keeps getting hurt and have an abysmal season like last year. I do want Vick to come in and do his thing this season, but if he doesn’t, let foles come in and be the next Big Ben or Brady.
I was looking at the offensive line the other night and I was impressed with what I saw out of the back up left tackle DJ Jones # 74. Perhaps he will get a look on the first string O -line . What would be the harm, can’t be any worse than what’s going on now. I still think Bell will rebound. Go Birds!!!
Having a hard time getting my comments to show up here.
I don’t like Vick or Kafka: too small & skitteris…Let’s see whay Foles can do: Edwards has proven he can manage a game, but isn’t a ‘superstar’.
Offensive line always a concern…
Vick will NEVER lead Birds to Super Bpel.
Foles was already ahead of Edwards on depth chart, so there is no way you keep him at and move Edwards ahead of him to #2. If Foles can keep progressing and do same or slightly better in rest of preseason games, he absolutely becomes THE qb of future… He doesn’t get rattled, height gives him great view of field, possesses a big NFL arm, and a very willing learner, and he had to be durable playing behind that AZ Univ line!!
I do not believe Vick can adjust to this offense, nor does he have a future here. I’d like to see him succeed but don’t see the big leap forward, ever.
Kafka isn’t even close to what Detmer was.
Can’t believe a sane mind would suggest bringing McNabb back!!!???
Well I rewatched the 1st team offense and defense again from the Steelers game. On their second offensive play, the Eagles ran a wide zone stretch play to the left side. Besides Clay Harbor not delivering a strong enough upfield punch on the OLB and failing to secure the edge, Demetress Bell demonstrated exactly how special of an athlete Jason Peters really is. Bell looked like he was running with cement shoes compared to the entire rest of the OL. Kelce and Mathis were practically on top of him after a fe strides. Where Jason Peters would have been so fast to the point of attack, Bell was running in sand. He is simply nowhere near the athlete we were hoping he was. The left Tackle position is a legit concern.
Other notes: Brian Rolle, Jaiquan Jarrett were awful. Ryans should have shown up on the stat sheet for at least 2 assisted tackles when I believe he was credited with none. He can play the cut well and his instincts are decent, but you could definitely tell that he was either saving himself or doesn’t have downhill Madman LB in him. If this is what he is he will be serviceable but not Dynamic. Kendrick’s can play. He has Ernie Sims athleticism and speed, but fortunately a superior football IQ to Mr. Shark in the Water. Did I mention that Jarrett was awful?
Regarding Kafka, tough news. But I am looking forward to seeing more of Foles. I was high on the kid and liked the pick knowing that his major flaw is lack of polish but had all of the physical tools including mental makeup to be a quality NFL QB. I cannot recall an Andy Reid QB anywhere close to his stature. I will be interesting to see what the Nick Foles version of this offense looks like.
I agree with Paulman that this may be a good year to let go of a quality veteran either by trade or release to provide an opportunity for a younger player that you think can be a star. If it means letting Daryl Tapp go in order to keep Hunt, Graham and Thornton at this moment I would say I am for it. I need to see more games but I think there could be some surprise releases or trades of players who are not showing what they are supposedly worth. Nnamdi is a class dude, but I am not sure that you can continue to trot him out there and feel comfortable with the kinds of performances like Thursday night. The TD on the slant at the Goalline may not have been completely his fault but his lack of ability ability to get off blocks in space or at least get physical with the blocking WR to set the edge on a run coming his way like Troy and Sheldon used to do so well is terribly frustrating. Everytime I see him do this I always wonder, “do we not have anyone on this team that can play better than this? He is a feast or famine player in the way Asante was just without those “playmaking skills”.
I am glad to hear that Johnson is getting more work and the coaches seem like they are going to explore his skill set. I was extremely high on his signing as well and hope he continues what he started last Thursday. I love his quickness and elusiveness. He is a Dynamic player and you must make room on the roster for as many dynamic players as possible.
I am looking forward to this team bouncing back on Saturday. But I fear that this team still has some significant growing to do and it might take more than the preseason to get things worked out. It is probably best to see how things play out, but I think the depth chart and overall roster will see some changes over the next few weeks right up to the regular season.
I stated as soon as Peters was hurt (when everyone was clamouring over LB and Safety) that the 2 biggest areas of concern on the Birds were QB and LT.
These are the 2 most important positions on a football team, and the birds do not have competent players at either one of them.
How anyone could talk Superbowl with Vick at QB and a Buffalo Bills Reject at LT is beyond me.
Remember however that all is not lost. The Eagles are not gearing up for a SB run this year. They’re still grooming for the future. Vick is a stopgap measure.
Outlook:
OL – Birds will be able to piece together a line this year. Paulman’s idea of Herremans/Watkins shuffle is entirely possible.
QB – More reps for Foles is a good thing. We all know Edwards stinks, so he isn’t really in the conversation. We all (at this point at least) also know that Vick is gone after this year, so extra reps for Foles this year + the 3 or 4 mid-season games he’ll appear in + a good chance of playing in the season finale will do nothing but benefit next year’s starter.
lost posts anyone?
One of my posts last week was dropped. Itnshouldntnhave been intentionally dumped since it contained nothing abrasive or objectionable.
Damn iPad… It shouldn’t have been intentionally dumped…
You have to keep signing in and out Big-E, it’s been doing this now for the last 2 weeks and is a pain in the ass right when Camp and football seasons begins… I hope G-Man gets this fix for he will lose many/most posters…
Reid ought to let Vick go back to playing like Vick
There is no way he is going to adapt to being a prototypical NFL QB
Will they win a SB with Vick playing like he always did
I doubt it but they have a better chance that way and he is more exciting than this losing experiment
exactly rcp, vick will never adapt, let him play his style for better or worse, unlike randall cunningham, he is not able to transition to a pocket quarterback, he still looks very uncomfortable, this will never work
I recall Kolb and Kafka, looking impressive in preseason games against 3rd stringers….when they were rookies too…just saying…
@Rocko.i hear ya.thanks man