ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff photographer
Brandon Gibson will start vs. Jets.
John Smallwood: Gibson, Amendola provide two reasons to watch Eagles' last preseason game
THE GENERAL perception about NFL preseason games is that they are worthless.
And when you get to the fourth preseason game and coaches are afraid to even dress their starters for fear that a grass cut might get infected and cause them to miss the season opener, irrelevant takes on an entirely different meaning.
But there are some players on the rosters of both the Eagles and New York Jets for whom tonight's preseason finale will be as important as the Super Bowl.
Most of the spots on the Eagles' 53-man roster already are accounted for, but there still are a precious few jobs up in the air.
For some players, this last exhibition game could be that last opportunity to make a statement that could fulfill a lifelong dream and earn them a job in the National Football League.
"It's another chance," said receiver Danny Amendola, who is trying to make the Eagles' roster after being signed to the practice squad in January. "We've been preparing all camp for this situation, especially the younger guys.
"We're going to get a lot more reps. I'm looking forward to it, because it's another chance to show what you can do."
Rookie Brandon Gibson finished his career at Washington State as the school's all-time leading receiver.
When the Eagles drafted him in the sixth round, Gibson was so excited that he probably never considered the implications of being selected by a team that already had talent at the position and had used its first-round pick on receiver Jeremy Maclin.
"We're stacked," said Gibson, who is slated to start against the Jets. "From one down to eight we're stacked at wide receiver. There is nothing I can do as far as numbers. They brought me here.
"I just want to go out and have fun. This is a game I love playing, and with this opportunity to start, a lot of good things can happen.
"All I can do is focus on what I can control."
Gibson and Amendola find themselves in a position to make the final preseason game have meaning, a testament to the focus they've had from the start of minicamps.
It takes a lot of effort for a sixth-round pick and a guy signed off a practice squad to make an impression in a NFL camp.
In the first three preseason games, Gibson totaled eight catches for 78 yards with a touchdown.
He's not going to break into the Eagles' wide-receiver rotation with DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant and Maclin, but Gibson does have more catches than higher-priced incumbents Reggie Brown and Hank Baskett.
Again, the idea that the coaching staff is starting him tonight means they want to take a second, third or fourth look at him.
"I'm excited about this, but there is really nothing more I can do to try to impress the coaches other than go out and play my game," Gibson said. "The coaches have seen a lot of me, and I hope they like what they've seen.
"At this point of the game, I just want to be fundamentally sound, go out and execute to the best of my ability. I feel they drafted me for a reason, and they expect me to go out there and make plays."
Amendola is in a little different position.
If he makes this roster, it's not going to be as a receiver, but as a special-teams player.
While Maclin has struggled with punt returns, Amendola, who spent last season on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, is averaging 15.8 yards on four returns.
He also has two kick returns for 44 yards.
In every sense, he has done everything in his power to make this team, and it still might not be enough.
"I know what you are saying and it's tough, but you really can't look at things that way," said Amendola, who had 103 catches for 1,177 yards as a senior at Texas Tech. "As a player, all I can do is say I'm in the situation that I am and I have to go work as hard as I can to prove that I can play day in and day out.
"I just have to do that and then leave the decision-making up to the coaches. You'd like to hope that one more big play can make the difference, but really, you just have to make as many plays as you can."
Some people say there is no reason to watch after the first half of a preseason game.
The truth is, that's when some of the most intense football is being played because, for guys like Amendola and Gibson, nothing can be taken for granted, and every snap could make the difference.
Send e-mail to smallwj@phillynews.com.
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