Macho Harris gets final shot to impress Eagles

MACHO HARRIS can count, and he knows that getting moved from cornerback, where he'd played all spring and summer, back to safety for the final week of the preseason probably was not a great omen for his continued employment with the Eagles.

Harris talked this week about the opportunity to "showcase my talent" in tonight's preseason finale against the visiting New York Jets. Translated, that means the rest of the NFL will see the film, and if last year's rookie starter at free safety is a victim when the Birds trim from 75 to 53 this weekend, he at least can enhance his chance of getting a job somewhere else.

For what it's worth, Harris said he felt his conversion back to safety has been "smooth, very smooth - I felt like I didn't miss a beat at all at safety."

"Being a player, all you can do is what the coaches ask you to do," he said. "Try to think positive, wherever they put me at, I don't care if it's long snapper; wherever I can help the team, I'm going to try to do it."

Harris missed most of training camp and the first two preseason games battling a persistent hamstring problem. That pretty much killed his chances at corner, where Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Joselio Hanson, Dimitri Patterson and fourth-round rookie Trevard Lindley all seem assured of roster spots.

Safety doesn't look much more inviting, with Quintin Mikell and smooth second-round rookie Nate Allen starting, backed up by veteran Quintin Demps, who has had a good camp, and seventh-round rookie Kurt Coleman, a late-draft find whose hard-hitting style will enhance the special teams. The Birds are unlikely to keep 10 d-backs.

Could they try to sneak Coleman onto the practice squad? Possible, but unlikely. A personnel guy from an AFC team raved about Coleman after the Birds' preseason loss in Cincinnati. Very difficult to expose him to being claimed.

"I'll probably be playing a whole lot" tonight, Harris guessed, "just because I missed a large portion of training camp and two games, probably be getting a lot of reps."

The Eagles drafted 13 rookies in April, their largest draft class in more than 20 years. Sixth-round fullback Charles Scott was traded, fifth-round defensive end Ricky Sapp is on injured reserve. That leaves 11 draftees, plus undrafted offensive tackle Austin Howard, who seems likely to make the team, as the Eagles prepare to whittle to 53.

A dozen rookies would be a huge group. The roster for last season's Eagles opener featured six rookies. In the crowded linebacking corps, keeping both fourth-rounder Keenan Clayton and seventh-rounder Jamar Chaney might be a luxury; you'd have to think special-teams coordinator Bobby April would rather have a polished vet, such as Tracy White, among the reserves.

Right now, if White isn't in the mix, the top six linebackers are Stewart Bradley, Ernie Sims, Akeem Jordan, Omar Gaither, Clayton and Chaney, but tonight might result in a switch in that sixth spot. Moise Fokou obviously remains a contender, along with White.

One rookie who definitely will make the team is quarterback Mike Kafka. The fourth-round pick from Northwestern led a final-series touchdown drive for Friday's victory at Kansas City, which didn't have much to do with the Eagles' 2010 fortunes, but showed Kafka's potential.

Kafka is scheduled to play the second half tonight. After that, barring calamity, he'll be lucky to get a half-dozen mopup snaps all season.

"Move the ball, complete passes, operate the offense, show them that I can manage the game and execute," Kafka said, when asked his objectives for tonight. "It was fun to work the 2-minute drill [in Kansas City] . . . Offensive line was clicking, receivers were making plays. I think it was a great thing to see the young guys go out there and execute, not just for myself, but the young guys on the offensive line, the receiving corps, and everybody."

Guys tend to make friendships on teams based on their rookie class, assuming more than one or two guys from a class stick around several years. The 2010 rookies have the potential to become a really large, influential subgroup in the locker room, a sort of football version of the baby boom generation.

"You want to help the team get better," Kafka said. "When coaches see that, and obviously, they have, as a rookie class . . . we've been playing fairly well. I'm excited . . . The camaraderie we've had since we came in has been great. We take every opportunity we can to get together, talk about what's going on - 'did you have a good practice?' Things like that. Just help out, talk and communicate, because everyone's going through the same thing."

Another member of that rookie class, fifth-round wideout Riley Cooper, was asked about the perception he has exceeded expectations. Cooper would seem to be slotted right behind the Birds' three standouts, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant. In a preseason of opportunity for youngsters, Cooper has made the most of his.

"I'm playing football, man. This is what I love to do," Cooper said. "I'm confident in my ability to play. I'm a very humble guy, but I'm also confident in my ability . . . You don't have to make it too complicated."

West Depford, N.J., safety Anthony Scirrotto is unlikely to survive the cutdown from 75 to 53 this weekend, but is scheduled to play tonight at Lincoln Financial Field, wearing the uniform of the team he grew up cheering. Actually, Scirrotto played at the Linc once before, for Penn State against Temple, he said, but this will be "a lot different," in front of quite a few family members and friends . . . For running back Martell Mallett, tonight might make the difference between making the roster or at least the practice squad, and heading back to Canada, where he was CFL rookie of the year last year. "This whole experience has been great," said Mallett, who was cut early in camp but quickly brought back, making it only as far as the airport back home in Little Rock, Ark., before he was asked to return. Mallett said he was told his release had been "a mistake." *

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