IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
David Akers made a 49-yard field goal to open the scoring for the Eagles against Carolina, but was far from perfect.
He had a 51-yard attempt blocked and then put a kickoff out of bounds late in the game.
Special teams coordinator Ted Daisher was asked about both during his weekly meeting with the media:
“We did not take care of our responsibilities," he said of the blocked field goal. "We are working on that and addressing it at practice and we need to get that corrected.”
Daisher was less definitive on the kickoff that went out of bounds but knows that it cannot happen.
“I wish I could give you a real definitive answer," he said. "I was watching, when we kickoff I try to watch their wedge and their front people to try to determine what the return is so I can have a thought process when the guys come off to the side. I was staring at them and they stopped all of a sudden. I looked up and I saw the ball going out of bounds. I think he probably tried to kick it a little too wide and the ball floated out of bounds on him. We can’t have that. That’s something that he’s too good of a kicker to be doing and so we’ll get it corrected.”
The challenge for the Eagles' special teams this week will be containing Reggie Bush as the Saints try to rebound from a poor special teams performance in Week 1. Bush was out by himself on the practice field Monday on an off day fiedling punts from a machine to get extra work in.
“You need to be disciplined in your lanes of responsibility," Daisher said of the approach to containing Bush. "You need to make sure you’re in the right place in the coverage. If you do that you’ll be fine, if you have a small crease he’s like DeSean, if you give him space he has great ability to make a play.”
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BOOKER, CURTIS WORK OUT FOR BILLS
Former Eagles Lorenzo Booker and Tony Curtis worked out for the Buffalo Bills on Friday, according to both Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan.
According to Shefter's Twitter feed, the Bills also brought in running back De De Dorsey and tight ends Joe Klopfenstein and Leonard Pope.
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HOMECOMING
Saints guard Jahri Evans, a Frankford High graduate, said he requested about 50 tickets for the game for family and friends. Evans, who grew up an Eagles fan, has never played at the Linc, but was with the Saints when they knocked the Eagles from the 2007 playoffs.
“That was pretty fun, though,” Evans told the New Orleans Times Picayune. “I got to go back home with some bragging rights. That was fun.”
Receiver Marques Colston is from Harrisburg and said he arranged 40 tickets for Sunday’s game. Colston said he grew up a Houston Oilers fan and admired Warren Moon.
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SAINTS INJURY REPORT
Tailback Pierre Thomas is listed as questionable with a sprained right knee after practicing on a limited basis Friday. Thomas likely will sit out or play a limited role thanks to the emergence of Mike Bell.
Tight end Jeremy Shockey (ankle) was listed as probable after being limited in Friday’s practice. He should be fine for the game. He played through the same injury last week.
Cornerback Tracy Porter (knee), left tackle Jermon Bushrod (ankle), cornerback Usama Young (shoulder) and safety Roman Harper (hamstring) are also listed as probable after practicing fully Friday. They all should play.
Defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy (knee) is listed as questionable after being limited in Friday’s practice.
Offensive tackle Jammal Brown (hip) and tight end Darnell Dinkins (foot) are out.
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KENDRA REACTS
We have tried to stay away from stories relating to Kendra Wilkinson and focus on football. The release of her husband Hank Baskett from the Eagles has apparently not sit well with her, however.
Baskett was cut Tuesday when Michael Vick was added to the 53-man roster from the exempt list. It was inevitable that the Eagles were going to cut a receiver, since they were carrying seven, whether for Vick or someone else, and Reggie Brown's contract makes his departure less likely.
"Kendra obviously loves animals, so she was very unhappy with Vick being picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles," a friend of Kendra told Fox 411. "She stayed quiet for Hank and out of respect for the team, but as an animal lover, it was difficult. Now Hank is without a job basically because of Michael Vick. She's sad that this is how Hank's time with the Eagles is ending."
The report says that Baskett warned Kendra of the possibility and has been keeping her on a strict budget. Kendra has been talking to E! about contiuning her reality series but Baskett became the family's primary source of income.
"They were not completely shocked by the recent turn of events. Hank has been preparing her for the possibility that he could be released at any time, and Kendra has really been saving a lot of money with the new baby coming," says the insider. "She was nervous, but hopeful that Hank would remain with the team."
Baskett signed with the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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