Cole Was with Babin When Reid Called
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Cole Was with Babin When Reid Called
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
The Eagles' locker room reacted to the release of Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin Wednesday the way you would expect -- younger players seemed shocked, older ones said they've seen such things before.
DE Trent Cole, Babin's hunting buddy, said Babin was in Cole's garage, getting ready to head home, when the call came from Eagles coach Andy Reid.
"He said, 'yeah, they just released me.' I thought he was playing at first ... he wasn't," Cole said. "It was shocking to him ... He's got a family to take care of."
"We're going to move on ... I know Jason's going to find a great home, he's going to be successful. He's going to make somebody happy."
DE Brandon Graham said he lined up in Babin's spot Wednesday. Babin was claimed on waivers by Jacksonville. An NFL source said Buffalo and Washington also placed claims.
Graham and rookie DE Vinny Curry, part of the stated "youth movement" reason for Babin's release, embraced the idea of getting more snaps but said they were sorry to see Babin go.
Middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans said the business side of football never surprises him. Reporters pressed players on what message the Eagles might be trying to send underachieving players; not many wanted to engage on that topic
"This goes on everywhere, this ain't nothing new; this happens on every team," Cole said. "Now you know how real this game is, and what this game's all about."
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Quarterback Michael Vick, who did not practice, told your Eagletarian that he was about to take another imPACT test, a hurdle he must clear to return from concussion. Vick did not pass the test he took Monday.
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DT Fletcher Cox (tailbone bruise) said he will not practice today, but hopes to practice by Friday and thinks he can play Sunday night at Dallas. C Dallas Reynolds (ankle) was not scheduled to practice; LG Evan Mathis took Reynolds' snaps and said he might be playing center Sunday, with Danny Watkins at left guard.
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Backup safety David Sims acknowledged he is disappointed he hasn't gotten a chance to win a starting job, given the Eagles' struggles at the position.
The Eagles have become the world's biggest cluster f....
Congratulations Eagles. Just when we think things will settle down...more controversy. Oh please God, let us have a quick end to this season and begin anew with a NEW COACHING STAFF.— essell- ANOTHER STUPID PHILLY COM ARTICLE.
Why do you put us in a position to feel sorry for a guy with 20million in the bank?
Pretty sure a phone call was A-OK with Babin. That guy sucks anyway.— 1000hugs - F
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R— 1000hugs - They fired the PR guy, the marketing guy, the defensive coordinator and the d-end.......everybody is getting fired but the Fat guy and who is in charge of everything and is responsible for this awful team...and the $100 million bust Vick who is an awful 11-17 the past three years— jim35
- Over the phone? If that is how the Eagles do business, then maybe Lurie can hook Andy via a Tweet. Or unfriend him from Facebook.
That is a fruit move Andy. Just another reason to can your behind...no huevos.— Poppys - Andy Reid is a spineless, gutless excuse for a man. You don't wimp out and fire someone over the phone.
Reid has sealed his fate in Philadelphia. My only regret is that the Fast Food poster boy will get a fresh start somewhere else and does so leaving the Eagles in shambles. We as fans, will suffer for years as Reid moves on to a new exciting challenge. Pathetic!— gentian - Firing someone over the phone is one of the most cowardly, gutless, spineless moves a person can make. If you want to get rid of someone, be a man about about it and look that person in the eye while you do it. Actions go a long way toward defining a man's character. And Reid has none. He fully deserves any and all abuse that gets heaped upon him.
— TexColorado - Is the phone a bad thing? One time I was released from a job when work dried up and I hated that they had me drive all the way in to tell me that I was done(took 2 minutes). A phone call would have been much appreciated. Reid is doing Babin a favor and I don't know how you don't see it. He was going to play less than 10 snaps a game from here on in while Graham, Curry, etc got more time. Now he can catch on with a real contender and actually play. There should be no hard feelings.— UncleStosh
- I don't object to the release. Babin probably doesn't either. He's going to get another job in the NFL. I once got fired from a job over the phone. I was mad that I got fired. I was furious that the boss didn't have the guts to do it to my face. Didn't Reid see Babin at the practice facility yesterday? Wouldn't Reid have seen Babin at the practice facility today? Maybe you hated driving in to get fired, but at least your boss respected you as a person to deliver bad news face to face. It's like people in relationships who break up with a text message. If that's how you roll, you aren't mature enough to be in a relationship in the first place.
— TexColorado - He has a family to take care of???? Seriously Trent????— SeenGreen
- Fire Reid tonight-via email.Or,just leave a message on his cell phone about 3am in the morning.Even better,dont tell him at all and let him hear about it on espn.Reid,if that's how you treat another 'human being' then you are way,way worse that I thought.In terms of human decency and people management this is as sick as anything that the organization has ever allowed.SICK!GUTLESS!Now you all know why henever worried about the insane character flaws of one Mike Vick.We shouls also,by now,know why this football team has become irrelevant.— aloha gary
- @ essell your absolutly correct ... hey uncle stosh back the f--k off of essell. u said the birds recognized browns talent.. well what the hell happened to Andy's draft picks for the other 14 yrs.. u better wake up and smell the coffee stosh because Andy has absolutely sucked in evaluating talent. for every good draft pick. I CAN NAME U 4 BUMS HE PICKED, starting with jaquan jarrett A WASTED 2ND RD PICK WHO IS OUTTA THE LEAGUE, your speaking as though ANDY HAS DONE SOMETHING GREAT. your speaking as though andy's talent eval is the gold standard, Lets see before the eagles job, he was the freaking QB coach in GB. he comes here and goes 16-16 his first 2 yrs and goes 11-5 AND OWNERSHIP GIVES HIM FULL CONTROL WHICH WAS A BIG MISTAKE. andy has never evaluated a football team ( personel ) in his life. IT TAKES YEARS OF STUDY ( SITTING UNDER SOMEONE ) everyone got fooled by his first three yrs ( in the mean time behind the scenes he wreseled control away from Modrak ) as well as sacking some good front office football men ( talent evaluators) along the way , so stosh dont get me started. 2nd rd failures Jarrett, Matt Mccoy, Pinkston, 1st rd failures Watkins, graham , Shaun andrews,- yes andrews had the talent, but had extreme mental issues in at the end of the day.. you have to conclude was a failure. ANDY ... TIMES UP— chalton harley
- "a family to take care of"? shut up cole, just shut up— Old German
Spineless move by the Fatman. I am totally through with this mess of a man.- I hope his family is ok.— Phillies2008WSChamps
