'Green Around Collar' But Eager
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
'Green Around Collar' But Eager
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott characterized his group as "a little bit green around the collar" today. Everybody kind of knew what he meant, even if old Wisk commercials were playing in their heads.
How big would it be, for that young group, with two rookie starters, to shut down the feared Green Bay offense and Aaron Rodgers this weekend?
“It would be tremendous. It would be tremendous," McDermott said. "This is a great offense ... but it is a one-game season each and every week. So I want to take it one at a time and keep things in perspective, and continue to go and try to improve each and every week.
"Is this a challenge? Yes, it’s a huge challenge, but our players are ready for it, and I think they welcome that challenge. It’ll be a great environment in Philadelphia. It doesn’t get any better than playing at home on opening weekend, and wearing those (vintage) uniforms. I think it will be a great day for football, the barbecues will be flying around, and the tailgates, and we’re going to need those fans come this weekend.”
Flying barbecues could be one cause of being green around the collar.
"When you’re a little bit green around the collar, you want to see how players react, and how they play together, and how they handle adverse situations," McDermott said. "And I think we’ve been through some adverse situations already in camp, and handled them extremely well, and some in the preseason games. But, that experience is important. So, each and every play we’ll continue to build upon that experience and the players will get more and more comfortable with one another.”
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Special teams coordinator Bobby April indicated that DeSean Jackson will return punts and Ellis Hobbs kicks Sunday,but April said he would let Andy Reid make that announcement.
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Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said Kevin Kolb will see things he hasn't seen as he works his way through his first season as the starter, and that Kolb's ability to adapt will determine his success.
Mornhinweg said his offensive line "has an opportunity to be one of the best in this league," even though it never got to play together in the preseason. Mornhinweg said the OL is putting "quite a bit of extra work in" this week to make up for the lost time.
"They’ve played a lot of winning snaps together and now they’re standing," he said. "Other than that, they’re very good in their preparation and they’re putting their hard work in with their recent past history and then this week. I would expect them to play at a high level.”
Control yourself. Never say something you'll end up regretting. See Reid, Andy.— mccloudmj- Opportunity for the line to be the best in the league? We are holding on for dear life, and Marty says this? Way to manage expectations, Marty!
I really like the make-up of this team - excellent receiving core from 1 through 4 and a solid pass-catching tight end; offensive line will be better than people think once Jamaal gets his legs back. McCoy is very average, but Mike Bell will be a nice compliment in the running game. Defense looks much better than expected as well - very fast and physical, with some decent depth on the line. All we need now is a quarterback, because Kevin Kolb is going to be an absolute disaster - Andy Reid even knows it at this point if you listen to him speak - its just too late to pull the plug.— CosmoK- I hope the Eagles hold the Packers to 3 points. I don't look forward to the aftermath, however, when some fans and writers anoint us as one of the NFC favorites. If we're still playing in February, then maybe we've earned some high praise. Until then it's a young team with huge question marks. The Packers are one of the favorites, with the Saints, Vikings, and Cowboys, even if we crush the Pack this week and force seven turnovers.— tacklinjoe
Comment removed.- dave, I agree with your statement that "pounding the f-ing ball" would help this offense immensely, but we all know AR believes that you pass first to get a lead and then run the ball to shorten the game. Unfortunately, in the current NFL, stats support this philosophy, but I think with our O-line, they get better when they can attack the D-line early on as opposed to backpedaling into protection.— The Reddgie
- This season will not be about the offensive line. It's about all the rookies and players with little experience. I have to laugh when I read someone say we have great receivers. We sure lit up Dallas last year. How will Kolb do when he is blitzed over and over and from formations that he's never seem before? He will definately be under a lot of pressure. I don't think runningthe ball is the way to beat the blitz. Kolb needs to identify the blitz and find the open receiver. Until he proves that he can beat the blitz, we lose. And we have rookies, inexperienced players and new players of defense. Nobody knows how these players will react when things are going bad and they need to make a stop. Will they panic and start making mistakes or will they keep their composure and make plays? And our kick coverage has been bad. No way they get their act together until mid-season. The odds are they win 8 games. If they deal with these things better than a typical rookie/young team, they'll win 10 and maybe make the playoffs. But that's not that important. It would be great for them to get some playoff experience so maybe in 2-3 years they'll have a shot.— MikeP
- Not liking McDermott's characterization of the D. To me, it sounds like he's making excuses just in case Green Bay runs over them. This is not really a defense that's "green around the collar." You have Graham who is a rookie but has big-time pedigree -- to the point that most think he is a big upgrade, right now, over his replacement. And is Allen really a step down from Macho Harris, the guy he's replacing? Every other position is housed by a proven veteran. Look, one of the rooks might make a mistake and give up a first down or (God forbid) a big play here or there. But if this defense gets diced it will be about scheme. And it will be about these veteran players, many of whom we've been told are first-rate, really not being good enough. I would urge McDermott not to begin making excuses before the first ball is snapped. As a coach of a professional team, if you're not demanding excellence from your players you're certainly not going to get it.— auntesther
Eagles will beat the Packers on Sunday. Packers 17 Eagles 31— briandawkins20- Hard to believe some here think that you have to run the ball to win. Have you been watching the NFL in the last ten years?— andimike
- MikeP says "our kick coverage has been bad." Dude, they haven't played yet. Are you basing that on pre-season? Come on.— andimike
- MikeP says "our kick coverage has been bad." Dude, they haven't played yet. Are you basing that on pre-season? Come on.— andimike
- Comment removed.
- Packers are 'more ready'. Packers 107 Eagles 3.— hititwheretheyaint
- For my young pal "briandawkins20".....I hope like hell your prediction is on target lad! I would love nothing more than to be very wrong with MY prediction: We lose. Don't know the final score, don't know if it'll be a blowout or a squeeker, but...we lose. The Packers are a formidible team this year, and one thing I know is...you beat the teams you are supposed to beat. We did it when we were that type of team, and I think the Pack IS that type of team this year. NEXT year however.....we will be in the Conference Championship game....book it!— TBear
- Comment removed.
- Young accurate quarterback w/ proven track record running wc offense, solid receiving core, questionable running back w/ proven compliment back in Bell, good on paper offensive line, excellent kicker - 35 points per game is not a stretch....as long as they don't show their lack of experience. For the first time in many years we should be more concerned about the defense.— pennstpat
- It's receiving "CORPS", boys. Got it? Receiving CORPS.— 5NOT4
- @davetheherman ""THE PASS-FIRST MENTALITY ISN'T WORKING, ANDY" there is no reason not to change...oh, and that little factoid that Ray Diddinger came out with last year proving that when the Eagles have had close to a 50% balance in the last decade, they've won 90% of their games....just sayin'." Not working? Isn't this the team that has had one of the highest winning percentages over the last decade? Isn't thins the team that's annually in the playoffs? Your comment makes no sense. And as far as the factoid from Diddinger, he twists the facts to prove what he thinks is true. The Eagles run when they're ahead. If they ran 50% of the time in a game it's only because they were killing a team and had the opportunity to run that much. Diddinger makes it sound like they ran the ball and that's why they won. No, they were winning and that's why they ran the ball. Period. Diddinger is not a smart as he would have you think.— regulus6633
