Posted: Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 3:30 PM | 14 comments |
 
options
 

Dan Klecko seemingly did a little bit of everything last year for the Eagles on both sides of the ball. He played fullback and then he was back to defensive tackle and then he was a fullback again.

He was at the Birds' organized team activities today back on the defensive line, but he knows that versatility might be what helps him stay on the roster.

"We went through the fullback thing last year, a couple of times, but I still think that d-line is the best position for me to be playing," Klecko told the Daily News' Mike Kern. "I have to find my niche (here). But anything Andy ever asks me to do, I’ll do. I think he knows that. We can move on from there. I’m just trying to win games. That’s what makes this thing fun, is winning games. When they look at me, they can say I can (fill) a couple of different positions for them, be an emergency this or that. That’s what I’d like to portray."

Klecko acknowleged he was a little bit nervous to back on the field.

"I felt like a rookie again," he said. "I know what I have to do to stay in the NFL. I’ve been around it long enough. I know what to expect, how hard you really have to work."

He also knows the end results that can come from that work in the right situation.

"It’s a different kind of hunger now (at this stage of my career)," he said. "I have to take it one step at a time. I just want to play. I want to be out there. I want to win. That’s kind of where I’m at. I’ve been to the Super Bowl a couple of times (with New England). I know what it’s like to be standing on the field when the confetti’s falling on you. It’s fun.”
 

Read more on Klecko in Wednesday's Daily News.

*

In some other news, former Eagles cornerback Rod Hood signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns. Hood was cut by the Arizona Cardinals after starting the last 2 years when the team signed Pittsburgh free agent Bryant McFadden ...

We posted last night an item from ESPN.com NFC East blogger Matt Mosley that suggested the Eagles could have interest in Dallas defensive end/linebacker Greg Ellis, if he were cut by Dallas. Well, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Ellis will be released or traded, according to the Associated Press. Ellis, 33, met with Jones on Tuesday morning ...

The Eagles Web site posted a story with Ricky Watters talking about LeSean McCoy. Both attended Bishop McDevitt High in Harrisburg. "I think he has a set of skills that can definitely help the team," said Watters. "It all depends on how he matures and how fast he matures because it is a big leap. It's definitely a big leap; there is a lot to learn. But if anyone can do it I think he can."

*

Kevin Kolb said Tuesday that the only thing shocking about his remarks last week was the reaction. "That was a bit of a surprise; I didn’t think I said anything wrong,” said backup quarterback Kolb, who, when asked last week by reporters, acknowledged he was "antsy" to play, as he prepares for his third NFL season.

Read more in Wednesday's Daily News about why Kolb can't be blamed for feeling antsy, given the Donovan McNabb rollercoaster of the past two seasons, and how close Kolb seemingly has come to inheriting the job. Even if, right now,  he doesn't seem that close to inheriting it in 2009. 

 

 

Posted by Daily News staff @ 3:30 PM  Permalink | 14 comments
14
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:40 PM, 05/26/2009
    I know he meant it in another context, but Ricky Watters talking about "maturity" made me smile. Hope Jon Gruden has some fun with that quote on MNF this year.
    dragoon6
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:49 PM, 05/26/2009
    Who is this Ricky Watters???
    TempleOwl70
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:05 PM, 05/26/2009
    definitely dragoon, pretty ironic choice of words for Ricky, huh? lol
    JimG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:06 PM, 05/26/2009
    Greg Ellis is too old
    fman727
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:25 PM, 05/26/2009
    Foe who? for what? who cares what Ricky watters thinks?
    bamaphillyfan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:41 PM, 05/26/2009
    I liked Klecko as a rushing specialist from the Left DT spot. He looked pretty fair at stopping trick plays involving runs on third and long too. And he can be a blow-out patch at fullback, if needed. All in all I hope he makes the team.....And Andy is ALWAYS looking to get pressure up the middle.
    TBear
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:58 PM, 05/26/2009
    Wasn't this article written about two weeks ago on Klecko?
    oharabri
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:42 PM, 05/26/2009
    Tbear I always like your posts. Concise and on target. I was thinking he could even be that blocking TE everyone wants. He had a little success catching a few balls last year out of the backfield though I think 2 fairly long gains were called back. What do you think?
    tpizza
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:15 PM, 05/26/2009
    Klecko stays. Don't even consider Ellis. Media leave Kolb alone, he didn't say anything wrong; however, McNabb is our QB... for now. Tpizza, i like the idea of trying Klecko out for TE, i am just concerned with moving him too much and asking him to learn too many roles. Find him a spot he can be productive at and stick with it.
    TheKeeper
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:44 AM, 05/27/2009
    glad to see klecko still sticking around good guy, wins everywhere hes been but temple lol. casual fans forget he was big east defen. player of the year over some other top flight pros his senior year. keep pluggin kleck
    mtsmurf
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:57 AM, 05/27/2009
    TBear, I expect an invitation to your annual Klecko Cookout Extravaganza. Honey bar-b-que Chicken again his year, I hope. Please alert me if you plan to invite PHILLY10.
    mick314
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:16 AM, 05/27/2009
    I get you keeper but it seems to me playing a down or 2 at TE wouldn't hurt now that he no longer has to play FB. Seemed like he had fairly good hands. He does seem to be a gamer and I like the guy.
    tpizza
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:05 AM, 05/27/2009
    Kleckos a good man to have on the team, he's not going anywhere!!!
    DJ


14 comments
About Eagletarian Blog
Les BowenLes 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 DomowitchPaul 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.

Download our iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here for iPhone or here for Android.

Join on Facebook   

Latest Eagles Videos