THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
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.
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.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at 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 came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
