New fullback preparing; Reid as game manager
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
New fullback preparing; Reid as game manager
Daily News staff
New Eagles fullback Owen Schmitt is getting a crash course after arriving late Sunday night and signing with the Eagles on Monday.
But not the type of crash course that damages himself. In October last season, Schmitt hit himself three times in his forehead with his own helmet when he was introduced as a starter. That opened a gory cut that bled down his face. That was a reprise performance, since he bonked himself in the same manner when he botched a pooch punt while at West Virginia.
Schmitt said Eagles fans won't have to worry about that. His days of self-flagellation and Mohawk haircuts are over.
"I'm going to bring some attitude. Play as tough as I can, hard as I can," said Schmitt, who now sports a 3-inch goatee. "But I won't [head-bang] here. Never again."
That's what you get with Schmitt. It's what the Seahawks, under new coach Pete Carroll, didn't want.
"I was surprised," Schmitt said. "They said they weren't using a fullback this year."
Not a traditional one, anyway. None of the Seahawks' running backs is within 20 pounds of Schmitt, who, at 245 pounds, is about the size of Weaver.
No one expects Schmitt to follow Weaver to the Pro Bowl, though Weaver figures Schmitt assimilates well. They were teammates in Schmitt's rookie season in 2008, when Weaver helped guide Schmitt through then-coach Mike Holmgren's offense - an offense that formed the foundation for Andy Reid's.
"He's going to fit in fine," Weaver said yesterday.
Schmitt said his head is spinning after a Tuesday spent cramming the different offense into his famous skull, but he wishes the circumstances were better.
"It's kind of a bummer coming in here like that," Schmitt said.
Whatever the Eagles ask of him, he said, he wants to perfect, "So I know what I'm doing, so nobody gets hurt."
He's focused, and traveling light.
A blue backpack sat in his locker. It contained all of the personal possessions he hastily tossed into the bag as he scrambled out of the door and headed to the airport.
He brought the essentials: "Good thing is, I packed four pairs of underwear."
-- Marcus Hayes
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Andy Reid's game management has driven Eagles fans crazy for years. The latest example under scrutiny is the Eagles' using their timeouts on defense in the second half Sunday against Green Bay.
Among Reid's most vocal critics has been the NFL Network's Michael Lombardi, a former Eagles executive. Lombardi has deemed Reid the worst game manager of all time. Lombardi's criticism continues in his column today. "Strange is something we have learned to accept in the world of Eagles game management under Reid," he writes.
"Reid went all-in with his timeout, and even though he got the ball back, his careless use of timeouts was another in a long line of interesting Eagles game-management moves. He never gave his team a chance to be in the best position to tie the game."
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With Seahawks guard Max Unger suffering a severe turf-toe injury that could require three months to heal, Seattle turns to former Eagle Stacy Andrews as its starter.
"The opportunity really goes to Stacy Andrews," coach Pete Carroll said, according to the Seattle Times. "He's been playing it for the last couple of years, and we've seen him play both tackle and guard as we did our research in looking at him, and he can play both well. He gives us an experienced player who has to adapt very quickly to our system and our scheme. We were hoping that a couple of weeks now, you know, he would have some time to learn what is going on. He just is on a racehorse pace to try and figure it out now.
"But we get a big guy, a 345-pound guy, lining up at right guard. Hopefully, he will give us the ability to move the line of scrimmage and help us, and he'll take advantage of this opportunity and pick up where Max left off. Whenever something like this happens, you lose a guy, I look at it as an opportunity for the next guy who has to step up. So Stacy has no choice. We're going to call on him to do it and do a nice job for us."
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Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp pointedly takes aim at Michael Vick in his column today:
I usually don't care whether the local team wins or loses. When you have been in the sports-writing business as long as I have, you instinctively divorce yourself emotionally. It's usually just another game, another story, another deadline. But I'm making an exception to that code Sunday.
I want the Lions to win for one deeply personal reason: Michael Vick.
He's forever the convicted felon who tortured and killed dogs, and he always should be addressed in such fashion.
Bill20 need to learn football and leave comparisons out of the equation! The Lions from preseason are a different team and if Kolb, Vick or Mcnabb was in there does not mean an automatic shredding! On that note if Vick throws for 100 yds does not mean that Kolb is better! Yards dont mean anything! You have QB's whom have threw less yards than Manning or Brady and they still won SB. Look at Trent Dilfer with the Ravens that year and he is nowhere near a better QB than Vick!— mizzamillions- Bill20 need to learn football and leave comparisons out of the equation! The Lions from preseason are a different team and if Kolb, Vick or Mcnabb was in there does not mean an automatic shredding! On that note if Vick throws for 100 yds does not mean that Kolb is better! Yards dont mean anything! You have QB's whom have threw less yards than Manning or Brady and they still won SB. Look at Trent Dilfer with the Ravens that year and he is nowhere near a better QB than Vick!— mizzamillions
- psuflyers....No, the Eagles would have gotton off more than two or three plays, becuase they would have had 3 timeouts. The only thing Reid did was give GB the potential to win the game after the Eagles scored (if the Eagles would have scored). The Eagles best chance to keep the game tied was to call their time outs late in the game if needed. IT WAS DUMB.— Voytas
- borntosuffer.....What you say is true, but there was over five minutes left in the game. If the Eagles tied the game, the timeouts Reid called would then have worked in Green Bays favor by leaving that additional time on the clock and Green Bay with three timeouts to try for a game winning field goal. Like the writer said, "it wasn't the Eagles best chance to tie."— Voytas
- It was the 4th and 1 that everyone in the universe knew what play was coming that killed our chances not the timeouts. That play call was terrible. Marty has to go. Watch the formations in a Chargers game, even though Norv gets ripped at least they are creative on their run plays and keep the d guessing. Andy and Marty could learn a thing or two, and weve had problems on short yardage for how many yrs now?— peteike
88etrain: No, But I do pine for the days when John Gruden was our Offensive Coordinator.— tornadoh- The biggest problem with not having a time out left from the 5 minute mark to the 2 minute warning was that had there been a call that was blown by the officials on the field, like a fumble by a Packer that was incorrectly ruled down by contact, or an interception by an Iggle that was incorrectly ruled to have been incomplete (or the reverse, an Iggles play ruled a turnover incorrectly), without a time out Reid could not have challenged. Cardinal sin, unforgiveable arrogance on Reid's part.— tornadoh
- This confirms that the national medias love affair with Reid is ridiculous and baseless. Reid had his early sucess with Ray Rhodes players on Defense and Duce Staley. Reid needs to go. Why are we talking about time management skills in year 12?— davekrieg
- When NFL analysts and Fans agree, its a rare moment. Mike Lombardi's (ML) view is what fans have said for years. Reid's game mgmt and play calling suck. Sending a open field running QB into a line push was bizarre? Plus the Eagles OLine could not push an empty shopping cart. For such a well-repsected coach, his unwillingness to change is really sad.
— lerze77 - Voytas, I see what you are saying. But, your scenario isn't the way it played out. If Vick gets that first down, there is 1:54 on the clock, the clock is running and the Eagles have another 40 yards to go. That's not too much time. If Andy would have waited to call his timeouts, the Eagles would have had less time than that from the 40. I have read your insightful comments many times. I wish we had more of those on this site. No disrespect meant in disagreeing with you here.
- Hmmm... Seems Detroit has something in common with Philly-Toolbag writers. Imagine what he says off the record.— Cdiggy
bill20 is a fool with no money..wolf out.— wolf 4- New fullback preparing to get his behind whipped by all these better teams. He is worse than your injured fullback!— MRD
