No More Mystery; Kelce Will Be Man In The Middle
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
No More Mystery; Kelce Will Be Man In The Middle
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
No more doubt about it. If rookie Jason Kelce can stay in one piece between now and September 11, he will be the Eagles’ starting center against the St. Louis Rams.
"Right now, he’s the starting center, yes," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said.
While it probably scares you that an Eagles team with Super Bowl aspirations is going to be starting two rookies on their offensive line in Week 1 – Kelce and right guard Danny Watkins – it doesn’t scare Mornhinweg. He is confident both will be just fine.
"I know it can work," he said. "I’m quite happy with their play. I’m very confident that it will work. It’s a difficult thing to do. Difficult thing with the center position alone. But I’m real confident they will be playing at a high level very quickly."
Besides starting two rookies, the Eagles also have just moved their longtime left guard Todd Herremans over to right tackle. Considering that none of the starters are expected to play in Thursday night’s final preseason game against the Jets, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for him to get reps at his new position.
"Todd’s a versatile player," Mornhinweg said. "He’s got the ability to play tackle. However, that doesn’t do it. Todd understands that it’s going to take a lot of hard work and preparation here from the day that he (was moved) until the first ballgame to get this thing right."
In other news Monday, the Eagles made four more cuts, releasing wide receiver Gerald Jones, cornerback Jamar Wall, offensive tackle Spencer Johnson and tight end Martell Webb. They are down to 81 players. They must be at 80 by Tuesday at 4 p.m., and down to 53 by Sunday.
What is Jacksons salary cap number? Not sure why he is getting oushed aside as he clearly looks better in his play then what have seen from Kelse so far. Wouldn't mind if Kelse replaced Jackson sometime this season but seems a bit rushed based on his play so far and mistakes being made. Same is trrue of Watkins who may have played worse then Kelse last game. Anyone else feeling these guys might be getting on the field as starters before they are really ready?— connorjr- Andy Reid's regular season record looks good because the other NFL East teams have been lousy...The Cowboys, Giants and Redskins have been lousy....do you think Reid would have won many games against Dallas when Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were on the Cowboys all those years..Reid became Eagles coach just when the other East teams were fading and rebuilding...but in the playoffs against GOOD PLAYOFF TEAMS in the division championships and Super Bowl, Andy Reid'd record is AWFUL...AWFUL.
— frank105 - Connorjr is right - this makes no sense. Jackson has looked like his old self, and he was a pretty damn good center in this league. Why throw a rook into the fire when you have a vet to help him figure out the position?
— proLogic - Didn't Jackson come into the league as a gaurd? How about move him to Herremans spot? Just a thought.— gyndavid
- I agreed explained to me how 2 rookies, one who has not our perform the veteran, and a LB Core with headed by another rookie and 2 young LBs will get u to the Super Bowl, beating the Saints, Packers or falcons. This is not Marty doing but HMudd, how have his OL performed in Super Bowls, ask the Saints— PHILLY76
- typical Eagles "we're smarter than everyone else" BS....2 rookies playing in domes their first 2 starts where silent counts must be used (called by the center, Kelce)...hmmm! sounds like a recipe for disaster.
- Pray for Michael.....He is doomed.....and then we had the rains to VY who still has no clue about the playbook.....and not sure he can even read it.....Way to go Joe and wonderboy— nuggett
- Apparently in Kelce, Mudd sees the second coming of Jeff Saturday. If true, that would be terrific. Time will tell.
In Peters and Herremans, the Eagles have a really nice pair of OT's. As for the interior of the line ... well, apparently Reid believes these youngsters will NOT be an impediment to a play-off run.
Let's keep our fingers crossed ... and hope we don't have to hide our eyes ... too often.
— FishFryFrank - Best case scenario with Kelce starting is we lose an extra game in the first month. I'm okay with the youth movement, but I'm still waiting for the Eagles management to acknowledge that our chances are 1000:1 this year, and next year is the real goal. Don't try to sell us a SB with Casey Matthews, Jason Kelce, Danny Watkins, and young safeties as prime players (this year).— armchairGM
- Spagnulo is licking his chops....— repski
- Eagles have an easy schedule...they only have a few tough games, and those games against the Bears, Patriots and Jets are ALL AT HOME..for comparison the Giants play the Patriots, Saints and Jets ALL ON THE ROAD, plus Giants play the champion Packers...the Eagles do NOT play the champion Packers.....Eagles with their soft schedule will be
12-4...but lose again in the playoffs against a GOOD PLAYOFF TEAM..again.— frank105 - someone's smokin crack. — beerflow
- Jackson has clearly outplayed Kelce during pre-season but Mudd sees potential in the Kid that's worth losing games early on. Maybe when the team is 0 and 3 and Vick is on IR, the better player will be back on the field. Then again, Andy is so stubborn, maybe not!— younged
- Jackson did come in as a guard and had to step in when the center went down. He is a very good aasset to the team asd could move to a spot that is desperate need— thechief
- A-N-D-R-E G-U-R-O-D-E!!!! Sign him and end this madness!!!!!!!!— bkg126
