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.
is jackson better than kelce? yes. is going to start? of course not.— snakeplissken- Howie obviously feels this is the best way to go with the present roster. If this were a running team I would defer to his wisdom. It is not however, and I think this is a horrible mistake. Think about it: Only one...ONE... OL'man from last year will be at the same position. And only one....ONE....other starter will be starting, and that will be in another position on the opposite side of the line! I see nothing but horror shows with two rookies side-by-side in there, and NO reliable back-ups. I thought Andy would have fixed this circus show to save this quarterback at least! I hope V7 has his insurance paid up, cuz he might as well reserve a room in his favorite hospital right now.— TBear
- Someone made a great point about the Eagles' first two regular season games being in the two loudest domes in the world -- and you're trusting a rookie at Center rather than a 72-game vet who as proLogic pointed out has looked like his old self? What's the bleeding rush?— tomvallar
- Fact: The Eagles allowed 100 Sacks over the last two years, one of those years where Jackson was the anchor of the offensive line.
On what basis are some of you calling for Jackson's Return? Jackson replaced Hank Fraley, Fraley went to anchor a line that allowed less than 20 sacks in Clevland. As I remember in 2006 Jackson didn't beat out Farley, Jackson was handed the job.
I don't see the fascination with Jackson. What's Jacksons worth knowing the blocking assignments when he can not get into the second level to block up field in the West Coast Offense, that rely on Sceens and short passes in lieu of the hand off to running backs?— Dexter - You guys are never satisfied. Last year the O-line had big problems. This year Andy has adressed the problem. New coach, a well respected veteran who is given a chance to mold the line how he wants it. They drafted two players who fit the system and they are going to play. They moved a veteran out to the blind side because that was a weakness last season. So, to sum it up, they hired a guy, drafted some players and moved all of them to the spots the new coach thinks is best. What is wrong with that? Let's see how it works before we lose our chicken little minds here, okay?— Paul SoTX
- The Cards just lost their starting CB for the year, you think they are in the market?? Hanson, time to make yourself useful and get us something in a trade - LB?— xlGmanlx
- Poor Jamaal Jackson.... He never had a chance despite clearly outplaying Kelce all preseason....— MrMiles1
- You know this has to come at Mudd's request, "the best O-line coach in the game". Allow Mudd a chance to make some changes to get this O-line in the best position to win a Super Bowl. Mudd has a good resume.— Clt Philly Fan
- big mistake starting kelce....big mistake!— psualum
- Mike Vick was just fitted for his New Flak Jacket!— citysims
- Marty "we'll elect to kick" Morningwheg!— HeelYes
- Jackson is fat and slow. Kelce is quicker and a better athlete. He will be good down the road, but this road will be rocky...— BirdinParadise
- I don't think you're going to look real smart second-guessing Howard Mudd. I'll be surprised if Jackson is even on the 53.— dasher
- Just think, if they would have selected Pouncey last year like they should have, instead of the undersized Graham, we wouldn't be doing all this 2nd guessing. We'd have an All Pro at center for the next 10 years.— watsonmr
- Paul SoTX...you're on the money. TRUST the coaches...they do this for a living. Mistakes? - sure...but they make more good calls than bad ones. Everyone's a genius when they get to make statements with yesterdays news...big deal - make a decision about tomorrow. I trust Mudd to do the right thing - he's not perfect, but he's got a record that makes us think he's on the right track...— ziggy
