Hobbs done for the season
Andy Reid was at a loss to say what Asante Samuel could have done differently on the play he was called for a helmet-to-helmet to hit.
Hobbs done for the season
Jonathan Tamari and Jeff McLane
The Eagles will place Ellis Hobbs on injured reserve and end his season, the cornerback's agent, Kevin Omell confirmed Monday afternoon.
Hobbs damaged a disk in his neck/back area, according to Eagles coach Andy Reid, when he took a helmet-to-helmet hit in the win over the Giants on Sunday night. Reid did not give a long-term prognosis for Hobbs, but his season is over, Omell said.
"He's doing fine," Omell said. "He's walking around. He's just going to take the next few days to rest and figure out what his future may be."
Omell said that there has been no decision made as to whether Hobbs would need surgery. The cornerback, who injured his neck during a kick return, had surgery to repair a herniated disk last season.
Hobbs lost his starting cornerback spot to Dimitri Patterson after his rough outing against Tennessee and after it was determined that he was playing with a hip flexor strain.
With Hobbs headed to IR, the Eagles will likely need to add another cornerback to their 53-man roster. Jamar Wall, a rookie, is on their practice sqaud. Rookie Trevard Lindley is on the 53-man roster, but he hasn't been active for most of the season. With Hobbs done, he will likely see more time on game days.
FROM EARLIER:
Andy Reid acknowledge that Asante Samuel's helmet hit Derek Hagan's on a hit in the second quarter, but the coach wasn't sure what else his player could have done to avoid the 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
"He came in and he tried to lead with his shoulder, and because of the angle, they might have clicked, but truly, his intent was shoulder," Reid said.
"I'm not sure exactly what you do there," Reid said, noting that Samuel came in sideways on the play. "He came in and he led with a shoulder. I guess you hit him down lower and you blow his knees out."
He added, "I'm not sure there's a way around that."
Samuel had tried to hit lower earlier in the year, and ended up with a concussion, Reid said.
Samuel was flagged as part of the NFL's effort to force defenders to avoid head shots, but despite the crackdown there, other helmet-to-helmet hits remain legal and caused another frightening moment Sunday night.
Ellis Hobbs, back this year from a herniated disk that required surgery last year, was stretchered off the field and an MRI revealed an injury to a separate disc, Reid said. He did not provide specifics of the injury, but expressed sadness for Hobbs.
"He is a tough, tough, tough guy," Reid said. "That was hard to watch yesterday."
The Eagles have now seen three incidents that left players lying motionless on the field in their past three home games: DeSean Jackson and Dunta Robinson were hurt in the Falcons game, the Colts' Austin Collie was injured and Hobbs was hurt last night.
Reid was at a loss to explain the rise in scary hits.
"I’m not standing there saying these guys are flagrantly trying to knock each other out," Reid said.
Other notes from the coach's day after news conference:
-- Samuel has an MCL sprain, but Reid said he expects the cornerback to be OK.
-- Juqua Parker's hip flexor is sore. Reid did not give an exact prognosis on him.
-- Reid praised LeSean McCoy and Jason Avant for bouncing back from a slow start (McCoy) and bad drop (Avant).
-- He said the team has a young energy that keeps players positive even when things go badly. "If the offense isn't doing well, the defense picks 'em up on the sideline and in their play."
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Vote: Grade the Eagles
The AS hit was great! Where are the AS haters now?— jjthree- It wasn't that great of a tackle, but overall Samuel did a real nice job on tackling. He didn't whine about what fans like me said, but worked on his weakness.— tacklinjoe
yeah and he did a great job picking off a ball and giving it right back! He needs to understand that football is a team game and not a showcase for him! If he just goes down with the ball the offense can finish it off. Moron
Every time a Philly athlete does something right, somebody immediately jumps on the message board to cackle "Where are all the >athlete name< haters now"? As if doing something right negates every bit of criticism that's ever been directed at the guy. Samuel is a big-play guy who often loses sight of the little plays that stop drives. He's a poor and reluctant tackler. Those are the things you give up in order to get his big-play capability. It's not a matter of "hating", it's just fact.— 1980- Assante had a great game.— s
- asante has never fumbled an INT ever before lol the timing was bad sure. but its not like the INT was with seconds left. there were still 4 minutes and giants had timeouts. that wasn't an instant "game over" INT.— Iggles21
- How about putting your helmet on the ball Andy!? That's actually the proper way to tackle, and if Samuel would have done so, he would have not only had a big stick but probably caused a fumble as well!— berni
- He seldom gets burned, and the Eagles have formulated a way to protect him from the bubble screens. His interceptions are valuable to the team. He's a keeper.— dlscholt
- Asante Samuel has to be in the running for Defensive player of the year. The guy has a nose for the ball on the field man, 3 more turnovers this week are u serious?— DonovanMcNabb
- Did anyone notice the late flag on Samuel's tackle? That was a great hit and should not have been penalized..The ref probably said.. Wait a minute..that cant happen to NY.. let me call a penalty.. Samuel did not leave his feet and lead with his head. Cmon refs..— bradco
Deion was not a great tackler either, granted he was a much better cover corner BUT with big play players some of them come with their small features. DeSean can score a 50 yard touchdown in a blink of an eye but you can arm tackle the hell out of him. I will take Asantes big plays with a few dumb ones. Overall he hurts us LESS than he helps us.- Sticking a helmet on the ball is NOT the proper way to tackle. The idea is to go in head up and wrap up the ball carrier....
Some of the illegal hits are inevitable; you don't get a sense on TV of how fast the players are actually moving.
But because the players are bigger and, combined with that, faster than they used to be, the sport is more dangerous than it used to be— cybersport 
Comment removed.
the refs are told to flag it if there is any helmet contract period. Thus the debacks have to dive at their waist. Thigh then hits helmet at the dbacks are gonna get knocked cold and or have serious neck injuries. I don't like Samuel much, I would rather have a shutdown corner who didn't take risks. That said, Samuel has got this dialed in pretty good, throw his way and he will make a big play. like sil rock wrote, he hurts us less....
As for the fumble, I wish he would have been more protective of the ball but it was a great play by Bradshaw. He wasn't holding the ball away from his body with one hand. Bang band play and the Giants made something happen.
Also, Hobbs isn't a probowler but he has been pretty solid in his years in philly. Britt owned him a few weeks ago but I think the Eagles are gonna need to get lucky if they are trying to find his equal on a practice squad somewhere.— willbert31- I loved to see the hit from Asante. To see this type of intensity from him is worth a 15 yard penalty once a game!— Vote for Dickie
- It's not the proper way to tackle, then his antics and the celebrating after every play, always the Eagles downfall, always, it's one play it's obnoxious and takes away from the game.— karbase8
- The NFL needs to figure out what its helmet to helmet rule is and keep it consistent. I get the "defenseless" receiver thing, but if the main goal is player safety, then why is the hit on Hobbs legal (and I'm not blaming the refs or the Giants for it, bc right now, it is legal)? Hobbs was basically being tied up by two guys and on his way down, and a tackler decided to hit him hard to knock the ball out, which is good football. In my mind, he's as defenseless as a reciever coming across the middle because he can't do anything to get out of being smacked in the head by the helmet, but for some reason a helmet to helmet hit is legal then, but not when Samuels did it?— donde
- I understand, and generally agree with the idea, that the league wants officials to call the "defenseless" receiver hits, but the issue that really bothers me is how the officials wait to see if a player is injured. In both the Collie and Hagan hits, the flag came out way after the hit. The officials are waiting to see if a player stays down, then throw the flag if he does. If it is a penalty, just call it right away. The ref last night waited at least a couple seconds seeing if Hagan was going to get right up.— alleagles20
- @brmorgen81
Yes, I am the biggest idiot alive because you don't know the rules. as I explained to you, a "no call" was the right call, by the NFL rules. It WAS a helmet-to-helmet hit, but he was not a) a "defenseless" receiver or b) a quarterback in the pocket. It doesn't make the hit any less pleasant to watch, and yes, the rules don't make any sense. Why ban some helmet to helmet hits, and not others? But why should I even try to explain it to a halfwit liek you? You are right in your own feeble little mind, and everyone else is wrong.
what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone here is now dumber for having read to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.— bigdrij79 - I have the same question as donde. Can someone explain why the hit to Hobbs was legal (even though it was clearly and audibly a helmet to helmet hit that knocked him out and damaged a disk) but the Samuel hit was illegal? I don't think I understand the difference in the two situations.
Thanks.— Phillygrl54 - How about we do some more gang tackling-So Asante dont get hurt.— phillyboymike7
- A couple things: 1) Samuel had a great hit at the proper place TO hit...until the ballcarrier turned to his left, causing his facemask to hit Samuels hat! I wish there was just a teensy bit of leeway in those calls. In fact, I'd like to have the refs have the ability to call for a revue if THEY are certain that it was both unintentional AND minor contact. 2) All respect and accolades to the defense! They stopped a GREAT running game COLD! And in that vein, hats off to ELI, he was THIS close to ruining our evening. And unfortunately, their schedule is pretty creampuff from here on out except for us, and we have to go to their place. 3)Gotta give credit to that woebegone bunch manning the O-Line! Sometimes outmanned, sometimes overmatched, sometimes out-executed....but NEVER out-worked! They hung in there despite going against the best defense in the league, and let V-7 do some good things. FLY IGGLES FLY!!!— TBear
- Does this mean calvin will be doing kickoffs? If he even gets activated? I hope, he is an exciting player to watch.— thresher004
- @donde. I couldn't agree more. The hit on Hobbs was awful to watch. Those are the types of hits the NFL should be looking to outlaw. It was completely unnecessary as Hobbs was tied up and going down.— TripleOption
- time to bring back the skier dude to try kickoff returns again. what was his name? the eagles definitely need to keep jackson off the field for punts.— djack10
Asante is no longer on Archie Manning's Christmas card list. Hey, has one QB ever beaten the Manning QBs 3 times in one year? Vick has a shot...and he's already off Archie's card list.— tpizza- @ dennybones
People like you need to follow Cricket or something, because it's obvious you have no clue about Football or a GREAT player!
Asante Samuel is a BEAST, arguably the best CB in Eagles history. He is a ball hawk. All he does is interceptions. What more do you want? He may have fumbled away his 2nd interception, but he got it right back after Eli forgot how to slide.
If it was up to me, i could care less if Asante ever tackles again. He's a play maker. I'll live with his interceptions. You want this guy to hurt himself from tackling? He's too important.
'dennybones' is a typical clueless fan !— illadelphi - I never thought I'd hear the words "Asante Samual" and "unnecessary roughness" used together in the same sentence.— Apache9
- Hobbs needs to retire, neck injuries re nothing to play with???— mikey48
- Not sure what anyone can do to avoid helmet to helmet in the type of hit Asante had. Worried about Mikell, he is getting beat in the passing game and has not been making the tackles to boot
- If Asante continues at this level of play for just another 3-4 years he is a sure fire hall of famer. The guy is a flat out stud.— valorius
