Avant's got McNabb's trust
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Avant's got McNabb's trust
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Jason Avant is not the first-round draft pick who held out and arrived late at camp.
He's not the speedster who people are predicting to go to the Pro Bowl.
And he's surely not the one who co-starred in a reality TV show with his actress/model wife this past offseason.
He's just the steady guy. The one Donovan McNabb can look to on third down and know he'll make the catch in traffic.
Avant may be flying under the radar at camp since there's not much of a story line with him, but he's a fun guy to watch practice. You know all those things your coach preached when you were 7 years old in terms of how to play the game?
Be a good teammate. Don't complain. Finish plays. Give maximum effort.
Somehow, Avant has retained all that knowledge.
I remember a play last week when he ran a pattern, but McNabb made a poor throw and the play was incomplete. Avant ran back to the line of scrimmage, got McNabb's attention and asked if he made a mistake in his route. Did he run the wrong pattern? Did he make his break too soon?
No. McNabb just made a bad throw. It's training camp. It happens. But in August, it's all about building chemistry, and Avant just wanted to make sure he and his QB were on the same page.
Those little things count for something once the real games start.
As for his role this season, Avant told me things change every year, and he's right. The Eagles added Jeremy Maclin to the mix in the first round, but still look for Avant to play a key role on third downs.
"Hopefully it's going to continue," he told me after this morning's practice. "I'm working hard for him [McNabb], trying to get tough catches going, and continuing to get better. Hopefully we can continue it this season. I know he's gonna look for me for some of the things I did last year."
What he did last year was make 13 first-down catches on third down. Overall, 68.8 percent of his catches moved the chains. Both those numbers ranked among the top 15 in the NFC.
More notes from practice in a little bit.
And sorry to all the Twitter followers. It wasn't working on my Blackberry this morning. Not sure if it's me or an overall Twitter thing.
Sheil, twitter's down, possibly a DDOS attack. Keep up the god work.— jhutt75
Comment removed.- http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/06/twitter.attack/index.html— roceagles
McNabb make a bad throw, nahhhh— ZOSO- Re: ZOSO - lmfao— ewitkows
- McNabb doesn't make bad throws does he? Heh, heh, heh, sorry, couldn't resist. Keep up the good work Sheil!!!— DJ
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- Can this Sheil dude please kill the video splash screen on the Philly.com Eagles page? I don't need to hear the video over and over again if I read an article, go back, read an article, go back, etc. I don't even wanna hear him talk anyway - just make the video optional already!— chief_jaysons
- Zeru, its Baskett not Bassett, no ice cream there. I hope Avant sees more passes to him, he is a clutch player.— ZOSO
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- This is a message to(in no particular order): Z77, Lonewife, Puke-guy, Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't MCNABB lead the OFFENSE down the field and score...TAKING THE LEAD with 6 minutes to go in the NFC Championship game last year?? Where was the DEFENSE during the final minutes of that game? Where was the DEFENSE when a guy named FITZGERALD had 500 receiving yards and 6 TD's??? You three guys are clowns that were probably involved in the fist fight that resulted in the death of a poor young man. Prior to McNabb...who were the Eagles Pro-Bowl QB'S and how did they do in the play offs?? Yeah try going back to the 60's...I'll give a pass to Jaworski!! Don't worry you idiots, you'll get your wish in a few years when #5 either retires or goes to a city that actually LIKES HIM. These 3 jokers were probably at the draft in '99 wearing RICKY WILLIAMS jerseys!! WIP was pretty smart about that whole endeavour!! And for all the Andy Reid bashers...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Try this on for size: RAY RHODES, RICH KOTITE!! Buddy Ryan NEVER WON A PLAY OFF GAME, Andy Reid has won quite a few and counting! In closing, you 3 idiots, please go out and get well paying jobs(or sell your exotic pets) and GET OUT OF YOUR MOM'S BASEMENT!!!— rickah88
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