How DTs Hargrove, Landri might fit in
The Eagles continued to be active Wednesday evening, adding a pair of defensive tackles - Anthony Hargrove and Derek Landri - to one-year deals.
Injuries have left the Eagles a little thin in the middle of the defensive line.
We had the scary episode this morning where Mike Patterson suffered a seizure. Fortunately, it sounds like he'll be OK, although there is no timetable for his return to the football field.
Meanwhile, Trevor Laws suffered a hip flexor and Victor Abiamiri also was injured, according to the guys over at Birds' Eye View.
Cullen Jenkins hasn't been able to practice, leaving only Antonio Dixon and Cedric Thornton at DT.
As for the new additions, Hargrove (6-3, 272) played in 30 games (starting six) with the Saints the last two seasons. He had six sacks and three forced fumbles during that time. Hargrove missed the 2008 season after repeated drug policy violations, but according to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he turned his life and career around and was a contributor to the Saints' Super Bowl team.
He is 28 years old.
Duncan also wrote that Hargrove is looking to play more snaps at defensive end. He thinks Hargrove is a perfect fit for Jim Washburn and could really thrive with the Eagles.
Meanwhile, some around the league think highly of Landri (6-2, 290) too.
Landri started all 16 games for the Panthers last year, logging 805 snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, only eight defensive tackles were on the field more.
That might have hurt Landri, according to Darin Gantt, who covered the Panthers for The Charlotte Observer last year. He Tweeted:
Limiting him to 30 pct of D snaps would help him maintain effort level.
They just asked too much of him because they didn't have anyone else to throw out there. He was willing, but eventually unable.
Meanwhile, KC Joyner, known as The Football Scientist on ESPN.com, praised the move:
Eagles signing DT Derek Landri is a great move. He was an underrated disruptor last year.
Considering the injuries I mentioned above, the Eagles are smart to add players they think might be able to contribute. At the very least, they've created some competition and given Washburn more options to choose from.
As I've mentioned multiple times, he is likely to utilize an eight-man efensive line rotation.
You can follow me on Twitter or become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.