WR battle continues for Eagles
Observations from this morning's practice include the battle for roster spots at wide receiver and another hit from linebacker Ernie Sims.
WR battle continues for Eagles
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The practices are winding down at Lehigh, as the Eagles will pack up Wednesday and head back to Philadelphia to prepare for Friday night's preseason game against the Bengals.
But the pads were on this morning, and there was a live hitting period. Here are my observations:
* The wide receiver battle is difficult to figure out. Here's what we know: The top four spots are accounted for. Riley Cooper has established himself as the No. 4 guy, with Hank Baskett, Chad Hall and Kelley Washington fighting it out for one or two spots. The coaches are trying Hall out in every possible role, as we saw in the preseason game Friday night. What Hall has going for him is his versatility. He brings something different to the table than the rest of the receivers. I asked Marty Mornhinweg to compare Washington and Baskett, and he said they're in the same mold. In other words, I would be surprised if both those guys made the team. But with the added emphasis on special teams this season, you never know.
* Another big hit from Ernie Sims during a "non-live" portion of practice when players are supposed to hold up. This time, he nailed Brent Celek at the goal line, and the Eagles' tight end was slow to get up. Celek returned after a short break and appears to be OK, but the Eagles' offensive players have clearly had enough of Sims' unwillingness to hold up. Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, Kevin Kolb and Max Jean-Gilles were the first to walk over to Celek to see if he was OK. After practice, I caught Andy Reid having a lengthy discussion with Sims, but it seemed pretty light-hearted as Sims was laughing at times during the talk. Reid is in a tough spot. He wants an aggressive linebacker with a mean streak, but Sims has crossed the line multiple times in practice. On the bright side, with only a couple more practices yet, at least he hasn't injured anyone.
* Todd Herremans continued to get worked in with the first-team offense. He and Max Jean-Gilles rotated at left guard. Herremans said afterwards that he felt good, and if it were up to him, it'd be nice to get some reps in a preseason game, perhaps against Kansas City.
* Michael Vick continued to get worked in with the first team here and there.
* The Eagles are very thin at running back. LeSean McCoy did not practice with a quad contusion, and Mike Bell is also out. That meant a lot of Eldra Buckley with the first team, which makes things difficult during the blitz drills, since he's not as familiar with where to be as McCoy is. Buckley also had a couple drops. At one point, Hall got a rep at halfback with the ones.
* Rookie linebacker Keenan Clayton is practicing with the second team at the weak side and in the nickel. I thought Clayton had a lot of positives in the preseason game.
* Macho Harris is still practicing at cornerback, despite the team's injuries at safety. Sean McDermott said he likes having the flexibility, but Harris will stick with the corners - for now.
* Good battle between Ellis Hobbs and Jason Avant during one-on-one cornerback vs. wide receiver drills. Hobbs got physical with Avant, forcing an incompletion, but Avant thought he was held. "You're holding me!" Hobbs responded. A fan in the first row said he caught it on film, and Hobbs went over for evidence, telling the guy Avant was trying to club him with his "big, gorilla arm."
* Stewart Bradley dropped a sure interception from Kolb and deflected another pass. It's really going to help the middle of this defense to have him back.
* Jason Peters was called for a false start. He also took a few plays off to the side, but the team did not say he was injured afterwards. Austin Howard took his place at left tackle with the ones.
* Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was in attendance once again, decked out in Eagles gear. He's a lot smaller than I thought he'd be in person. I was expecting him to be close to Andy Reid's size.
* Rookie Trevard Lindley really looks like a sound tackler. I've been impressed with that aspect of his game.
* In case you missed it, I posted Man Up on the offense a little earlier today.
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Im confused all the NFL greats always stated they practiced hard and physical. The harder they practiced the more prepared they were in actual games. Now whwhen he practices so hard?— Yes_General- I hate it when I'm going 15% and everyone else is going 85% in life. It's hard to keep up.— tommy_the_k
- I think we all saw in the Super Bowl how good Baskett is on special teams. Dump him.
- they should hire mike leach immediately. great coach who got railroaded by a spoiled brat's big mouthed dad.— snakeplissken
- It's good that sims is fired up, but really? this guy is going to end up injuring guys by hitting them in non contact drills.... one of the lineman should blindside him and see how he likes it.....— kramer65
- Can Usain Bolt catch a football? Can he be taught to catch a football?
- There are always guys like Sims. When I train, there's always a guy who goes 100% when you're just sparing and going maybe 25%. I have a word to describe these guys that begins with Eh and ends with hole. I only wonder if he's going to be a tough guy in a game? Probably be a non-factor.— fmMD
Sims probably won't make it past mid-season, so he is trying to stand out to collect a check at the expense of his teammates by taking cheap shots. The O needs to go "The Longest Yard" (1974 version) on him. Green Machine.
Eagles keep 6 wr's: Jackson, Maclin, Avant, Cooper, Washington and Chad Hall gets the last spot.— briandawkins20- Im with Murrayag11. The defense needs somebody with a high motor to get them through the grind. I see the entire defense improving with him on the field.— barefoot
- Sheil, you didn't coment on Graham dropping back into pass coverage in the first game (or I missed it). Don't you think that Graham would profit more from working on his moves? Do you think that defensive scheme contributes to the teams inability to rush the passer without bringing 6? Ddo you think that over the years, the constant player rotation in the DL, hurts the linemen's play?— jimmyj
- The defense finally has somebody who isn't scared to hit someone! It was absent last when Dawk was gone. Sims might just be the one to bring it back. Hopefully he is rubbing off, even Asante made a good hit on Friday.— Murrayag11
Comment removed.- maybe Sims isnt the sharpest tool in the shed, thats prob why Detroit bailed on him, hope he understands the position and isnt just gunnin for the ball at every chance and biting on play fakes.— peteike
- I like bboybeballin's solution for Sims. And then after the play, put him on the twos for a week. The guy is crying for a wakeup call.— tacklinjoe
- Sims does need to chill with the Waterboy moments! Atleast not against the Ones— sima_down_nah
- C'mon Hall... make the squad!!— USAFruss
c'mon Sims, enough w/ the cheap shots...the offense has to devise an intentional INT play to Ernie in practice, then have Weaver hold him up for a flying body tackle from Justice...— bboybeballin- He absolutely should. The onl;y thing Dunlap has over Austin is that he was drafted.
- Austin Howard looked good on friday night. Does he make the team over Dunlap?— dragoon6
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