http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen RSS Feed for DN Col Les Bowen en-us Tue, 22 May 2012 11:39:05 GMT 2012-05-22T11:39:05Z en-us http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120522_Pederson_working______on_Vick_rsquo_s_mistakes.html THE OFFSEASON NFL players lost to the lockout last year has been blamed for just about every unfortunate thing that’s happened, this side of the “Twilight” movies. Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson threw another log on the fire Monday, when he opined that the falloff in QB Michael Vick’s play last season had a lot to do with Vick not being able to review mistakes with coaches and fine-tune this time a year ago. “Honestly, I think it was the offseason,” Pederson said during a rare NovaCare media session with Eagles offensive position coaches, minus offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who isn’t in town. “We had time to spend [before the 2010 season] with Michael Vick outside, on the practice field, against the net, work his footwork, work his fundamentals, get him in the classroom. For him, that was the biggest difference. I think as the season went on last year, and we got into the last half of the season, especially those last four games [which the Birds won], after he came back from his injury, I think you saw a different Michael Vick. It was the fact that … he was able to evaluate his own self [during the three-game injury absence] and when he came back, he was a lot more efficient.” Tue, 22 May 2012 11:39:05 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120522_Pederson_working______on_Vick_rsquo_s_mistakes.html 2012-05-22T11:39:05Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120515_.html THE FASTEST, niftiest receiver at the Eagles’ rookie camp was Demaris Johnson. Johnson, an explosive 5-7, 170, looks like he might be able to run away from anything, and maybe he once thought he could. But there is no running away from security cameras, or from a felony embezzlement charge, the NCAA’s all-time all-purpose yards leader (7,796) and kickoff yards leader (3,417) discovered last August, just before his senior season at Tulsa was set to commence. Tue, 15 May 2012 17:42:57 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120515_.html 2012-05-15T17:42:57Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120508_Edwards_likes_opportunity_he_rsquo_s_getting_from_Eagles__mdash__no_matter_where_it_leads.html TRENT EDWARDS wasn’t surprised to see the Eagles grab a quarterback in the third round of the NFL draft, even though the addition of Nick Foles makes it much harder to chart Edwards’ path to a roster spot. “I knew that kind of going in — anywhere I would have signed, you’re going to have to compete,” Edwards said recently, after a morning devoted to the Birds’ offseason conditioning program, which included Edwards throwing to receivers under the watchful eyes of quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson. “It’s not like you’re going to sit there and they’re going to hand you a lot of money and a job.” Wed, 09 May 2012 14:25:04 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120508_Edwards_likes_opportunity_he_rsquo_s_getting_from_Eagles__mdash__no_matter_where_it_leads.html 2012-05-09T14:25:04Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120501_Les_Bowen__Coming_up_Roseman_in_the_draft.html THIS TIME, when the draft was over, Howie Roseman felt energized. Not that Roseman had felt like jumping off a bridge following the 2010 and 2011 Eagles drafts, Roseman's first as general manager, but when this selection meet concluded, Roseman thought he and the Eagles had learned from their mistakes, had seen some gambles pay off, and had done everything they could do to make the 2012 offseason and the draft a success. Wed, 02 May 2012 15:46:49 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120501_Les_Bowen__Coming_up_Roseman_in_the_draft.html 2012-05-02T15:46:49Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120430_Les_Bowen__Eagles_eyed_defense_in_draft.html THIS EAGLES offseason has largely been about giving Juan Castillo the tools to succeed. If the Birds' 2012 defense blows fourth-quarter leads, can't tackle and frequently looks confused, it won't be because of personnel that doesn't match the scheme, or offseason work lost to a lockout, or a lack of size and talent up the gut. There will be Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:02:53 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120430_Les_Bowen__Eagles_eyed_defense_in_draft.html 2012-04-30T17:02:53Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120427_Eagles_Chaney_speaks_well_of_Cox__former_college_teammate.html As a defensive lineman drafted by a front office that has guessed wrong on several of those, Fletcher Cox will face some pressure. Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:55:11 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120427_Eagles_Chaney_speaks_well_of_Cox__former_college_teammate.html 2012-04-28T07:55:11Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120427_Les_Bowen__Eagles_move_up_to_pick_Cox_at_12.html JIM WASHBURN is 62. He says this Eagles' defensive line is his last coaching project, and the front office just handed him a big key to completing it. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:01:53 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120427_Les_Bowen__Eagles_move_up_to_pick_Cox_at_12.html 2012-04-27T14:01:53Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120426_Les_Bowen_.html IT'S A LITTLE too early to say we know exactly what the Eagles have reaped from the two drafts they've conducted since Howie Roseman took over from Tom Heckert as general manager, when Heckert left for Cleveland. Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:14:01 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120426_Les_Bowen_.html 2012-04-26T20:14:01Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120424_Les_Bowen__Some_of_Dawkins__greatest_hits_would_be_illegal_today.html IN BRIAN DAWKINS' prime, the most rare part of his hybrid game might have been that amazing, shark-on-the-hunt deep-coverage skill, the way Dawk could adjust, arriving just in time to help a teammate, even if he'd been in another quadrant of the field when the ball left the quarterback's hands. Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:03:49 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120424_Les_Bowen__Some_of_Dawkins__greatest_hits_would_be_illegal_today.html 2012-04-24T17:03:49Z http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120423_Les_Bowen_.html A DECADE AGO, Super Bowls were being won by guys like Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer. Two of the dominant quarterbacks in the NFL were undrafted Kurt Warner and sixth-round find Tom Brady, who also won Lombardi trophies. Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:02:01 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/les_bowen/20120423_Les_Bowen_.html 2012-04-24T00:02:01Z