DIDN'T KNOW DOC WAS ALSO A MECHANIC
OK, this is weird. The Eagles agreed to terms today with Alex Smith, the tight end cut by New England last weekend, who had been the target of trade speculation involving QB A.J. Feeley. That's not the weird part. The Birds then cut Tony Curtis, the backup tight end who seemed to play so well in the preseason finale last Thursday against the Jets. If nothing else changes, the Eagles will open their season Sunday at Carolina with starting tight end Brent Celek and a backup who has been with the team 5 days.
Is that really the plan, or will we see Curtis back eventually, after another roster move? BTW, some people think the Eagles will cut somebody and put Michael Vick on the active roster tomorrow, so he can practice with the team during his two-week suspension.
Smith, a third-round pick of the Bucs in 2005, certainly has been a more prolific pass-catcher than Curtis, with 129 receptions in 58 career games.
He told a conference call this afternoon that he felt he "wasn't able to perform like I wanted to" in New England this preseason, after havng an ankle 'scoped in April.
Smith, who visited with the Giants yesterday, said he was happy to come here, where he can play in "the offense I've spent most of my career playing in" -- the West Coast scheme that Jon Gruden also ran in Tampa.
"I felt this was the best fit for me to come in right away and help," he said.
Smith is the son of Edwin "Big Ed" Smith, the first NFL player from the Bahamas. Here is a link to a story about a football camp he held there when he played for the Bucs.
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Other news: Eagles coach Andy Reid affirmed on his radio show this evening what players related to reporters after Monday's practice -- rookie Macho Harris will start at free safety and Omar Gaither will start at middle linebacker in the opener this weekend at Carolina.
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According to the National Football Post, Jon Runyan worked out for the Chiefs today. Look for Runyan to sign somewhere soon. If Runyan signs right away, he might be able to keep up his streak of 192 successive regular season starts.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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