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Thursday, May 7, 2009
Eagles add free agent punter

The Eagles have agreed to terms with punter Bobby Kelsey, an undrafted rookie free agent from Illinois State.

Kelsey averaged 41.1 yards per punt last season and helped the Redbirds lead the Missouri Valley Conference and rank ninth nationally in net punting.

He is expected to come to Philadelphia on Monday to begin working with the team's special teams coaches. Kelsey figures to take some of the burden off Sav Rocca this spring and summer through training camp.

We told you yesterday about Wake Forest kicker/punter Sam Swank, but this moves likely means that Swank's role will be to help take some of the kicking chores off David Akers.

“The whole process has reminded me of the college recruiting process,” Kelsey said. “I just had to be patient and wait for things to happen. I’m excited about the opportunity. Now it is up to me to do my part.”

He joins former Illinois State teammate Walter Mendenhall on the Eagles' roster.

*

To continue the Brett  Favre conversation from yesterday, plus other Eagles notes, click here.

Posted by Daily News staff @ 7:22 AM  Permalink | 34 comments
34
Comments   
Posted 07:31 AM, 05/07/2009
lonewolf 4
i brought this issue up at the end of last season,the eagles need to upgrade the punter,,i had mentioned that the raiders punter was a free agent shane lechler but he was resigned at the biggest payday ever..
Posted 08:01 AM, 05/07/2009
dpell
Lonewowf, don't hold your breath. They will use these guys for training purposes and dump them. We will never go into a season that has Super Bowl hopes with any rookie kicker/punter. It's a shame because I believe Swank has big potential and will be more reliable than Akers (who isn't?) in the long run.
Posted 08:10 AM, 05/07/2009
Huge
akers had better wathc his back...
Posted 08:13 AM, 05/07/2009
Criz2020
Are you to numbnuts really complaining about the punting? The guys they signed will be on the practice squad to give them some time to develop and mature. But really its May and your b!tching about the kicking game?
Posted 08:38 AM, 05/07/2009
Will T.
I'm really concerned about our holder....
Posted 08:56 AM, 05/07/2009
BOHICA
I hear they are looking at Perez Hilton for the position of "helmet and ball" polisher...
Posted 09:01 AM, 05/07/2009
Superbowless Eagles
Who cares, just win a Superbowl once in my lifetime! - Very Doubtful
Posted 09:01 AM, 05/07/2009
Superbowless Eagles
Who cares, just win a Superbowl once in my lifetime! - Very Doubtful
Posted 09:02 AM, 05/07/2009
PhillyPhantastico
One glaring problem the Eagles had last year that you reporters fail to address is one facet of the special teams play. Allow me to raise it. I logged the 40 times of the kids who fetch the kicking tee during warmups for every game and noticed a serious lack of speed. Compared to other kickoff kids selected by other teams, our kids were at least 3 to 4 tenths slower. Note to Andy and Hechert: please fill this hole fast lest the season collapses into oblivion.
Posted 09:08 AM, 05/07/2009
beeline
Lonewolf, you are an idiot. Seriously, you brought this issue up at the end of last season? Dude, you need to get a life. Yours seems to be centered way to much on everything Eagles. Also, learn some punctuation skills.
Posted 09:23 AM, 05/07/2009
octo
PhillyPhantastico - Awesome
Posted 09:37 AM, 05/07/2009
5isaKing
LOL Sam Swank.... More like Sam Shank, the Eagles should have taken Patrick Shadle from Syracuse he is MONEY from all distances and would have replaced Akers and his lisp instantly.
Posted 09:38 AM, 05/07/2009
fab5phily
@PhillyPhantastico very nice! Anyway, I know Akers wasn't great last season but when you say "who isn't" regarding who is more reliable than Akers, the answer is almost no one. If you look at his entire career, and i don't have the numbers but I believe Akers is in the top 3 of most accurate kickers in NFL history on a percentage basis. and from 40 yards in he is almost, as Eskin would say, a "stone cold, mortal lock". So cut the guy some slack
Posted 09:42 AM, 05/07/2009
brmorgen81
Sam Swank will definitely replace David "nurture me McNabb" Akers by the end of this year. Akers is done and Swank is awesome.
Posted 09:59 AM, 05/07/2009
5isaKing
brmorgen81 is nurtured by Homowolf his CLONE....
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Les BowenLes 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.

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