IS LAMENTING OVER THE LATISSIMUS
When the Eagles included safety Quintin Demps among the handful of veterans asked to show for the rookie camp that started today at NovaCare, it wasn't because they liked his play last season so much that they just had to see more of him.
Demps began the 2009 offseason as the presumed heir to Brian Dawkins at free safety. He ended it having played in nine games, none of them as a starter. The brash aggressiveness that had helped Demps get on the field the previous season as a rookie did not wear well in year two; it came off as unearned arrogance. Demps was hobbled by hamstring and ankle injuries, but even when he was healthy, new defensive coordinator Sean McDermott didn't seem to have much use for him, in a season that saw the Eagles struggle mightily at free safety.
So far, the 2010 Demps seems much more humble; he talks of wanting to show how he has grown up. But the Eagles drafted South Florida safety Nate Allen in the second round last month, after signing the Colts' Marlin Jackson as a free agent. Allen will be given every chance to start as a rookie. Coming off back-to-back knee surgeries, Jackson seems slated more for safety than corner once he fully recuperates. (Jackson was noticeably gimpy today.) Meanwhile, Macho Harris, who started eight games at safety as a fifth-round rookie last year, is now playing cornerback.
So, it's possible Demps will regain the chance he fumbled away a year ago, but it is far from a sure thing. He is here right now, it would seem, because he is on the fringes of the roster, along with other such former pet projects as linebacker Joe Mays.
"Whatever's on my plate, man, I'm going to eat it and ask for dessert," Demps said.
Earlier this week he graduated from Texas-El Paso with his degree in general studies. He went back to finish his schoolwork "to set a good example for my (2) kids," he said. "I can't be telling my kids to go to college and graduate, and I don't have a degree."
Demps, who got married during the season, went to Haiti this offseason with offensive tackle Winston Justice, to help with earthquake relief efforts at an orphanage.
"Just growin' up, man, maturing. Becoming a real professional. That's what it's all about," said Demps, who turns 25 next month. "I'm just humble and hopeful."
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A source close to the situation said the Eagles have no interest in 35-year-old corner Shawn Springs, who reportedly failed a physical before being released by New England.
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Eagles 2008 third-round defensive end Bryan Smith suffered an ACL tear in his first workout with Jacksonville this week and presumably will miss the season.
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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