IS LIVE CHATTING EAGLES-BEARS
Joe Mays entered the NFL with a couple of pretty good reasons to question whether he had the right stuff to carve out a career as a professional middle linebacker.
One was his size. While he weighs a rock-hard 245 pounds, he's just 5-10, which is a tad on the puny side for MIKE linebackers.
The second was his college pedigree. Mays, a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2008 draft, played at Division 1-AA North Dakota State, which currently has just two more alums on NFL rosters than Harvard (five), and 50 fewer than the University of Miami (57).
But while Mays may lack for height, he doesn't lack for confidence. Or at least he didn't last year when the Eagles selected him with the 200th overall pick.
"I knew I had to come in and work a lot harder than the other guys that were drafted before me and that were from bigger schools," Mays said.
"Us 1-AA guys, they never give us a chance. [They say] we didn't play against good competition. So I had to come in with the mentality that I had to work harder than everybody else to show I belonged. I tried to do what I did best, which was play football and hit people."
One of two things usually happens to undersized, sixth-round picks from small schools. They either get cut or wind up on the practice squad. But Mays' impressive play in training camp and the preseason, including a 12-tackle performance in the Eagles' final exhibition game against the Jets, earned him a spot on their season-opening, 53-man roster.
That's the good news. The bad news is he got on the field for just two plays the entire season, once against the Bears in Week 4 and once against the 49ers in Week 6. He spent the rest of the season as a game-day inactive. Didn't even suit up.
"Last year was real difficult," confessed Mays, who is attending this week's organized team activities at the NovaCare Complex for rookies and selected veterans. "I wasn't a guy who was used to sitting on the bench. It's not a good feeling. I was doubting myself last year. I was doubting whether I was good enough to play in the NFL.
"But my coaches just kept on me. They told me to get better. They told me to work hard and get better and one day you'll see the field. One day you'll be a contributor for us. I took that to heart and just made sure that this offseason, I came in with a great work habit and was ready to work."
Mays' forte is hitting. His physical play in training camp last summer earned him the nickname "Headbuster" from fellow linebacker Omar Gaither.
But Mays will have to wait until the Eagles report to Lehigh on July 26 to lay a meaningful lick on someone. These May and June minicamps are, for the most part, noncontact. So he has been using them to continue to get more comfortable with Jim Johnson's defense and work on the one area in which he needs to improve - coverage.
"I need these camps," he said. "I need to work on pass coverage. It's getting a lot better. Last year, I was just a guy doing enough to get by. Right now, I'm still learning. But I'm trying to get better so that one day, if one of the [starting linebackers] gets injured, I'll be able to step in and the coaches can feel comfortable with me in there."
Mays worked strictly at middle linebacker last year, backing up starter Stewart Bradley. But in the last two OTAs, he also has gotten some work on the weak side.
"It's giving me a chance to expand my game a little bit," he said of the reps he has taken at WILL. "I'll be able to play MIKE and WILL one day, and hopefully be a utility guy who can go in and give somebody a break or go in when somebody's hurt.
"I'm a lot more comfortable compared to last year. I'm able to go out there and be more vocal. I actually know what I'm doing and can get my teammates on the same page. I feel a lot better about that. Once you know what you're doing, it's easy to play ball. The hard part is just knowing what you're supposed to do."
Mays knows his best chance of getting on the field this season will be on special teams. He has the misfortune of backing up Bradley, a Pro Bowl-caliber player who, barring injury, probably will be the Eagles' starting middle linebacker for the next 8 to 10 years. It won't be any easier at WILL, either, where starter Akeem Jordan is backed up by Gaither, who started 10 games last season.
"I'm just waiting for my opportunity," Mays said. "Until then, special teams will be my key. I'm ready. I'm just ready for the chance to play. I want to solidify my place on the team and also be able to contribute by starting on special teams." *
