DRC missing and other OTA notes
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
DRC missing and other OTA notes
Eagles organized team activities continued Monday. This is the last week of of OTAs -- voluntary practices in shorts and no pads -- before next week's mandatory minicamp which closes the spring portion of workouts.
-- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was not at Monday's session. Curtis Marsh, Rodgers-Cromartie's replacement for most of the plays with the first team, said that the starting left corner may have missed practice because weather conditions canceled or delayed his flight. Marsh made several fine plays in Rodgers-Cromartie's absence.
(The Eagles later confirmed that Rodgers-Cromartie was out of town for a funeral over the weekend and that his flight was delayed because of weather. They said he is expected to be back for Tuesday's practice.)
-- DeSean Jackson will not be at practice this week. The team said that the wide receiver was tending to a family matter. Jason Avant and Riley Cooper took snaps at Jackson's "Z" flanker spot. Michael Vick tossed a beautiful 45-yard strike to Avant inside the bubble. Cooper dropped a few passes.
-- This week, the Eagles will have their starters practice against scout teams representing their NFC East foes and the Cleveland Browns, who they play in the opener. Today it was the Redskins.
-- Rookie cornerback Brandon Boykin showed his considerable ups when he elevated for a Mike Kafka pass and almost picked it off. The 5-foot-9 Boykin was covering the (listed) 5-8 Dion Lewis, but his vertical leap was impressive, nonetheless. Check out this youtube video of Boykin, who is expected to compete for the nickel corner spot with Joselio Hanson, winning a slam dunk contest in high school.
-- Quarterback Trent Edwards continued to get less snaps than Kafka and rookie Nick Foles.
-- Wide receiver Damaris Johnson has impressed with his straight-on speed, but the undrafted rookie can cut without losing much speed.
-- Jason Kelce missed the first portion of individual position drills, so Dallas Reynolds ran through the exercises as the first team center. Reynolds has very little shot of making the team. The Eagles will need to find an offensive lineman that can be Kelce's emergency backup. Steve Vallos and Mike Gibson, two free agents the Eagles signed in the offseason, will vie for that role, but it's hard to see the Eagles keeping either on the roster. Julian Vandervelde or Brandon Washington, two guards the Eagles have drafted in the last two years, may have to also learn how to play a little center.
Revise, fellas. Revise.— Leegles- You would think DRC would show up early for non contact drills.— Sidewinder7
- /applause — bc3030
- "Rookie cornerback Brandon Boykin should his considerable ups when he elevated for a Mike Kafka pass and almost picked it up."
That almost makes sense. I would say pretty good English for a second language or third grade. I think you meant "Boykin SHOWED his considerable [no meaning]" and "almost picked it OFF."
— Bazalite - What's up with Cox and the handful of first rounders still unsigned? I thought with the new cba and rookie wage scale that the salary parameters for each draft slot are all but set in stone
- Bazalite, your punctuation and syntax are a disgrace to the Philly faithful. Back to the 6th grade nuns with you.— tommy_the_k
- The subject implies it's something other than "life" stuff - like a contract dispute.— CaptainCrunch
- Cooper dropped a few passes did he? I'm shocked. If you can't catch you can't play WR in the NFL. Cut him.— sla6yer
- I could care less about the reaction to this comment. People need to put hate aside and the eagles need to bring McNabb back because reality is he's the only vet out there that knows this system well enough to run it efficiently should Vick go down. I don't feel comfortable with either Kafka or Edwards.— realtruth
- First of all, DRC sucks! I've been saying it since before he got here. I'll say it again. He is a MEfirst player. Did you catch his attitude when a Philly writer asked him if he felt like he had something to prove to Eagles brass and Eagles fans this year?! He was like " I ain't got nothing to prove to nobody, man!". Yeah, okay, you glorified scrub of a CB. He is a prima donna who can not and will not be able to handle anything about Philly. But, no skin off his back, because HE DOESN'T CARE! They should never have traded my man, Asante. 5TH in INTs in the entire NFL since 1999, even though he came into the league in, I believe, 2003. INTs change games. Period.— 5NOT4
- I believe you are letting your fondness for Asante Samuel interfere with your judgement. Let it go. Samuel is a Falcon now, and the Eagles play the Falcons this season. Samuel was one my favorite players too, but now it's time to hope he has a season ending injury before week 8 and root for DRC. — bc3030
- realtruth, in spite of what Dawkins said, McNabb is washed up. Since he cannot outrun defensive linemen any more, his passing inaccuracy makes him less effective than the young pups. I backed McNabb while he was here, but the last two years have shown his time is over.— dlscholt
- realtruth = realstupid.....Bring back McStink???? hahahahahahaa— SkipinWV
- Can Damaris Johnson catch and run precision routes? How about the Quarterback, Nick Foles is there any improvement in his accuracy, touch and mechanics? Dose Foles and Johnson appear to be retaining what they are taught in the camp?— Dexter
- Jackson sure has lots of "family issue". A entire week? The guy has tons of work to do to live up to his contract. Learning the plays would be a great start.— MikeP
