DIDN'T KNOW DOC WAS ALSO A MECHANIC
The Eagles' apparent lack of interest in signing Justin Fargas makes better sense now that Mike Bell, one of the other solid veteran complementary running backs on the market, is scheduled to visit NovaCare today, agent Josh Luchs confirmed.
Bell, who also has visited Seattle, is a restricted free agent. The Saints tendered him at the lowest level, meaning they have seven days to match any offer he gets, but they receive no compensation should they decline. Despite all the talk about RFA movement going into free agency, nobody has inked one to an offer sheet yet. Will the Eagles be first?
Well, Bell is a 26-year-old (27 in April), low mileage back with inside running chops. He showed he could catch the ball out of the backfield as a 2006 rookie with the Broncos (20 catches, 179 yards), hasn't been used much that way since. As we noted last week, the Birds really need a veteran complement to Shady McCoy. Bell can pick up third-and-1 for you. He led the Saints in carries (172, for 654 yards and 5 touchdowns) despite being on the field for just 18 percent of their plays last season. In a deep backfield, he carved out a strong role.
Question is, what would you have to offer him to get the Saints to decline to match? Could be we're about to find out.
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.
Download our iPhone/Android app for even more Birds coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here for iPhone or here for Android.
 | Join on Facebook |
