DIDN'T KNOW DOC WAS ALSO A MECHANIC
Darryl Tapp was in town today to complete the trade that brought him from the Seattle Seahawks for Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick. He passed his physical, making the deal official and he then signed a 3-year deal with the Eagles.
Tapp said that coach Andy Reid has told him he will play left end, opposite Trent Cole.
"I think I'm an every down end," said Tapp, who will wear Clemons' old No. 91 jersey.
"I’m prepared to come in here and work my way up and push myself to a starting role."
Tapp said he had not yet had a chance to talk to defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who is out of town.
Tapp chuckled when reminded of what has become his claim to fame -- Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' claim that Tapp bit him on the forearm last Oct. 12 when the Pack played the Seahawks.
"He said I bit him, through my facemask and my mouthguard, and left a bruise that lasted 2 months," Tapp said.
Tapp said he had re-enacted the scene with a Seattle TV reporter, who courageously offered up his forearm, which Tapp was unable to bite with force.
If Johnnie Cochran were still with us, he might assert: "If it doesn't leave a bruise, you must not accuse."
Tapp also said he has talked to Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver, a former teammate with the Seahawks.
“I have talked to big brother Leonard. Leonard was with me in Seattle and I definitely shadowed him a lot," Tapp said. "He’s a wise guy, great player and even a better person. He told me that Philadelphia is an awesome place to be. We’ve got great fans, they follow you through thick and thin, they want you to come out here and work and do what you need to do and they’ll be right behind you. He said, ‘You’re going to have a blast out here.’ Coach Reid and it’s a top-notch organization and it’ll be a special thing to be a part of.”
Tapp described his opportunity with the Eagles as a fresh start.
“It’s a new city, I’m going to have a new number. So, I’m ready to continue to go forward," he said. "Those things that I’ve learned the first four years in the league, I’ll use those things and grow from it.”
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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