Rookie Camp – Update #1
Posted: May 12th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 25 Comments »PE.com has up some videos on QBs, LBs, and RBs so far. Pretty good stuff. Obviously there isn’t a lot to be made from watching guys run around in shorts, but you can get some idea of how they compare to the players around them. Also, it is just fun to watch the new guys in Eagles gear. We can scout, dissect, and intellectualize things, but in the end we are fans first and foremost.
QB Jacory Harris has good feet and a quick release. He looks the part of an NFL QB in a setting like this. No question about it. The problem with Harris, as Greg Cosell says in the video, is decision-making. He threw some flat out dumb passes. Being an aggressive passer is good. Putting the ball into double or triple coverage and hoping your star receiver makes a play…dumb. Harris had gifted receivers in HS and at Miami. That may have hurt him, as he developed the habit of letting them try to make plays.
Nick Foles moved around pretty well in the video. I liked his mechanics and his motion. My only beef was that his release could have been quicker. He’s got a bit of a wind-up motion. Speed that up.
There was very little to see in the LB video. Mychal Kendricks had the best agility and athleticism of the group and it wasn’t close. He had an INT in a team drill that impressed the writers who were there. Unfortunately that wasn’t part of the video.
The RB video is 20 mins long. You get to see them run and catch. Duce Staley was very hands on with the guys as he tried to teach them the little things it takes to make it in the NFL. Bryce Brown is the most impressive. He and Chris Polk are similar in size, but Brown is faster and is clearly the more athletic of the pair. Polk does have some burst and looked fine. If you watch the video, check out Graig Cooper’s legs compared to Brown’s. Cooper has skinny little legs. Brown has a man’s body. You can see why the team is so fascinated by him.
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Howard Mudd isn’t at the camp. He’s resting in Arizona. Eugene Chung is running the OL stuff. This is good. Chung is the OL coach of the future. He needs the practice himself. And Mudd will return for camps after this. We don’t want the old bird to wear down. Needs to be able to do hip bumps with Shady after another 15 TDs this year.
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Jamaal Jackson was at Giants camp. He’s now contemplating retirement. Geoff Mosher put up some info on Twitter. Sounds like Jamaal is frustrated by the notion of being a camp body and competing with rookies. I don’t blame him. I think JamJax can still play in the NFL. I would hate to see him have to go out like this. It would be great if he could get on the field for one final year and have a chance to show what he can do.
Jamaal is hoping that someone will give him a better opportunity. If the right team loses a veteran C due to injury, maybe they call Jamaal and give him a chance to fight for a starting role. I’ll be pulling for him.
If Jamaal doesn’t make it back to the field, he’s had a good career. There are a lot of idiot players that make being an NFL fan tough. You hear about TO being broke after making more than $50M in his career and you just shake your head. You hear about the guys that get arrested for a whole variety of things. There are star players from big schools who get to the NFL and just can’t handle the competitive nature of the league (anyone seen Tony Hunt recently?). There are some players who are just unlikable jackasses, right Osi?
Then you have a guy like Jamaal. He was a UDFA from Delaware State. He fought his way onto the Practice Squad. He then fought his way onto the roster. Then it was into a starting role. Jamaal was an overachiever that did things the right way. Guys like him help you to enjoy the game of football. He just went out and did his job. And he did it well.
I wish him all the best and hope that one final good opportunity comes his way. C’mon Football Gods. Do this guy a solid. He deserves it.
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For SB Nation Philly I wrote about the young RB corps and what’s going on there. Real interesting situation.
Just me there think Brown and Polk looks just as big as Havili? Also Tommy do you think the Eagles will go with a FB even if nobody deservs the position or could go 4 deep at TE instead?
I think the Eagles will go sign a veteran FB if Havili or Igwenagu don’t pan out as expected.
The Eagles aren’t a big I-formation team, but still do enough of that to warrant keeping a FB around.
I was wondering about this question as well. What if Brown and Polk both impress but they want to keep Dion as well? If both Brown and Polk are better than the fullback who wouldn’t get many snaps to begin with, I would be tempted to keep both RB’s and stash a FB on the practice squad again.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Remember that Brown needs to show that he can impress on the field AND that he can finally get his head screwed on right.
I really hope our problem cones down to not enough room to fit all the players we want to keep on the roster.
But getting ahead of ourselves is what this time of year is all about! Bryce Brown for President!
Just Prez?
Emperor!!!
I watched the videos. Brown looks more effortless than any of the other RB’s. Polk looks good as well, but Brown looks fluid. Polk looks like he has better feet. Igwenagu looks like it takes alot of effort to run. I admit I like the idea of his versatility and that he played LB in college (aggressive attitude perhaps) when it comes to blocking. Havili looks smallish for a FB.
Yeah, Stanley isn’t big. He looks more like a RB. Will be interesting to see how he does as a blocker this summer. That’s where he’ll make the roster or not.
Apparently, Jamal has retired: http://www.csnphilly.com/football-philadelphia-eagles/eagles-talk/Former-Eagle-Jamaal-Jackson-retires?blockID=706666&feedID=704
Best wishes to a solid guy and teammate.
Hate to see him go, but glad to read “his heart wasn’t in it” as a Giant.
When Mudd was hired, I had a precious thought “maybe he can mentor Tra Thomas to be the OL coach of the future, since Thomas worked so well with Peters.” Then Mr. Thomas shared his views of the Mudd hiring and I thought, “maybe Mudd can mentor someone else.” Indeed Mudd goes against everything Thomas made a mint doing, for the most part well.
This isn’t that good but I wanted to get it in first: Eugene Chung has his eyes on Defensive Coordinator.
Only way Chung is DC is if he spends a year eating dinner with the Matthews family. Hell, he might need some lunches as well.
anybody think there is a chance that both brown and polk play better than dion lewis and he ends up getting cut??
Anything is possible, but I’d be pretty surprised if that happened.
Lewis was bad at kick returns, but he looked good as a running back when got a chance. I find it difficult to believe a rookie 7th round pick and rookie UDFA would both beat him out. I honestly think we’ll be lucky if just one of those guys makes the team.
Personally I’m rooting for Brown. Polk is more NFL-ready and experienced, but Brown seems to have a lot more potential.
Lewis is a good change of pace back who can drive teams crazy with the right blocking, fumble prone but so was Shady at Pitt and he walked around the complex with a ball in his hand. But if Brown and Polk light it up in the pre-season so that they won’t make it to the PS, don’t see why there isn’t a chance. Both are high ceiling 7th/UDFAs whatever that means.
I think Lewis starts training camp ahead of those guys but I think the No. 2 job is up for grabs.
It’s probably more likely that one of Brown and Polk impresses enough to go to 2 and pushes Lewis to 3 than both impress enough to push him clean off the roster.
Also Havili has to earn a job or maybe all four RBs stay. Lots of variables there.
Sounds like Igwenagu’s skillset would be a great fit for that FB roster spot. H-back, TE and FB sounds like a toy that Andy and Marty would have a lot of fun with! Be interesting to see if he’s any good.
Re: Chung, happy to hear this. As Mudd-in-training, I agree. He’s gotta be teaching Howard’s stuff or the big man will be unhappy with the rookies’ progress when he gets back … so safe to say Chung is busting his butt to be the best Mudd he can be. This I like. When he gets the job outright, he can put his own spin on it.
“Eugene Chung is running the OL stuff. This is good. Chung is the OL coach of the future. He needs the practice himself.”
Pete Jenkins bought in and mentored Segrest (sp) to be his replacement. It isn’t easy to replace A* coaches, however well you prepare.
Fair.
The guy to watch is Brackett. If he shows the potential to be a dangerous receiving TE, he’s 6’6 but no word on how much he’s bulked up from 248 lbs, then Harbor becomes the H-back, and in that case, they probably don’t bother to carry a FB. The I formation is almost ancient history in this offense, so they won’t waste a roster spot on an appendix.
Interesting titbit from Reid talking about Shady’s contract:
“I know Howie and Drew have a good relationship, so they’re working through things, and I think something positive will come out of that,” Reid told the newspaper. “We sure like LeSean and would love to have him here.”
Drew no longer the baddie?
The last time I’ve heard from Tony Hunt was that he was playing for the Vienna Vikings in Austria. How the mighty has fallen…!
Tommy, I got a question based on the series about defenses. Does us Eagles fan remember Jim Johnson as a much better and much more innovative DC then he really was or is it just other people there overlook him when talking about the last decades best DCs?
JJ was a terrific Defensive Coordinator. He was sound fundamentally, but also creative and aggressive. He didn’t have a defining year. Never won the SB. I think that keeps him out of the mind of the casual fan / media member. Football people know and appreciate him.