The Toughest of Days

I’m sure you’ve all read many articles on Garrett Reid’s funeral, which was held this morning.  I’ve got nothing to add.  I don’t want to falsely eulogize someone I don’t know.  I am glad so many of Big Red’s friends were able to attend.  I’m sure that had to provide some comfort on the hardest day of his life.  Knowing that you’re loved can help you get through some tough things.

Les Bowen wrote a nice piece on the service.  I hadn’t even thought about the fact that someone like Mike Holmgren had known Garrett for basically his whole life.

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There is no good segue from that subject.   When in doubt, go with humor…appropriate humor of course.  Paul Domowitch has been going to some other training camps to check teams out.  You knew he would go first to Atlanta in order to see his old buddy Asante.  In case anyone has forgotten, they had a semi-feud.  Domo got on Asante for not tackling.  Asante got on Domo for getting on him.

With that in mind, I was quite pleased to see this tweet:

So I’m 100 yards from Falcons’ practice field when I hear Asante yell: “Domwitch, you came!!!

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) August 5, 2012

Here is the column that Domo wrote on Asante, the Eagles, and the Falcons.  Good stuff, as you would expect.  The world needs more references to the salad bar at Pizza Hut.

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A wise reader asked me about Matt McBriar and his problems as a holder.  I didn’t recall any, but did some checking and found an interesting article.  Apparently McBriar did have some issues in 2009.

Bobby April certainly knew about this when Matt was signed.  April must think it was more of a temporary thing than an ongoing problem.  If you sign a Punter, you must factor him in as a holder.  Nonetheless, this is something to watch closely in the preseason games.

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I was going through some old posts from last August out of curiosity.  This time last year we were talking about Jason Kelce’s emergence from rookie fighting for a roster spot to potential starter.  Could he really pull that off?

The first depth chart of the summer of 2011 had Juqua Parker as the starter at LDE.

DeSean was just reporting to Lehigh.  His good buddy Drew Rosenhaus was with him and neither guy was happy.

Donald Lee was the #3 TE and impressing us.  Could the Eagles really keep 3 TEs?

Fenuki Tupou had been getting some reps as the #1 RT.  Of course, half the OL in camp did as well.

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Q & A

Can Chris Polk play FB?  I seriously doubt it.  The first issue is his shoulder problem.  FBs must be able to take a serious beating with their necks/shoulders since they slam into LBs on I-formation running plays.

Next, Polk is 222 pounds.  Ideally NFL FBs should be in the 245 range.  Again, they are slamming into LBs.  Mostly they are hitting ILBs.  Those guys often are in the 240-250 range.  The FB must be able to hit the LB and win that confrontation on a regular basis.  I would not bet on Polk doing this.

Never say never with the Eagles.  They do like Polk.  He has started to play better in recent days.  He’s breaking tackles and taking some big hits.  Tough RB. A reporter asked him about it recently and Chris said he would do whatever he could to make the team.  He was used as a lead blocker on some QB draws up at Washington.  That’s the right attitude and he’s got some experience, but that is worlds different than trying to keep London Fletcher from crushing Shady.   I just don’t see Polk as FB material.

What’s up with rookie OG Brandon Washington?  He’s out now with a concussion.  I can’t say that he’s stood out to me when he was practicing.  Reader austinfan made the point in the comments section that he’s perfect for the practice squad and this is true.  Washington came out as a Junior.  He played LT in 2011.  He’s a bigger guy.  Let him spend this year working with Barry Rubin to get in ideal shape.  Have him work with the coaches everyday in practice so that he can learn how to play OG in the NFL and in the Mudd system.

What’s the word on WR Elvis Akpla?   I haven’t said much about Akpla.  He makes some terrific catches, but then will drop standard throws.  This is somewhat like his college career.  I don’t see him as an NFL player.

Any hope for Trevard Lindley?   Trevard did catch my eye the other day in practice.  However, he wasn’t going against the top WRs.  Still, he was confident, physical, and aggressive.  It will be interesting to see how much he plays on Thursday night and how good he looks (or doesn’t).  He would need a lot of injuries to make the team, but at least he’s doing some good things.