Eagles Notebook
Posted: May 19th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 10 Comments »The news came out the other day that Jason Avant was taking some snaps at DB. We had previously found out that Clay Harbor took snaps at OLB. This led to some discussions about how much of this had been done in the past. Geoff Mosher had the best nugget, when he mentioned to me on Twitter that Bruce Perry had switched positions. For those who don’t remember, Perry was a RB from Maryland. The Eagles drafted him in the 7th round in 2004. He didn’t play that year, but was on the team in 2005 as a RB and KOR. He was 15-70 in the 2005 season finale. Nice showing. Perry was also the KOR in the final 2 games of 2005 and averaged 27.3 yards per return.
The Eagles moved him to CB in the 2006 offseason. With Westy, Buck, and Ryan Moats all healthy, there was no room for a 4th RB in Reid’s offense. CB was Perry’s best hope to get on the field. I don’t know if Perry ever played a snap on defense. I don’t think so. He was the KOR for the 2006 season opener (3-57), but only played in 3 games that year. RB to CB is a rare move at the NFL level.
Josh Parry came to the Eagles as an undrafted MLB. He was moved to FB after failing to make the team as a LB. Parry took over when Jon Ritchie got hurt in 2004. Parry started at FB for the rest of that year and 2005, before he lost the job to Thomas Tapeh and was traded. Moving from ILB to FB is actually a common deal.
Dan Klecko is the one established veteran player who Andy Reid moved from one spot to another. Klecko was signed to come to Philly and play FB. He was then moved to DT in the summer. At midseason, he was moved back to FB. Klecko had played DL, LB, and FB in his time in New England and Indy prior to being an Eagle so there was some precedent for moving him around.
For my money, having Avant and Harbor take defensive snaps is unlike anything Reid ever did. Those are established offensive players, not young projects. I know Harbor is just a #2 TE, but he plays a decent amount of snaps and has started. I don’t mean the Reid/Kelly comparison here to be bad or good for either one. I’m simply comparing the unique nature of the moves.
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Speaking of moving players…Vinny Curry is moving to 3-4 DE. PE.com has an interesting interview with him. The great Bo Wulf got Curry to talk about his weight (280 pounds) and the differences in the 4-3 and 3-4. Nothing groundbreaking, but good stuff. There are some highlights shown during the interview. They certainly chose well. Those are the plays that will make you think Curry can play in the 3-4 as a DE.
PE.com also has up an interview with Brandon Boykin. Brandon is a well-spoken young man. He won’t have as much of a schematic adjustment this year. As he says, “Nickel is nickel.” There are some highlights shown during his piece as well. I think you’ll notice that the best plays came early in the year. Brandon was fresh and confident at that point. I don’t think his play slipped all that much, but I don’t think it progressed at all. It’s gonna be interesting to see what kind of jump he has in 2013. As for him the KOR…he needs to be challenged in a big way. He was unimpressive last year. I do think some of that was the adjustment to the NFL. Either that’s gone this year and he’s much better as a returner or he’s simply not meant to handle that job in the NFL. We’ll see.
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Jeff McLane had a good piece on Sunday about the difference in practices under Andy Reid and Chip Kelly. There is no right and wrong here. Each coach must find what works for him. Jeff tells some good stories about the locker room and napping habits. These are the kind of nuggets that you want writers to share. You’re always curious what it is like in the locker room with non-dramatic stuff. And let’s face it, for every dramatic locker room moment, there are a hundred bland, typical, routine activities.
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Jimmy Bama did a really cool thing. He picked an all-division team for the NFC East.
I am sad to say that I don’t disagree with his choices. You know I hate being nice to him, but I think he did a good job here.
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Could it just be prep for emergency type situations rather than flat out position changes? Sounds kinda Bellicheckian to me, kind of like what they did with Edelman when they had all those injuries.
It could be emergency prep. Definite possibility. Feels different though.
This is all part of they mystery of Chip Kelly. We really don’t know what’s going on with some situations.
I think it’s weird to have Avant trying out for DB. He’s been one of the most sure handed WR’s we’ve had, and goes over the middle. Isn’t he our solid #3 WR?
I don’t have a good read on Harbor, maybe its a good move or maybe it just helps add more depth. I’m all for more depth so Harbor suits up on game day and either plays LB or TE, depending on which side needs him more.
Maybe this is Kelly’s thing where he knows his players will get tired and he needs to have enough bodies to be on the field fresh to play if need be.
If thats the case with Avant, then so be it, but I really question if Avant can make the switch to being a good tackler after having played his long career as a WR.
Avant is a really poor fit for what Kelly wants at WR (big guys who can beat out smaller DBs or small/speedy receivers with top RAC skills). Avant is a possession receiver.
We’ll see how this plays out. Can’t make too much of it until we see where this goes.
Precise response. 🙂
Based on his close association with Bill B, maybe Chip is trying to recreate some of that Pats history with Troy Brown from the NE Super Bowl teams. Works for me.
I have a feeling that we are going to say goodbye to some system/genuine “good guys” that don’t fit the new system.
While it might be a Hoodieism to make regular talented locker room guys switch positions as a means of sacrificing for the team I am not sure that is what Chip is thinking.
Frankly it feels a bit collegiate to me.
I am not sure what to make of it other than it gives us things to read and discuss in the offseason.
Has anyone else seen the profootballtalk articles on maysonet? they make it seem like because he got a nice signing bonus and we cut him that there is a disconnect between Chip and Howie…i think its stupid clearly they thought more of Felix or Polk or maybe they saw something they really liked in shaw
Florio just likes to stir the pot. He probably has no more insite into the move than you or I.
This wording of this line from the McLane article made me laugh:
“There were other places to sleep – the lounge, the trainer’s room – and, it seemed, plenty of opportunities for exhausted players to nap under Andy Reid.”
I just picture Andy laying on the ground with cleats sticking out from under him, like the Wicked Witch of the East.