Twice?

The words no one wanted to read:  Jason Peters re-ruptured his Achilles tendon.  Derrick Gunn broke the story for CSN.

Apparently Jason was on a Roll-A-Bout in his kitchen and the thing crumbled under him.  He fell forward and the Achilles ruptured.  For those who don’t know what a Roll-A-Bout is (what the heck is wrong with you?), go here.

Clearly, Peters is done for 2012.  What about his future?  This is a trickier subject.  When I first heard the news I didn’t know of the fact he was on the weird device.  I thought the tear came in some kind of rehab work and that got me really depressed.  Had the rupture happened like that, it would have been a sign that Peters either didn’t have a successful surgery or had structural issues with his Achilles.

I was relieved to find out that it happened the way it did.  The Achilles wasn’t supposed to be put in a situation like that this quickly after surgery.  The rupture happened because of the accident.  This wasn’t a case where Peters was following normal rehab and the injury happened.

I have no idea if the fact that the Achilles ruptured a second time will affect him in the future.  It is easy to assume it will, but that isn’t necessarily true.  The surgery wasn’t that long ago so it isn’t as if the injury was anywhere close to being fully healed.  If there was a time to have something like this happen, I would assume it is now.  Peters will have the new surgery and still have almost a full year until football activity starts.  I’m sure the doctor will be painstakingly thorough in the procedure and Peters and the rehab staff will be the same way.

I can’t recall a player re-rupturing his Achilles like this (timing or situation).  If any of you guys can think of someone, please speak up.  It would be nice to have some points of reference.

This isn’t the news that anyone wanted, but at least it doesn’t affect the upcoming season.  Demetress Bell is already in place.  I don’t think anyone genuinely expected Peters to get on the field in 2012.  I certainly didn’t.  If Peters is behind schedule or having issues as of next March, the Eagles will have to look at keeping Bell or pursuing another player at LT (FA, trade, or draft).  Let’s wait til next February to start really thinking about those options.

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FB Owen Schmitt will have a tryout for the Raiders this weekend.  Good luck to him.  Solid player, but wasn’t a good enough blocker or STer for the Eagles to think he was a player they had to keep.

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Andy Reid met the media today after the practice.  He mentioned some injury updates of interest.  Jamar Chaney won’t participate in OTAs.  Nor will Mike Patterson.  Both are expected to be fine for Lehigh.  Reid said the same thing about Colt Anderson, which surprised me.  His ACL injury happened late in the year so I thought for sure he would be a PUP list candidate.  Sounds like the Eagles expect him to play at Lehigh.

Patt’s absence means that Antonio Dixon should be the starting NT in the OTAs.  That could be good for him.  Dixon needs all the reps and attention he can get as he tries to show that he can play in the Wide-9.  Fletcher Cox is plays UT and will be behind Cullen Jenkins.  It is possible the coaches will slide Jenkins to NT and put Cox with the starters to try and get him up to speed a little quicker, but I don’t anticipate that.

Chaney’s absence means that Mychal Kendricks will almost certainly be the starting SAM.  I’m guessing Brian Rolle will be at WLB, but that is just a guess.  If Chaney is slated to play OLB this year, I would think Casey Matthews stays at backup MLB.  The LB situation is highly fluid so we’re all just guessing at this point.

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Speaking of Kendricks, he had another good day, breaking up a pair of passes among other things.  Reid threw some praise his way.  ”You have to have good athletic ability to do that,” Reid said of Kendricks’ breakups.

“I would tell you he looked good out here. He made a lot of plays and got his hands on the ball.”

Everyone is on the Kendricks bandwagon right now.  He looks good as a blitzer.  He picked off a pass.  He broke up a couple.  He’s fast and athletic.  This is all very encouraging.  Can’t wait to see him as a run defender at Lehigh and in the preseason.

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Reid said that Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen will be the starting Safeties in the full team OTAs.  Good.  I need to do a full post on this subject.  For now, I’ll just say that Kurt played well enough last year to deserve a chance at starting.  Glad he’s going to get it.  Jaiquawn Jarrett will be challenging for his job.  That leaves Colt Anderson and Phillip Thomas as the primary challengers at FS.  Tom Nelson is there as well, but I’m not sure what the Eagles really think about him.

Yeremiah Bell will be working out for the Titans.  It will be interesting to see if they sign  him or pass.

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There was a discussion today on Eagles Live between Dave Spadaro and Adam Caplan about whether Damaris Johnson should get used as a KOR.  Spuds thought he was too small.  Caplan likes his production, experience, and ability.

Spuds is partially right.  Johnson is very small at just 5-7, 171.  Normally, that is a guy you want as a PR.  The difference is that a PR catches the ball in traffic and needs to be more elusive.  KORs feature defenders running at full speed the length of the field and really delivering some big hits.  The perfect KOR is about 205 pounds.  He’s thick enough to take hits, but small enough to make defenders miss and still be a really athletic player.

That said, Johnson was a terrific KOR at Tulsa.  He returned 134 of them in just over 3 years.  He had 2 TDs.  Ted Ginn is 5-11, 180 and a good NFL KOR.  Darren Sproles is short at 5-6, but does go in the 190-pound range.  Lions WR Stefan Logan was 10th in the league and is just 5-6, 180.  LaRod Stephens-Howling is 5-7, 185.

Brandon Banks has been good for WAS on both punts and KOs.  He is just 5-6, 155.  Damaris could bully him for lunch money.  Banks scares the crap out of me every time he catches a punt or KO.

If Damaris was a terrific position player I would be on Dave’s side and say that we do need to protect him.  However, part of the reason for wanting Johnson is because he’s a good returner.  Let’s see what he can do, on KOs and punts.  If he’s in over his head physically, pull him.  I think he could be a good KOR.

More Rookie Camp Talk

It sounds like everyone is impressed with Brandon Boykin.  He was an athletic playmaker in the SEC so that should be enough to get him instant credibility, but some who don’t follow college football still had their questions about the 4th round pick.  After watching him for a couple of days in practice, it seems that he has shown enough to get people’s attention.

Boykin played the slot and outside.  He fielded punts.  He showed the kind of athleticism and football skills you want from a guy in those roles.  I’m sure he made plenty of simple mistakes. No one comes through rookie camp unscathed.  All the players are learning on the fly.  This is their introduction to the NFL.

We need Boykin to step up as a rookie.  If he can be the nickel corner and KOR, the 2012 Eagles will be a better team for it.

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Mychal Kendricks got a lot of buzz this weekend.  It is good to know that his athleticism is evident to everyone.  Our LBs last year were not exactly the most athletic guys in the world.  The Eagles really liked Kendricks, both scouts and coaches.  Let’s hope they chose well.

For more on Kendricks, check out Les Bowen’s article on him.

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Yesterday I talked about how “interesting” it was to see the Eagles pushing Bryce Brown aggressively.  One reader wondered why this was interesting, since we drafted Brown and Polk was a UDFA.  Fair question.

Brown has barely been relevant since leaving high school.  Polk was the heart and soul of the UW offense for 3 years.  He had 837 touches in that time and helped lead UW to a pair of bowl games (1 win).  Polk is much more experienced than Brown. In theory, he should be much more NFL-ready.

The Eagles drafted Brown because he was the more talented of the pair, but when we talk about trying to develop rookies as role players, you’d wonder if the smart thing isn’t to go with the guy with the better background.  I saw Brown as a major project.  Polk was more of a typical rookie that would have a more normal learning curve.

The Eagles are all in right now with Brown.  He’s the #1 RB in this rookie camp.  Andy Reid is taking time to personally coach him.  It really feels like the Eagles want to see what he can do and if he can hold up to pressure.

I’m not judging this as good or bad.  I just find it fascinating.  To me, this isn’t typical Eagles thinking.  I’m looking forward to seeing if it works or not.

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What should we make of the new format?

I have mixed feelings.  On one hand, there is a strong argument to be made for rookies getting their first taste of action in this format.  The pace is a tad slower.  They can be coached more one-on-one.  The players have a chance to get their feet wet before being in a full team environment, when things are kinda crazy.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for players being in the team practice first so that they can get a taste of what the NFL is really like.  Then the players can go to rookie camps and have an understanding of the level they are shooting for.

The Eagles didn’t choose this arrangement.  It is part of the new CBA.  It will be interesting to see how the 2012 rookies compare to previous classes.  Maybe this format will work better.  Maybe not.  Some people love it when they are thrown into the deep end of the pool.  Others want to get in the shallow part and work their way back.

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PE.com videos are here.  You have to look for the ones that say “Rookie Camp: First look at the OL”.  Or WRs or DL or whatever.  Some are on page1, others on page 2.

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DL Maurice Fountain tore his patellar tendon.  Hate to hear that.  He was a longshot for the team, but you wanted him to be able to continue chasing his dream.

Day 1 Reflections

PE.com has more camp videos up.  You can see WRs and DBs now.  They’re short, but of interest to the fan starved for information/entertainment.

You can see how talented Brandon Boykin is.  Fluid, agile athlete.  You can also see how much bigger he is than Cliff Harris.  Cliff is a couple of inches taller, but is 10 pounds lighter and much less muscular.  Boykin doesn’t have a big frame, but he is very well put together.

Seeing Marvin McNutt run slot routes was interesting.  He wasn’t good on the first rep, but then looked much better on the second.  He’s got a lot to learn, but if he’s smart and coachable…that’s okay.  Damaris Johnson is small, but has some nice shake ‘n bake to him.

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Bo Wulf wrote a good practice summary for the mothership.

Dennis Kelly played LT.  Some thought of him as RT only, but I thought he showed good enough footwork to warrant a look on the left side.

Bryce Brown was the “first team” RB.  Very interesting.  I’m  really wondering if this is a guy the Eagles are going to aggressively push.  If he can handle coaching and adjust to the business of pro football, he could be a guy that you want to mix in some.

There has been and will be a lot of talk about Chris Polk as a blocker since he played a lot at UW and was in a pro style offense.  That’s all well and good, but Polk struggled mightily at the Senior Bowl in pass protection.  He has much more experience than Brown, but that doesn’t mean that he’s any better at it.  I’m sure both guys will need a lot of work in that area.  This is where learning and coachability become huge factors.

Monte Simmons played WLB.  I think he’ll be a SAM in full camps, but due to the lack of bodies here, the best way to get him on the field is to put him at WLB.

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The Eagles are giving a tryout to former Purdue DL Alex Magee.  He’s a 6-3, 298 DT.  Here is my pre-draft write-up on him.

3-year starter. Played DT in 2006 and 2007. Moved to DE as a Senior. Played both sides. Projects to DT in the NFL. Good athlete for an interior guy. Quick off the ball. Uses his hands well. Effective bull rusher. Has good awareness. Hustles after the ball. Had 20 or more solo tackles in each of his years starting at DT. That shows you a good motor. Has very good speed for a DT. Could be an ideal fit in a 1-gap system. You also are impressed by the fact he was willing to move to DE as a Senior. Very selfless move. Didn’t have a great season. Doesn’t have the speed/burst to be a force off the edge. Played the run well and did a good job of fighting off cut blocks. Went to the Senior Bowl and was able to move back to DT. Had a solid showing.

Mid-round pick.

He was taken in the 3rd round, but hasn’t panned out as hoped.  He would be a good camp body to add.  He has enough talent that he’s worth bringing in.  You would rather not have guys to just eat up reps.  Always try to add players with some ability.  You never know when a guy will turn out to fit your system well and the light will go on.

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Greg Lewis is a coaching intern for the Eagles.  Naturally, he’s working with the WRs.  I’m sure Juan Castillo wanted him for the LBs, but maybe that can happen in the future.

G-Lew could be a good coach.  He was undrafted out of Illinois, but carved out a nice career for himself.  He wasn’t a good starter, but was a good role player.  And he did have an impressive TD catch in the Super Bowl.  I think it covered 110 yards.  Greg broke 10 tackles and hurdled 3 guys for the score.  At least that’s the version he tells.

It will be interesting to see if G-Lew decides to make a full go of coaching.  It is much harder than most former players realize.  Duce Staley seems to like it and I’m glad.  It is great to have Duce back as part of the Eagles family.

Someone in the last comments section brought up the difficulty in developing coaches and used an example of Pete Jenkins and Rory Segrest.  Pete was a terrific DL coach in college and the NFL.  He chose Segrest as a guy to mentor and develop, but Rory just wasn’t good enough for the NFL.

I think Andy Reid learned his lesson there.  Don’t let the assistant choose the guy to develop.  Eugene Chung worked for the Eagles prior to Howard Mudd’s hiring.  Chung spent time helping Castillo when he was the OL coach.  Chung also is a former NFL player and knows how pro football works, inside and out.  That doesn’t mean that he’ll be a good successor to Mudd, but he has the background that you want in a coach.  He’s played.  He’s paid his dues behind the scene.  He’s worked with multiple coaches and styles.  And no one is giving him a job because he’s somebody’s buddy.  Chung will have earned the job when he gets it.

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Happy Mother’s Day.

Rookie Camp – Update #1

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.

Friday Night Update

The Eagles signed 3 more rookies on Friday.  The only unsigned players are Fletcher Cox and Nick Foles.  Andy Reid said these holdouts are ripping apart the locker room and the team has already given up on 2012.  Time to look forward to 2013.

Okay, that’s not exactly true.  I just thought things were a little boring and some drama might pep up the rookie camp.

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A few people have remarked about seeing DeSean Jackson this offseason and how he is light years different than the guy from 2010 and 2011.  Jackson took the contract situation really hard and it affected him personally and on the field.  That stuff is gone and he’s back to being a happy camper.  Let’s hope this change is evident in his play.  If so, the Jackson signing could go from a good move to a great move.  When he’s at his best…he can be tremendous.

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Forget about BYU…Andy Reid loves Tha U…as in the University of Miami.  The Eagles signed QB Jacory Harris today.  He joins fellows Canes Antonio Dixon, Brandon Washington, Graig Cooper, and Chase Ford on the roster.

Harris is the #5 QB.  If he plays well and is lucky, Harris would be Practice Squad material.  I don’t think he’s ready for the NFL and he’s also got too many players ahead of him.

Jacory does have talent and could be an interesting development prospect.  He throws a good deep ball.  Has nice size and the physical tools to be an NFL QB.  He’s more pocket passer than athlete, but can run a little when he’s got space.  Great high school player who could just never put all the pieces together at Miami.  INTs were his big problem.  To put things in perspective, Nick Foles threw 225 more career passes, but 15 less INTs.

I do think he has some mechanical issues to work through.  If Marty/Andy can get that stuff sorted out, it could make a big difference for Harris and his pro potential.  I would still rate him as a major longshot.

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Someone asked in the previous post about where to learn more about football.

I put up a Reading List over at ScoutsNotebook.   There are some great books on the list.  Feel free to ask questions about them or any other football books.

Smart Football is a site that I’ve only been aware of for 10 months.  Chris Brown is the writer and does work for Grantland as well.  He does a brilliant job of explaining offensive concepts.  He’s good with defense as well, but is masterful with offense.  Be warned…he does like the spread offense.  I follow him on Twitter and find the discussions he has with other smart people (like Doug Farrar) to be really interesting and insightful.

Someone posted a good NYT blog post on DL play in the previous comments section.  Here’s the link for anyone who missed it.

Question for you guys…has anyone read Dr. Z’s Thinking Man’s Guide To Pro Football?  I never have, but always wondered if it is a really good book or is a bit dated.

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A trustworthy fan said on Twitter today that Jamar Chaney told him he’s currently listed as the starter at WLB, not Brian Rolle.  The guy does some writing at BGN so I trust him on this scoop.

We don’t want to make too much of this for a few reasons, but the biggest is this…players can be a terrible source of information.  I’m sure Chaney thinks he’s going to be the top of the WLB depth chart, but this is a very fluid time for roles and there is a ton of change at LB.  Let’s wait til we see Chaney line up there in a mini-camp before totally buying in.

It is easy to imagine the move.  If the goal is to get the 3 best LBs on the field, that should be Ryans, Kendricks, and Chaney.  Matthews and Rolle will have something to say about that, but for now you’d have to list them behind the others.  Chaney played WLB as a Sophomore at MSU and some early on in his Eagles career.

If true, Casey Matthews stays at the backup at MLB (I assume).  It would be interesting to know what’s going on at SAM.  Is Moise Fokou or Akeem Jordan the main competition for Kendricks?  I’d also love to know if Monte Simmons has any kind of realistic shot at a roster spot.

As long as we have Ryans in the middle, I’m pretty open to who else lines up beside him.  Just find me some good LBs.