Eagles Interested in TEs

Posted: July 24th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 36 Comments »

The Eagles worked out Visante Shiancoe this morning.  They scheduled a visit with Jeremy Shockey (I guess Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and Henry Lee Lucas were busy).  What do we make of this?

We’ve talked quite a bit this offseason about how Clay Harbor had the chance to take a big step forward.  Unfortunately Harbor did not have a good showing in the mini-camps.  He dropped the ball too often and failed to stand out at all.  The Eagles still like his potential, but that was a bad sign from Harbor.

Shiancoe’s workout went well enough that the Eagles have reportedly backed off meeting with Shockey.  No signing is imminent, but the Eagles liked what they saw.

My guess is that the Eagles will watch Harbor closely for the first few days of camp.  If he plays well, they will stick with him.  If the drops and sloppy play continue, Shiancoe will be signed.

Shiancoe is 32 years old.  He’s 6-4, 250.  This is a guy you sign for the short term.  He is a solid athlete and his best days came when playing in a run-heavy offense where he could be effective on play-action passes.  In 2008 and 2009, Shiancoe combined to have 98 catches.  That total isn’t impressive, but the fact that 18 of those catches were TDs is.  Good Red Zone weapon.  Hmmm.  Seems like the Eagles could use one of those.

If some other team snaps up Shiancoe, the Eagles can turn back to Shockey.  I know, I know…that is a horrific thought for many.  I’m no Shockey fan, but my hatred of him has waned over the years.  I’d prefer not to have him, but he hasn’t been a Giant since 2007 so I could live with it if that happens.

The fact both guys are on the street in late July tells you they are descending players that aren’t going to be difference makers.  I do think both guys can be good role players.  And that’s all the Eagles need at the #2 TE spot.  Harbor was a good blocker last year.  He showed flashes as a receiver, but wasn’t anything special.  Shiancoe and Shockey would probably be a step back as blockers, but would be better receivers.  That would be okay in the Eagles offense.

What does this mean for Brett Brackett, the young TE hoping for a roster spot?  Really, nothing has changed for him.  He needed to beat out Harbor.  If a veteran is signed, Brett can still win the job by out-playing the guy.  These vets are getting cheap deals.  If the young guy plays well enough, they could easily be cut.  Brett can’t worry about who he is battling.  He simply needs to play his tail off and hope for the best.

Anyone who wondered if adding a vet TE meant anything was wrong with Brent Celek…that does not appear to be the case.  We haven’t seen him play yet, but Celek has told people that he’s healthy and that’s what Reid said as well on Monday.  I think this is all about Clay Harbor and his slow spring.

* * * * *

Dion Lewis had his charge reduced from a felony and the situation was taken care of.  Eagles Nation, you may rest easy now.

* * * * *

WR coach David Culley said in an interview that he did think DeSean Jackson’s contract situation affected his play last year.  He said there were times when DJax was hesitant when crossing the middle and that had to be due to the situation.

We all saw this.  We all knew this.  It is good that a coach acknowledged it.

The good news is that Culley thought Jackson looked back to his old self this spring.  His personality and playing style were what we saw in the past.  We need DeSean to get back to being a difference maker.

Domo has a good column on Jackson, our happiest WR now.

* * * * *

Jim Washburn had some interesting comments on Albert Haynesworth.

“He calls me every night and says, ‘Hey, Wash, it’s your big black son’,” Washburn said. “I think he’s finished. His back’s degenerative.”

“Everybody hated him, but I liked him,” Washburn said. “He’s one of my favorite guys.”

That should kill any talk of Big Al and the Eagles.  You have to love Wash and the stories he tells.  He’s not afraid to say anything.  His players seem to love him.  And he loves ’em right back, even the crazy ones.

* * * * *

Les Bowen spoke with Eagles coach Mike Zordich on the Penn State situation.  Mike said all the right things.  He loves PSU through and through, but it is hard to complain too much about football matters when you think about the victims and what they went through.

* * * * *

UDFA CB Cliff Harris had a couple of picks yesterday in practice.  That is very important for him.  Harris is an Asante style CB…a playmaker.  He isn’t very big.  He’s not all that fast.  Harris must make things happen if he’s going to really push for a roster spot.  Cliff needs to catch the coaches attention by making plays and getting his hands on the ball.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama has some notes up on Bobby April’s meeting with the media.  Sounds like Bobby is fond of P Matt McBriar, who the Eagles worked out.

* * * * *

Finally, Mr. NFL Gimpy’s new MAQB column is up.  He wrote about some players that are real knuckleheads and how they distract from players that are actually out there doing good things.

So true.  It is easy to obsess on the PacMan Jones of the world and forget about the Warrick Dunns.  There are a lot of NFL players who are good people.  They just don’t get headlines.

_


36 Comments on “Eagles Interested in TEs”

  1. 1 ian_no_2 said at 12:42 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    J.Bama said Harris looks thin, and this is a concern, as with DRC. Harris needs to bulk up to make the tackles at CB, but I think he could play cover corner in a pinch as a rookie, and play well. Everything, of course, depends on his attitude, which is a big variable, but he is a first or second round talent if he turns his life around.

  2. 2 TommyLawlor said at 12:57 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Speed is an issue as well. Ran just 4.6 at his Pro Day. That’s not good for a small CB. Hope he plays faster than he times.

  3. 3 ian_no_2 said at 1:07 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Just don’t say the word ‘faster’ to him when he’s driving.

  4. 4 Alex Karklins said at 1:04 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    When I heard that Shiancoe was visiting, I was all: “meh.” Now I’m like: “ANYBODY but Shockey, please!” What are Mark Bavaro and Jay Novacek up to these days? (And yes, I know Bavaro played for the Eagles for a while)

  5. 5 TommyLawlor said at 1:55 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Amazing how the dynamics of a situation can make you love a player.

  6. 6 P_P_K said at 12:38 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    The girl at the party suddenly looks much prettier when her friend tells you she likes you.

  7. 7 ICDogg said at 1:29 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Pol Pot unavailable for comment.

  8. 8 ICDogg said at 1:30 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Shiancoe wired vs GB last year

    https://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/Vikings-Wired-Visanthe-Shiancoe-vs-Green-Bay/e2bdb80e-38ed-45bf-ada1-4cb0c3e9aca5

  9. 9 ACViking said at 1:34 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    RE: CB Cliff Harris

    When I read Harris’s name, I have to remind myself that we’re not talking about a former Cowboys safety — and free agent — by the same name who tormented the Eagles and the rest of the NFL from 1970-79 (6x Pro Bowler, 4x All Pro, 5 SBs, 2 SB titles, 7 NFC title games) .

    Maybe the Eagles’ Cliff Harris puts on the kind of show in training camp that free agent CB Herm Edwards did in 1977 for Dick Vermeil — though back then, the Eagles sorely lacked talent in the d-backfield and Vermeil had recruited Edwards to come to UCLA.

    Or — as T-LAW’s noted, being a step or two slow — maybe Harris turns out to be another Everson Walls, the slow but cagey free agent CB from Grambling who became an interception machine and 4x Pro Bowler/1x All Pro for Dallas in the 1980s.
    (Walls joined the Giants in 1990, and he’s famously captured on the cover of SI reacting to Scott Norwood’s missed 47 yard FG in the ’91 SB between the Giants and Bills. Ugh!!!
    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eversonwalls.com/pictures/print/SI-Giants.jpg&imgrefurl=http://eversonwalls.com/pics-inprint.html&h=575&w=442&sz=62&tbnid=FEvyFo2cm2vxqM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=60&prev=/search%3Fq%3Deverson%2Bwalls%2Bphoto%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=everson+walls+photo&usg=__9k0zqLAMwFwW_f_iQZ5GPT1FiqI=&docid=VsHiK5Vpv-yfbM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7NsOUIGoMYLe9ASFzYDgBg&ved=0CE8Q9QEwAw&dur=388)

    I’m rooting for Harris — though, return ability aside, he seems like a better fit for a more zone-oriented defense.

  10. 10 TommyLawlor said at 1:54 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    The scouts loved him after watching him at Oregon. Now Cliff can make the coaches love him if he continues to make plays in practice. He doesn’t fit the big press CB model, but if he’s good enough, they’ll find some role for him.

  11. 11 ACViking said at 1:58 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    T-LAW:

    That’s great info . . . . (Sources protected, so no questions there.)

    And your tidbit helps square the circle drawn by Roseman about the Eagles being less risk averse, even w/ FA rookies.

    I hope the kid makes it and makes it big. He could give the Eagles more flexibility in dealing with DRC — though that’s probably a stretch.

  12. 12 ian_no_2 said at 1:55 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    mho it was a bad Pro Day Time. The guy’s fast. He played zone in college so he has to learn press, but I still think he could play as a rookie.

  13. 13 rage114 said at 2:08 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Did you happen to hear/read Ted Williams comments on Bryce Brown? Seems to be very high on him and talked a little bit about untapped speed or a another gear he just didn’t need to have in college.

    I’m going go have to pay a bit more attention to him now.

  14. 14 miked718 said at 2:08 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Andy is just messing with us right? Shockey?!? Please god let this be a joke.

  15. 15 Mac said at 4:15 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Could be mind games with other teams or current players, could be kicking the tires (like austin said), I hate Shockey as much as the next guy, but if he or Shainecoe can come in and be RZ threat at a reasonable price I’m ok with it.

  16. 16 austinfan said at 2:51 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    I think people need to remember that Howie is a thorough guy who likes to kick the tires on every car on the lot, never know when (cross fingers) someone’s gonna tear an ACL on a routine play in practice and you have to hit the speed button (used to be a dial) on your smart phone.

    I think this reflects the fact they have two young TEs, one who’s a proven blocker but uncertain receiver (much like Schiano in his younger days), the other has a lot of potential as a receiver but is a complete unknown as a blocker (since he hasn’t practiced against the 1st team defense with pads on). And your FB prospect ain’t exactly a sure thing – so you’re looking for 2 players here, whether it’s a TE, H-back or FB combo.

    What is interesting is they have felt no urgency to bring in a veteran RB, other than Levens, they haven’t had a whole lot of success with veterans (Harrison, Brown), so maybe they feel the kids are alright. They did bring in veteran interior OL (Vallos, Gibson), veteran LB (Ryans), veteran safety (Otagwe).

    Real interesting comments by Washburn on Dixon, he was 360 lbs last year in camp!?#& – that’s whale size. He’s supposedly 325-330 lbs now and looking quicker, Washburn is the perfect coach to get the most out of good kids with bad habits like Dixon and Thorton, by the end of camp they’ll either be players or telling coach how bad they feel about letting him down. So much of coaching is psychology as much as Xs and Os, the fact that this redneck looking white man can get these black kids to look at him as a surrogate father says volumes about his ability to transcend race and generational barriers and touch their hearts.

  17. 17 ACViking said at 3:16 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    RE: Eagles’ Free Agent CBs

    With free agent CB Cliff Harris a topic of discussion, I have to post the following list of the three rookie free-agent CBs who made and started for the Eagles:

    1. Jim Nettles – No. 9
    A smallish free agent from the University of Wisconsin — 5’10, 177lbs — Nettles made Eagles in 1965, and in 1966 replaced Irv Cross whom the Eagles had traded to the Rams in one of George Allen’s first deals as the Rams head coach. In four years in Philly, Nettles — wearing No. 9 back in the day when the NFL “number police” didn’t exist — picked-off 10 passes and scored 2 TDs.

    In 1969, George Allen’s Rams again tapped the Eagles for a CB — ironically acquirng CB Nettles and HOF OT Bob Brown (upset after Tose fired Kuharich, a story for another day) for the man Nettles’d replaced 3 years earlier, CB Irv Cross, along with OT Joe Carollo, and OG Don Chuy. In 4 years with the Rams, Nettles had 16 INTs and 1 TD.

    2. Herm Edwards – No. 46

    He made the team in 1977 as a FA out of San Diego State, thanks in part
    to his college recruiting connection to Dick Vermeil. Edwards started at RCB from ’77 to ’85 — swept out in Buddy Ryan’s 1986 house-cleaning and replaced by 1984 4th round pick Evan Cooper out of Michigan (who would lose his job).

    Edwards had a pretty good career, authoring the Miracle at the Meadowland I. But he desperately needed to be 1 inch taller on January 25, 1981.

    3. Elbert Foules – No. 29

    Foules was an Eagles from 1983-87 — taking over the LCB spot his second year after an injury to the Eagles best CB, the injured Roynell Young. Coincidentally, both Young and Foules played college ball at Alcorn State University. Foules returned to the bench in ’85 but started again in ’87 at RCB for Buddy Ryan (replacing Evan Cooper).

    Foules had 10 INTs in his Eagles career . . . and may have been the WORST cornerback the Eagles had have in the past 40 years — worse than Izell “Toast” Jenkins. Foules was not physical and, like Asante Samuel, liked to give the WR a cushion — even at the goal line. (Sound familiar.) But unlike Samuel, Foules lacked the instincts to play so soft. And I do mean S-O-F-T.
    _____________

    Cliff Harris has his work cut out for him.

  18. 18 Mac said at 3:32 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Can this team carry 3 developmental CBs?

    I am inclined to believe that Marsh is not starting material (yet) and that Boykin (whom I like a lot) is going to win the slot job and possibly be the best CB we’ve drafted since Sheldon Brown… can we keep a udfa CB along with those guys? I like DRC a lot and believe he will be a solid to possibly really good starting CB, but durability is a possible question mark with him.

  19. 19 D3FB said at 5:07 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    We will carry 5 maybe 6. Aso, DRC, Marsh, and Boykin are probably all locks. That leaves one maybe two spots for Hughes, Joselio, and Harris to battle it out for. Harris is going to need to ball out of his mind to make the roster but its a possibility.

  20. 20 Mac said at 3:26 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Do the Lion’s get mention for worst “non-move” of the off-season for not acquiring legendary CB Asante Samuel?

  21. 21 TommyLawlor said at 4:37 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Asante scared off a few teams with contract demands. I’d have to do some digging to find out if DET was one.

  22. 22 P_P_K said at 4:14 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Because I can’t stand the thought of commenting on anything related to a particular former Giants TE, I’d like to offer this up about DeSean. Last year, I was frustrated with the whole damn situation and how it impacted the team. I blamed DeSean. After reading Domo’s article, I wonder if my frustration would have been better directed at Banner. If Joe acted out of spite, or at least as a power-tripper, then the kid’s attitude is more understandable. I know a player is expected to bite the bullet and play for the good of his teamates but, still, you’re talking about a guy who is like a twig in a pit-bull tug, easily broken. I’m trying to imagine I am DeSean and I did get hurt last year. I’m now out of football without ever getting my payday. I’d have to look up Pete Best to find somebody who might understand.

  23. 23 Mac said at 4:16 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    I honestly thought his insurance policy would help with that issue… seems it was about more than just $$$

  24. 24 TommyLawlor said at 4:39 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    I don’t think Joe was against extending him as a power-play. I think Joe had questions about whether DeSean was worth it. Joe was very regimented when it came to players and value. We’ll find out if he was right or if the Eagles did the right thing by giving DeSean the money.

  25. 25 wee2424 said at 7:43 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Think the patriots have enough TE’s? Now they took Shiancoe. I was excited to see him in a green jersey durring goal line packages.

  26. 26 Mac said at 3:40 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    Ballard probably won’t play this year, Gronk and Hernandez both played injured last year, and their offense relies somewhat heavily on TEs. Oddly enough Shaincoe seems to think his odds of playing are greater in NE than here competing with Harbor… which is odd. Either that or the Pats just flat out made him a better offer.

  27. 27 Flyin said at 8:07 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Tommy,

    I can’t wait to read your thoughts on the awesomeness of Jim Washburn. And Juan needs a muzzle…obviously, the off season did not include PR 101. After going from the Washburn interview… “They need to fire my ass if we’re not better.” … to Juan… I felt like Richard just hit me across the face with a 2×4.

    Boy

  28. 28 Mac said at 2:29 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    If Washburn’s D-line gets any better we’re gonna have another body bag year in 2012.

  29. 29 CampDracula said at 10:23 PM on July 24th, 2012:

    Off topic: last year, it seemed like the deep ball was all but gone. Most seem to attribute this to JMac’s offseason illness and Desean’s contract. Simultaneously, the running game came alive under AR (!!), which we’ve all attributed to McCoy.

    However, there’s another variable that could explain all of this in one stroke- the OL. Mudd comes in and revamps the whole thing, and the changes are plain to see to even the most unknowledgeble guy (ie me). Could all of the aforementioned changes (ie less deep ball and more running) be attributed more to the new OL scheme and less to the stuff I mentioned about the skill guys?

  30. 30 ICDogg said at 12:30 AM on July 25th, 2012:

    So is Cliff Harris our second nominee for the annual Na Brown award?

  31. 31 ICDogg said at 12:30 AM on July 25th, 2012:

    (Damaris Johnson being the first nominee from OTAs)

  32. 32 Alex Karklins said at 11:54 AM on July 25th, 2012:

    From the reports I’m hearing, Nnamdi could be on the trading block real soon.

  33. 33 wee2424 said at 1:11 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    ??? Or are you being sarcastic?

  34. 34 Mac said at 2:28 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    Adjust the dials on your sarcasm radar. lol

  35. 35 Alex Karklins said at 3:23 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    Forgot the #sarcasm tag!

  36. 36 P_P_K said at 5:02 PM on July 25th, 2012:

    Will Mike listen to the Commander-in-Chief?

    Eagles de facto ambassador Nnamdi Asomugha on Monday met Obama at a fundraiser in Oakland, and the President asked the cornerback to pass a message on to Vick:

    “He told me to tell Vick to slide. I promise,” Asomugha said moments after arriving at Lehigh for training camp. “We talked about football for about three or four minutes. The one thing that stuck out — tell Vick to slide. He’s a big fan.”

    I found this over at EMB.