First Depth Chart
Posted: August 6th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 105 Comments »Don’t make too much of this. With new coaches, schemes and players, this depth chart is as much guess as it is fact. The NFL makes teams put one out before the first game so the Eagles coaches put something together. The real depth chart is the one made after the third preseason game, when coaches have had a chance to study players.
There are no surprises with the offensive starters, beyond the fact Riley Cooper is listed there. If he remains on the team, he will likely start. We’re just not sure about his future. The coaches kept it simple and listed Foles/Vick as tied for the #1 QB job. Boring, but safe.
There are a couple of interesting items with backups. Zach Ertz is listed behind James Casey, as the F-TE. Clay Harbor is listed behind Brent Celek, as the Y-TE. I thought those roles would be reversed. Maybe this is just a typo. Or maybe that’s how the coaches see it. Matt Tobin is listed as the #2 LT. Clearly Lane Johnson will fill that role in the regular season. Dallas Reynolds is the backup C. I expect him to win that role, but other players are getting a chance.
Russell Shepard and Ifeanyi Momah/Greg Salas are the third string WRs. Shepard has earned his way to that spot. Momah is there more due to potential, based on his reviews so far. Salas has played lights out. Interesting that the Eagles would rate Momah and Salas together. Is that a sign of how highly the coaches think of Momah and his potential?
No surprises on the OL. Nate Menkin is listed on the fourth team. That’s certainly not good for a player who was on the roster last year. They do have Matt Tennant listed at LG instead of C. He’s played some C in camp. Michael Bamiro is at RT. That’s his best possible position. Nic Purcell is the #4 RT. That probably makes him a longshot even for the practice squad.
Felix Jones and Matt Tucker are tied for the final RB spot. I think Tucker has the advantage for that role, based on youth and performance.
Onto the defense.
The starters are the group we’ve had penciled in all spring.
The backup DL is Clifton Geathers, Bennie Logan and Vinny Curry. Antonio Dixon had a shot to be the backup NT, but he’s been hurt and not playing. He needs to get back on the field. He is the #3 NT, with Joe Kruger and Damion Square alongside him. Daryell Walker, the big young man from Hampton, is listed as the #4 NT.
The backup OLBs are listed as Brandon Graham and Phillip Hunt. The #3 guys are Travis Long and Chris McCoy. I think McCoy is a natural SAM, but they’ve got him on the other side. I’ll be watching closely to see where he plays in the game. Everette Brown is dead last at OLB. Yikes.
Backing up at ILB are Casey Matthews and Jamar Chaney. Behind them are Emmanuel Acho and Jake Knott. I think any 2 of those guys could end up as the backups. But none are guaranteed a job. The Eagles could look elsewhere for ILB depth. These players need to play well this summer.
Safety is interesting. Kenny Phillips and Kurt Coleman are listed as the backups. Seems like Kurt has been getting a lot of third string reps this summer. Behind them are David Sims and Colt Anderson. Earl Wolff is all by himself at the back of the pack. (get it…Wolfpack?) Don’t read too much into this. He’s the only rookie and has gotten reps with the starters. This part of the depth chart is written in very loose sand.
No real surprises at CB. The backups are Curtis Marsh and Brandon Boykin. We need to see Boykin in a game before making him a starter on the outside. Young vets Trevard Lindley and Curtis Marsh are the #3 CBs. Jordan Poyer and Eddie Whitley are on the final group. Whitley has gotten lots of reps with the 1’s recently. He could be a slot guy.
Someone asked about how many players the Eagles will keep in each group this year with the change to the 3-4 defense. You generally plan for 25 players (25-OFF, 25-DEF, 3 STs). I’m new to the 3-4. My guess is 9 DBs, 9 LBs and 7 DL. It is possible that Kelly will let the defense keep 26 players. That’s happened plenty in the past. You play more guys on defense so you need lots of bodies. They also are your key STers.
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The next 2 days we’ll have Eagles/Patriots practices. I really have no idea what to expect, but this should be interesting. Can’t wait to see and read what happens today.
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Eagles will carry 4 rb’s? Is that the norm?
Yeah, we carried 4 last year with Shady, Brown, Lewis and Polk. The 4th guy doesn’t dress on Sundays. It’ll be even more important this year because the workload these guys will get.
4 RBs and 4 TEs? I get no FB but that’s still one more than last year when you combine the two positions. Where is the extra guy coming from? D Line sine we are in a 3-4?
We carried 5 running backs if you include the fullback, and 3 tight ends last year. It’ll be 4 and 4 this year. Still 8 combined at the 2 positions.
I was under the impression we only had 2 TEs last season. I may have been mistaken.
Celek, Igwenagu, and Moore
I thought Moore was picked up in relief of Celeck. Ugh there were too many injuries, and I might have just gotten mixed up. Thanks
I can’t remember another time they kept 4 RB other than last year. It was also a huge deal that they kept four if you recall. Andy barely used his #2 back though. We expect things to be much different under Chip.
For sure, when you have 3 guys that are regularly going to touch the ball it’s a necessity to carry a 4th who can step in because unfortunately 1 of them is gonna get banged up at some point.
I think the number of backs we carry depends completely on Felix. I’m expecting Polk, Shady and Bryce as Locks, with Tucker on the practice squad. I think we keep Felix if he shows enough, but I don’t think we keep him just because we want 4RBs…If Felix doesn’t make it, I don’t think we would have any problem going with 3 backs and elevate Tucker when/if we need him
good point.
now it gets interesting..Arrelius Benn, out for the season with a torn ACL..
How many WR will we keep now?
This may be a stupid question, but what happens if Jon Dorenbos goes down hurt in a game? Is there anyone else on the team who can long snap?
I am not 100% certain but I seem to remember Celek is the emergency snapper.
I don’t remember at all who the B.U LS is. I wouldnt be surprised if it were Avant though…
Anyone now this is bugging me. Someone had to do a kick off last year that was not Alex Henry. Anyone remember who that was?
Celek is the B.U LS I think. Mathis can do it as well I believe. Not sure about the kick off, I couldn’t find any stats that showed anyone but Henery did them.
This raises an interesting question about subs for st guys. Do teams have subs suited up on gameday should a punter, kicker, or long snapper go down?
When have we ever carried backup kickers and punters? With that said, they go into the game knowing who the emergency kickers are(A guy that contributes at another position while also being capable of filling in for a kicker or punter if one gets hurt in the game…But it’s not like, if a Kicker gets hurt, then Celek or whoever becomes our kicker…when a Kicker gets injured, you sign one off the street
I can’t imagine a team having the roster space to carry and extra kicker or punter. It had just never really occurred to me before the consequences of losing one of these guys. Imagine a playoff game, and your kicker pulls a hamstring on the opening kickoff. That’s a significant loss. I wonder if something like this has ever happened in a meaningful game.
Talk bout nightmares….I would also be interested in if that has ever happened in a playoff game
Punter kicks.
Yeah, I think this is how a lot of teams prepare for it, the kicker and punter back each other up. I think I remember Urlacker filling in for a hurt kicker one time, but maybe not. And, of course, we all remember Cunningham punting on third down. How dysfunctional does your offense need to be for that to be a good idea?
I thought I remember some player in the NFL last season having to kick for like 3/4 of the game, but I don’t remember who it was…
Didn’t Simoneau kick an extra point for us? Seem to remember somthing about this in 2003/2004.
I’m sure they KNEW Randal was about to boot it 91 yards… making it a genius idea.
Well, Google says I am wrong about Urlacker, but Seattle had their punter kicking off in the second half of the wildcard round last year.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-09/seahawks-switch-kickers-for-nfl-playoffs-after-hauschka-injured.html
Dallas carried an extra kicker in 2009 actually, haha. He was their kick off guy David Buehler, Nick Folk did field goals, McBriar as their punter. It was back before they moved the kick off up and touchbacks weren’t as common.
Eagles carried two kickers in 1999. Akers was the Kickoff specialist and Norm Johnson was the FG/PAT kicker.
This seems to happen to one club every couple of years.
Nice call.
Dallas in 2009
Early in the season, they carried Kyle Nelson on the Practice Squad ICE.
Darren Howard!
Thanks Tommy! It will be interesting with the DL and LB numbers with the OLB’s being able to play ends in 4 front looks.
Riley Cooper is back with the Eagles. This is good news. This situation needs to move forward. Hopefully the locker room accepts him. Either way, we need to find out.
That’s great news. IF that locker room doesn’t except him, well then, this isn’t the Eagles team I’m expecting under Chip. Shame on them if they don’t.
agreed!!! Some mental fortitude and forgiveness amongst brothers in green PLEASE!
“…won’t stop til Riley is nailed to the cross.”
If this happens during the Pats game, it will be a huge distraction for everyone but Tebow.
I LOL’ed….Riley was actually one of our best players today. had 3 TD catches in the final period, and was really impressive in the routes I saw him run during drills….Chip said he talked to most, if not all the plays individually today when he returned
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Foles connected on a bomb to Desean, and then followed up with a long TD to Damaris…
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Cary Williams got thrown out of practice along with Dobson(Chip n Bill agreed that if any fights broke out, both players would get thrown out of practice)
Hugh Douglas trying to steal the spotlight away from Riley Cooper… http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/08/06/hugh-douglas-threatened-to-beat-up-espn-colleague-michael-smith-shouted-racial-slurs-at-him/
Loved Hough as an Eagle but his analyst career has been all sorts of bad
Probably not the time to be talking about the alcohol.
If you want it to stop, do your part and ignore it, stop talking about it……I actually agree with you regarding Mike Miss. Talented guy but unfortunately never misses an opportunity to race bait for ratings.
As fans, we can also do our part by ceasing the discussion. Its over.
Agreed, but since Riley returned today, and he had a press conference, this is getting talked about today whether we like it or not…I just hope, it gets put on the back burner tomorrow
Anybody else extremely worried that our back up center is still Dallas Reynolds? He was flat out terrible last year and graded out as the worst in the league. Especially worried due to Kelce’s knee concerns.
No, not worried. I expect him go grow and be better. I’d be more concerned if C. Mathews has to play on a regular basis. (however, I’d imagine he’s expected to grow too)
Yup, feel much better about our backup center and our Oline depth after so many raw guys got their feet wet last year
I hope you’re right, but don’t forget he’s 29 years old and has been on the practice squad for 3 years now. I’m hoping for improvement but I don’t really see great strides being possible.
great strides? maybe not…but he will make some strides. Also, don’t forget how much better a guy like him could look playing with 4 starters, as opposed to 3 practice squad types
surprised the Pats practices are full contact…Man, this week is just exciting!!!
I’m hoping Travis and Knott can win jobs
Hey Tommy, whats up with Jordan Poyer? Is he just not athletic enough to compete at this level or whats the deal? I figured with his instincts he’d be one to adapt rather quickly to the pro game but… sounds like he’s been really bad.
Where are you reading this negative Poyer intel? I’m not disputing you, I just haven’t heard much about him and I’m curious to read up on how he looks
I have read the same things, Jimmy or Sheil, maybe?
The depth chart seems to cast a disapproving shadow over him as well.
He was one of the guys that missed OTAs because of the silly college rules, wasn’t he? Ertz will be fine regardless, but that rule really hurts the late round guys who already have the deck stacked against them.
Thanks..haven’t read Jimmy since he changed sites
I know we’ve gone in depth at the OLBs regarding pass coverage. I’m also curious about how their pass rushing stacks up. I haven’t heard if Barwin looks capable of replicating his 2011 season, if Graham looks like the beast that he was in 2012, or if Cole looks improved from last year. Pass coverage is important, but is a secondary role for the OLB. The first priority for these guys is to be effective edge rushers and put pressure on the QB. I’ll be curious to see how all three of these guys do against the Patriots OL.
Just can’t wait to see how we are tackling on Friday. There are some former players like Quick who do believe that the way we are practicing our form could have a positive effect on our tackling, of course we wont know til we see it.
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Friday, I’m really interested in watching the line of scrimmage battles on both sides of the ball, as well as paying attention to how many missed tackles we have.
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today Chip said that Fridays game will be played mostly by the bottom half guys, which kind of threw me off. I expected important players to have to play more time then they normally would, so that both QBs can play with the same group of players making it easier and more fair for Chip to evaluate the QB battle. I am confused as to how the QBs will split time on Friday. Chip should troll the media and start GJ Kinney, and play backwards(starters finishing the game)…can you imagine the media crapstorm that would follow?
Knowing how Kelly likes to screw with the media, we could be in for a surprise plot twist: G.J. Kinne is really a superhuman made from the DNA of Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady. Chip penciled him in as the starting quarterback from the beginning, and the Vick-Foles competition is a red herring to distract the other teams.
And the fun of it is it was right there in front of us the whole time: G. J. = Genetic Juggernaut!
watching Brady in Drills was unreal. He makes every WR look unstoppable the way Avant looks during drills when you have the entire field to work 1 on 1…Our secondary had no shot at incompletions, and you might as well not even try for an interception, so the best we could do is tight coverage, only giving up a 5yard reception. My bOy, C-Dub got beat Bad when Brady was throwing….Wonder if that frustration led to him and Dobson getting thrown out of practice…
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NOticed Foles have some great throws during drills, From what I saw of Vick, it wasn’t good today, but I only saw a couple of his throws(got to see much more of Foles)
I heard that our offense was good, but the defense blowed. Reading about it made me think, “Please tell me we’re trading for Jairus Byrd.” I’m surprised to hear that you thought Foles outplayed Vick. I’ve heard that Vick has generally outplayed him, albeit by a small margin. We need at least two preseason games to have a definitive opinion on who the better QB is.
in fairness, I really only noticed Vick throw like 3 times today(none of which were good), but I noticed Foles throw a bunch of time, and it was real good more times then not(IM NOT at practice today, I’m just basing this off what footage training camp live provided today)..My honest oppinion is I really have no clue what’s going on in the competition lol. I read conflicting reports every day, some say Foles is winning, others say Vick…What I have seen with my eyes has been back and fourth so I really have no oppinion on who is winning this battle at the moment…
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I will say that If it’s pretty much even when it’s all said and done, I wouldn’t hesitate to go with Foles because he is showing constant growth and a nice competitive streak. Whatever happens in this battle, Foles will be just scratching the surface, yet Vick is in the twilight, so why wouldn’t we go with the kid as long as he keeps improving, if they battle it out to a virtual tie?
RE: Dorenbos
I was glad when they re-signed him, but if you look at your calculation, Tommy, it gets obvious how crucial a roster spot is. If you have a LS who can contribute otherwise on your team, you can easily go 26 Def/25 Offense/2 ST. It’s just an advantage.
On the other hand, it’s a huge disadvantage to have a muffed long snap on your potentially game winning FG, I know that. 😉
I think someone pointed out the problem with the logistics of practicing. The long snapper is needed to practice with the kicker and punter, but would also need to practice his other spot to be useful in it.
I would imagine the team would also need a backup they are confident in if the long-snapper is playing another position.
Good arguments, sir. But there have to be ways to overcome these issues. There are teams without a pure LS, aren’t there?
I’ll never begrudge Dorenbos his roster spot after watching the Raiders lose their primary guy (who was not a designated LS) last season in the middle of a game and have two FGs turn into massive losses and turnovers due to the ball skipping along the dirt/grass on its way to the holder (one may have been a punt that ended up being like a 20 yard loss after the punter fell on it). The guy stays healthy, jokes around in the locker room, and takes care of business. I’ll deal with not having an 8th DL or 10th LB.
I found it interesting that they have Allen as SS and Chung as FS. I thought of Juan’s reversed safety roles but then the 2’s look conventional with Phillips at SS and Coleman at FS. Am I making too much of this?
That second set sounds reversed too, but it doesn’t matter if the SS is on the left or right. Wasn’t the reason Juan failed. I think the eagles don’t want their safeties to specialise now, so FS and SS aren’t too meaningful.
Zoiks!!! Gee Wilikers Scooby, I forgot we have Hard Knocks tonight!
Waiting for some news about the first joint practice between the Eagles and the Patriots but all I can find is stuff about the Riley Cooper PC…come on guys, football first, then gossip. We need to send you up there Tommy! It’s killing me.
as best I can tell from the twitter feed:
Tom Brady showed us what a good QB situation looks like
Tebow did not
We threw a ton of long TD’s but still looked erratic
Cooper capped the practice off with 3 TD and looked good.
Saw some disturbing news about our run game getting stuffed, except Polk looked awesome, Daniel Jermiah wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up #2
Ranaan had some good notes saying both Vick and Foles shredded the pats defense today…Obviously Brady did his thing
sad I had to rely on NFL network, who had Daniel Jermiah and Mike Mayock covering the practice, so it was actually pretty good.
Sheil Kapadia…….http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/199/1exploitableiamdisappoi.jpg
Benn tore his ACL. Calling Antonio Freeman…
Yep, Riley Cooper just got a little more popular
Benn tore his ACL. It’s deja-vu but with WRs this time.
rumors are starting to float around about Benn being done for the season with another torn ACL……Welcome back Riley Cooper!!! bet all is forgiven by tomorrow morning lol
Forgiveness is in the air, coop has a stand out practice, Benn to the IR. I just can’t believe how fast the WR position has gone to crap. D Jax has to stay healthy or it’s going to be mighty easy to stack 8 in the box and clog up the middle of the field when we have no deep threat.
hahaha and we worried for months about guys like cooper and Avant getting cut
I don’t remember a single ACL tear happening at Lehigh. The fields there are excellent. Rumors are that the fields at Novacare are not good, especially the center field where all three ACL tears have occurred. Should have never left Lehigh.
AC Viking made a similar observation. It’s disappointing, I kinda bought into the concept of the sports scientists monitoring all the various things in order to reduce the occurrence of soft tissue injuries…they need to go back to the drawing board.
To be fair though, Benn has a history of injuries.
Didn’t Buckhalter shred his ACL in Training Camp?
How many people figure Jason Avant won’t be making the team now?
What Avant hears in his head when he is doing jazz hands:
I’ve been in the barn ALL day so I’m just getting caught up. Benn wrecked his ACL now?! God almighty., that poor kids short career has been a slow motion train wreck. So sad. I’m gettin REAL worried about this receiving corp 😐 What do we have left after #10 & a sure handed slow as death Avant? A (perceived) klansmen (who has never scared ANYONE with his abilities) & a gaggle of rookies? Sorry, I know I’ll catch heat for prematurely panicking in alot of peoples eyes. But I see Patriot scrimmages coming, 4 preseason games & ALOT of worrying about more injuries. If ANYONE can give me some words to talk me off the damned ledge, I would SO appreciate it! Seriously, am I REALLY the only one freakin out here?
If Djax goes down, I’ll get on the ledge with you
Oh man. Parrish the thought! If that were to happen I think I’d state missing the heady days of Thrash, Pinkston & Fast Freddie! Nlmao…..
If you wait for Djax to go down, there won’t be room left on the ledge.
On second thought, you’ll probably be fine. The first few waves will already have jumped.
The pile at the bottom would be so high that the ledge would cease to be dangerous
No I agree. I always thought our WR depth was a touch over rated outside of our starters.
It could be bad, but Chip’s offense deemphasises receiver and we haven’t had injuries at the other skill positions, which, depending on how some inexperienced guys do, could be stacked. Before the injuries, we were near the top in depth at WR I would have said, and I guess now we’re a little below average. Most teams are an ACL away from trouble at a lot of positions. I don’t think the eagles are in trouble as long as Cooper, Johnson and Jackson stay healthy, and that’s pretty remarkable after 2 ACLs.
That’s the m ledgebackingoffest response I’ve gotten. Thank you sir. I think i’ll live to see another day as an Iggles fan. Albeit a very nervous one. I’m not a Catholic, but is there bu chance a patron saint of ACL’s? If so, I think as a fan base we should all start immediately paying homage to said deity….no?
Or get the sports science guy to research playing surfaces. I really wonder at what point do you say we aren’t just unlucky? I really hope we’re just unlucky.
God I hope not too Neil. I still remember so vividly my pops saying to me when I was about 10, “son we’re just cursed to love an unlucky team” those words still sometimes ring in my ears to this day! I refused to believe it, but here we are 30 years later…. I just try & stick to the idea we make our own luck & also remember how long my tortured Red Sox fans suffered before their deliverance from their sports hell. But PLEASE GOD! Don’t let it be that long!!!??? 🙂
Somewhere a Cubs fan is shaking his head
Lol SO true.
Chip will figure it out. I have always believed a good qb makes the players around him better. ie. I read a tweet or two today that said Brady was a machine and he’s throwing to almost all rookies. Therefore, I put more stock in the qb situation than the wr situation… currently.
In theory I fundamentally agree. But that’s Brady and he like Peyton Manning seem to have the uncanny gift to make turd receivers shine. Sadly with our crop of QBs, I am just envisioning turds being drilled with footballs. I pray I’m wrong lol
I think you go light at WR and get the rook (Ertz) spread to get more reps early. Those catches that “theoretically” were going to Benn/Cooper could be added to Ertz no problem.
Sounds logical. Hopeful even…
I also wouldn’t could Damaris out of the picture. I’d be shocked if we saw many sets with 3+ WRs even before the Maclin injury, and I think Johnson could be a special player on the types of quick screens and slants Kelly wants to focus on. After these injuries, I’d bet heavily that we’ll practically be living out of 2 TE sets which isn’t really a bad thing considering how we have barely even talked about James Casey this offseason. That guy is a unique talent that Houston tragically underused his entire time there.
I do tend to overlook Damaris for reasons I don’t fully understand. I’ve heard he’s had an awesome camp. I never think of him as an outside guy but I’m wondering if he’s poised to get some slot time given his superior quickness in relation to Avant?
If Ertz stops dropping the ball it would make sense…
I’m betting Riley Cooper can drop about 1000000000 N bombs and still be on the team now!!!!!!!
This is terrible, but I still laughed.
I bet Chip and Co. are thankful that they brought Riley back today. Could you imagine the media spin if he showed up back on the field tomorrow?
Now that’s something that hadn’t occurred to me. Holy shitstorm batman!
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