It's Do or Die Time

Ladanian's Air Force One isn't even on our level!

Final game of the preseason tonight. Eagles vs. Jets at 6:30 pm. It doesn't appear that there will be any starter action. It's time for the guys at the bottom of the roster to showcase their talent in hopes of grabbing a roster spot. Two of the more recognizable names that you will see tonight are Tony Hunt and Jerome McDougle.

Might post later, but I have to get my draft in order, and possibly do some work.

GO BIRDS!!!

The 75th Man

All 32 NFL teams must be down to a 75 man roster by 4 pm today, and 53 by the weekend. The Eagles currently have 77 listed, but Reagors locker has been empty since Sunday.

Right now, there isn't a whole lot to report. So, with that in mind I scoured the Redzone (a personal favorite for NFL news) for some ish' to discuss. This is what I got.

Enjoy,

Should the Eagles have considered taking Favre? That's a gimme question. No way, should we have taken Favre. Everyone (including myself) in the Philadelphia area has harped on Donovan at time or another. But the fact remains that he has withstood everything that we have thrown at him, and done nothing but churn out winning seasons and pro bowl numbers (when healthy). He's going to be our quarterback, and he deserves it. Eagle fans have to admit it. We love Donovan McNabb! Donovan is perfect for us. He takes our criticism and then asks for seconds. We don't know how well Favre would handle this city. There are too many x-factors that would accompany bringing in Favre. McNabb has done all that. He is tried and true.

Is Tony Hunt Ready to be the Eagles starting fullback? It would appear that I'm not alone on this one. Hunt's ability to carry the ball is almost irrelevant in the Eagles offense, historically speaking. Only 49 running attempts have been made under Andy Reid's regime. The big key to being the fullback is blocking, and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg indicated that he has room for improvement. If the Birds want to convert him to a fullback they are going to need more time to do so.


Glecko??? Who's this Glecko? Oh, you mean 3-time Super Bowl champion Dan Klecko. Jim Johnson has indicated that he will make the 53 man roster as the 4th defensive tackle behind Mike Patterson, Broderick Bunkley, and Trevor Laws. He was originally brought in to play fullback and special teams.



Defensive end, who will be the odd-man-out? The Eagles have a tough decision ahead of them at the defensive end position. The battles for the last spot looks to be between Darren Howard and Jerome McDougle. I thought that we should have cut ties with the oft injured McDougle in 2006, but he has shown improvement this year. Howard has the ability to play both end positions, but hasn't been the pass rushing force that was expected. Eagletarian gives a great assessment of the roster situation related to the defense.

Bounty Bowl tee's off on the "blathermonkeys." He's spot on!

Unrelated: These are just some stories that caught my eye, and are from PFT.
Is there a Culpepper conspiracy??? It's really an interesting question. Why hasn't he been able to latch on with another team? What he is looking to do doesn't sound unreasonable. I would consider him a better quaterback than Byron Leftwich. There are plenty of teams that could use a veteran quaterback on their roster too.

Shawne Merriman, team player, or just insane? So, apparently Merriman does not want to take "No," for an answer. He intends to do everything possible to play in this 2008 season. The San Diego Chargers aren't counting him out this season, but 3 experts are. That's why Merriman is in Miami seeking a 4th opinion on his knee. So far the consensus has been that he needs to have reconstructive surgery on it, and that will cancel his playing this season. I have read that he wants to play, because he has taken some heat from Charger's General Manager A.J. Smith for agreeing to a weekly spot on a sports show that will require him to travel. I don't question the fact Merriman loves playing football. So shouldn't Shawne want to do anything that will allow him to prolong his career? Shawne has been told by 3 different experts that this is a career ending injury, and can be avoided with reconstructive surgery. I would not be surprised if he is feeling pressure from Smith and Turner to play, because they want to win now. I acknowledge that Smith is a great G.M., but he's a controlling d-bag. Needless to say I'm a Marty advocate. Norv Turner doesn't really command much respect in my book either. Turner inheritted a super talented team, and is getting all of the credit for it's success.

Nolan suffers from foot in mouth disease. Now, Niner's coach Mike Nolan has to do a little damage control with his quaterback Alex Smith. Alex smith hasn't lived up to the billing of being the #1 draft pick in 2005, and is likely going to lose his starting job this season. I'm still pulling for Smith to succeed, although many appear to written him off.

Go Birds!!

Fullbacks

Yesterday I had posted that Philadelphia can waive goodbye to Tony Hunt, and that moving him to fullback was a bad idea for the Eagles and Hunt. It would seem that I am in the minority on this one. People think that moving Hunt to fullback is a great idea, and they have a number of reasons for it. I didn't really explain why I think that it is a bad idea. Today I will explain the reasoning behing my position on the matter.

Before going any further I believe that it is necessary to elaborate on the fullback position in the Eagles offense. It's a thankless and brutal position. To quote Bloghead "Fullback is an entirely different beast." former Eagle Jon RitchieTheir primary responsibility is pass protection. Then run blocking. On rare occasions they might be called upon to catch a pass out of the back field or run it up the gut.

Here are some reasons why moving Tony Hunt to fullback is a bad idea. He is going to have to put on more weight. Pass protection is a very physical aspect of the game, and takes a very serious tole on the body. Being that his primary role as a fullback would be to pick up blitzers, he would need to bulk up in order to withstand the physical demands of constant blocking. Then there's the possibility that he would lose some speed and agility due to his increased weight.

If the Eagles plan is to have Hunt replace Buckhalter in the coming years, then sign him to the practice squad. His ability is not going to be utilized at the fullback position. When was the last time you saw a fullback take a handoff, and the cut back across the field, and then outrun the defense for a 51 yard touchdown? This is would appear to be an attempt keeping him on the team. They like what he has done on Special teams, but we don't keep 4 running backs, so they are giving him a chance to make the team at another position. No one so far has been a clear choice at the position. In summation Tony Hunt's talent would be severly under utilized as a fullback, and possibly eliminated by the need increase in size.

Sources:

Tony Hunt isn't surprised!

Klecko is no longer a fullback

"He's a fullback," said Hunt. "That's an entirely different position."

Tony Hunt:

Ht: 6'1"

Wt: 233

Age: 23

Experience: 2nd Season

College: Penn State

I'm sure that this wasn't what he expected his NFL career to be like so far......

He's got the college football pedigree. Star runningback at a Big Ten conference school (Penn State). Second on their all time yardage list. And now he's taking snaps at Fullback.

That's right, the 2nd all-time leading rusher in Penn State history is taking snaps at Fullback with the first team offense with the Eagles. He's got decent size for a fullback, but I'm pretty sure that he would need to bulk up some more in order to assume the position. In the Eagles offensive scheme the Fullback is for intents and purposes nothing more than a blocker. They need to be able to pick up the blitzer, or clear a hole for Westbrook to run through. They occassionally catch a pass out of the backfield, or run the ball up the middle, but not with regularity.

I had made a passing comment about moving Hunt to fullback in a previous post, but he's a halfback, and he showed it in the last Thursday preseason game with Carolina. Especially in the 50 yard TD run to take the lead. Hunt took the handoff over the right side, and then cut it back all-the-way back across the field, and took it to the endzone. However he hasn't shown very much of that ability since being drafted. Besides, It would appear that the Eagles roster has been filled at runningback by: Westbrook, Buchalter, and Booker. Leaving Tony Hunt and Ryan Moats as the odd men out. However, Hunt has been getting noticed on special teams. Combine that with the the fact that no one has stepped up to assume the role of fullback, and that explains why he has been given the opportunity to make the 53 man roster.

Tony Hunt is an every down kind of halfback, and gets better as the games moves on. This doesn't make him a fit with the Eagles, and so I say to you, Tony Hunt, "Happy Trails!" I just don't see him being able to make the transition to fullback from halfback, and he shouldn't have to either. He's better suited at halfback, and should get picked up by another team if let go.

I had never seen him play in college, but from what I have seen of him, and read (albeit very little) ton Hunt seems to be opposed to the switch. This could be recipe for disaster for the Eagles, and Hunt.

!!!!Straight Cash Money!!!!!

It's the dog days of Summer. The 4th of July is almost, baseball is nearing the half-way mark, and almost nothing is happening in the NFL. The good news is that the Birds have signed all but two of their draftees. The bad new is that it's Trevor Laws and DeSean Jackson.

There is still plenty of time to get them both signed before training camp opens, so there is no reason to panic. For now.... Both Laws and Jackson should see some significant time this season, if they are ready. Missing training camp over a contract dispute isn't going to help. So my advice to them both is to get their respective deals done ASAP!!!! Then you can spend time on the internet posting rants, and whatever else you may like to do.

Another thing: Eagles Running Backs??? We currently have 7 roster spots filled by running backs. This leaves me with nothing but questions. Is Ryan Moats expendable since we drafted Lorenzo Booker? Why did they acquire Booker? Is it time to part ways with Buckhalter? Who's going to be our fullback?

Yes, I think that Ryan Moats is completely expendable with the aquisition of Booker. Moats has been absent in all aspects of the game. I thought they could have at least used him in the return game last year.

I have no idea, why Lorenzo Booker was brought in. Like Ryan Moats he has been described as a Westbrook style back. However, I don't think that either one could truly fill Westrbrooks role in the offense. I imagine that Booker and Moats will be competing for the same roster spot.

I would have let Buckhalter go at least two years ago, and then sought out a change of pace type back to help shoulder Westbrooks load. A strong in between the tackles runner. I know what you are thinking, Correll is that back, and Andy Reid loves him. Both are valid points. However between the repeated knee injuries, and hands of stone that he displays at times I'm not so sure that he is a good fit.

I got nothing on the fullback position. Maybe they will move Tony Hunt. He's a big guy.


Thoughts, Comments, something??