Austin Howard

[Leonard Tose]

This guy was a beast last week against Jacksonville and he has been manhandling guys all through training camp. I'm shocked at how good he is, and how polished he is for a guy coming from a small school. He is a mauler with a mean streak, he can handle the speed guys coming around the edge, he can do it all.

Which leads me to this question. I believe that RIGHT NOW Austin Howard is one of the five best o-linemen on this team. I've got it as Peters, Herremans, Justice, Jackson and all the rest. Frankly, I think Howard is better than Andrews, Cole, MJG, and gang.

I look at this guy and see Erik Williams. Of course, Williams was a third round pick, it's not a perfect analogy and I'm hyper for the season to start.

I would also note that Trent Cole did an interview with Spadaro that's on the Eagle Web site. Cole said Howard would be a starting quality tackle by next year. Cole would know, having worked against him for extended stretches throughout camp. I would argue he's a starting quality NFL guard right now, as Cole was almost certainly talking about Howard's chance of being a starting LT, one of the hardest positions in all of football to master.

He's not going to take Jason Peters' spot, so are they going to move him to get him into the action? They moved Herremans to guard a long time ago. I think the same thing could happen here, especially if Andrews continues to underwhelm.

And I know everybody's happy with Justice, but I think Howard could be significantly better. Do they move him inside or start getting him reps at RT?

They've got to get this guy on the field, IMO.

[stocknowledge]

My seats are very close to where the offensive line sits when they are not on the field, and I got a good look at Howard. He is a monster. He is also very agile for a person his size - witness the block he made to spring Vick on last Friday's TD run.

I am as excited about Howard as you, LT. And, I would agree that we have to find some way to get this guy on the field.

This may be our deepest draft EVER!!!

[Vote for Kalas]

I think we have to throttle back a bit and at least see if he is going to make the team and get some time to play...

Andrews has been a OL starter for several years and has been fine according to the reports I've seen...

We've seen alot of TC and preseason warriors who amount to zero...hopefully he is the real deal since we got him for nothing, but I've got to see more

[Leonard Tose]

I think we have to throttle back a bit and at least see if he is going to make the team and get some time to play...

Andrews has been a OL starter for several years and has been fine according to the reports I've seen...

We've seen alot of TC and preseason warriors who amount to zero...hopefully he is the real deal since we got him for nothing, but I've got to see more

Well, VFK, I admit I'm jumping the gun a little here, but Austin Howard is a stone cold mortal lock to make this team, barring injury.

I don't know what reports you've seen on Andrews, but everything I've seen has indicated he is pretty underwhelming at this point.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Andrews quite yet, but I would argue that you want to put your five best linemen on the field. I think that another Herremans-like switch might be coming.

I'm predicting that Howard starts getting some reps inside at practice for the next several weeks. Big Red will brush it off by saying he loves to have versatile o-linemen who can play multiple positions and that it doesn't mean anything about the situation at right guard. But I won't believe it for a second, and neither should you.

[stevemc]

LT - between the Riley Cooper and Howard posts, I'd have to say the Kool Aid is flowing strong in the Tose household. We're talking about a 5th round pick and a UDFA. I think we need to temper it back a little as they haven't played a single snap in a regular season game. With that said, it's great to see the depth. I would think Howard could shift inside but not any time soon since he hasn't been playing there yet. I think you make an astute observation though with Reid and I wouldn't be surprised to see Howard get moved around.

Unfortunately, Riley Cooper can't become Marques Colston because Colston didn't have DeSean Jackson & Jeremy Maclin ahead of him on the depth chart. It's a great logjam though.

[Pliny]

Colston didn't have DeSean Jackson & Jeremy Maclin ahead of him on the depth chart. It's a great logjam though.

Not to mention Jason Avant and his unbelievable hands.

[stevemc]

Not to mention Jason Avant and his unbelievable hands.

are you thanking Avant's hands for him?!

[FRESH]

Cooper has been a terrific story, and he's a story that I am absolutely buying because the truth is, he's a damned talented big WR. But with that said, I don't expect a huge impact form him right now. He's not likely to see the field much unless there is an injury. About the best we can hope for is catches in the teens this season, and a few big plays in the red zone as a big target for Kolb. Is he going to greatly help this team succeed this season? Nah. But he will provide a talented depth and rotational WR that we can make use of, and that is a pretty good get for a fifth round WR coming into a talented WR squad.

I'm kinda hoping he makes a real impression on STs this season, because Riley will light someones ass UP! He is a nasty sumbitch.

[stocknowledge]

We might be jumping the gun here, but we've seen more from Austin Howard in one game than we've seen from Max Jean-Gilles in four years!

[Vote for Kalas]

We might be jumping the gun here, but we've seen more from Austin Howard in one game than we've seen from Max Jean-Gilles in four years!

I disagree...we've seen alot more of MJG and unfortunately its been mostly negative

[Vote for Kalas]

Well, VFK, I admit I'm jumping the gun a little here, but Austin Howard is a stone cold mortal lock to make this team, barring injury.

I don't know what reports you've seen on Andrews, but everything I've seen has indicated he is pretty underwhelming at this point.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Andrews quite yet, but I would argue that you want to put your five best linemen on the field. I think that another Herremans-like switch might be coming.

I'm predicting that Howard starts getting some reps inside at practice for the next several weeks. Big Red will brush it off by saying he loves to have versatile o-linemen who can play multiple positions and that it doesn't mean anything about the situation at right guard. But I won't believe it for a second, and neither should you.

I think Howard is pretty much a lock as well since Dunlap has slumped and we are using Andrews and Herremans as OG. Besides Topou (sp?), we have little OT depth so having Howard is a godsend.

Andrews was a starting RT in the NFL, suffered a bad injury, came here as a FA, was shifted inside to RG and struggled since it had not been a full year in recovery from the injury. Tommy Lawlor had some good things to say about his performance vs JVille, but there have been some issues in pass blocking he pointed out too and the reports from TC have been he is fine, but not stellar.

I think we need to see more of healthy Andrews at RG to fully judge. I would be glad if Reid gives Howard reps at RG and RT since I completely believe in versatility with our OL and we never know if Andrews will struggle again. I'm not ready to hand over the reins to Howard yet though based on a TC and one fake game.

[Leonard Tose]

After tonight's offensive line travesty, I will again beat the drum to get howard on the field at RG. Stacy Andrews and MJG are nothing but big fat pieces of shit. Howard played very well, albeit against backups. Get this guy reps inside and serious time against the ones for the rest of preseason.

[stocknowledge]

We need to do something, or else Kolb is going to get hurt.

[andrewaters]

Stacy Andrews really looked heavy legged a few times. McGlynn is not the answer at center either. He got turned off the snap and gave away leverage a number of times that really screwed up run plays.

[Leonard Tose]

I should note for the record I just read a Lawlor post from earlier this week and he's already giving us Big Red's line.

"Some people saw that Austin Howard was getting snaps at RG and immediately made the connection that he's got a chance to replace Stacy Andrews. Not likely. NFL offensive linemen have to be able to play multiple positions. Cole can play all 3 interior spots. McGlynn has practiced everywhere but LT. Winston Justice spent time at LT, RT, and G before becoming a starter. Howard spent all spring and summer learning LT. He came to the NFL pretty raw. The Eagles wanted to keep things simple so he focused on LT. After his showing against the Jags it is clear that Austin is now the #3 OT. He's a virtual lock for the roster at this point and might even be active on gamedays. If so, he's got to be able to play more than just LT. The most natural spot would be LG, but Todd, Max, and Mike all get a lot of time there. RG is a spot where we don't have a true backup. Max and Nick have started there, but not practiced at RG this offseason. The easy thing to do is mix Austin in at that spot to see what he can do."