Spuds latest....
So the Eagles went out and changed things around. No more 21-of-22-starters talk. The Eagles added a starting wide receiver, a starting linebacker and maybe a starting defensive tackle. They may even have signed a starting kick return man during a memorable March.
But April is when things really finish off the roster, give it some new life and new direction.
And with that, it is time to look at this Eagles team and speculate on which players might emerge to impact the 2007 season.
Think about last year, for example. Two of the team's top receivers weren't even on the team until a few weeks after the draft (Hank Baskett) and then a few months later (Donte' Stallworth). Twelve months ago, Jeff Garcia was as unwanted as any scrap-heap quarterback you could find.
So, the point is that we analyze the roster for what it is now and we understand how things change before the season starts and then, of course, during 16 games.
There are a handful of players I think can make the team and play a little bit more than maybe we all think right now. Call this The Under-The-Radar-Eagles Report ...
SAVERIO ROCCA, P
The guy has major, major league. Dirk Johnson cannot compete with the upside of Rocca, and that is not a lack of respect directed toward Johnson. Rocca has a cannon for a leg and has been in the off-season conditioning program the last couple of weeks working hard.
He punted in front of some media the other day and the media came away astonished at Rocca's leg strength.
It is a totally different game in a live game, with a uniform on and with 10 men rushing, and the lights are a lot brighter with 65,000 fans in the stands. Rocca won't be afforded many shanks, because the Eagles just can't be in position where they lose field position because of a mis-kick.
But Rocca has exciting ability, and the thought of a 65-yard punt with hang time has to give new special teams coordinator Rory Segrest pause to consider over the next few months.
I will say the Eagles are taking care of Segrest. They have the reliable, steady hand at punter with Johnson. They have David Akers, one of the best in the game, as the kicker. They have a couple of options in the return game -- Jeremy Bloom and Bethel Johnson -- and they retained the core of the special teams coverage units in Quintin Mikell and Juqua Thomas.
All of this done, mind you, before the draft has even arrived.
I think special teams practices in training camp are going to be a bit more interesting than usual. I imagine some fans are going to want to stick around to watching the punting battle as well as the competition in the return game.
LaJUAN RAMSEY, DT
Yes, the Eagles traded Darwin Walker and they expect Brodrick Bunkley to step up and they think Montae Reagor will step in and contribute.
But why isn't anybody talking about LaJuan Ramsey?
It's probably because he vanished from the lineup after playing well early in the season. Ramsey's demotion from the tacke rotation was surprising and, really, not explained. OK, OK, so the Eagles wanted to get Sam Rayburn some snaps. Did that mean the coaches were down on Ramsey?
We'll see this spring and summer. Ramsey is going to weigh in the range of 295 pounds and he will be more advanced in the teachings of line coach Pete Jenkins. The opportunity is there for Ramsey, a sixth-round draft pick last year, to gain more playing time.
The tackle position is still one that makes some fans a bit nervous. Is the position good enough to stop the run? Are the tackles big enough to stand ground against 340-pound offensive guards? What if Bunkley doesn't ...
So here is Ramsey in all of this, largely overlooked. I know the coaching staff was thrilled with the way he picked up the technique side of things last year, and he made the roster after an impressive summer. Then he seemed to play pretty well early in the regular season and then he was on the sidelines week after week.
The Eagles want to rotate up front. I'm not saying it is out of the question that they draft a tackle, honestly. You know if Andy Reid likes a tackle when it is his time to pick, he will think long and hard about it.
However, Ramsey has a real chance to fit into the picture. I think he will.
BETHEL JOHNSON KR/WR
This is a hunch and nothing more. I think a kid with this kid of speed is going to find the right niche here. I think Johnson and Bloom are going to duke it out for the return man job.
Johnson has all the measurables, doesn't he? Size, speed, the tantalizing big plays that he has made. He looked for a time to have put things together in New England, and then he was traded to New Orleans and that flat-out didn't work.
Johnson did some good things in Minnesota last year, enough to gain the Eagles' attention. I think Johnson will get some good coaching and an opportunity and the Eagles will see what they have. They know Johnson adds world-class speed at wide receiver. They know that if he has a seam in the return game, he will hit it on up and make a big play.
It's my hunch. I don't know much about the guy, truly. But I just have this feeling.
TANK DANIELS, LB
The second-year linebacker goes by Tank. He is no longer Torrance. Fine. He needs a new twist to stand out in a suddenly-crowded field at linebacker.
Thing is, Daniels started making his own name last year. He earned a spot on the practice squad after a good summer and then made the most of his opportunity when he came up to the active roster late in the season.
He runs well and he has size and he is a kid who realizes he has his shot right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see Daniels right in the thick of things at SAM and, without a doubt, on special teams. I see this kid as Ike Reese with more size and maybe more speed. Reese excelled in the NFL because he was smart and he knew he role and he embraced it.
Daniels can be the same kind of player, and then some.
BILL SAMPY, WR
I look at these Eagles wide receivers and I think the position is virtually filled. Kevin Curtis is going to make it. Same with Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis and Jason Avant and Baskett. Am I right? Or am I guilty of overlooking too many factors, or maybe overrating the talent?
Could be.
I know that the Eagles think a lot of Sampy and I know that he has been in the system for a year plus now and I know that he is in the off-season conditioning program and that he is going to push for a roster spot. He will offer competition. It may look like a long shot right now. I agree there. But Sampy has a little something in his game, a quickness, I think, and I want to see more from him in the spring and summer.
PAT McCOY, OT
Would I be shocked if Pat McCoy unseated Jon Runyan at right tackle this season? Yes, absolutely. Would I be shocked if every Eagles fan watching the preseason games noticed McCoy and said, "Who is that big, rangy young fella at right tackle?"
No, not at all.
McCoy is 6 feet 5, 328 pounds. He is putting more meat on his bones in the off-season conditioning program and he is still on a raw side, but, oh, what feet the kid has. What long arms the kid has. What an athlete the kid is.
McCoy is coming. I don't have enough evidence to show you and, yeah, you will probably think I'm crazy for suggesting that McCoy would even challenge Runyan, but if Juan Castillo keeps working McCoy and bringing out a little more every day, McCoy will be a player to respect this season.
How much playing time can McCoy realistically gain this year? In a perfect world, very little. But he can push Runyan and show the Eagles that there is someone to count on behind Big Jon at right tackle right now.
So the Eagles went out and changed things around. No more 21-of-22-starters talk. The Eagles added a starting wide receiver, a starting linebacker and maybe a starting defensive tackle. They may even have signed a starting kick return man during a memorable March.
But April is when things really finish off the roster, give it some new life and new direction.
And with that, it is time to look at this Eagles team and speculate on which players might emerge to impact the 2007 season.
Think about last year, for example. Two of the team's top receivers weren't even on the team until a few weeks after the draft (Hank Baskett) and then a few months later (Donte' Stallworth). Twelve months ago, Jeff Garcia was as unwanted as any scrap-heap quarterback you could find.
So, the point is that we analyze the roster for what it is now and we understand how things change before the season starts and then, of course, during 16 games.
There are a handful of players I think can make the team and play a little bit more than maybe we all think right now. Call this The Under-The-Radar-Eagles Report ...
SAVERIO ROCCA, P
The guy has major, major league. Dirk Johnson cannot compete with the upside of Rocca, and that is not a lack of respect directed toward Johnson. Rocca has a cannon for a leg and has been in the off-season conditioning program the last couple of weeks working hard.
He punted in front of some media the other day and the media came away astonished at Rocca's leg strength.
It is a totally different game in a live game, with a uniform on and with 10 men rushing, and the lights are a lot brighter with 65,000 fans in the stands. Rocca won't be afforded many shanks, because the Eagles just can't be in position where they lose field position because of a mis-kick.
But Rocca has exciting ability, and the thought of a 65-yard punt with hang time has to give new special teams coordinator Rory Segrest pause to consider over the next few months.
I will say the Eagles are taking care of Segrest. They have the reliable, steady hand at punter with Johnson. They have David Akers, one of the best in the game, as the kicker. They have a couple of options in the return game -- Jeremy Bloom and Bethel Johnson -- and they retained the core of the special teams coverage units in Quintin Mikell and Juqua Thomas.
All of this done, mind you, before the draft has even arrived.
I think special teams practices in training camp are going to be a bit more interesting than usual. I imagine some fans are going to want to stick around to watching the punting battle as well as the competition in the return game.
LaJUAN RAMSEY, DT
Yes, the Eagles traded Darwin Walker and they expect Brodrick Bunkley to step up and they think Montae Reagor will step in and contribute.
But why isn't anybody talking about LaJuan Ramsey?
It's probably because he vanished from the lineup after playing well early in the season. Ramsey's demotion from the tacke rotation was surprising and, really, not explained. OK, OK, so the Eagles wanted to get Sam Rayburn some snaps. Did that mean the coaches were down on Ramsey?
We'll see this spring and summer. Ramsey is going to weigh in the range of 295 pounds and he will be more advanced in the teachings of line coach Pete Jenkins. The opportunity is there for Ramsey, a sixth-round draft pick last year, to gain more playing time.
The tackle position is still one that makes some fans a bit nervous. Is the position good enough to stop the run? Are the tackles big enough to stand ground against 340-pound offensive guards? What if Bunkley doesn't ...
So here is Ramsey in all of this, largely overlooked. I know the coaching staff was thrilled with the way he picked up the technique side of things last year, and he made the roster after an impressive summer. Then he seemed to play pretty well early in the regular season and then he was on the sidelines week after week.
The Eagles want to rotate up front. I'm not saying it is out of the question that they draft a tackle, honestly. You know if Andy Reid likes a tackle when it is his time to pick, he will think long and hard about it.
However, Ramsey has a real chance to fit into the picture. I think he will.
BETHEL JOHNSON KR/WR
This is a hunch and nothing more. I think a kid with this kid of speed is going to find the right niche here. I think Johnson and Bloom are going to duke it out for the return man job.
Johnson has all the measurables, doesn't he? Size, speed, the tantalizing big plays that he has made. He looked for a time to have put things together in New England, and then he was traded to New Orleans and that flat-out didn't work.
Johnson did some good things in Minnesota last year, enough to gain the Eagles' attention. I think Johnson will get some good coaching and an opportunity and the Eagles will see what they have. They know Johnson adds world-class speed at wide receiver. They know that if he has a seam in the return game, he will hit it on up and make a big play.
It's my hunch. I don't know much about the guy, truly. But I just have this feeling.
TANK DANIELS, LB
The second-year linebacker goes by Tank. He is no longer Torrance. Fine. He needs a new twist to stand out in a suddenly-crowded field at linebacker.
Thing is, Daniels started making his own name last year. He earned a spot on the practice squad after a good summer and then made the most of his opportunity when he came up to the active roster late in the season.
He runs well and he has size and he is a kid who realizes he has his shot right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see Daniels right in the thick of things at SAM and, without a doubt, on special teams. I see this kid as Ike Reese with more size and maybe more speed. Reese excelled in the NFL because he was smart and he knew he role and he embraced it.
Daniels can be the same kind of player, and then some.
BILL SAMPY, WR
I look at these Eagles wide receivers and I think the position is virtually filled. Kevin Curtis is going to make it. Same with Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis and Jason Avant and Baskett. Am I right? Or am I guilty of overlooking too many factors, or maybe overrating the talent?
Could be.
I know that the Eagles think a lot of Sampy and I know that he has been in the system for a year plus now and I know that he is in the off-season conditioning program and that he is going to push for a roster spot. He will offer competition. It may look like a long shot right now. I agree there. But Sampy has a little something in his game, a quickness, I think, and I want to see more from him in the spring and summer.
PAT McCOY, OT
Would I be shocked if Pat McCoy unseated Jon Runyan at right tackle this season? Yes, absolutely. Would I be shocked if every Eagles fan watching the preseason games noticed McCoy and said, "Who is that big, rangy young fella at right tackle?"
No, not at all.
McCoy is 6 feet 5, 328 pounds. He is putting more meat on his bones in the off-season conditioning program and he is still on a raw side, but, oh, what feet the kid has. What long arms the kid has. What an athlete the kid is.
McCoy is coming. I don't have enough evidence to show you and, yeah, you will probably think I'm crazy for suggesting that McCoy would even challenge Runyan, but if Juan Castillo keeps working McCoy and bringing out a little more every day, McCoy will be a player to respect this season.
How much playing time can McCoy realistically gain this year? In a perfect world, very little. But he can push Runyan and show the Eagles that there is someone to count on behind Big Jon at right tackle right now.
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