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On The Inside
 
November 24, 2008 | Last Updated: 11/24/08 9:47 PM ET | Comments (410)
And Now, For Some Non-QB (Almost) Talk

In this shortest of short weeks, the Eagles had a light practice on Monday, started game-planning for the Cardinals and did everything they could to get their bodies ready for Thursday night's game. They had massages and ice baths and as much rest as they could cram into the few hours between the end of the loss in Baltimore and the moment they reported to the NovaCare Complex.

There is a lot going on with this football team and, obviously, the news that Donovan McNabb will start against Arizona tops the list. Neither McNabb nor Kevin Kolb, who played the second half in Baltimore, spoke to the horde of reporters who jammed the locker room on Monday. McNabb has his weekly scheduled press conference on Tuesday, which will be well attended.

Anyway, we can debate the merits of Andy Reid's move on Sunday and of the decision to start McNabb on Thursday, but I need the break. I want to see how it works out. Besides, there are other things to talk about with this team ...

  • It is abundantly clear that the Eagles want to give Brent Celek a chance to earn his bones at tight end. He started on Sunday and caught 3 passes for 26 yards. L.J. Smith played in the two tight-end set and caught one pass. I can't tell you too much accurately about the blocking performance, but I think both could improve in that area. Tight end has been a disappointment this season, no doubt about it. The Eagles haven't gotten the production they want in this offense. It's going to be extremely interesting to see how the Eagles handle the position in the months ahead.
  • Victor Abiamiri played anywhere from 25-30 snaps and did a very good job. I have seen him improve in the last two weeks. Abiamiri missed the preseason and the early season and he is coming on. There is no doubt about it. How much Abiamiri improves from this point forward is a huge key. The Eagles would benefit greatly from more development from a player who is big enough to play both end and tackle. Good to see that Abiamiri recorded his first quarterback. Sometimes, once a player gets a taste he gets on a roll.
  • Akeem Jordan started at the WILL position and played well. He aggressively attacked the line of scrimmage, was physical and did a good job in coverage. I'm not sure if Jordan remains the starter, because the Eagles are still high on Omar Gaither. My perspective is that the young linebackers have played pretty well this year, but I'm still looking for more big plays. Where are the interceptions with this group? Not just this year, but in some years past.
  • Overlooked in the quarterback drama was the fact that the defense held tight end Todd Heap to 2 catches and 26 yards. Bummer that Daniel Wilcox caught a 1-yard touchdown pass.
  • Dan Klecko has come a long, long way at fullback. He looked OK catching the football in Baltimore.
  • It is time to give Quintin Demps some reps within the defense. All he has done is go out and dominate in special-teams coverage -- the play he made as a gunner on Sav Rocca's first punt was outstanding -- and provide a much-needed big-play threat on kickoff returns. The Eagles must find out about Demps as a safety this season so they have a sense of what they are working with in 2009. Rookies who make plays generally have a very bright future. I know that's common sense, but ...
  • Speaking of Rocca, he is back on track. Rocca averaged 48.5 yards on his punts Sunday. I didn't like the touchback, but Rocca is generally solid in that area. Looking back, the Eagles made the right decision to keep Rocca over Dirk Johnson, who visits as a member of the Cardinals on Thursday.
  • Great test for the Eagles secondary against Arizona. No way they can lay back against those Arizona wide receivers. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, along with Steve Breaston, are just too good after they catch the football. The Eagles need to be aggressive and play with confidence. I didn't like the way the Ravens scored on that 53-yard catch and run from Mark Clayton. The Eagles blitzed a safety and then the Ravens made them pay.
  • All I can say about DeSean Jackson is that he is a PLAYER. Tough, confident, works hard. Jackson has done everthing right as a rookie. He makes a mistake here and there like every player, but Jackson is terrific. He has totally dispelled everything the pre-draft rumors said about him. Love the kid.
  • So let me say this about Kolb and his performance: I know he made a poor pass into the end zone and I know he was 10 of 23 throwing the football. But he came out gunning, he ran the huddle well and handled himself like a pro after the game. I have no doubts about Kolb's arm or his athletic ability or his smarts. We just have to see how he learns from his debut.
  • Seven penalties, 64 yards for the Eagles against Baltimore. Can't have that.
  • Getting back to Kolb, and I know I'm just kind of thinking out loud, but as I watch Drew Brees with the Saints I think that Kolb plays a similar style as Brees. Whether he ever becomes that proficient is the big question.
  • I think the Eagles are one butt-kicker up front from being a dominating defense. They have something to work with on defense. If Abiamiri can continue to progress, and if Bryan Smith can be as good as I think he can be -- based on the preseason, and based on what people tell me -- the Eagles can be very good up front. They already are quite good. You could say the Washington game, the Giants game and a piece of a game here and there are the only down moments for the defensive front seven this season. They must pressure Kurt Warner on Thursday or it will be a tough night for the defense.
  • Final word: I hope Eagles fans support McNabb on Thursday night. He has been such a positive force for this franchise and for this city for 10 season. He has given us all a lot. He could use the love on Thursday.
And Now, For Some Non-QB (Almost) Talk
Post Comment (410) | View All Comments
   
EaglesSB09
11/27/08
9:11 am
City why in the world would you draft a cb when we just picked up one of the highest paid cb thats stupid. were about to trade a great cb (sheppard) for another player or pick and you want us to pick one up??? our two draft picks honestly should be another offensive T and a big blocking fulback. and get a trade. i wonder if we could get boldin for sheppard arizona does need to beef up there secondary and we need to beef up our wr
EaglesSB09
11/27/08
8:42 am
GO EAGLES!!!!!!
EaglesSB09
11/27/08
7:16 am
I know this ones a little late, but philly dan. big kid andrews is still out because of his back. he had surgery, hes not just decideing to not show up. in the begining of the preseason he had emotional problems, but now its his back and has been that reason since the beginning of the season.Oh and mcnabbs our guy no doubt in my mind. I just sit back and laugh at some of these what i call Y2K eagle fans who still have blue balls from 04. YOU THINK WERE IN BAD SHAPE NOW??? obviously you dont remember the pre reid eagles, compare the seasons of today to seasons of yesterday.feels like we went back to the 1994 season in a way. 7-9 final record and kotite was outta here. The following year cunningham was benched, but kolb wont come out like rodney peete did, but aj feeley can. lets not forget about that guy, i dont think they give him enough snaps.If my outlook on this season is correct about going back to 94 then eagle fans get ready for yet another bumpy ride as QBs and coaches are juggled around, and you Y2K eagle fans will fade out until around the 2011 or even the 2012 season. happy turkey day everyone!!!!
greg1954
11/26/08
11:25 am
What is happening to the linebackers on this team. Who pulled this dumb behind the back move on the guy who replace No #54 in training camp. Gave him the starting position. Led the team in tackles. Then the next year he is too light for the position and had to move again to the outside linebacker because someone said that Bradley is better. We need a run stopper at this position. Trotter might not cover well but he stopped whatever comes up the middle. If Omar sits so must Bradley & Goocong. Better start looking at how teams are coming at us. Its the run...and we are being gashed!!! Some who and why would you do this...WHO MADE THIS CALL!!!
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:37 pm
Welp... gotta run fellas. Gonna watch the big game. Headin to town. See y'all later.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:36 pm
rock))) I'm almost with you. 1 more loss and we might as well sit #36. But we can't give up yet. Too many things can happen.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:33 pm
Bzzzzzzzzz! Too late. You don't know s*** about s***. 7 on the line MF'er! Thats 4 in the backfield. In 3rd grade my dad had me on the practice field couting players on the LOS. Thats elementary.
tomlrock@...
11/25/08
8:29 pm
its for those who dont know and second of all try spelling right
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:25 pm
city))) I don't know anything about football? How many guys can you have in the backfield?
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:24 pm
city))) If I could understand your jibberish... I'm sure it has no substance. You must be like.... 12. What country do you think this is? We are in the US of A. Speak English!
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:22 pm
city))) You want a CB in the 1st round? Do you know we have Samuel and Brown? And Lito and Hans0n? And Iguanadon? Don't you wanna wait till we see him 1st? He was rated as a 2nd rounder before he got hurt. === And ANYBODY... can run the ball. Don't need a RB in the 1st round. So... in short.... your wrong. We will not take a CB and a RB in the 1st round. You can have my hairdresser if we do.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
8:18 pm
city))) What in the Hell are you sayin? Speakin English Commie! === Made out something about McNabb. But I have no idea what you said. So let me tell you about McNabb. He's a Top 5 QB in the NFL. Period. === That said... I have never seen him play this poorly. But even if he's is 0 fer 20 with 7 INT's.... he's still our best chance to win. #5 FOREVER!!!
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
8:06 pm
toml rockk u stated the obvcious every knows that
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
8:02 pm
the first 2 1st picks take a cb n a power runner
tomlrock@...
11/25/08
8:01 pm
ok, i'm one of the most diehard eagles fans across the world but i speak for all eagles fans when i say this, this year sucked...the first game of the season was their best but than again, it was the rams...the games that kept us on our toes was the Dallas and Pitts game. We might of lost against Dallas which we shouldnt of but the Pitts game we did well with stopping Willie Parker. When he was projected to run all over our D. We've had some close games where we should of def won and the previous games where we should of blew the opposing team out. For example, the Bears, We should of never lost to them we should of racked up points like there was no tomorrow but we failed to do that. Our 5-5-1 record should realistically be 10-2. Thats prolly wishful thinking but with the guys we have on the team the games should of turned out the way they did. One thing we could of worked on more was tackling better thats somethin we have failed to do also. RB's are running all over our LB's and our defense line. Stewart Bradley, which is a second year man, Chris Gocong which was injured last year became the starter and Omar Gaither which i have all the confidence in the world in. Our past Rb's have been real solid. Only problem is, we got rid of them and brought in young guns. Trotter was great and so was Spikes. Our games that provide good running backs for the opposing team have been Marion Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Willis McGahee and other that have helped out at second and third string RB's. For McNabb, the only thing i can say is, u better play ur heart out...ur team is still with ya but the faith is slowly fading away. I dont understand his struggle right now but to say we're still in the playoffs is and under statement. The last two games we've played we're poorly performed. scored 13 points in two games. We have the guys to put up the points. Might not be Donovan but our WR's are talented enough. McNabb just cant be over throwing it. I really think Westbrook should sit out the remainder of the season unless the eagles should win the next 5 games cuz he isnt helping the team and if he isnt healthy why push him.
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
8:01 pm
hey buddy if u really think i want any of the guys u mentioned well ur clinically retarted, n no ur welcome. I dont want a qb i wanna stick wit donavan ok BRO? is that ok with U? A college qb is the least thing id want in this draft u stupid f6ck. Mcnabb is ill nasty n we dont need tebow or any ofthem n sure as hell none of those guys u prefer. So seriously u made urself sound like an idiot there with that last comment. Have a nice day and F^ck U!!!
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
7:57 pm
city))) Well.... we aren't takin a QB this year. But if we were... ==== It's so hard to evaluate college QB's now days. Thats why there are so many misses at QB. The Spread O's of today are just tough. So guys like Harrell, Snead and McCoy are guesses. === But the top rated QB's comin out are... Matthew Stafford of Georgia. He's the only true 1st rounder. Out of Dallas by the way. === Then guys like Dan LeFevour, Tom Brandstater, Sam Bradford and Nate Davis of Ball St. Watchin him right now as a matter of fact. === Then your takin chances with guys like Tebow, Rudy Carpenter, Josh Freeman and Chase Holbrook. === Now you know. Your welcome.
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
7:48 pm
0obv no comeback for jb cuz hes got nuttin he says suttin but wit nuttin to back it up. the dude is fake guys when it comes to football.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
7:43 pm
proplayer stadium))) We all loved Jerome.
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
7:38 pm
the reason i dont put up mi own qb rankings is cuz this is an EAGLES SITE where I talk about the team the road still to make the playoffs, n dealing wit idiots like u... i could care less about college at this moment, thats to worry about in the offseason stupid.
cityofphilly60@...
11/25/08
7:34 pm
jb))) I mean Bi17ch))) crown of negativity ya ok, dude look at me praisin the eagles still sayin we still gotta shot n ur saying bad news n sh6t, sayin how u can run for 100 ydswit gmen, ya dont say nuttin about negativity to me cuz im stayin optimistic look at u dumbazz goin against wut u just said b4.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
7:33 pm
Fireline))) Here you go. ==== http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJ0SkbPxAk
proplayer3220@...
11/25/08
7:31 pm
Hey I hear ya JB... I loved Jerome by the way... I know the Giants are great, but beatable. I hope they beat the Redskins cuz they won't lose 2 in a row, and if they do beat Washington thats 7 straight wins, so they'd be do... long time to prepare and a team thats due to lose... They can do it... And Dallas... if its win and your in, I believe they can pull it off here.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
7:28 pm
My 7:20 post is for you cryin b17ches and Slaves of the media.
JeromeBrown99
11/25/08
7:27 pm
city))) You bash my QB rankings? Without posting your own? Your scared?



 

 
 
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