Running backs -- Moats' last gasp?
Brian Westbrook said today that he fully expects to start the game on Monday, but I'm not sure how many carries the Eagles' real franchise player will get. There's no sense at all in getting him injured, which is a real possibility against a nasty first-team defense.
Westbrook looked pretty good in camp, when he was on the practice field. He took a day and a half off this week, I believe to attend a funeral, but returned Thursday afternoon.
Correll Buckhalter did not get hurt. That was the main thing. Buck looked very good at times, and at others -- like Friday -- he looked like he could just as soon have been someplace else. It's OK, that's how I felt too. Anyway, every little misstep on Buckhalter's part is another opportunity for Tony Hunt to work his way into the lineup.
Hunt had a terrific camp, proving that he could do to second-team NFL defenses the same thing he did to college defenders, which was move the pile, grind out tough yards, take what's given and an inch or two more. Hunt has progressed in the passing game after a rocky start. At Penn State, he caught a decent number of passes, but they were mostly safety-valve stuff. He said the hardest thing to learn was allthe routes that backs run in the Eagles offense. Hunt should see plenty of carries during the preseason, but once the regular season begins he's going to need to find a way to make his impact on special teams.
Everyone has very nice things to say about Ryan Moats personally and professionally, but as an active member of the Eagles' roster, he's pretty much toast. Virtually every positive thing he did during camp was offset by a fumble, and the coaches were unequivocal in saying that such things were unacceptable. He's a natural runner and an extremely dynamic talent, but with a few flaws, all of which are fatal in the Eagles' system.
In slightly better shape is Nate Ilaoa, because at least he's a rookie who can go to the practice squad for a year. Nasti can really catch the ball out of the backfield, which is what he didn a lot of at Hawaii, but he seems a litttle overmatched, speed-wise, at the NFL level.
One of the quiet battles going on is at fullback, where Thomas Tapeh is attempting to hold off the athletic Jason Davis, as well as Jeremy Cain. I've always been a little confused about how the fullback actually fits into the Eagles offense since they so often use those three-wide receiver sets, plus the two-halfback sets that worked so well at the end of last season. Davis had a pretty good camp, though, and should put some pressure on Tapeh during the preseason schedule. There's only room for one fullback, so there's really no margin for error there.
Westbrook looked pretty good in camp, when he was on the practice field. He took a day and a half off this week, I believe to attend a funeral, but returned Thursday afternoon.
Correll Buckhalter did not get hurt. That was the main thing. Buck looked very good at times, and at others -- like Friday -- he looked like he could just as soon have been someplace else. It's OK, that's how I felt too. Anyway, every little misstep on Buckhalter's part is another opportunity for Tony Hunt to work his way into the lineup.
Hunt had a terrific camp, proving that he could do to second-team NFL defenses the same thing he did to college defenders, which was move the pile, grind out tough yards, take what's given and an inch or two more. Hunt has progressed in the passing game after a rocky start. At Penn State, he caught a decent number of passes, but they were mostly safety-valve stuff. He said the hardest thing to learn was allthe routes that backs run in the Eagles offense. Hunt should see plenty of carries during the preseason, but once the regular season begins he's going to need to find a way to make his impact on special teams.
Everyone has very nice things to say about Ryan Moats personally and professionally, but as an active member of the Eagles' roster, he's pretty much toast. Virtually every positive thing he did during camp was offset by a fumble, and the coaches were unequivocal in saying that such things were unacceptable. He's a natural runner and an extremely dynamic talent, but with a few flaws, all of which are fatal in the Eagles' system.
In slightly better shape is Nate Ilaoa, because at least he's a rookie who can go to the practice squad for a year. Nasti can really catch the ball out of the backfield, which is what he didn a lot of at Hawaii, but he seems a litttle overmatched, speed-wise, at the NFL level.
One of the quiet battles going on is at fullback, where Thomas Tapeh is attempting to hold off the athletic Jason Davis, as well as Jeremy Cain. I've always been a little confused about how the fullback actually fits into the Eagles offense since they so often use those three-wide receiver sets, plus the two-halfback sets that worked so well at the end of last season. Davis had a pretty good camp, though, and should put some pressure on Tapeh during the preseason schedule. There's only room for one fullback, so there's really no margin for error there.
Labels: training camp
posted by SMc. at 9:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home