THE INACTIVE LIST for the season opener last month was not quite what veteran safety Sean Jones had in mind when he signed with the Eagles this past offseason.Jones, 27, had started all 44 games he’d been healthy for, the previous three seasons at Cleveland. He’d been one of four players in the league to record at least four interceptions in each of those seasons.But over the spring and summer, Jones seemed slow to adapt to the Birds’ defensive scheme; first Quintin Demps, then rookie Macho Harris were promoted ahead of him to fill the starting vacancy left when Brian Dawkins signed with Denver. Early on, Jones’ role on the team seemed marginal, at best.”This league, it’s a very long …
Read more:
Safety Jones glad to be working way onto field more for Eagles
During training camp, one of the most-watched position battles was at free safety.Quintin Demps and Sean Jones were the main combatants – at least that was the way it looked initially. But Macho Harris came out of nowhere and stole the job.The rookie, however, is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Giants, and Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed that it would be Jones in center field if Harris’ sprained ankle doesn’t recover in time.”He’s been rotating in there, so that’s not a big deal,” Reid said yesterday.Jones has seen his playing time increase with each week. He didn’t dress for the opener but has been the “dime” in the Eagles’ six-defensive-back formation in the last several …
Read the original here:
Sean Jones likely at free safety
As long as Brian Westbrook can flash a few glimpses of the old Brian Westbrook, the availability of the Eagles running back on game days will gain the attention of opposing teams.While there is little reason to believe Westbrook, who suffered a concussion just five days ago, will be cleared to play the Giants tomorrow at home, he was listed as questionable yesterday and will be a game-time decision, according to coach Andy Reid.And so goes another installment in the coaching cat-and-mouse game of revealing too much.”These things take time, and they’re all different, so we’ll just see how it works here,” Reid said.Westbrook hadn’t practiced all week, and yesterday was no different. He was …
Original post:
Reid keeps Westbrook’s status in air
Either it’s a smoke screen the size of South Philadelphia or blind optimism, but Eagles coach Andy Reid hasn’t ruled out Brian Westbrook for Sunday’s showdown against the Giants, even though the running back sustained a concussion five days ago. In his last press conference before the Eagles and Giants meet to decide first place in the NFC East, Reid said Friday that Westbrook is listed as questionable on the official injury report — which indicates a 50-percent chance to play — and said the final decision probably won’t be rendered until right before Sunday’s kickoff. “This is going to end up being a game-day decision I’m sure,” Reid said. “These things take time and they’re all …
Read the original post:
Reid won’t rule Westbrook out
The Giants have seen enough of Brian Westbrook over the years to know one thing for sure: They’re much better off if he’s not on the field. They might get their wish tomorrow, too, since Westbrook, the Eagles ‘ running back and one of the biggest Giant-killers of them all, has been sidelined all week with the after-effects of a concussion. Even though the Eagles list him as “questionable,” Westbrook hadn’t even been cleared to work out as of Friday. His status will be a game-time decision, said Eagles coach Andy Reid , but the team is obviously being cautious since Westbrook was knocked unconscious for close to a minute on Monday night and was still experiencing mild headaches on …
Read more:
Giants waiting on Eagles’ Westbrook
As familiar as the Giants are with the Eagles, they haven’t seen them with Michael Vick. Antonio Pierce (listed as probable with an ankle injury) said he isn’t sure what to expect from the versatile quarterback. When asked to compare Vick’s play now with what it had been before he was forced from the league for his role in a dogfighting ring, the linebacker said, “That is tough. I don’t think that is fair to Vick.” Pierce also said he hasn’t seen enough of Vick in his return to form a judgment, but knows he remains a threat. “He has only been on the field maybe 20-30 times this season,” Pierce said of Vick, who was suspended to start the year and has thrown just six passes and run nine …
Read the original:
Pierce: Vick a threat despite playing little since return
What gnaws at the Giants, as much as Donovan McNabb picking up the phone on their sidelines at the end of their playoff loss last January at Giants Stadium, is this sickening reality: McNabb dropped back to pass 106 times in three games last year against them, and wasn’t sacked a single time. The Eagles have built what seems to Big Blue like The Great Wall of China in front of McNabb. On their way to the 2008 NFC Championship game, they made a mockery of Big Blue’s Super Bowl XLII blueprint — hounding, harassing, hitting Tom Brady all day and all night. McNabb and the Eagles are a pass-first team, and with Brian Westbrook (concussion) doubtful, McNabb could end up throwing more than 40 …
Here is the original post:
Giant ‘D’ needs to pressure Eagles QB
EVERYWHERE you saw LeSean McCoy yesterday, you saw running-backs coach Ted Williams – Velcroed to the rookie’s side, explaining and advising on the way to the NovaCare cafeteria, going over something one more time during a break in practice. The stakes are high, with Brian Westbrook, the Giant Killer, looking like a longshot to play Sunday when New York comes to visit the Eagles. Westbrook is recovering from a concussion suffered during Monday night’s victory at Washington. It isn’t as if McCoy hasn’t played – his 72 touches in six games are more than the 55 Westbrook recorded for his entire rookie season in 2002 – but this is not Kansas City the Birds are facing. This is the Giants team …
Read the rest here:
Eagles rookie McCoy needs to show up vs. Giants
AS TRADE heists go, it’s not quite on the same level as the Phils’ August theft of Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians. But if the Eagles make it to the playoffs again this year, we may look back on last week’s acquisition of linebacker Will Witherspoon as The Deal That Saved The Season. “We’ll see,” Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said yesterday. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens the rest of the way. But he’s a good player.” On Monday night, just 6 days after they got him from the Rams for the Kmart-price of rookie wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft, Witherspoon went out and notched a team-high eight tackles, returned an interception for a …
Original post:
Witherspoon seems to be real deal for Eagles
Steve Smith burst onto the scene this season — his first as a starter — and just as he was beginning to really have some fun, the league hit back. Excellence doesn’t go unnoticed. Smith in his first four games had 34 receptions for 411 yards, tops in the NFL in both categories. He also had four touchdowns. Once tape of that production circulated the word was out and the free ride was over. Confronted with the treatment that elite receivers see every week, Smith’s pace slowed. He’s caught 11 passes for 183 yards and no touchdown in the past three games heading into Sunday’s NFC East showdown with the Eagles. “I’m getting double-covered, getting more attention, which is fine. If that’s …
Read the rest here:
Opponents paying more ‘attention’ to Giants’ Smith
Brian Westbrook did not practice yesterday, but Eagles coach Andy Reid said that his running back, who is recovering from a concussion, would begin aerobic exercises today. On Wednesday, Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said that Westbrook still had a mild headache two days after Redskins linebacker London Fletcher kneed the tailback in the head. Reid, however, would not divulge whether the headache had subsided yesterday. The Eagles probably wouldn’t allow today’s workout unless the headache had ceased. The Eagles have said they would be very cautious in bringing Westbrook back. He was knocked unconscious for close to a minute Monday night, according to Burkholder, and suffered retroactive …
See original here:
Westbrook sits out Eagles’ practice
Brian Westbrook has rushed for more than 100 yards 20 times in his career, and four of those games have come against the New York Giants. Westbrook has scored 68 career touchdowns, and 14 have been vs. the Giants. That figure includes eight rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns. You might recall there was also that late-game 84-yard punt return in 2004, which ripped a game from the Giants’ grasp. The point here is that LeSean McCoy might well have a massive pair of spikes to fill when the Eagles meet the Giants at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles haven’t said Westbrook won’t play, but he hasn’t done anything on the field since sustaining a concussion in the …
More here:
McCoy’s ready if Westbrook isn’t
Recent Comments