A LITTLE MORE than a week before the Eagles open the regular season at the Linc against the Packers, head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg still are being purposely vague about their plan for Mike Vick in the offense. Yes, he will back up Kevin Kolb. But they could have gone out and gotten any one of a half-dozen other quarterbacks who would’ve been better fits for that job than this wild stallion from Newport News, Va. He’s still here because Reid and Mornhinweg think Vick’s unique skills as a runner-thrower can be of value to the Eagles’ offense this season, even if Kolb manages to stay upright for 16 games. “I don’t know exactly what [my role] is going to be,”
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Vick could take a run at third-down improvement for Eagles
IF I WERE a fan, I don’t think I would’ve paid $10 to attend last night’s preseason finale between the Eagles and the New York Jets. But the generally held belief that this game is meaningless is probably the farthest thing from the truth. Yes, the starters were given the night off, but the middle and final pieces of this roster are still in flux. For some of the guys who played in the Eagles’ 21-17 loss, it wasn’t just their final chance to leave an impression with the coaches; it was the only extended chance. For guys fighting to move up the depth chart or grab one of those last roster spots, every snap was crucial. After a long training camp, when most of the time you were used as
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For some Eagles, final preseason game was chance to show they belong
Now that Thursday night’s charade brought a merciful end to the exhibition games, there is nothing but a short expanse of practices separating the Eagles from the start of the regular season. Ready or not, here it comes, and much more than in recent seasons, there is good reason to wonder if the Eagles will be ready or not. It is a question that goes beyond whether they will be ready for the Green Bay Packers, one of the best teams in the conference. The Eagles might lose that game, perhaps soundly, and still emerge from the rubble with a chance for a productive season. “We’ll get those things fixed and it starts with me,” Andy Reid would no doubt say. At least, that is what he has said
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Now it’s reality for Birds
Eagles coach Andy Reid insisted that some jobs were still up for grabs going into Thursday night’s game — a 21-17 loss to the New York Jets. The Eagles coach probably wasn’t referring to the backup quarterback spot, although Michael Vick’s preseason wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Vick entered the Eagles’ final preseason game having thrown three interceptions. He also had been sacked four times and had compiled a 33.7 passer rating. Those stats didn’t exactly reflect the work he had put in during the spring and summer to acclimate to the West Coast offense, and they didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he could take the wheel if starter Kevin Kolb were to suffer a major injury. It’s safe
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Vick solidifies his spot
On a scorching-hot weekday morning at Eagles training camp, retired running back Duce Staley was flanked by a half-dozen active running backs at Lehigh University. The temperature was boiling over into the low 90s - humid enough to warrant a lighter workout in the second of two-a-day practices that afternoon. But the Eagles pushed to close out the morning session strong. Near the end zone, Staley draped his thick arm around players’ shoulders, pointed to the field, and offered directions on making cuts during this noncontact drill. The first attempt was unsuccessful, so Staley called it back for another try. Even during the days of camp when the weather betrays players and practices seem
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Eagles running backs benefit from Staley’s expertise
Ask defensive coordinator Sean McDermott what a player has to do to impress, and he has a simple answer: Make big plays. Kurt Coleman did that Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field to add a jolt of energy to an otherwise forgettable preseason finale. Coleman, the Eagles’ rookie safety who scored one touchdown in his college career at Ohio State, took two fumbles back to the end zone. In his last opportunity to make an impact before the real season begins, Coleman stood out in a game contested by second- and third-stringers for both the Eagles and New York Jets. Coleman, a seventh-round draft pick, the last of 13 players the Eagles selected in April, had four tackles and an assist and
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Eagles drop preseason finale
Andy Reid has tried to sell you on the fourth preseason game. The Eagles coach insisted recently that some final job battles are up for grabs tonight when the Eagles and Jets have their final tuneup before the Sept. 12 season opener. “There’s a couple of different (open) spots,” Reid said. “I’m not going to get into those. I think it’s important that all the guys that have an opportunity to play, play like they have an opportunity to make this football team. In essence, they do.” Nonsense, we say. The coaches know exactly who stays and who goes Sunday, when the NFL mandates that teams cut down to a 53-man roster. But since we can’t inject Big Red with truth serum, we’ve taken it upon
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Roster seems to be in order
WHEN ANDY REID said yesterday that, “You want to make sure that you’re right” about roster selections, he was not speaking in the theoretical. Just last summer the St. Louis Rams plucked Danny Amendola from the Eagles’ practice squad and turned him into a valuable NFL player, a slot receiver with 43 catches and the sixth-best punt-return average in the NFL. When Chad Hall comes into the locker room late and out of breath from running extra routes, it is not some schoolboy’s attempt to impress. If he has learned nothing else about the NFL since he signed a free-agent contract with the Eagles in March, he has learned what a heartless business it can be, that signing a player one day does not
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Eagles rookie receiver Chad Hall needs to play fast in preseason finale
The last time quarterback Michael Vick started an NFL game, it was at Lincoln Financial Field. That was way back in 2006, though, and it was with the Atlanta Falcons against the Eagles. Vick will once again start a game Thursday night when the Eagles play the New York Jets in the final preseason game at The Linc. Eagles coach Andy Reid will sit starter Kevin Kolb to protect him from injury even though the successor to Donovan McNabb hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the preseason. Rookie Mike Kafka will play the second half. “Right now, I’ve got Michael down for a half, the first half,” Reid said Tuesday, “and then the other Michael down for the second half.” Vick was a three-time Pro Bowl
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As expected, Reid gives starters break
The Eagles’ main components are getting healthy just in time for the regular season. Guard Todd Herremans (ankle), linebacker Ernie Sims (forearm), and defensive end Trent Cole (ankle) were all back on the practice field Tuesday, along with center Jamaal Jackson, who delivered snaps for the first-team offense and showed no ill effects from battling defensive linemen in one-on-one drills Monday. All four are projected starters, when fit. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson was the only big piece of the picture missing, although head coach Andy Reid said that was because he had his wisdom teeth removed Monday. Jackson’s back, injured in Friday’s preseason game, “is feeling better,” Reid said. The
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Eagles’ key pieces mostly set to go
Michael Vick will take the field as an NFL team’s starting quarterback tomorrow night for the first time since the final game of the 2006 season. And, barring inury to Kevin Kolb, for the last time this season. “I really don’t feel like I have anything to prove,” Vick said yesterday, as the Eagles put the finishing touches on their preparation for tomorrow night’s preseason finale against the visiting New York Jets. Vick and the Eagles’ subs will play against the guys Jets coach Rex Ryan doesn’t mind exposing to injury; reportedly, Ryan plans to bring only 36 players to Lincoln Financial Field. “I’ve just gotta go out and play my game, have fun playing the game,” Vick said. “Not put too
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Eagles’ Vick starts tomorrow for first time since 2006
Trent Cole painted an optimistic picture of his availability for the Eagles’ Sept. 12 season opener against the Green Bay Packers despite suffering what looked like a major ankle injury Friday night in Kansas City, Mo. “I’m all right,” said the defensive end, who won’t play in Thursday’s preseason game vs. the New York Jets. He has about two weeks to get ready for the opener. Cole didn’t practice Monday and will continue to rehabilitate the injury. The two-time Pro Bowl player said his ankle “folded in” while he was trying to make a tackle, which left him in blinding pain. On the next snap, Cole said he could barely get crouched into the three-point stance. “It hurt so bad, my whole body
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Trent Cole on injury: ‘I’m all right’
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