Sunday Stuff, Late Edition

* Macho Harris was a CB/S tweener last year.  He moved to S and ended up starting most of the season at FS.  This offseason the team moved him back to CB.  With Nate Allen on board and Quintin Demps re-focused there wasn't as much need at S.  Macho hoped to win the RCB spot.  He's very much a Dick Jauron type of player and I was excited to see what he could do.  Unfortunately Macho has battled a serious hamstring injury and missed almost a week of practice.  It doesn't sound like he'll be back in the next few days.  At this point it sounds like he is a longshot to play on Friday in the first preseason game. 

Macho is missing a lot of valuable time.  He isn't a lock for the roster.  Look at the DBs likely to make it as of now:

CB:  Samuel, Hobbs, Hanson, Lindley

S:  Mikell, Allen, Demps, Coleman


I think we'll keep 5 CBs.  The main competition there is going to be Dimitri Patterson.  He saw some time at CB last year and did okay.  He also was a very good gunner on STs.  Macho can beat out Patterson for a spot, but he's got to get back on the field and get going. 

Some will put him in as the 4th Safety ahead of Coleman.  Very possible.  However, Kurt has played quite well this summer and he's the kind of guy who I could see shining in preseason games. 

I'm not saying Macho is on the outside looking in quite yet, but the secondary is in better shape numbers wise than it was last year.  Getting a job won't be as easy.  Macho did play okay for us last year, but didn't do anything so well that he's guaranteed anything.  I like him and hope he gets back on the field soon so that we can see just where he does fit in.  Of course, the injury bug could change things entirely, good or bad, for Macho.  Preseason football is very much a sport of attrition. 

* Adam Schefter visited Lehigh and had some very good things to report.  Let's jump into the hyperbole machine and see what Adam had to say:

Some years it's obvious when a team whiffs on its draft picks. Other years, it's obvious it connected.

Though training camp is only a week old, the early indications are that the Philadelphia Eagles' 2010 draft class was a Ryan Howard-like home run.

Not only did the Eagles have a high quantity of picks -- 13 in all, including four in the fourth round -- but it appears they landed just as much quality. From their first pick to their last, it seems Philadelphia hit paydirt. Here's a glance:

• Round 1 (13th overall), Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham: Eagles players are raving about Graham's burst, technique, handwork. Before the draft, one NFL executive predicted Graham would have a better NFL career than Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney. Graham already is the early favorite to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

* I watched some Florida tape over the weekend to look at prospects for 2011.  I couldn't help but notice this long-haired WR that was named Fabio or Sunshine or Riley Cooper or something like that.  Interesting game.  He had one bad drop on a downfield pass.  Tebow threw the ball with a flat trajectory, but it was accurate and had good touch.  Should have been a long gain and maybe TD.  Riley did catch a couple of passes on the final drive of the game when the Gators drove down the field to score the winning points.  He had a terrific block on a DB on a Tebow scramble.  Riley de-cleated a DB who was in pursuit mode.  Coach Urban Meyer had told the announcers before the game that Riley is the best blocking receiver he's ever coached (Urban made his way up as a WR coach).  Riley caught a short pass in the 4th quarter and 4 defenders had a shot at him, but they never got him to the ground.  Man vs boys.  Riley also threw a pass in the game.  He's got a good arm.  The ball tailed to the right and wasn't caught.  He should have adjusted his body before throwing so the ball wouldn't drift, but I can forgive a WR for not knowing QB mechanics.  Heck, the UF coaches didn't do a good job with the starting QB's mechanics. 


* Someone in the comments section asked what's going on with the Center position.  The coaching staff is firmly behind Nick Cole right now.  I'm not sure what their take on the bad snaps is.  If you set the snaps issue aside, I'm not sure that Nick Cole has had any major problems.  I know the offense has struggled with the blitz so far, but that doesn't automatically mean that Cole is the man to blame.  We've got a young QB and RB.  Our top WRs haven't practiced a lot until the last couple of days.  The backup RB is new to the team.  The backup TE is either a rookie or 2nd year player with very little experience even by those standards.  It takes all 11 guys to handle a good blitz.  Clearly that hasn't happened enough so far in camp. 

Back to Cole.  Nick's primary function on the team was backup C from 2006 through Nov. of 2008.  Max got hurt and Nick took over at RG.  He spent most of last year at OG.  Don't think Nick is some guy that hasn't ever played C.  He struggled late last year, but that was due to being rusty.  I think he'll play better in the preseason games.  The bad snaps do have me concerned.  The shotgun has become a regular part of our offense.  Dallas C Andre Gurode had serious issues with shotgun snaps and played his way out of the problem.  Maybe the coaches are hoping something like that happens. 

Let's wait and see what Nick does over the next 2 weeks before getting too nervous.  Center is a position that really is different in a game.  Watching Nick in drills just isn't the same.  The C makes a lot of reach blocks in our run game.  He double teams on some run plays.  He pulls on some.  He'll generally double on pass blocks.  What you see of Nick in practice isn't the same thing you'll see in a game setting. 

The poster asked about signing Kevin Mawae.  I watched tape of him a few months back and he's done.  I'd take Nick or Mike McGlynn over Mawae.  Teams aren't ignoring him because of NFLPA stuff.  Age just finally caught up with Kevin.  The man had a great career, but his game tape from 2009 wasn't good. 

As for McGlynn...I can't explain why the coaches seem hesitant to give him more of a chance.  He always gets good reviews from the people watching practice.  He has the size for the job.  He's got the right temperament.  He got a lot of snaps at C last year in the preseason and in practice.  I can only guess Andy is going with the player who's got seniority.  And he did love Nick Cole coming out of New Mexico State.  Nick was a guy that Andy really enjoyed watching on tape.  I've not heard a bad word about Mike so far.  I hope he lights it up in the preseason games and forces the coaching staff to consider him for the job. 

The one thing I've learned in the last few years is that the coaches usually know something we don't when they make a decision that baffles us.  Life would be easier if they'd come out and make an announcement, but that's not the way the NFL works. 


* My take on the GCobb rumor about McNabb's benching...I don't buy it.  We were down 10-7 at the half of the Baltimore game.  Why would the owner call the coach and "order" the starter to be benched in that kind of a situation?  Doesn't make sense.  I could see Reid getting on a phone and calling up to Banner/Lurie to let them know he's going to make the switch.  That's a landmark move. 

Very few people know what actually happened for a fact.  It is possible that GCobb is right, but call me Doubting Thomas on this one.