Fletcher Cox has learned quickly to get used to change.
He’s played 15 games as a pro and is already on his third defensive line coach, third defensive coordinator and second head coach.
Cox is surrounded by several new teammates as well.
“It’s different,” he said during last week’s mini-camp. “The first day I came back, no Cullen [Jenkins], no Darryl Tapp, no Mike P. [Patterson], none of those guys. So it felt kind of weird, but you’ve got to understand this is a business and things happen.”
Casey Matthews cut off his locks and is sporting a fresh new look. Time to change things up, he said.
That has pretty much been the mantra of the Eagles this offseason. The organization — the city — is dizzy with all the alterations Chip Kelly is making. What is foreign to most, though, feels quite familiar to the former Duck linebacker.
When Vinny Curry began his college career at Marshall, he played defensive end in a 3-4.
His position coach at the time? Jerry Azzinaro. Yes, that’s the same Jerry Azzinaro who is now coaching the Eagles’ defensive line. He spent one year at Marshall before joining Chip Kelly at Oregon and eventually in Philadelphia.
While many (yours truly included) expected Curry to make the switch to outside linebacker this offseason, he’ll instead be under Azzinaro’s direction – for now, at least.
To prove his point, Chip Kelly lobbed the question back into the media throng.
“Who would you take?”
“I don’t know,” a reporter responded.
“I don’t know, either.”
Just over a week away from the draft, and the new Eagles coach confessed that he doesn’t have all the answers when it comes to the No. 4 pick.
Howie Roseman has been hesitant to offer a straight answer.
Perhaps he doesn’t want to feed into the perception that he’s a power-hungry GM looking for maximum control. Or maybe it’s just a matter of Chip Kelly wanting the organization to project a team-oriented approach in all aspects of the operation.
But asked many times over the past few months who has the final say on draft picks, Roseman has provided different variations of the same response.
A common practice, when scanning over the current Eagles roster for areas of need, is to skip right past the wide receiver position. They have DeSean Jackson, they have Jeremy Maclin, they have more pressing concerns. Move on.
But it’s worthwhile to take a more thorough look.
The Geno Smith conversation is not just being had on talk radio, in bars, and on your favorite blog. Turns out, it has seeped through the NovaCare walls and into the weight room as well.
“I have been hearing about that, honestly, too. Geno Smith was a great player at West Virginia. He has done some great things. He could probably fit right in with this offense,” said DeSean Jackson in an interview with NFL Network.
From trade scenarios to Ron Jaworski’s thoughts on the quarterback class, here is the latest draft buzz.
Jon Gruden’s quarterback camp is in full swing. Another year, another crop of QB prospects awkwardly interacting with Chucky in a film room setting.
The Mothership is getting even more out of the popular series this year. ESPN.com is printing Gruden’s scouting reports on the men he is working with. First up is Geno Smith:
Most analysts agree that it takes three years to properly judge a draft class.
But in the case of the Eagles’ 2011 picks, we might only need two.
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Sheil Kapadia has been writing about the Eagles since 2008. His previous Philly.com blog, Moving the Chains, was named one of the best in the state by the Associated Press. Sheil's main joys in life are family, football and finding good parking spots.
Tim McManus is a bulldog reporter with a nose for news and story angles that will get people talking. He'll talk about it himself on 97.5 The Fanatic, where he serves as a host and Eagles beat reporter. Tim, an award-winning journalist, will be with the team around the clock.
