We lead off today with a look at the Eagles’ tight end situation going into Week 1.
Let’s start with Brent Celek. He couldn’t have finished the 2011 season any stronger. Celek averaged just 19.2 yards per game in the first six last season, but that number jumped to 69.6 in the final 10.
Here are 10 things to know about the matchup between the Eagles’ offense and the Browns’ defense Sunday afternoon.
A look at how King Dunlap, Demetress Bell and the rest of the offense performed against the Patriots, after having re-watched the game.
The battle continues.
Yesterday, T-Mac provided us with a good laugh with his latest 53-man roster projection.
Now it’s my turn. I’ve got some changes from last week. Here goes nothing.
As practice was winding down Sunday afternoon, Clay Harbor caught a shovel pass in the red zone and rumbled in for the touchdown as Landri tried to strip the ball late. The outcome of the play already determined, Harbor took umbrage with the defensive tackle’s aggression and started what he thought would be a typical shove-and-separate training camp tussle. But Landri had other ideas.
The 6-2, 290-pounder threw what looked like an uppercut punch before proceeding to rip the helmet off Harbor’s head. With the situation escalating Harbor zipped out of the lion’s den before chucking the ball at Landri.
“It’s competition. I’m just trying to finish the play, trying to strip him. Sometimes you can’t tell where you’re at on the field,” said Landri. “He didn’t like it, turned around and tried to swing. I didn’t like that, so I retaliated.”
About an hour after many of the other Eagles players had headed inside, tight end Clay Harbor finally strolled off the field at Lehigh.
He had finished the special-teams portion of practice and went through his usual routine afterwards.
“Get at least 50 catches in,” Harbor said. “I try to walk through some of the routes I know I’m going to see in the later practice. Just get used to catching the ball coming out of those breaks. It really helps a lot. Building habits, seeing the same ball over and over again, it just becomes second nature and you don’t even think about it anymore.”
Jeremy Maclin lined up to Michael Vick’s left at the 10-yard-line.
He ran a slant to the 5-yard-line, stopped, changed direction and headed to the back left corner of the end zone. Vick let go of the ball, Maclin made the catch and kept his feet in-bounds for the touchdown.
But wide receivers coach David Culley saw something he didn’t like. He wanted Maclin to make sure he sold the slant with his final steps inside. Maclin did it again later, and this time, Culley approved.
The drill matched up a seventh-year veteran with 86 career starts against a rookie seventh-round pick searching for a roster spot.
DeMeco Ryans vs. Bryce Brown. A one-on-one coverage drill pitting linebackers and defensive backs against running backs and wide receivers. The offensive players generally have the advantage with this setup, and there are many more completed passes than passes broken up.
On this particular play, however, there was neither.
Clay Harbor was out of breath.
The Eagles tight end was one of the last players off the practice field Thursday afternoon. As he walked toward the locker room, Harbor was met by reporters and knew the questions that were coming his way.
The Eagles have shown interest in Visanthe Shiancoe and Jeremy Shockey this week. The implication is pretty clear: Find someone to push Harbor for the No. 2 tight-end spot behind Brent Celek.
“If anything, it just motivates you more,” Harbor said, doing his best to say the right things. “I mean, competition is competition. You get competition in the National Football League all the time.”
Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe worked out for the Eagles this week, but ended up heading north to join the New England Patriots.
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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.
