Eagles Wake-Up Call: Cosell On Barkley, Wolff

Greg Cosell of NFL Films recently joined Doug Farrar’s Shutdown Corner podcast to review the drafts of all four NFC East teams.

Click here to listen to the podcast on iTunes. Eagles talk starts around the 35:25 mark.

Cosell talked about several of the Eagles’ rookies, including fourth-round pick Matt Barkley. During the pre-draft process, he questioned Barkley’s arm strength, but Cosell identified another issue with the Eagles’ rookie.

“A bigger concern I had with Barkley when I watched him on film… I did not think he had really quick feet,” Cosell said. “And that bothered me almost as much, if not more, than the fact that he doesn’t have a great arm. Everybody knows that. But I didn’t think he had really quick feet. And I think that that’s a hindrance because I think in this league, especially if you don’t have a big arm, you need to have explosive lower body movement, and I didn’t see that with Matt Barkley.”

Farrar also asked Cosell what his friend Ron Jaworski thought of Barkley.

“He didn’t think that highly of him,” Cosell said. “It’s the arm strength issue.”

Chip Kelly has said he’s not asking his quarterbacks to knock over milk cartons at the county fair. But Cosell pointed out arm strength isn’t as important in college as it is in the NFL, suggesting that’s something Kelly might have to learn on the job.

On the other side of the ball, Cosell said he really liked fifth-round pick Earl Wolff.

“I think this kid is a really intriguing player,” he said. “They used him near the line of scrimmage, they used him deep. I thought that he showed very good build-up speed in pursuit. I thought that he was a smart, aware player. I really, really liked this kid.

“I think this kid is a classic case of someone who by his second year will be an NFL starter, will be a good player, and he’ll play for years as a starter in the NFL as a safety.”

If Cosell is right with his assessment, Wolff might have a chance to earn serious playing time as a rookie.

WHAT YOU MISSED

Matt Barkley thinks he’s very much in the mix to be the starter.

Nick Foles too. “I’m not here to be a backup,” said the second-year quarterback.

General manager Howie Roseman explained that Michael Vick has known all along there would be a QB competition.

My 90-man, five-tiered analysis of the Eagles’ roster going into camp.

T-Mac has all your training camp details.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

In case you missed it over the weekend, great column by the Daily News’ Rich Hofmann on how Eagles training camp has evolved over the years:

The summer highlight was a trip to suburban Detroit, where the Eagles scrimmaged with the Lions for a few days before the first exhibition game. To say that Ryan was a boorish guest was to insult boors. He complained about the accommodations, and the towels, and his players started brawls with the Lions in practice. For his final act, Ryan never showed the Lions his 46 defense in practice, but then unfurled it in the game, along with a bunch of blitzes that just wrecked what was supposed to be a gentlemanly, vanilla preseason opener.

Derrick Gunn of Comcast SportsNet thinks Vick will end up winning the job:

I believe Vick will open the season under center, but because of either poor play or injury, he will be replaced with Foles by the halfway point of the season. And Foles could be on a short leash with Barkley in his shadow.

COMING UP

Rookies and select veterans practice this afternoon at 2:25. We’ll hear from Vick and Kelly.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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