Tag Archives: Eagles

Nothing Wrong With a Little Swag and Self Confidence From Your Quarterback

15 May

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Matt Barkley tells reporters he believes that he can start for the Eagles in 2013.

Matt Barkley tells reporters he believes that he can start for the Eagles in 2013.

PHILADELPHIA—Shortly before the 2011 NFL Draft, soon-to-be Carolina Panthers  quarterback Cam Newton declared to the world that he wanted to be an “icon and an entertainer” as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Of course, a lot of us sportswriter types, especially one from CBS Sports.com, got their collective panties in a bunch when Newton said that because they thought he was being arrogant and immature.

Apparently, Newton’s youthful bravado and self-confidence unnerved an uptight sports media establishment. Now the whole icon thing was a bit goofy on Newton’s part, but you had to admire his self confidence at the time.

Do you really want your quarterback to be unsure of himself? I saw Newton’s icon declaration as a silly expression of youthful exuberance, but I admired his uncompromising belief in himself. Self confidence in a 22-year-old quarterback or a sports writer is a damned good thing.

When Eagles fourth-round draft pick and former Southern Cal star Matt Barkley rolled into the Eagles rookie minicamp last Friday he said he expects to be competing for the Eagles starting job. That declaration raised a few eye brows among fans and media, especially with experienced players like Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Dennis Dixon and G.J Kinne all fighting for the starting nod.

At the end of the day, I’m not mad at Barkley for coming into camp with that kind of attitude and neither is Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Barkley has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove that he was better than a fourth-round pick.

“I would hope anybody that came into this place isn’t sitting here and saying I think I’m going to be a really good, solid backup,” Kelly said.  “I want our guys to come in here and show us everything that they can do, and our job as a coaching staff is to put the best guys on the field the first game against Washington that will help us win, and if that’s Matt, that’s Matt, so we’ll see how that goes.”

That’s the thing you have to like about this Eagles quarterback competition is that you have bunch of guys that are unafraid to claim it for themselves.  Vick came into the pre-draft mini camp saying that it was his job to lose, especially after last year’s tough season.

“It’s still my team, still my job and that’s the mindset you gotta have,” Vick said. “I believe in myself and my abilities and I believe in the guys on this football team.”

And then you have the case of Dennis Dixon who has a 2-1 record as a starting quarterback and has been struggling to find a place in the league after a season-ending knee-injury late in his senior year at Oregon.

After being a backup in Baltimore and Pittsburgh since his rookie year in 2008, Dixon believes that he can be a starter with the Birds.

“Anybody in their right mind would love competition and that’s what we have,” Dixon said. “And I’m quite sure that Michael Vick and Nick Foles would say the same thing as well. We’re excited. We’re just excited to work and let the chips fall where they may.”

Foles and Kinne will also have something to say in the outcome of this competition as well. They both believe that they will emerge as the starter when the dust settles.

It’s always given that you’re starting quarterback is a guy with a strong, accurate arm and has the ability to read and pick apart a defense.

You also want your quarterback to have some swag and an unshakeable belief in himself even when times are bad on the field.

I remember the first time I covered an NFL game as a reporter back in 1985, I saw then Washington Redskins Joe Theismann at his locker after a tough loss to the Eagles. He confidently answered every tough question, looking every reporter in the eye as if he welcomed the scrutiny.

No quarterback comes into any situation whether he’s a highly-touted rookie, a journeyman, a high-price free agent or a guy just trying to hang on for another pay check, hoping to be the starter.

I can never get a mad at a rookie quarterback or any position when he comes and says he’s going to be the man for a team.

“But if anybody came in here and said they were really vying for a backup job, then they would probably be on the bus down 95 pretty quick,” Kelly said.

Nuff said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Eagles OTAs: Birds Get Acclimated to Kelly’s Way of Doing Things

15 May

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

(From left to right): Michael Vick, Dennis Dixon and G.J. Kinne take turns throwing the ball during the first day of OTAs. Photo courtesy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

(From left to right): Michael Vick, Dennis Dixon and G.J. Kinne take turns throwing the ball during the first day of OTAs. Photo courtesy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

PHILADELPHIA—If you drive by the Eagles NovaCare practice facility in South Philly and you’re hearing Nicki Manaj or hearing “What is Love,” a song made popular by a Saturday Night Live skit, you’re not driving by a nightclub nor is there a special on Margaritas.

It’s the 2013 version of Eagles organized team activities for new head coach Chip Kelly who has definitely put his own unique stamp on the team’s culture. As the team goes through its various drills, mostly dance music with a few rock songs thrown in for good measure is being pumped in through loud speakers.

Some players see the music as a way of getting used to cheering crowds on the road while others are experiencing it the way they experience on their I-pods or in the weight room when they’re working out. Eagles wide receiver Eagles DeSean Jackson said the music is forcing him to concentrate even more on what he’s doing on the field.

“It’s almost like a football game where you have the crowd, everybody screaming and all that other stuff,” Jackson said. “You just have to go in there and focus in, you can’t worry about the music.”

In between the different drills, a computerized voice blares over the loudspeakers and simply says: “Period 20 Teach.”  That’s when the coaches walk through the various schemes that they just ran on the field.

Meanwhile, if you’re trying to get a reading on who’s ahead in the race to be the Eagles starting quarterback, Kelly’s not going tell you anything just yet. At Monday’s practice, the quarterbacks were working with a mixture of starting and backup running backs and receivers.

“It’s May 13th and we’ve got a long ways to go before we set a depth chart or do anything like that,” Kelly said during his post-practice press conference.

Last week at a team charity event, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said Michael Vick got most of the reps during the pre-draft minicamp last month and appeared to more than few people that he was getting most of the work at Monday’s practice.

“He hasn’t,” Kelly said. “Count them up. Someone charted them, I would imagine. (Vick) and Nick switched to different groups. We’re just trying to get the reps off and trying to get film and look at it.”

Relying on the eyeball test based on the idea that Kelly wants his quarterbacks to make quick decisions with the football. Vick seemed slow in going through his progressions, but was accurate with his passes.

Dennis Dixon, who worked with Kelly at Oregon, seemed to be the most comfortable with the offense in both the seven-on-seven drills and the 11-on-11drills.

Former USC star and seventh-round draft pick Matt Barkley did a good job of getting the ball out and quickly finding the open receiver. He doesn’t necessarily have the strongest arm in the world. According to Kelly, Barkley has done a good job of learning in the offense in the four days he has been with the team.

“Matt has been really good. Really thought he picked up things quickly,” Kelly said. “He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s every morning at six a.m. working at whatever it is to work on.”

Nick Foles looked comfortable in the offense and made some decent throws, but made some bad throws, too.  He also made some good reads when he handed the ball off in the running game. G.J. Kinne was about average, nothing to write home about.

Speaking of the running game, LeSean McCoy said the tempo of the offensive is a good thing for the running game and that there will be more touches for the Eagles running backs in this offense.

“There’s definitely a difference,” McCoy said. “Being able to run the ball a lot more because if you look at (Kelly’s) track record, a lot of his backs touched the ball quite a bit.  Sometimes, a big hole may be happening when a guy (on defense) might be out of place. With the backs we have here you don’t need that much room to get going.”

One of the features of Kelly’s up-tempo offense is that the players, as they are going up to the line of scrimmage will be getting the plays signaled in from the sidelines similar to the way it was done at Oregon.

“I think the game is about making quick decisions,” Kelly said. “The difference here that we didn’t have in college is we can communicate to the quarterback and there’s a lot to put on him, so there’s a whole system involved in that. We can talk to him.”

 

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Eagles Selection Of Johnson a Good Choice

26 Apr
Eagles No. 1 draft pick Lane Johnson hopes to fit in with head coach Chip Kelly's offense.

Eagles No. 1 draft pick Lane Johnson hopes to fit in with head coach Chip Kelly’s offense.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report/Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—We all figured the Eagles would go with an offensive lineman with the fourth pick in the draft because they certainly have a need for depth at that position.

And so with Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher (Kansas City Chiefs) and Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel (Jacksonville Jaguars) off the board with the first two picks and the Miami Dolphins taking Oregon linebacker Dion Jordan after a trade with the Oakland Raiders , the Eagles went with Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson (6-foot-6, 303 pounds) as their No. 1 pick.

Considering the beating that both quarterbacks Michael Vick and Nick Foles took last season and Chip Kelly’s emphasis on creating a faster, more up-tempo offense, Johnson, who ran a 4.75 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combines, is definitely a logical choice for this team.

“I think they like effort and guys that can move,” Johnson said in a conference call with the Philadelphia media. “I don’t know what type of offense they’re going to do, but I know at Oregon they ran a very fast-paced offense that was very similar to Oklahoma and I think I fit in with what they need.”

If anything, Kelly feels a lot happier about the depth he has along the offensive than he was when he first came in, especially with Jason Peters, Todd Herremans and Jason Kelce recovering from injuries.

“It’s ongoing process, but do I feel better? Yes,” Kelly said. “Will we continue to look at guys in this draft? Yes.”

Even more remarkable for Johnson to be picked as high as he was by the Eagles is that he just started playing on the offensive line during his junior year where he played right tackle after playing on the defensive line and tight  end.  Johnson was a high school quarterback when he came to Oklahoma.

“I think you see a guy who’s 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, he has 35-inch arms. He has an unbelievable athletic background to him,” Kelly said. “He just has such an upside that’s the thing that excites us. Football’s about winning the game up front and when you get a guy like that and to add the guys we have. It’s a great pick up for us.”

The common theme when it comes to Johnson is that he’s raw because of his inexperience at playing  on the offensive line.  But then again, the word “raw” was used a couple of years ago when the Eagles drafted Danny Watkins, who hasn’t amounted to much since he’s been with the Birds.

When people give players the raw tag that usually means he’s going to be a project who may not get a chance to play anytime soon.  That’s a notion Kelly vehemently disagrees with when it comes to Johnson.

“He’ll determine that when he gets on the field,” Kelly said. “I’ve said since whenever I’ve coached. We don’t set the depth chart, you do. We don’t run a dictatorship, we don’t run a democracy, we run a meritocracy. If you merit playing time, then show us in practice that you merit it, show us in preseason games you merit it, we’ll put you on the field. He’ll get an opportunity to show what he can do.”

Coming into his junior year, Johnson , who was weighing about 280 pounds, was defensive end, but with injuries along the Sooners offensive line,  Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops persuaded Johnson to bulk up a few pounds and play on the line.

“From D-end to tackle, it was easy for him,” Stoops said. “He’s a great athlete, a big guy. We could tell within a couple of practices, this is going to fit him perfectly.  I said to him right then, I said right then, ‘You’re going to be a first or second round pick within the first week or so.”

Stoops proved to be prophetic, but what Eagles fans want to know if Johnson can make that transition to the pro game as quick as he did at Oklahoma.  Johnson believes that he will be a starter by the time the Eagles kickoff the regular season against the Washington Redskins.

“I think I am, yes sir,” Johnson said when asked if he thought he was ready to be a starter.

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Count Down to the Draft: What Will the Eagles Do with the Fourth Pick?

17 Apr

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report/Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Several mock drafts have Central Michigan's Eric Fisher going fourth to the Eagles.

Several mock drafts have Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher going fourth to the Eagles.

The biggest concern that Eagles fans have coming into this draft other than who they’re going to take with the fourth pick is whether or not this draft as a whole will yield better results.

In the 2010 and 2011 drafts, the Eagles only three players from that group, center Jason Kelce, and safeties Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen, have emerged as starters from that group. Players like wide receiver Riley Cooper and tight end Clay Harbor have been solid backups.

That’s something that even the Eagles front office acknowledges, but this year Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said the team is in a better position to find what they think is the best athlete available rather than drafting to fill a need, especially after filling some holes during  the recent free agent signing period.

“What we learned is that you can’t force your board,” Roseman said. “You can’t have some much urgency in filling a need that you change the evaluation process.   We talked about that a lot it’s something we won’t do it again.

“It was the lure of how close we felt we were close to winning a championship and I think it was the mindset of trying to do whatever takes to win that championship.”

For a team that finished 4-12 last season, the best athlete available in this draft whether it’s the fourth pick or the 140th  will be somebody that the Eagles definitely need for both now and the future.

“I think there are some quality players in this draft, and that’s our job to kind of figure that out,” said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.  “I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination there is a slam dunk anywhere.”

So let the speculation and the revisions to your mock draft begin.

Even with Michael Vick, Nick Foles and Dennis Dixon competing for the starting job, you get the feeling that Kelly wants a younger player that he can take under his wing and develop for his read-option system.

To that end, the Eagles have had their eyes on former West Virginia star Geno Smith, who threw 44 touchdown passes during his final year; Florida State’s E.J. Manuel (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), who passed for 3,392 yards with 23 touchdown passes 10 interceptions; and Arizona’s Matt Scott, who passed for 3,620 and threw 27 touchdown passes. He also ran for 510 yards and scored six touchdown passes.

Whether the Eagles take a quarterback or any position with the fourth pick might hinge on whether or not Kelly likes what he sees on film during this week’s round of minicamp with the veterans.

“When you get to see them on the field for three straight days, running around doing things, it gives you a better understanding of what your team is and kind of where they are,” Kelly said when asked if this week’s minicamps would influence the draft.

“There are going to be some guys that maybe they were looked at as a guy that wasn’t as highly touted, but really fits into what we do, and maybe some other guys that are highly touted that aren’t exactly the right fit.”

Would Kelly and Roseman really take a quarterback with the fourth pick in a draft where there’s plenty of offensive linemen, especially considering that the Eagles have two offensive linemen in their 30s in Jason Peters and Todd Herremans who are coming off injuries?

The popular choice among some observers is Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher (6-7, 300 pounds) while others are looking at Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel (6-6, 306), the 2012 Outland Trophy winner.  Roseman said he likes the depth at offensive line for next week’s draft.

“There are some really talented offensive linemen in this draft along with some defensive linemen,” Roseman said. “This is a meat and potatoes draft.  Certainly in the first couple of rounds with lineman it’s going to be exciting. It’s hard to find big guys who can move and play with power.”

Given how beat up the Eagles quarterbacks were last season, an offensive lineman is probably where the Birds will go, especially with that fourth pick.

More than likely, the Kansas City Chiefs, who have the first pick will probably go either one of two ways—they will go after Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei or they will take Joeckel, given Andy Reid’s affinity for offensive lineman.

If the Chiefs opt take an offensive lineman Joeckel or Fisher, the Eagles couldn’t go wrong with taking Lotulelei, who has been compared to Baltimore’s Haloti Ngata and Detroit’s Ndamoukong Suh as a guy who can plug up the middle and rush the passer.  If Lotulelei (6-4, 325) is really that good, the Eagles will have a beast in the middle of their defense—whether they go with a 3-4 or 4-3 defense.

Some mock drafts have Philly native Shariff Floyd (6-3, 297) out of Florida going to Jacksonville the team with the second pick, but if he’s available by the time the fourth pick the Eagles might pick him up, especially if you buy into the idea that the Birds are looking for the best athlete available.

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Improving the Secondary Highlights the Eagles First Week of Free Agent Signings

19 Mar

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Major Defense Buildup: Filling Defensive Holes Dominate Eagles Free Agent Signings

17 Mar New Eagles cornerback Cary Williams comes to Philadelphia after winning a Super Bowl with Baltimore.

Patriots Giants Football

By Chris Murray

New Eagles safety Kenny Phillips hopes to the impact player that Brian Dawkins was during his career with the Eagles. Photo by Chris Murray.

New Eagles safety Kenny Phillips hopes to the impact player that Brian Dawkins was during his career with the Birds. Photo by Chris Murray.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sun

PHILADELPHIA—For all the talk about what the Eagles are going to look like on the offensive side of the ball with new head coach Chip Kelly, improving a porous Birds defense took center stage in the first week of free agency.

The Eagles finished the 2012 season with a 4-12 record and the defense or lack thereof was a major culprit. It was a squad that had corners and safeties couldn’t cover or tackle anybody. The Birds had defensive linemen and linebackers who weren’t that much better.

“I think it’s important that we get guys who can get guy down and we want to be a physical defense,” said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. “You get guys that really want to tackle and have the willingness to tackle. That’s not any shots at anybody that’s been here before, but we had some holes in our secondary.”

It was not surprising the Eagles spent the first three days of free agency upgrading the defense, bringing in seven players. The biggest signing so far was former Houston Texans linebacker Connor Barwin to a six-year deal worth between $36 and $40 million.

With the Eagles looking to implement a 3-4defense, Barwin (6-foot-4, 268 pounds) is slated to compete for an outside linebacker spot along with Trent Cole and Brandon Graham, who played defensive end in the Eagles 4-3 scheme. In his three seasons with the Texans, the 26-year-old Barwin had 19 sacks-including 11.5 sacks in 2011playing in a 3-4 scheme.

In 109 games (82 starts) with Houston, he has 109 tackles.

For a team that hasn’t had a hard-hitting safety since Brian Dawkins, the Birds are hoping that former Giants safety Kenny Phillips, who signed a one-year deal with the team, can finally fill that void.

The problem with Phillips is that he has had knee injuries. Last season, he played in just seven games. In 2011, Phillips had a career-high four interceptions and was a key part of the Giants run to the Super Bowl.

When Phillips is healthy, he is arguably among the better safeties in the league. If he can avoid the injury list and play to his potential, the Eagles will have a pretty decent player.

“I’m one hundred percent. It feels good, it feels good. Since the season ended, I’ve been rehabbing five days a week and continue to get strong,” Phillips said on Friday.  “I took my physical today and the doctors liked what they saw. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Like I said, I’m one hundred percent right now and I’m just ready to get back to work.”

New Eagles cornerback Cary Williams comes to Philadelphia after winning a Super Bowl with Baltimore.

New Eagles cornerback Cary Williams comes to Philadelphia after winning a Super Bowl with Baltimore.

If there’s a common thread in this crop of Eagles free agent signings is that most of the players come from teams that have played in the Super Bowl in recent years. The Eagles signed former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams (6-1, 190), who had 75 tackles and four interceptions during the regular season and two picks during the postseason.

The Eagles also signed former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung (5-11, 210), who played in Super Bowl XVLI against Phillips Giants team. The team also added former St. Louis Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher (6-0, 200).

While there are no projected starters just yet, the Eagles newest secondary players, especially those with Super Bowl experience talked about the importance of establishing chemistry, something that has been sorely missing from the Birds for the last two years.

“I think it starts right now in the off‑season,” Williams said.  “I’m definitely going to get Kenny’s phone number.  We’re going to communicate.  I think you have to build those relationships.  It starts in the off‑season, it starts in OTAs. … That’s how it was in Baltimore, and it matriculated into success.”

The Eagles also added former San Franciso 49ers defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga (6-2, 330) and linebacker Jason Phillips (6-1, 240) who played with the Carolina Panthers and the Ravens.

“These guys come from winning programs and football’s very important to them,” Roseman said. “When you watch them on tape, you see a physical aspect of their play. That’s exciting for us.”

 Notes—The Eagles acquired wide receiver Arrelious Benn and a seventh-round pick from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a sixth-round pick 2012 and a conditional pick in 2014 on Friday.  In three years with the Buccaneers, Benn has 59 receptions for 862 yards and five touchdowns.

 

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Can We Finally Allow Michael Vick To Turn His Life Around?

14 Mar

Death Threats Force him to Cancel Book Signings, VFW Appearance

 

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sun

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had to cancel a book signing in Atlanta because of death threats. Photo by William Z. Foster

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had to cancel a book signing in Atlanta because of death threats. Photo by William Z. Foster

Late last week, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick cancelled a book signing at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Atlanta and an appearance at a VFW post in Exton because of threats to his life and his family.

Ever since Vick, who was convicted on charges related to dog-fighting, was released from prison in 2009, he has been a target of protest from animal rights groups.  Despite working with the Humane Society of the United States as a spokesman against dog fighting, Vick is still labeled as an abuser of animals who deserves no forgiveness.

But according to Vick’s publicist Chris Shigas, the vitriol against Vick has taken an uglier tone and it’s not coming from animal rights groups.

“I wouldn’t label these people animal welfare activists,” Shigas said. “[Animal rights activists] never made death threats or threatened his family. This is coming from a few extreme, vulgar violent people. They get stirred up on the Internet with Facebook pages dedicated to hating Michael Vick. They rile themselves up and this is the result.”

Shigas said Vick will resume his book signing and charitable activities in the near future once they work things out with law enforcement officials.

You have to wonder how long will people harbor that kind of hatred to a man who has been nothing but a model citizen on and off the field.  Vick has done just about everything to atone for his crime including spending time in jail.

On one hand, Shigas is right. There are many people out there who just don’t like the man and will never move beyond the fact that he was involved in dog fighting. But on the other hand, Vick has millions of fans who look up to him as a role model for turning your life around after some difficult circumstances.

But despite the efforts of people like Vick, retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, and others to show that they’ve grown from their mistakes, the last 30 years have made some of us dedicated, if not hell bent, to never allowing people to turn their lives around, much less forgive them when they make sincere atonement.

I mean, look at Pete Rose. Rose was was banned from baseball for gambling on his own sport and then lying about it. As a player, he retired from the game as its all-time leader in hits.

Rose has since admitted that he had a gambling addiction, which is a mental health problem more than it is a moral failing. Yet he’s still denied entry to Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame because of a staunch refusal to lift the ban against him. When does his punishment end?

Back at the beginning of the 1960s, Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to block an African-American woman from enrolling at the University of Alabama with the infamous cry of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.”

But years later, Wallace sought the forgiveness of African-Americans and took responsibility for his bigotry and the harm that it caused. One of Wallace’s most ardent adversaries of that time was Georgia Democratic Congressman John Lewis.

Lewis said he met with Wallace in 1979 and was convinced that he was truly remorseful for his racism during the Civil Rights Movement.

“But our ability to forgive serves a higher moral purpose in our society. Through genuine repentance and forgiveness, the soul of our nation is redeemed,” Lewis said in a 1998 article in the New York Times.  “George Wallace deserves to be remembered for his effort to redeem his soul and in so doing to mend the fabric of American society.”

If Wallace was forgiven for his transgressions against human beings, doesn’t Vick deserve the same consideration for his crimes against animals?

The Bible says yes.

What do you say?

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With the Fourth Pick in the 2013 NFL Draft…the Philadelphia Eagles Pick…?

7 Mar
Texas A&M offensive tackle might be the first offensive lineman taken in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Texas A&M offensive tackle might be the first offensive lineman taken in the 2013 NFL Draft.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report

PHILADELPHIA—For an Eagles squad that has far too many holes on both sides of the ball, the major question that fans have is what will the Birds do with the fourth pick in the 2013 NFL Draft?

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman will probably give you the best athlete available line. In other years when the Birds were winning on a consistent basis, that might be an acceptable answer to fans.

The stark reality is that any pick the Birds make in the draft, whether it’s the first round or the seventh round, will more than likely fill a need on a team that had more than its share of flaws in 2012.

On offense, the Eagles are going to need more bodies to protect Michael Vick or whoever wins the starting job at quarterback. Last season, Eagles quarterbacks were hit 118 times and sacked 48 times. Even with left tackle Jason Peters, center Jason Kelce and right tackle Todd Herremans coming back from injuries, the Eagles definitely need some depth in the offensive line.

If you’ve learned anything from last season, you can never have too many offensive linemen. The Eagles have their eye on Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel (6-foot-6, 306 pounds).   The word on Joeckel is that he’s a good pass protector who plays fast and has quick feet.

In Kelly’s hurry-up read option scheme, the Eagles are going to need their lineman to move quickly to the line of scrimmage and to get out attack opposing defenders.

“You’ve got to move. You’ve got to be able to play in space against some really, really good defensive linemen in this league,” Kelly told PhiladelphiaEagles.com .

Before the Kansas City Chiefs, who have the No. 1 pick, put the franchise tag on left tackle Branden Albert, draft experts said Joeckel would be drafted by the Chiefs.  Some are speculating the Chiefs are going to go defense in the first round and pick up Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.

But new Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has always had an affinity for offensive lineman, so he might pull the trigger on Joeckel. If he does, there are some other linemen that Kelly and Roseman might consider if Joeckel is not available.

Alabama's Chance Warmack could help the Eagles improve their running game.

Alabama’s Chance Warmack could help the Eagles improve their running game.

Alabama guard Chance Warmack (6-2, 325) might arguably be the best guard in this draft. This is a player who cleared the way for 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, all of whom were either All-Americans or All Southeastern Conference.

The various mock drafts and scouting websites are saying Warmack is an athletic guard who is an excellent run blocker and knows how to lock in on a defender and finish him off. Warmack is also athletic enough to be a good pass protector and is quick on his feet.

Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher (6-7, 300) may not have the name recognition like his contemporaries from the big schools. But he was an Associated Press Third-Team All-American as a left tackle. The word on Fisher is that he is a good run blocker and pass protector, who does a good job mirroring opposing pass rushers.

Fisher’s weakness is that he may lack upper body strength and had gotten beaten by defensive ends who bull-rushed him during practices at the Senior Bowl.

Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson (6-7, 303) raised eyes of some NFL scout when he ran a 4.75 40-yard dash. Not bad for a guy his size and seems to be quick enough for Kelly’s quick paced offensive scheme.

While the scouts like his upside in terms of his ability to pass block and ability to create space in the running game, Johnson needs to put on a few more pounds and needs to learn to keep his feet under him.

Considering that he’s only played on the offensive line for the last two seasons after playing quarterback in high school and tight end and defensive end during his first two years of college ball, he hasn’t been half bad on the offensive line. I’m not certain you take him in the first round, but he has good upside.

Utah's Star Lotulelei has the ability to take on two blockers.

Utah’s Star Lotulelei has the ability to take on two blockers.

On defense, Lotulelei, if he’s still available by the fourth pick, could be the Eagles version of Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. At 6-4, 325 pounds, Lotulelei has the potential to plug up an opposing team’s running game. Last season at Utah, Lotulelei had 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

If the Chiefs select Lotulelei with the first pick, Georgia’s Jarvis Jones (6-foot-2, 245 pounds) is the No. 1 linebacker on all the mock drafts.  In 2012, Jones led the nation in sacks with 14.5, tackles for loss (24.5) and forced fumbles (seven).

For an Eagles team that was near the bottom of the league in turnovers forced, Jones could be the answer in terms of having a playmaker on defense. The Eagles haven’t had a true enforcer from the outside linebacker spot since Seth Joyner .

Defensive end Dion Jordan, who played for Kelly at Oregon, can also start at the outside linebacker spot. At 6-6, 248 pounds, Jordan may have to put on a few pounds, but could be a solid outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

During his senior year with the Ducks, Jordan had 44 tackles (10 for loss) and five sacks. He also has the ability to drop back in pass coverage. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Jordan ran a 4.6 40-yard dash.

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In the Mix: A Confident Dennis Dixon Is Ready Take On All Comers for Birds QB Spot

20 Feb
The Eagles might be Dennis Dixon's best opportunity to be a starer.

The Eagles might be Dennis Dixon’s best opportunity to be a starer.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report

PHILADELPHIA–If you look at his career statistics in the NFL, there’s no reason to give Dennis Dixon a snowball’s chance in hell to be the Eagles starting quarterback.

In just three career starts, he’s 2-1 with a quarterback rating of 71.4 and has been mostly a backup during his five years in the league. In 2012, he was a practice-squad quarterback with the Super Bowl-champion Baltimore Ravens.

But Dixon’s heyday as a quarterback was at Oregon when Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was his offensive coordinator.  In his senior year in 2007, he passed for 2,136 yards with 20 touchdown passes and four interceptions in 10 games before tearing up the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

While Dixon is intimately familiar with Kelly’s offense, he believes that his experience backing up Ben Roethlisberger and playing the scout team quarterback on the Ravens practice squad will be a great asset in the competition with Michael Vick and Nick Foles.

“I was fortunate enough to work around some good defenses from the Pittsburgh Steelers and to the Ravens,” Dixon said. “Just practicing with them made me better overall. I just want to be able to show what I’ve learned and hopefully it’s good enough.”

Even though he hasn’t logged in the time on the field that Vick or even Nick Foles has, Dixon is confident that he has just as big a chance to be the Birds starting signal caller.

“Anybody in their right mind would love competition and that’s what we have,” Dixon said. “And I’m quite sure that Michael Vick and Nick Foles would say the same thing as well. We’re excited. We’re just excited to work and let the chips fall where they may.”

Of course, we all want to know if Dixon is best equipped to run Kelly’s fast-paced, no-huddle, read-option offense the way he did at Oregon.  Dixon said he’s not expecting to Kelly the exact offense he ran his senior year.

“(Kelly) can tailor his offense to whomever is presented at that given time and it’s good to see,” Dixon said. “If you have a dual threat quarterback, everyone will say they want to throw the ball first because you never want to have that stigma of you just being a running quarterback. Chip Kelly has made it known that he wants to throw the ball and mix up the run and the pass.”

Looking at how things evolved in his professional career over the five years since that season-ending knee injury during his senior year at Oregon, Dixon hasn’t had the best of breaks and has strived to make the best of a bad situation.

For the first 10 games of his senior season with the Ducks, Dixon was mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate and possibly a high-round draft pick.  With the injury, Dixon’s stock dropped significantly. The Steelers drafted him in the fifth round as a backup to Roethlisberger.

Dixon started his first game for the Steelers in 2009 against the Baltimore Ravens when Roethlisberger and backup Charlie Batch went down because of injuries. He completed 12 passes for 26 for 145 yards with one interception and ran for 27 yards on three carries with one touchdown.

With Roethlisberger suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season, Dixon defeated the Atlanta Falcons and completed 68 percent of his throws for a career-high of 254 yards. But he got hurt in the next game where he tore the meniscus in his left knee.  The Steelers released him after the 2011 season.

For all setbacks and the fact that he could only get a practice squad job in Baltimore, Dixon refuses to feel sorry for himself and views every situation is an opportunity to show what he can do.

“As far as getting a starting job, I had an opportunity with (Pittsburgh) and I came out on top. I was excited about it,” Dixon said. “Unfortunately, it ended the way it did. But I’m moving forward. I did have an opportunity and now another opportunity has come. I just want to be ready when it comes.”

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Despite Injuries and Turnovers, New Eagles Coaching Staff Likes Michael Vick

13 Feb
The new Eagles coaching staff likes what Michael Vick brings to the table despite his injuries and turnovers over last two years.

The new Eagles coaching staff likes what Michael Vick brings to the table despite his injuries and turnovers over the last two years.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—At the end of the season, it was assumed by most of the football intelligentsia in this town that after Andy Reid’s departure, Michael Vick would out the door as well.

But as it turned out, Vick will be with the Birds for at least one more year after restructuring his contract to a one-year deal reportedly worth $10 million.  He’s not guaranteed be to the Birds starter and will have to compete with Nick Foles for that spot.

Even through all his Vick’s injuries and his penchant for turnovers in 2012, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly saw enough film of the 32-year-old former Virginia Tech star that he is willing to give him another shot to run the Birds offense.

“What I look at is skill-set first and foremost,” Kelly said.  “What he can do, how he can throw the football, how he can beat people with his feet. There are a lot of different factors he has.  And you have to look at the landscape for other quarterbacks.

“I guess the best way I can put this is I agree there is a change of scenery going on here.  For Michael Vick, there is a change of scenery, but not a change of address.”

Maybe that change of scenery will be a better offensive line or an offensive scheme that fits Vick’s athletic skills whether it’s some form of the read-option or just simply having more balance on offense.

“On video, it doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot of difference from 2003 as far as the arm strength,” said Eagles quarterback coach Bill Lazor, who worked with Vick when he was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons. “I see some accurate throws down the field. I see the ability to set his feet. He’s the kind of athlete that can do anything.

“We just to make sure whatever confines of our offense wants put him in as far as foot work, I don’t see anything that Mike can’t do. Obviously, he can run around the defense and we want to see him do that.”

The 2012 season was one that Vick and Eagles fans would like to forget. He threw 12 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions along with 11 fumbles.  He had a quarterback rating of 78. 1.  He was sacked 28 times and got hit dozens of other times.

Battered and bruised with concussions and rib injuries behind an injury-riddled patchwork offensive line, Vick eventually lost his starting job to Nick Foles.

In the midst of all of his mistakes in 2012, Vick, especially in the first five weeks of the season, was the reason the Birds either won or were in position to win games. That’s the thing that stood out to new Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

“He an extremely tough player and he’s won football games and we’re looking forward to working with him,” said Shurmur, who was Andy Reid’s quarterbacks coach from 2002 to 2008.

The problem with Vick is that he has been injury-prone for the last two years. If he is running Kelly’s version of the read-option, he is going to take his share of hits. Recently, Vick was a guest on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning and he said is not going let the possibility of getting hurt stand in the way of playing his style of football.

“The thing is, you have to be very cautious and meticulous about what you’re doing on the field but  not to a point where it takes away from your game,” Vick said. “Once you try not getting hurt, that’s when you get hurt. What I have to do is just go out and play lights-out football and not worry about getting hurt.”

Actually, Kelly and the Eagles coaching staff will be doing all the worrying about Vick’s health.

Given how the Eagles offensive coaches were gushing over Vick’s skills, you get the feeling that the offense is going to be more suited for what Vick can even though Kelly and Shurmur are publicly saying that the offense they plan on putting together will be flexible to the skills of both quarterbacks.

If Kelly and the Eagles organization were really all in for Foles, they probably would have given Vick his walking papers by now and put all of their energy into developing the former Arizona star.

With Vick competing for the starting job, along with reports that the Eagles have been talking to Baltimore Ravens practice squad quarterback, Dennis Dixon, who Kelly coached when he was at Oregon, is a clear indication that the Birds new coaching staff was not completely sold on Foles.

The idea that a new coaching staff can teach an old dog some new tricks is certainly not unprecedented in the annals of NFL history.  We’ve seen former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick transform Randall Cunningham from a quarterback known for his running prowess into a complete quarterback that could do both.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was former Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders head coach Tom Flores that turned a struggling, injury-prone Jim Plunkett into a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback. Before Lou Saban’s arrival in Buffalo in 1972, OJ Simpson was considered a bust.

After Saban made Simpson the focal point of the Bills offense, the former USC star became an all-time great running back.

Will that happen here? Who knows?

If Kelly can win with his unique brand of offense and somehow keep Vick healthy, he will be canonized a saint by Eagles fans and be labeled a genius. If not, well, there always college.

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