Professor

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14628724.htm

Eagles' Kearse primed to improve his play

Jevon Kearsehas enjoyed a busy off-season. He traveled to the Czech Republic and to Argentina, where he expanded his collection of designer clothing - Louis Vuitton and Gucci are his favorites - to include items from Christian Dior.

After allowing Edgerrin James to dock a boat at his expansive home on the water in Pompano Beach, Fla., Kearse purchased a 41-footer of his own.

And Kearse has worked out like crazy, running on the beach and working with a personal trainer with a host of other NFL players in South Florida. When he weighed in at the NovaCare Complex last weekend for the Eagles' first post-draft minicamp, Kearse was surprised to find he was five pounds lighter - down to 245 - than he anticipated, and 15 pounds off his normal playing weight.

While he won't flat-out admit it, the 29-year-old Kearse knows he significantly needs to improve his play this season for the Eagles' defense to be effective. The Freak needs to get freakier.

"I want to be a little bit more destructive this year," Kearse said on Monday after the Eagles' final practice of the three-day camp.

Asked whether his 71/2 sacks in 15 games last season didn't constitute being "destructive," Kearse said: "I was, but like I said, 'more,' heavy emphasis on 'more,' to be more disruptive, and try to wreak more havoc. Now I have more guys who are going to try to do the same."

Yes, Kearse should have more help on the defensive line. The Eagles brought in Darren Howard from New Orleans to start opposite Kearse, with Trent Cole, Jerome McDougle and Juqua Thomasalso in the mix. The addition of Howard, who had 441/2 sacks in six seasons with the Saints, plus the depth at end should allow defensive coordinator Jim Johnson to move Kearse around. Last season, Kearse played primarily left end, because Cole was a rookie forced into a starting role.

"We have to move Jevon around more," Johnson said. "He's too good of a football player not to take advantage of his ability."

Darwin Walker and Mike Pattersonwill start at tackle, with first-round draft pick Brodrick Bunkleyrotating in. On third-down passing situations, you could see Kearse and Cole at end, with Howard providing a pass rush up the middle from the tackle position.

After a season with little to no effective pass rush, the Eagles made improving the line a priority, and Kearse knows the reason.

"I don't want to sound selfish," Kearse said, "but I feel like it was geared toward me. I mean, another D-end to help me on the other side. Then, we already had some pretty good D-tackles, and we went and got another one in the first round. So I feel like it's only going to benefit me. I was ecstatic when I heard [about the additions]."

Johnson said he expects the Eagles' pass rush to be much better than last season's, and he expects Kearse to be better, too.

"We think that Jevon is a guy who will still get double-digit sacks," Johnson said. "He should, and he knows that."

In the meantime, Kearse said, he would continue working out in South Florida, where today he wraps up the eighth annual Jevon Kearse Celebrity Weekend. Kearse said last week he expected several of his teammates - including Donovan McNabb, Lito Sheppard, Jabar Gaffney, and Brian Westbrook - to attend the event.

Kearse started the Jevon Kearse Foundation in 1999 to promote outreach services to at-risk youth in southwestern Florida.

Surprising news.As of Wednesday, the Saints had set a franchise record with 54,969 season tickets sold for 2006, surpassing the record set in 2003 after back-to-back winning seasons.

This is terrific, and somewhat unexpected, news for the Saints, who are coming off a miserable 3-13 season during which they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina and many speculated that owner Tom Benson would move the franchise to San Antonio, Texas, permanently.

At the insistence of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the Saints returned to New Orleans in January and began a public-relations renaissance. They said the Louisiana Superdome, heavily damaged in the aftermath of Katrina, would be ready for their home opener. They hired Dallas assistant Sean Payton to replace Jim Haslett as coach. They signed free agent quarterback Drew Brees.

And then the Saints drafted Reggie Bush after the Houston Texans took Mario Williams with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

"I thought last year when the hurricane came, and we were going down the tubes pretty fast, that God had forgotten about us," Benson said during a news conference at the team's practice facility. "But he sure has shone bright on us since then, hasn't he? Very truly, I feel good about it. You cannot imagine the excitement. I think you can see it. This is going to be one hell of a year. I just can't hardly wait for it to start; that's the only bad part."

Manster

Which side or they going to play I thought they both have played alot of RDE and may not be use to LDE and having to line up over a TE most of the time.

J-Unit

He needs to stay healthy first, that was always his problem in Tennessee.

Professor

no matter where he lines up, howard will help and if the DT's play up to potential, then he should have a really good year. (barring injury as mentioned above, but that goes with everyone in the nfl)

Professor

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamRep...pe=InsideSlant

Team Report: Inside Slant

Inside Slant | Notes and Quotes | Strategy and Personnel
Jevon Kearse's sack numbers haven't been quite as impressive as the Eagles had hoped they'd be when they lured him to Philadelphia in March of 2004 with a $16 million signing bonus.

The Freak has topped out at 7 1/2 sacks in each of his first two seasons with the Eagles -- good, but certainly not $16 million good.

"He's a double-digit sack guy," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "He's capable of that and he knows that. I think he has the ability to do that."

Kearse did it in each of his first three NFL seasons with Tennessee, notching 14 1/2 sacks as a rookie in 1999, 11 1/2 the next year and 10 the year after.

But he fractured his foot early in the 2002 season, and while he's collected a respectable 24 1/2 sacks the last three seasons, he hasn't been the dominant pass rusher he was early in his career.

Both Kearse and Johnson hope that will change this year. The Eagles have spent the off-season finding Kearse some pass-rushing help. They signed free-agent end Darren Howard and used their first-round pick on a pass-rushing defensive tackle, Brodrick Bunkley.

With the addition of those two, the development of 2005 rookies Trent Cole (five sacks) and Mike Patterson (3 1/2 sacks) and the return of Jerome McDougle, who missed all of last season recovering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Johnson thinks it will be much harder for opposing offenses to constantly double-team Kearse. He also plans to move Kearse around a lot more, rather than have him always line up at left end.

"It's my job and (defensive line coach) Pete Jenkins' job to get him moving around a bit more and give him more (sack) opportunities," Johnson said.

"Last year, we brought in Trent Cole (who started seven games at right end). But he was a rookie and we didn't want to flip him too much. But we have to move Jevon around more. He's too good a football player not to take advantage of his ability."

Kearse has spent the off-season working out near his home in south Florida and reported to mini-camp earlier this month in the best shape of his life. He said he's been running on the beach and working with a personal trainer. He weighed in at mini-camp at 245 pounds, which is 15 pounds under his usual playing weight. But he said he'll put it back on by the start of training camp.

"I want to be a little bit more destructive this year," Kearse said.

gruntbygod

Howard and Bunkley could have a big impact on Kearses #'s.But likewise Kearse should help free up Howard. The key is how often Kearse is on the field. Bunkley is in a good situation because those two will tie up blockers

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Professor

they added a ton of depth in the offseason. That and with kearse re focused, I am expecting a big year.

BigdaddyQH

Kearse is going to need 10 sacks if the Eagles are going to do anything this season. It is going to have to be the "D" that leads them, because much like Atlanta, their offense, especially their QB, is not as good as most people think.

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Winning is the Only Acceptable Solution.

M-247gunner

Says the guy with Grossman and Orton................

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BigdaddyQH

Read my posts. You will see that I picked Philly to win the East, based on their soft schedule, compared to the rest of the NFC East. I also must add that my Bears did not become the laughing stock of the NFL last year. We all know what a joke the Eagles, their coaching staff and front office became last year with the T.O. fiasco. The only problem I had with it was that T.O. was mostly right about McNabb. He has been choking for years.

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Winning is the Only Acceptable Solution.