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Team Gridiron Masters!
Join Date: Feb 2006
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http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/ne...l.jsp?id=53347
Injuries and notes:
Quote:
Injuries Happen, And Teams Must Be Ready
August 14, 2006
It was one of those snap-snap plays that can sometimes end in really bad news. Matt Schobel caught a pass in the red zone and immediately took a hit from J.R. Reed and both men went down in a heap.
The crowd roared. The defensive players shouted out "I see ya, J.R.!" words of encouragement. And both players stayed down for a second or two, Schobel even longer, and the reality of the play lingered: This could be something serious.
Fortunately, it wasn't. Reed came off the field gingerly, nursing a hip contusion. Schobel walked off under his own power after losing his breath.
And everyone knew that a nasty situation was avoided.
See, this is football. It's a violent, awful game in that regard. It beats guys into the ground, and for that we applaud and kick and scream and love the action.
But all that excitement has its downside. Players are injured. Seasons are lost before they begin in some cases.
The Eagles are no different than any team. They are just as susceptible to injury as the Redskins, the Cowboys -- every other team in the NFL. Andy Reid's camp has been more arduous than ever -- the "live" periods on Sunday and Monday were as physical as any in this camp.
On Monday morning alone, Schobel was shocked by Reed. Wide receiver Jason Avant caught a pass down the field and was flattened by Brian Dawkins to a chorus of oohs and aahs. Avants held on to the ball. Most important, both Avant and Dawkins bounded right back up and went on with their business. The play in the trenches was downright ugly as the Eagles continued to run the football and work on that phase of their game.
The brutality of football is such that physical contact and injuries and pain are part of the game. So, then, is the disappointment that comes from losing a player.
LB Greg Richmond injured his back, a repeat injury from last season
The Eagles lost one player for what looks like the year on Monday. Reserve linebacker Greg Richmond needs surgery on a herniated disc in his back. Attempting to return from a similar injury a year ago, Richmond earned promising reviews from the coaching staff in the spring. He had a chance to make the team, but the constant rigors of the pounding of the game, the relentless bang-bang-bang on his back paid a toll.
His career is in jeopardy, I would think.
Defensive end Jerome McDougle, meanwhile, has two broken ribs and is going to miss three weeks, maybe more. Here's hoping the injury won't linger into the regular season, but McDougle has battled so many injuries in his four seasons that you just don't know with him. When will he be back? How long can he stay healthy once he is back?
Good questions.
Meanwhile, Reid started his Monday morning press conference as he always does. He listed the injuries and touched briefly on the player's immediate prognosis and, in the big picture, it isn't a bad picture for the Eagles.
Brian Westbrook, the biggie on this list, is not going to play Thursday in Baltimore and may not see any more preseason time. OK. Fine. As long as he's good to go for Houston on September 10, which sounds promising. Young linemen Scott Young and Calvin Armstrong are nearly back on the field, which is important for their development. Darwin Walker is nursing his broken rib -- what is it with the rib injuries around here? -- and, well, he's still out. Adrien Clarke is out with a back injury, which is not a good thing for his roster security.
Later, Reid said there is a "chance" wide receiver Todd Pinkston could play on Thursday, which would be huge. We need to see Pinkston in live action, see if he's ready to cut loose and put this Achilles tendon pain behind him.
Rookie return man/wide receiver Jeremy Bloom was on the practice field on Monday and he made some plays and looked quick in the return game, so maybe we'll see him on Thursday, too.
Bumps and bruises are part of the NFL and it's very difficult to protect the players. Are you going to ensconce the players in bubble wrap every day? No. It's not realistic.
What is realistic is preparing for injuries, for building depth and hoping to minimize the impact the injuries have on a season. Nobody in this league makes excuses for injuries -- last year the Eagles had 17 players on the sidelines and, yet, Reid never once blamed the hurts for the skid row of a season.
And if injuries multiply this year and force the Eagles to radically alter their personnel, Reid won't pass blame. There is no sense in doing that. Every team has players sidelined, and every team has the responsibility of plugging in another player to step up and fill the void.
Keep your fingers crossed every day, then. The injury factor comes into play on every snap of every practice of every day. It's part of the game. The NFL is the game we love -- physical, punishing, painful.
The side dish there is the part that makes you wince: Injuries. As much as we love to cheer on the action when players are knocked to the ground, we have to understand that comes with a price: Injuries happen. Injuries stink.
And injuries are part of the game.
TRAINING CAMP OBSERVATIONS
I see Thomas Tapeh's reps increasing in practice, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Tapeh get a real shot to play a lot on Thursday night at fullback. Josh Parry still leads that race, however.
It seems to me that Bruce Perry's practice reps have decreased since he returned from his concussion. In fact, the rotation I've seen at halfback in practice has been Reno Mahe, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats, Marty Johnson and then Perry.
It's early, and this is could someday go down as hyperbole, but Brodrick Bunkley is the most physically complete Eagles defensive tackle I've seen since the late Jerome Brown. This kid dominates.
Avant continues to move up the ranks, in my opinion. I would say that Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, Darnerien McCants and Avants are the four receivers taking the most reps now.
Bloom is improving. I can see that. The kid is extremely quick, very shifty. He needs to be big in the return game in these three preseason games.
Mike Patterson had a great day on Tuesday and he and Darren Howard burst through the line of scrimmage to get after a harried Jeff Garcia to force him to throw the ball quickly. The pass was tipped and intercepted by Jevon Kearse.
L.J. Smith has had some back-to-back outstanding days of camp.
I raved about offensive tackle Pat McCoy earlier in camp, and now I've seen him level off. He has worked both sides of the line of scrimmage and, while I think he has a real future, he is also going through what all rookies work through. These defensive linemen have figured him out.
Great throw from Donovan McNabb to Reggie Brown for a touchdown on a slant in the morning. Brown was terrific on Monday and it may have been his best day of camp.
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