Heckert is really talking the new FB up. Spadz has been really talking Tapeh up. Parry still around... Davis vs. Tapeh vs. Parry. FIGHT!
link (http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/99-05032006-650953.html)
QuoteFree agent Davis just wants an opportunity
By REUBEN FRANK
phillyBurbs.com
The first person Jason Davis called was Greg Lewis. It was three years ago this week that Lewis, bypassed in the NFL draft, signed as a long shot, undrafted free agent out of Illinois with the Eagles.
Lewis not only made the team, he set an Eagles single-season playoff receiving record in 2004, caught a Super Bowl touchdown against the Patriots, and caught 48 passes as a starter last year.
Davis, Lewis's former teammate at Illinois, was watching carefully.
"I've been on the phone non-stop with G-Lew," Lewis said. "The path he took, that's the kind of path I'm trying to follow."
Davis, a fullback who went undrafted over the weekend, signed with the Eagles Monday as an undrafted rookie free agent.
The odds he faces are extreme but not impossible. Eagles coach Andy Reid usually keeps one or two undrafted rookies every year. And as thin as the Eagles are at fullback, Davis will get a fair chance.
"That's all I want," he said from Champaign on Tuesday. "I had a pretty good idea I wasn't going to get drafted. A lot of teams are shying away from fullbacks these days. So it wasn't a surprise. I was just hoping to get a call from somebody and get a chance to get into a camp and show what kind of player I am."
Converted linebacker Josh Parry started at fullback for the Eagles last year. Thomas Tapeh, who missed all of last season with a severe hip injury suffered late in 2004, is also in the picture.
Beyond that, fullback is wide open.
And Davis is a perfect fit. He was a high school wide receiver and can catch the ball, he's a powerful straight-line runner and a willing blocker, and at 5-foot-10, 225 pounds, he's a perfect fit for Reid's West Coast offense.
"We really like him," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. "People are always talking about, "They have to get a big back, they have to get a big back,' but you look at him and Thomas Tapeh, those guys are big backs that we think a lot of and whichever one makes the team — or if both do — they could be that kind of guy.
"We really like Jason as a runner. He's a real strong, tough runner, and he's got real good receiving skills. We think he's a real good fit."
Davis, 22, had a big junior year, averaging 4.7 yards on 49 carries with 41 receptions for 340 yards and three touchdowns. But last year was a nightmare, with Illinois losing its last nine games, finishing 2-9, and getting outscored by an average of 30 points per game.
The offense never had a chance. Illinois' defense was third-worst in the nation (ahead of Temple and Rice), allowing 43 points per game during that nine-game losing streak.
"Oh man, it was tough," Davis said. "Losing is hard. Being a fullback in a spread offense is hard. But football is still football, and it's what I love to do. Coach (Ron) Zook did some things to keep it fun for us. But you go through a season like that, you really find out if you love the game or if you don't."
"The guys who are just in it for the jersey and the girls, they're not going to last long. If you love the game, you're still out there fighting every week."
And Davis plans to continue fighting in minicamp, in training camp, in preseason games — as long as it takes him to prove he can play in this league.
"I'm extremely hungry," he said. "I know I have the ability to play and I think this is the ideal situation for me. I'm going to come in with the same attitude I've always had. I'll do whatever it takes to prove I belong."
I don't care who gets the starting spot at FB, Tapeh, Davis or Parry. As long as we decide to run the ball more and we use Tapeh on short yardage goal line situations. I think it would be a safe move to put Tapeh as a RB on depth chart and then utilize him as RB and FB. Parry FB and Tapeh charging in on short yardage. Im salivating thinking of Westy in the slot, Moats at RB and Tapeh at FB. :drool
I don't want to see MURP make the team this year. No offense. :)
i think reuben just pulled out the same article from last summer and replaced spachs name with davis'
Quote from: mussa on May 04, 2006, 01:14:36 PM
Im salivating thinking of Westy in the slot, Moats at RB and Tapeh at FB. :drool
I can't understand why that lineup, out of others the Eagles could put on the field, would be saliva-inducing.
True dat. Any formation that has me salivating pretty much includes Tapeh getting a sip of gatorade over on the sideline.
Brown and Westbrook lined up at WR to the right (Westbrook in the slot).
2 TE formation with L.J. on the right, Schobel on the left.
Moats in the backfield.
I'd love to see them run left, with Andrews pulling, out of that formation.
i wanna see jean-gillies punt
Quote from: ice grillin you on May 04, 2006, 01:58:13 PM
i wanna see jean-gillies punt
...not because it would be a good punt, but just for pure comedy value. I agree.
Would also like to see a play on the goalline where they replace Andrews with Jean-Gilles at RG, put Andrews at FB, and have him plow into the end zone. That would be fun.
They really should try all this in the pre-season. We're geniuses.
Defensive Line of Pinky, Detmer, Bloom and Akers. Now we're talking genius.
Quote from: sallad selgae on May 04, 2006, 04:34:24 PM
Defensive Line of Pinky, Detmer, Bloom and Akers. Now we're talking genius.
Well, Andy does love to "throw fastballs" at the opposing offense!
He's already, and I mean right this second, better than Josh Parry.
Go in a phone book and point to any name that is Davis, Jason and they are better than Josh Parry.
Might be your best post ever. Good job. :)
Maybe the screen name change is an improvement. Let's wait this one out.
lets not
Whatever, Ghost of Leonard Tose. Take your high horse on up to 5th and Lehigh.
hey now
going thru an overgrown garden will always get you a bald tennis ball
Anything to keep Josh Parry from making the team would be great. What are the odds both Davis and Tapeh make the roster? Just wondering since Heckert mentioned that in the article. I guess it would be Westbrook, Moats, Perry, Davis, and Tapeh.
The chances would be pretty good, actually.
They had 5 backs on their roster last year.
Westbrook
Gordon
Moats
Mahe
Parry
They view Tapeh and Davis as the same type of player. A bigger guy who can play FB as well as some RB in big formations or single back sets.
Westbrook
Moats
Perry
Tapeh
Davis
If Buckhalter makes it through training camp and preseason healthy, does anyone think he makes the team?
I don't think he makes a team this year.
and that includes the Arena league.
Buckhalter on carpet. What could possibly go wrong there?
I don't think Buck will ever be 100%
it's a shame, because he really showed potential in a rotation with Westbrook. Buckhalter really helped to keep us in the game against the Rams in the NFCC game years ago.
If Buck comes back from those injuries it would be amazing.
Let's put it this way - if he makes the 53-man roster then he deserves to be there. Because that means he would've looked really good in camp and in the PS.
Well... Buck has never not looked good (outside of his blocking assignments) in camp and PS while his knees are holding together. It's just that if you put him on the 53... you know it's just a matter of time before those knees go pop.
I don't know how AR can live with that.
It could be one of the best comeback stories of the new millenium ;).
If Buck makes the team I will be flat out amazed.
The guy needs to give it up while he can still walk. He couldn't have spent all his money on rehab.
A buddy of mine is an Illinois grad, follows all the games close and tapes most of them. Was over his house the other night and he picked out a couple of games. I watched the kid play a bit. He runs hard. Was bowling guys over between the tackles and flinging DBs off him when he caught the few swing passes or dump offs I saw. I didn't see much of him blocking, but as a power runner, he is a good fit IMO. Gotta remember, a guy like Tapeh or Davis might see eight touches a game, slightly more if they are grinding away time with a lead, and this kid should be a nice fit once he learns the system. If Tapeh is 100%, he'll be the guy all year, but if he isn't effective, we'll probably see Parry for the first few games, and this kid later once he learns the system.
There is no way Tapeh, Davis, or any other fullback touches the ball 8 times a game.