The 2007 Offseason Thread

[Seabiscuit36]

WTF about reagor having knee surgery.  I know its early but that came out of nowhere.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

"teh creem."

Garcia's no longer on the team, tho.

[Don Ho]

Jevon Kearse, wide receiver, Philadelphia Eagle

Holy jeez...I know he said he was down to 235 and will bulk before camp, but it looks weird seeing him that skinny.

WTF!!  I thought pinky was out of football?  Kearse looks sickly.

[NGM]

I really wish the Eagles would change their uniforms back to Kelly green. 

[PhillyPhreak54]

Notice how Freak is palming his lid...

[PhillyPhreak54]

[PhillyPhreak54]

[PhillyPhreak54]

[PhillyPhreak54]

A New Season, A New Bunkley


May 13, 2007
By JOSH WHEELING

Thirteen tackles, no sacks.

That was defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley's stat line from his 2006 rookie campaign. This off-season, however, the former first-round pick has put in a concerted effort to make sure the only time he sees those numbers again is on his stat line for one game.

"It hurt me, man," Bunkley said of his first season. "Coming into the off-season I told myself 'it's a new year, time to make things happen.'"

After a 16-day contract holdout that lasted until Aug. 5, over halfway through last year's training camp, Bunkley entered far behind everyone else on a deep defensive line, and as a result he saw very little action despite being healthy all year.

DT Brodrick Bunkley
This spring he has taken it upon himself to train hard, learn the playbook and keep in touch with the coaches whenever possible. He's lost nearly 25 pounds in the past year. He changed his number from 78 to 97 to be like the other defensive linemen on the team. According to defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, he's a totally different player.

"He's come a long way," Johnson said. "He's a different person. He's around here every day. He's attentive. He's picking things up. He's working hard. What a difference a year makes with him."

Bunkley used the motivation of not getting to play much and being labeled as a disappointment to come back this year and prove that he deserved to be selected 14th overall in the draft.

"I came in here with a new mindset," Bunkley said. "Last year kind of rung a bell for me, and I wanted to come in early and work on every aspect of my game: get stronger, get quicker and just slim down a little bit, which I've done, and just be able to get to the football."

Players can often make empty promises about their work ethic, but Bunkley showed how serious he was about improving in the past few months.

"We had a little talk with him in the beginning of the off-season, and he said he was going to be here every day," Johnson said. "Some guys say that, but he's been here every day. I have never had to call him to see where he's at; he's here. This is his home."

Johnson has been so impressed with his young defensive tackle that Bunkley is penciled in as the starter opposite 2005 first-rounder Mike Patterson. That, along with the promotion of strongside linebacker Chris Gocong to starter, came as a shock to many.

But with all of the changes made at the tackle position -- veteran Darwin Walker was traded and Sam Rayburn was released -- Bunkley will not be handed the starting job on Sept. 9 at Green Bay on a silver platter. He'll have to beat out veteran Montae Reagor, who is recovering from injuries suffered in a car crash from October, as well as former Bears linemen Ian Scott, both of whom the Eagles acquired in free agency.

However, if Bunkley continues his progress, he'll be in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season.

"Hopefully he will be the player we saw in college, being a physical force in front and making plays," Johnson said. "This is what we anticipate and right now, he's on track to be our starting tackle. He has a great attitude and he's working hard."

[rjs246]

He's lost nearly 25 pounds in the past year.

farg that. What is it with this farging team and their tiny ass defensive linemen.

[MDS]

Andy assumes every other coach likes passing as much as him. Duh.

[rjs246]

There's a sad amount of truth in that statement.

[mussa]

im not sure of his weigh now, but he was def above 300 last year. im hoping he's right around 300 right now...

[Seabiscuit36]

He looks like a DE not a DT

[ice grillin you]

other than spadaro blog write ups is there any reason to believe that bunkley isnt the tackle version of jerome mcdougle