Depth Chart..

[Larry]

Here.....

Interesting to note:

McCants has displaced McMullen as Owens' backup.

Gordon is the backup FB.

Moats is buried.  He's not even on the list.

[General_Failure]

H-back! AAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYCH! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! SPAAAAAAAAAAACH!

[PhillyGirl]

Here.....

Interesting to note:

McCants has displaced McMullen as Owens' backup.

Gordon is the backup FB.

Moats is buried.  He's not even on the list.

I just heard again today (from a credible source) that Moats has been really, REALLY slow in learning the plays and has been not so great in practices while he's learning. He IS learning, but he's not ready to be activated yet. Anyone who says this is bullshtein, I am telling you now, its not. Moats will be activated when they feel that he can pick up the offense better than he has.

McCants.  He LOOKED like TO out there bodywise.

[Feva]

And there's Simoneau as backup kicker.  I wonder if that was there before Sunday. 

[Phanatic]

Mike Bartrum is the back up for kick offs?

[PhillyGirl]

Mike Bartrum is the back up for kick offs?

He kicked off last week after Sim's kick.

[MURP]

if McCants didnt beat out McMullen he would have to be the worst WR in the NFL.

[SD_Eagle5]

if McCants didnt beat out McMullen he would have to be the worst WR in the NFL.

Pretty much.

As for Gordon I'm pretty sure he was listed as the backup FB for the Whiners game as well. I'm not too concerned with Moats...yet. I like what I saw from Gordon on Sunday  (FYI-He's still only 25)

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Gordon = solid waiver-wire pickup.  I hope the Eagles can keep him around next year.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

if McCants didnt beat out McMullen he would have to be the worst WR in the NFL.

No shtein. Even in Madden where you can make anyone great, McMullen still has frying pan hands.

Couple of other things I noticed that I like, Considine backing up Lewis, not Dawk, and Cole nipping on Kalu's heals. Coles is going to be a beast one day.

[bobbyinlondon]

Here.....

Interesting to note:

McCants has displaced McMullen as Owens' backup.

Gordon is the backup FB.

Moats is buried.  He's not even on the list.

I just heard again today (from a credible source) that Moats has been really, REALLY slow in learning the plays and has been not so great in practices while he's learning. He IS learning, but he's not ready to be activated yet. Anyone who says this is bullshtein, I am telling you now, its not. Moats will be activated when they feel that he can pick up the offense better than he has.

McCants.  He LOOKED like TO out there bodywise.

Here's a coulmn by Bob Ford that attempts to explain it a bit better:

Posted on Thu, Sep. 22, 2005

Bob Ford | Potential star bides his time

By Bob Ford

Inquirer Columnist


In the low-to-the-ground world of Ryan Moats, where the football field rushes past quickly and just a few inches beneath his chin, there are apparently a few things that do arrive slowly.

A uniform on game day, it has turned out, is one of them.

Moats, the Eagles' third-round draft pick, was one of the pleasant surprises of training camp and the exhibition season. The small, sturdy running back - he's listed at 5-foot-8 and 210 pounds - earned comparisons to Brian Westbrook as he darted along, running between some defenders and bouncing off others.

"He's like a piece of gristle," offensive coordinator Brad Childress said with affection. "He's hard to knock off his feet. There's not much surface to hit him on."

Those attributes are still on display, but only during practice sessions so far during the regular season. Moats was inactive for the first two games, and there is no indication when he will finally make his first appearance for the Eagles.

"I'm biding my time, waiting in line," Moats said yesterday. "My time will come. It was the same thing in college. That's what's expected. You just put your head on and concentrate and it will come."

Maybe it was too much to expect the time to arrive this quickly, but after bursting out for two touchdowns in the exhibition opener against Pittsburgh, Moats appeared to be one of those rare rookies prepared to make a quick impact.

That hasn't happened, and it hasn't happened for a number of reasons. Moats and Westbrook would fill essentially the same role, for one thing. Reno Mahe is a more versatile member of the active roster at the moment, for another. And the intricacies of the Eagles' offense are not something that a young player learns overnight.

"We're just going to continue to bring him along," coach Andy Reid said. "It's a bit of a numbers game, because Reno is the backup punt returner and Reno knows all the pass routes where Brian is flexed out of the backfield. Right now, Reno's the best at that. That's really what it comes down to."

If it sounds as if Moats won't be in uniform until he learns all the pass formations that go with his position, that may indeed be the case.

"What's different [between the Eagles and college] is that I didn't line up in the slot position," Moats said during the preseason. "That's been an adjustment, but I'm learning now to run my routes and how to handle having cornerbacks and safeties covering me."

Even if the process is expected, there's nothing easy for a young player about playing the waiting game.

"There are plenty of days and nights I was frustrated because I thought I was working hard throughout the week and game day comes and I wasn't even dressed," said cornerback Lito Sheppard, who was inactive four times during his rookie season and twice again in the 2002 playoffs. "You just have to be ready when your time comes, but I know exactly what he's feeling right now."

Moats wasn't a first-round pick like Sheppard, but he came into the league after a college career filled with success. He set school records at Louisiana Tech in 2004 with 18 touchdowns and 1,774 rushing yards.

His personal highlight film shows a quick, balanced runner capable of lightning-like changes of direction and explosive bursts through the line. At the pre-draft scouting combine, Moats ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds to open some more eyes. The Eagles took Moats with the 77th overall pick in the draft.

For all the good things Moats did in the exhibition season, however, there were also some missed assignments and the general feeling that the learning curve still arched upward.

If Westbrook were unable to play for some reason, the coaching staff right now is confident Mahe could step in and execute all phases of the package. The same can't be said of Moats yet.

"The truth is that I am a rookie and I do have a lot to learn," Moats said. "It's not so much a question of the system being complicated, but of being comfortable when you're doing it. Any offense takes a little bit [of time] to learn. I'm not in a hurry to get out there and make mistakes."

"It's not anything negative on Ryan," Reid said of the two inactive games. "He's going to be a good football player in this league. It's just getting him comfortable with everything."

So the waiting game goes on for the Eagles and for Ryan Moats. Having him on the roster opens exciting possibilities. What if Westbrook and Moats lined up in the same backfield? Think of what an offensive coordinator could create with those weapons.

One of these weeks, maybe it will happen.

"I'll be ready when they put me out there," Moats said.

That's the way the Eagles look at it, too.

[Don Ho]

"There are plenty of days and nights I was frustrated because I thought I was working hard throughout the week and game day comes and I wasn't even dressed," said cornerback Lito Sheppard, who was inactive four times during his rookie season and twice again in the 2002 playoffs. "You just have to be ready when your time comes, but I know exactly what he's feeling right now."

Betcha Lito would have caught Jurevicius.

[General_Failure]

That hasn't happened, and it hasn't happened for a number of reasons. Moats and Westbrook would fill essentially the same role, for one thing. Reno Mahe is a more versatile member of the active roster at the moment, for another. And the intricacies of the Eagles' offense are not something that a young player learns overnight.

"We're just going to continue to bring him along," coach Andy Reid said. "It's a bit of a numbers game, because Reno is the backup punt returner and Reno knows all the pass routes where Brian is flexed out of the backfield. Right now, Reno's the best at that. That's really what it comes down to."

[Don Ho]

Right now, Reno's the best. That's really what it comes down to."

In the words of the almighty AR.

[Feva]

If Westbrook were unable to play for some reason, the coaching staff right now is confident Mahe could step in and execute all phases of the package.

Scariest sentence of the whole article...