FB Jason Davis

[MURP]

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

Free 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."

[mussa]

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. 

[General_Failure]

I don't want to see MURP make the team this year. No offense.

[ice grillin you]

i think reuben just pulled out the same article from last summer and replaced spachs name with davis'

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Im salivating thinking of Westy in the slot, Moats at RB and Tapeh at FB. 

I can't understand why that lineup, out of others the Eagles could put on the field, would be saliva-inducing.

[Feva]

True dat.  Any formation that has me salivating pretty much includes Tapeh getting a sip of gatorade over on the sideline.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

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.

[ice grillin you]

i wanna see jean-gillies punt

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

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.

[sallad selgae]

Defensive Line of Pinky, Detmer, Bloom and Akers.  Now we're talking genius.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Defensive Line of Pinky, Detmer, Bloom and Akers.  Now we're talking genius.

Well, Andy does love to "throw fastballs" at the opposing offense!

[PhillyPhreak54]

He's already, and I mean right this second, better than Josh Parry.

[The BIGSTUD]

Go in a phone book and point to any name that is Davis, Jason and they are better than Josh Parry.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Might be your best post ever. Good job.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Maybe the screen name change is an improvement.  Let's wait this one out.