| 03 September 2010
The Eagles led the Jets 17-7 at halftime. Rookie Safety Kurt Coleman changed the game with a pair of fumble recoveries for touchdowns, and ends up leading all Eagles with two preseason touchdowns. Coleman’s first came on a Joe McKnight fumble at the end of the first quarter. The rookie took it 64 yards to the house.
Late in the first half, the Jets' John Conner fumbled at the end of a 7-yard run, and Coleman scooped it up and dove into the end zone to put the Eagles up 17-7. In between the two Coleman touchdowns, the Jets scored one of their own after Mike Kafka threw an interception to Emanuel Cook early in the second quarter, which was returned to the Eagles’ 15-yardline. Five plays later, Jets' QB Mark Brunell found Jeff Cumberland for a two-yard touchdown pass.
Michael Vick’s night was relatively short. The backup quarterback played only one quarter and went 3-for-5 for 56 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Vick also ran twice for 11 yards.
But none of that matters anymore...
It's "Cut Day" now...and a sickening feeling is felt in my heart as I recall those devastatingly anxious days of high school and college, going to the Athletic Department bulletin boards to see if your name was on the "yes" or "no" lists...It haunts me to this day.
It seems like half my youth was spent waiting to see if I made the cut... Football, Baseball, Basketball...same thing. Some sports turned out better than others.
Nowadays many high school sports programs have a "no-cut" clause... everyone who tries out for the team is included, despite obvious lack of talent or vigor. Not so in my ancient past...
Anyhoo, my past experiences of sometimes making a team---and sometimes not--- give me a qualified perspective on the ordeals of about 20 Philadelphia Eagles' job applicants who are getting the axe as we speak...
For some it will be the last time they ever don the pads in anger...forever. For a lucky few, it will be a phone call from another team in the NFL beckoning them to come fill a roster spot.
For those young survivors about to rock in the NFL, I salute them... For those who gave their best and were told "not so much"...I salute them, too.
Here are the partial cut results of the Eagles after the Jets game. At least give the Eagles some credit for humanity---they cut their guys as early as possible before the deadline to give them a leg up on hooking up with another team:
The Eagles on Friday 9/3 released the following 10 players: cornerback Geoff Pope, defensive end Pannell Egboh, defensive tackle Boo Robinson, cornerback David Pender, wide receiver Dobson Collins, tight end Nate Lawrie, offensive tackle Jeraill McCuller, running back J.J. Arrington, safety Anthony Scirrotto, and running back Martell Mallett.
The Eagles have also designated defensive end Victor Abiamiri to the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which means he will miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season.
Gentlemen, I wish you all the best...grieve the moment, then follow your dreams...you can at the very least tell your children and grandkids: "Once upon a time, I was an Eagles..."
The Eagles have also made another trade with the Arizona Cardinals... but this time it's for an established veteran. The Eagles have acquired guard Reggie Wells for an undisclosed draft pick in 2011. To quote the Eagles' NFL.com Bloghead:
"The eighth-year veteran Wells has played in 104 games over his first seven seasons, primarily at left guard. Last season, Wells was part of an offensive line that surrendered the second-lowest total of sacks in Cardinals history. Certainly reliable, Wells has started 70 straight games including every game at left guard over the last three seasons...
'We're adding a player that has started several seasons in the National Football League and has played at a very high level during the course of his career,' said head coach Andy Reid following the acquisition of Wells. 'He has experience at several different positions along the offensive line and he will be a welcome addition to that group. You can never have enough depth at that position as you go through an NFL season.'"
A sixth-round pick out of Clarion in 2003, Wells was the third-longest tenured player on the Cardinals roster. The 6-4, 314-pound Wells has 78 career starts at left guard, 10 at right tackle and two at left tackle.
On Monday, the Eagles acquired cornerback Jorrick Calvin from the Cardinals in exchange for fullback Charles Scott. Calvin, also a return specialist, suited up Thursday night in the Eagles' preseason finale and averaged 28 yards per kickoff return and 12 yards per punt return.
Assuming both Wells and Calvin stick with the Eagles, that means 14 more cuts to come in the next 24 hours...Stay tuned...
Day 2 of Final Cuts UPDATE:
(Before we get to the Eagles' final cuts listed below, I promised Colin McAndrew of "NBC 10" that we would announce to our readers the following: On Tuesday, September 7, Leonard Weaver will be interviewed live on McAndrew's "The 10! Show"... Tickets are still available and they are free... If any of you want to be in the live audience, contact Colin McAndrew by email at colin.mcandrew@nbcuni.com as soon as possible to reserve your free tickets to the show...)
And here are the final cuts and roster moves made by the Eagles to conclude the 2010 preseason as of 4:00 P.M. EST today, Sept.4:
LB Tracy White- traded to New England for a conditional 2012 pick...
G Max Jean-Gilles---released (expected to be resigned by Monday)...
OL Stacy Andrews---Traded to Seattle for undisclosed 2011 pick...(the end of the Andrews Sisters story in Philly...)
WR Kelley Washington---released ( did not see that coming!...Hank Baskett survives!...)
S Macho Harris---released...
S Quintin Demps---released (thought he would make it!)...
OL Dallas Reynolds---released...
DE Eric Moncur---released...
DT Jeff Owens---released...
WR Jordan Norwood---released...
TE Cornelius Ingram---released (wow, end of a dream for Cornelius! Sad...)
C A.Q. Shipley---released...
OL Fenuki Topou---released...
DE Antwan Barnes acquired from Baltimore Ravens for undisclosed draft pick in 2011...
WR Chad Hall---released (ouch!---so much for the Air Force experiment...)
Man, the mind is boggled!... Thought for sure Tracy White, Quintin Demps, Kelley Washington and Fenuki Topou would be kept on the roster... Thought Cornelius Ingram would be IR'ed one more time to give that knee more time to heal... and so it goes, the Not For Long league...the No Fun League for the departed tonight...end of the Andrews experiment, too...Macho Harris is finished...Wow! You cannot make this stuff up! What was that line in Batman I?---"This town needs an enema..." Eagles just got one... Yikes! Here we go, welcome your 2010 Eagles... And best wishes to the departed, some of whom I was certain had it made in the shade...
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