I did not expect to see King Dunlap moving to left guard to replace the injured Evan Mathis… but there it is. Hold that line!
Dunlap said he has never played guard at any level, but both coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg chose him to replace Mathis instead of veteran center Jamaal Jackson or rookie guard Julian Vandervelde.
“We have several players who we have great confidence in to play there,” Mornhinweg said. “Jamaal could do it, but his main position is center. I have a high level of confidence in King Dunlap. I think he’s a good football player.”
The Eagles also could have moved right tackle Todd Herremans back to left guard, the position he played for most of his first six seasons, and use Dunlap or Winston Justice at right tackle. Justice, who started at right tackle for most of the previous two seasons, started there against Washington on Oct. 6 and played well in a 20-13 win.
Eh, what do I know about line play or OL personnel ? Not much compared to Marty Mornhinweg, who makes the call on this personnel move. So I have to trust his judgement on this one.
Meanwhile, nice to see Jaiquawn Jarrett get his first start in the NFL at free safety.
One of Temple’s finest gets a shot at the big time…
Starting free safety Nate Allen missed his second straight day of practice Thursday after suffering a concussion in the Eagles’ 30-24 loss to Chicago on Monday. If Allen doesn’t show improvement over the next day, Jarrett will make his first NFL start against Arizona.
He replaced Allen against the Bears after he was hurt on the opening defensive series and played the rest of the game alongside strong safety Kurt Coleman. Jarrett made three tackles.
“You know what? He had a solid game,” defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said Thursday. “He was good. We all know he’s a physical guy and he’s a good tackler. Now he’s just got to get comfortable being in there and playing.”
Prior to this past Monday, Jarrett had not played any defense this season. The 6-foot, 196-pounder was inactive for four of the first five games and played strictly on special teams in the other three.
Allen and Mathis were the only players to miss practice Thursday. Defensive end Juqua Parker (sprained ankle) was limited again. Cornerback Asante Samuel (groin laceration) also was limited.
Updates to follow…..
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