It did not go well for wide receiver/kick returner Nick Miller yesterday. He was the first Eagle cut in 2013.
This sucks for Miller, the 5th year guy from Southern Utah, who at 5-9, 180, and age 26, has been around the block in the NFL, and was suspended for PED’s when he was with the Rams.
His NFL career probably ends here with a career total of 4 catches for 48 yards and no TD’s.
This is the sad part of TC. But far from the deepest cuts that will be sure to come….Nick was on his last ride. I know Howie Roseman likes to brag that picking up players like Nick Miller is like finding money on the street… But sometimes you have to wonder: “Why bother?”
The Eagles claimed running back William Powell off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals late Wednesday. Though the Eagles cut wide receiver Nick Miller to make room on the roster, rookie running back Matthew Tucker should be thinking about his options.
Powell (5-8, 207) has demonstrated the quickness and explosiveness to contribute to an NFL offense according to a respected NFL scout.
Tucker flunked the conditioning sprint test he’s supposed to take again Thursday along with punter Brad Wing.
“Good vision, quick, runs really hard,” Eagles general manager Roseman said about Powell. “He was a kickoff returner for the Cardinals last year. He’s a little undersized in terms of height but he’s fun to watch because he’s getting yards after contact.
“He had a really good preseason (last year) and his overall yards-per-carry wasn’t great, but he was making a lot of yards on his own.”
Powell was among seven scratches for the Cardinals in their 27-6 romp over the Eagles last year in Glendale, Arizona. Powell had just 23 carries at Kansas State. He had 60 rushes for 217 yards (3.6 average) and averaged 24.1 yards on 21 kickoff returns last season. His longest run was 17 yards. His longest kickoff return was 65 yards.
Powell wasn’t drafted. He ran a 4.63 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. Powell was ranked 92 out of 160 running backs by nfldraftscout.com.
Meanwhile new head coach Chip Kelly is on record as saying: “Don’t call this a rebuilding year”…
Kelly thinks he’s got a shot to make the playoffs. And I’m all for that kind of positive attitude.
Vegas oddsmakers think differently. The most popular sports betting websites now have the Eagles at 33-1 odds to win the Super Bowl this season, and at 25-1 odds to make the playoffs.
Kelly seems to be taunting the gods of football.
He’s also having some fun.
The second and final practice with rookies and select veterans took place Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex. It was very much like the first practice, with mostly technique-focused drills. The hour session even included a jovial Chip Kelly laughing, joking and karate kicking with analyst T.J. Paganetti, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
Other tidbits you may or have not already gleaned:
• Earl Wolff’s jumping ability is becoming the stuff of legend. He talked about jumping over his sister’s car and all kinds of other stuff. Basically, he said he’d jump over anything. He also happened to mention that he was disappointed by his 39-inch vertical leap at the combine that was good for fourth best among safeties. Wolff was expecting to jump 42 or 43 inches. What he was impressed with was his long jump results. Wolff claims his long jump was the best ever for a safety.
• When tight end Zach Ertz and cornerback Jordan Poyer missed OTAs and training camp because of antiquated NFL rules that required them to finish their semesters at school, they were still keeping in touch with the Eagles. They had daily Skype sessions with their position coaches to go over the playbook while they were finishing their school years at Stanford and Oregon State, respectively.
• Video taping practices from above is nothing new. The Eagles have long placed cameramen on lifts to get a birds’ eye view of practice. But it is new to see cameramen taping practice from the roof of the NovaCare Complex.
• Despite the expectation that he’s going to play a big role in the Eagles’ offense, tight end James Casey still wants to play special teams. He still expects to play special teams even though he now collects much bigger paychecks. In fact, Casey’s point was that why wouldn’t he be expected to play special teams now that he’s getting paid more? That’s part of why the Eagles gave him a $12 million deal this offseason.
The Eagles players also listened to a talk from a Navy SEAL brought in by the team’s sports science coordinator, Shaun Huls. He trained Navy SEALS in a previous lifetime…The lecture spoke to the leadership necessary to get through tough times according to Eagles center Jason Kelce.
“It was pretty cool hearing the different ways they go about their business and the similarities between football and the Navy SEALs,” Kelce said. “He has given us a few tidbits that will make us a better unit on the field and off the field as well. It’s a bonding-thing, but one of the biggest things is everybody gets kind of into leadership and the one or two guys who are their leaders. And really, when you’re really clicking on all cylinders, everybody is a leader and everybody is just kind of following each other. And that’s where we aim to be at. Everybody has got to be setting the example and be responsible to each other.”
No practice Thursday but Eagles veterans are required to report … The Eagles have distributed 57,000 tickets for the first open practice Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The capacity is 69,000, meaning there are about 12,000 left. Tickets are free and available online at www.PhiladelphiaEagles.com, Ticketron and at the window the day of the event. The Eagles have distributed about 227,000 tickets for the five open LFF practices.
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