5 Wishes for Eagles Training Camp

By Scott Crabtree (@TheScootCrab)

The Eagles opened training camp on Friday and the tedious sports news cycle of the summer will slowly give way to Hard Knocks and preseason football. As training camp in Philadelphia ramps up, there are fewer question marks than there have been in the past four seasons. Currently there are only two position battles for starting roles taking place in camp: Nolan Carroll against Bradley Fletcher for a starting CB role and Earl Wolff against Nate Allen for the starting strong safety spot. The other position battles will concern players fighting to make the 53 man roster. Who will be the fifth WR, the third RB, the fifth DE, and the fourth OLB that are kept on the roster? What this speaks to is the continuity and stability of the team heading into Chip’s sophomore season.

The competitions for simply making the roster, while they do provide some drama for comeback stories like Henry Josey, don’t have the big names and sex appeal of last camp’s QB rivalry. Since the position battles won’t be very exciting this year, allow me to make my training camp wish list:

1) Roc Carmichael gets cut – I wanted him to be good. He was a throwback to when you were 8 years old and you rock a plain old long sleeve shirt underneath your uniform, and every play was a running play. However, when he was on the field, it seemed like every time the Birds got beat deep, he was the one who was getting beat. Carmichael was wresting away Kurt Coleman’s title of Defensive Player You Never Want to See before Coleman was allowed to walk as a free agent. Let’s hope he isn’t among the Eagles’ corners this season.

2) Demaris Johnson gets cut – All of the size deficiency of DeSean, but with none of the speed, elusiveness, or skill. The good part about Demaris is that he’s been around long enough to know exactly what he brings to the table; the bad part is that none of what he brings is useful.

3) Ifeani Momah makes the team or leaves town – I’m rooting for the 6’7” wide-out to be a productive player for the Birds, but I’m tired of hearing all of the hype about a guy who is just a bunch of measurables. If he doesn’t make the team this year, it’s pretty clear the guy simply can’t play, and I don’t want to hear his name again.

4) Curtis Marsh does something, anything – Dude’s been on the team for four years, and I can’t remember a single moment of him being on the field. I’m rooting for the guy; keep getting them checks, Curtis.

5) Brad Smith gadget plays – He was a QB at Mizzou, and not that this is a reliable measure of a QB, but his NCAA Football 2006 rating was a 95 overall. So let’s get him throwing jump balls in the end zone to the 6’6” Nick Foles.

I will have more for you as training camp continues.