If you're still on the bubble you might want to put out some great footage on tape Thursday night against the Jets…
This can only happen for you if you are still in the mix for the Final 53. Chances are, they've already decided you are gone. They might throw you some reps so you and your agent can sell them on tape to your last-minute backup team…
But that's the numbers game in the NFL. It's never final… but it's brutal.
With the team traveling as a whole to New York on (today) Wednesday, yesterday was the last practice for the team before they make final cuts this weekend.
It's a landmark for many of we fans who have been waiting and watching so patiently…
Here comes the Big Reveal— yet still a portrait to be painted. Final cuts are never realy "final"— just ask former Eagle Joselio Hanson.
If it so moves you, you can click onto this video report of yesterday's "final" preseason practice. I saw no "Big Reveal" moments in it, but maybe you will….
http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2013/08/video_eagles_prepare_for_final_preseason_game.html
Meanwhile, shout-out to my boy from the Canadian Football League, Phillip Hunt…
Actually, Phil Hunt played his college ball at Houston, and he is not a Canadian. As a DE at 6-0, 248, his specialty is the speed rush. He was undrafted out of college, but picked up by the Cleveland Browns in 2009 as a free agent. When that didn't pan out, Hunt took a paying gig in the CFL.
He blew it up in Canada.The Eagles gave him a shot in 2011 and he made the team— barely. Hunt was used primarily as a DE reserve and occasionally in the DE rotation since joining the Eagles prior to the 2011 season. He has three career sacks in 22 games.
But I always thought he had what it takes to get better— maybe even "Dwight Freeney" better… Something about the mind over matter….
All of that hope of mine has come crashing down. But not for lack of ability on Hunt's part…
The Eagles trimmed their roster to the mandatory 75 players on Tuesday by waiving "outside linebacker" Phillip Hunt. AT age 27, Hunt partially tore the ACL in his knee during the first preseason game against the New England Patriots. He will now be sidelined for the season.
The Eagles placed Hunt on waivers with an injury designation. That means if he goes unclaimed by 4 p.m. on Wednesday he will revert back to the Eagles' injured reserve list. Hunt was far from a lock to make the Eagles' final roster even if he wasn't injured. He was struggling to make the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker. That is the saddest part of the story. The guy got hurt while trying his best to learn a new position.
Life can be cruel that way.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are playing it very safe as they approach their final PS game this Thursday night at 7:00 PM EST…
"Our starters will not play," Kelly said before Tuesday's practice. "We are going to keep the 'ones' out, and get in the guys who are trying to get the cut down (from 75 to 53) the predominant amount of work so we can make some decisions."
"Nick Foles is going to start at QB, and then Nick and Matt will get the predominant amount of reps," Kelly said. "We'll try to get Dennis (Dixon) and G.J. (Kinne) some reps as well."
On defense, Kelly said that some starters in the secondary could see time due to the injuries they have suffered at the position. Both Curtis Marsh and Brandon Hughes (fractured hand) are out for an extended amount of time, leaving the team with just five healthy cornerbacks— including the starters.
With the safety position still up in the air, Kelly said that all of the safeties will play besides Patrick Chung… Who will be starting next to Chung in the regular season is still up in the air, with Nate Allen and Earl Wolff the two players most likely to win the job. How Allen and Wolff play on Thursday could be the deciding factor in who starts vs. Washington.
My friend Eliot Shorr-Parks is on record saying this—"The good news for all of the secondary players is that if there is one quarterback you would want to face right now to save your job, it's Geno Smith. Smith had three interceptions in his last preseason game. "
Ah, but you never can bet your whole ball of wax upon one recent outing, Grasshopper… Geno Smith may be on the hot-seat in New York/New Jersey, but you just can't rule out that this is his finest opportunity to shine and redeem himself against a slapped-together Eagles secondary.
It works both ways like that in PS Game 4…
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