Tony Curtis stretches out for a ball that falls out of his reach.


According to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, the Eagles have been looking at former Cowboys tight end Tony Curtis, and plan on signing him pending a physical.

Curtis, for his career, has 11 receptions for 50 yards and three touchdowns. At 6'5 and 251 pounds, Curtis will be more of a blocking tight end, and his signing will probably mean the release of Eugene Bright. Of course, it could mean the end for Rob Myers, but the Eagles probably want to see a little more out of him. It's clear at this point that Bright is simply not an NFL tight end.

It was looking like Curtis could be the backup in Dallas during the 2008 offseason when the Cowboys traded then-backup tight end Anthony Fasano to the Dolphins. However, the Cowboys used a second-round draft pick on Martellus Bennet, who immediately took over the second tight end spot.

Curtis was released after the 2008 season and picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs after they traded Tony Gonzalez. Curtis was released recently after the Chiefs signed former Giants receiver Amani Toomer.

The signing of Curtis will be a sign that the Eagles have hit the panic button concerning the tight ends considering he goes against everything Andy Reid looks for in a tight end. Curtis is more of a guy who comes in to block, as evidenced by his minimal receiving yards.

The Eagles will be counting on Schobel or Myers/Bright/Curtis to step up big time and help this team out at the tight end position. Don't be surprised to see a lot of three and four-wide sets this year, even for Reid.
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Watch the rookies tonight during their very first NFL action.


The preseason is one of the most exciting time of the year for real football fans who just want to see some football, finally. Guys are out there giving every ounce of energy they can expend in an effort to realize their dreams of playing in the NFL, and it creates some of the most exciting football you'll see all year long.

Of course there are also those players who have a spot on the team because they're high draft picks or because they're established veterans, and it's exciting to see those guys in a game situation either for the very first time as in the case of the rookies, or the first time in as much as eight months for the veteran guys.

Tonight will be no different as the Philadelphia Eagles make their preseason debut against the New England Patriots. This is going to be one of the most-watched games of the preseason because it marks Brady's first game in nearly a year.

However, I'll be watching for different reasons, and paying attention to different guys.

First, the offense:

Winston Justice - Starting at Right Tackle

Justice had a phenomenal camp, and is perhaps starting to change the opinions of a lot of people with his fierce play and his understanding of an offense that once perplexed him. Add in the fact that he's finally playing his natural position of right tackle, and you have an exciting guy to watch.

He was a second round pick who has not lived up to his billing, but he has the opportunity to change all of that. Tonight he needs to show that he can carry over his great play from camp into a preseason game hitting people other than your own teammates.

As a player, there's nothing like that first pop against a guy not on your own team, and if he's not fired up for this opportunity then it is time to get rid of him. However, I don't see that as the case.

I expect Justice to come out excited. I expect to see him hitting guys and blocking all the way to the whistle, not just going through the motions like in years past. He's got a chance to show something, and I don't think he's going to pass it up.



LeSean McCoy - Starting at Running Back

The second round pick out of Pitt has been practicing with the first-string guys all through camp, and has looked quick, shifty, explosive, and just downright fast.

A lot of the times he was just running a "Thud" drill, where it's live for the offensive and defensive lines, but you just wrap up the ball carrier. He had a few live sessions, and looked impressive during, but there's nothing that can replace getting hit by a guy who's fighting for his NFL life.

I want to see McCoy catch a few balls out of the backfield, and maybe even get some his way split out wide, although I don't think Reid will show a whole lot of that.

He'll probably play two or three drives, so there's not a lot of time, but if Reid can get him some carries up the middle, to the outside, some pitches, some receptions, and allow us to see him pass blocking it will be a productive game for McCoy.



Jeremy Maclin - Probably the Fourth Receiver Tonight

After missing so much of camp, it will be interesting to see what kind of patterns the Eagles have Maclin running. I think his playing time will really correlate with how much he knows of the playbook. If he's been picking it up, expect to see him quite a bit. If not, we'll only catch a glimpse of the first round rookie.

We'll get to see Maclin catch some passes from Donovan McNabb, as well as A.J. Feeley, which will be good to gauge what kind of chemistry they've been able to work up in their short time together between McNabb's "Arizona Week" and Maclin's week or so of camp.



Rob Myers - Third Tight End Tonight

If you're silently wondering, "Who in the world is this guy?," I'm sure you're not alone.

Myers is the guy whom the Eagles picked up once they found out that Cornelius Ingram would be done for the year with a torn ACL. If you're wondering why he's the third tight end, it's because Matt Schobel is not playing tonight, so Myers is behind Brent Celek and defensive end-turned-tight end Eugene Bright.

This kid is a rookie free agent out of Utah State, and early reports are that he's very fast and has been somewhat surprising. Of course, that's not saying too much as expectations for a rookie tight end are in the basement.

Either way, I'd like to see what the kid can do as the Eagles are in desperate need of a surprise kid, and really any good news at this point.



Danny Amendola - Probably Seventh or Eighth Receiver

Amendola is a guy who has really flown under the radar, but is a guy who I liked to watch during training camp. He gives it everything he has on every single play and while he's not the most gifted guy, he's one of the hardest working and really deserves a break in the NFL.

He's got a Wes Welker-type build, and would be that kind of slot possession type player. Unfortunately there's no room for him on this team, but a team starved for receivers may take a chance on him and get a huge return out of him. Keep your eye on Amendola tonight for a big play or two.

Other Players to Watch: WR Brandon Gibson, RB Lorenzo Booker, LT Jason Peters, TE Eugene Bright
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Cornelius Ingram is the second Bird to suffer a torn ACL.


Philadelphia Eagles tight end Cornelius Ingram has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that will sideline him for his rookie season according to Reuben Frank.

Ingram, who was drafted in the fifth round of this year's draft, missed the entire 2008 season with the Florida Gators in his final year at college with a torn ACL in the same knee.

The Eagles had him take a MRI this morning in which the results showed that he had a torn ACL. It was first characterized as knee swelling according to Frank.

Losing Ingram is huge for the Birds as they were relying on him backing up first-year starter Brent Celek at tight end. They weren't just hoping for him to be a capable backup, but to also make plays too.

The only other options at tight end on the roster are Matt Schobel and Eugene Bright—neither of which are having great camps. For one, Schobel hasn't been practicing, and Bright hasn't shined but will only gain experience.

This makes the decision not to pony up a second round pick to acquire future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, who was traded to the Atlanta Falcons, even more mind blowing.

UPDATE: Eagles have signed Rob Myers, rookie free agent tight end out of Utah State. In order to make room for the tight end, Punter/Kicker Ken Parrish was cut.

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Hopefully Leonard Weaver blocks like this all year long.


As a former lineman, it’s painful to watch running backs and tight ends attempt to block. Backs and tight ends do the natural things like running and catching, so a skill like blocking is foreign to them for the most part.

First off, whenever we talk about backs blocking, everyone wants to know about LeSean McCoy and how he’s doing. He’s certainly improving with every practice, but he still has a long way to go.

The thing that really sticks out to me when I watch these guys block is that almost all of them want to stop their feet, and just attempt to push guys. Rather than getting into their man and moving their feet, they want to play patty-cake.

The key to blocking a man on the move like that is to engage him, and never stop moving your feet. If your feet stop, you become extremely vulnerable to a spin move, or having them simply run around you.

What a lot of the guys want to do is come up to the blitzing man, stop, and give him a forearm or shoulder shot, then move to wherever the guy bounces.

Attempting to block like this is going to get McNabb killed.

The discouraging part was that every single back and tight end was doing this, even a guy like Leonard Weaver, although it wasn’t nearly as bad. Weaver would come up, stop his feet, and throw the forearm and give the shoulder shot, but from there he was very good at recovering and sticking with the man.

The point is that there shouldn’t have to be a recovery time. If he would step up and engage the man, the guy blitzing loses all momentum, and will have a difficult time getting around.

Surprisingly enough, Lorenzo Booker probably had the best form of any of the backs. However, he just doesn’t have the power to stop most guys. A corner or safety he would probably be able to control, but a linebacker would plow him right over and keep moving.

Kyle Eckel and McCoy were probably the worst about stopping their feet. Eckel was made to look silly a couple times because he would stop his feet and watch the guy just run around him. Even diving at him, Eckel could barely get a hand on his man at times.

McCoy was a bit better than that, but was very susceptible to an inside move, and the defensive guys picked up on that right away, exploiting it on several occasions. He did, however, stop an inside attempt by Gaither, and was able to ride Demps around the quarterback.

Brent Celek was pretty decent at just riding the man around in a big loop, which at least shows that he’s keeping his feet moving, but also shows that he doesn’t know how to use his hands to punch at the guy, and must lack the upper-body strength to stop a blitzing man.

Eldra Buckley was not impressive, getting knocked over a few times, and Eugene Bright looked like he could hold his own.

My suggestion would be to send these guys to Juan Castillo for a day and let him show them the basics. Otherwise, McNabb could be running for his life.
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