Reaction To Eagles Cuts/Final Roster
Before we get started, I just wanted to throw out a quick plug for my fantasy football rankings: Fantasy Links .INFO. Definitely visiting that site before you start your draft.The Eagles cut 12 players:
Kyle Arrington (CB), Bam Childress (WR), Jed Collins (FB), Jason Davis(FB), Therrian Fontenot (CB), Michael Gasperson (WR), Nick Graham (CB), Jamal Jones (WR), Mike Marquardt (DT), Shaheer McBride (WR), Jerome McDougle (DE), Ryan Moats (RB), Marcus Paschal (S), Montae Reagor (DT), Justin Roland (LB), Andy Studebaker (LB), Pago Togafau (LB), Kris Wilson (TE), Scott Young (G)
This is how the final roster has shaped up:
Offense
QB (3) - McNabb, Kolb, Feeley
RB (3) - Westbrook, Buckhalter, Booker
FB (1) - Tony Hunt
WR (6) - Curtis, Brown, Jackson, Avant, Baskett, Lewis
TE (3) - Smith, Celek, Schobel
OL (9)- Runyan, Andrews, Jackson, Herremans, Thomas, Cole, Jean-Gilles, Justice, McGlynn
Defense
DE (6) - Cole, Parker, Smith, Clemons, Howard, Abiamiri
DT (4) - Patterson, Bunkley, Laws, Klecko
LB (6) - Gocong, Bradley, Gaither, Jordan, Mays, Boiman
S (5) - Dawkins, Mikell, Considine, Reed, Demps
CB (4) - Samuel, Brown, Sheppard, Hanson
ST (3) - Akers, Rocca, Dorenbos
Reaction:
Jerome McDougle -- Most of Eagles Nation was surprised/disappointed to see Jerome McDougle let go. In the past few seasons he's been getting a lot of heat for not living up to the expectations of a 15th overall pick; however, it was not his fault for an unfulfilling career. He's had a series of unfortunate injuries and was shot. This season, on the other hand, it looked like McDougle might be able to revive his career. McDougle registered 2.5 sacks in 4 preseason games and it seemed that he had his motor and burst off the line back. The Eagles decided to cut him though and it seems like the Giants will be eager to add him to their roster after losing Umenyiora for the season. I think this was a poor move by the Eagles. The Eagles could have placed Abiamiri, who recently received surgery on his hand, on the IR or they could have placed Bryan Smith on the practice squad. Instead, the Eagles have a plethora of undersized DEs, which leaves Juqua Parker as the only viable option opposite of Trent Cole (until Abiamiri is back). I don't see the point of carrying both Chris Clemons and Bryan Smith -- they will both have pretty much the same role on defense. It will take weeks before Abiamiri is able to return. I just don't see the logic in this move. My only hope is that the Eagles are pretty certain that Abiamiri's hand has healed well and that it will be only a few weeks until he can get onto the field.
Tony Hunt -- Hunt landed the starting FB role. Jason Davis got cut. Hopefully, Hunt will be able to pick up things at FB pretty quick. He's never played the position before and during an interview, he didn't seem too pleased about transitioning to FB, but that's what it is going to take to make the roster, so he should be pleased with that. He performed well during the preseason, but still remains the #4 RB on the depth chart. I think Hunt will do well at the position.
Kris Wilson -- I expected Schobel to be cut and Wilson to be the Eagles 3rd TE, but the Eagles opted for Schobel. Not a huge deal, but something most of us expected to go the other way.
Andy Studebaker -- I was surprised they let him go. I figured he would be placed on the practice squad. I was impressed with what I saw from him, but I guess the Eagles didn't think he could be anything more than a special teamer.
Joe Mays -- Joe Mays made the active roster and he was very deserving of the roster spot. The guy was a total tackling machine this preseason. The guy had 30 tackles in 4 preseason games including 13 tackles (9 solo) in the preseason finale against the Jets. The Eagles hit the nail on the head with this draft pick. The guy gets to the ball fast and makes great tackles. The one aspect of his game that will have to improve is shredding blockers.
Quintin Demps -- Another phenomenal draft pick by the Eagles. I get excited every time I'm about to see Demps return a kickoff. The guy can go from 1st gear to 5th gear in a heartbeat. He runs over kickers. He's great. He had a kickoff return for a touchdown against the Patriots and had several excellent kickoff returns against the Jets. In the game against the Jets, Demps had 4 kickoff returns for 137 yards (34.3 yard average and his longest return was 51 yards).
