SB Nation - Marcus Mailei

Some Familiar Faces Join the Eagles Practice Squad

Bob_Q — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:00:44 -0000

This morning, the Eagles announced the completion of their practice squad with the signing of three additional players: fullback Marcus Mailei, cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu, and safety Reshard Langford. This makes seven of the eight practice squad players former Eagles that were released on Saturday, with the newcomer being linebacker Jeremy Leman. Here is a little more information about Leman from our friend Dave Spadaro:

The 6-2, 240-pound Leman was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie free agent in 2008, but was released by the Vikings prior to the start of the regular season. He signed with the Panthers during the 2009 off-season and saw action in all four preseason games, registering 19 tackles.

A native of Champaign, IL, Leman was a four-year starter at Illinois and finished his collegiate career with 407 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He earned first-team All-America honors following his senior season in 2007.

That gives the Eagles eight players on the practice squad. Players can be dropped or added at any time, as long as the numbers of players on the practice squad does not exceed eight. Players can also be signed off the practice squad and added to another team's 53-man roster.

While the practice squad is by no means final, it is nice to see that Eagles haven't given up on young projects like Mailei and Ike, who still have the chance to develop into quality players once the depth above them clears up a bit. However, remember that placing these players on the practice squad means that any other team can claim them off waivers at any time throughout the season (ala LB Andy Studebaker from last year) so there is a chance we won't be seeing some them at training camp next year.

Questions to Ask Tonight as the Eagles Face the Jets

Bob_Q — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:52:13 -0000

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So here we are, mere hours away from the kickoff of the final preseason game and the storylines continue to swirl around the Eagles organization. Will Vick be able to play before week six? Who wins the starting free safety position? Will certain Eagles entice the Jets into a trade? The list goes on, and the game is sure to keep fans' eyes glued to the screen. Here is a brief rundown of what to look for at each position.

Quarterback: How will Kevin Kolb perform in his first preseason start this year? Also, will Michael Vick get a chance to showcase his superstar moves with a big play or two?

Running Back: In his last chance to make the team over Lorenzo Booker, will Eldra Buckley sink or swim?

Fullback: Can RFA Marcus Mailei build upon last game's touchdown and crack the final roster?

Tight End: Will the newly acquired Tony Curtis garner enough playing time to give the coaching staff a decent look at his ability?

Wide Receiver: In the intense battle between Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, and Brandon Gibson for the final two receiver slots, who will emerge victorious?

More after the jump...

Left Tackle: Can King Dunlap use his immense size to effectively protect Kolb's blindside?

Left Guard: With Todd Herremans still out, will rookie Fenuki Tupou be able to make a significant push for a roster spot?

Center: Will RFA Dallas Reynolds impress in what could very well be his last game as an Eagle?

Right Guard: Can Mike Gibson or Paul Fanaika convince the coaches they're worth keeping on the active roster?

Right Tackle: Will Winston Justice make the most of his significant playing time?

Left Defensive End: Can Jason Babin continue his impressive performance and crack the final roster?

Defensive Tackle: Not much has bee heard out of Josh Gaines since his interception during Flight Night. Will he make some noise tonight?

Right Defensive End: Can second-year man Bryan Smith build on his first ever interception during last week's game?

Weakside Linebacker: Will Tracy White return from his injury and continue his good special teams play, or perhaps nab another interception?

Middle Linebacker: Will this be the last time Matt Wilhelm is seen in an Eagles uniform?

Strongside Linebacker: Can rookie Moise Fokou really go from seventh-round pick to number two SAM?

Left Cornerback: Will Dimitri Patterson shore up his position as the fifth CB with good coverage against the Jets' receiving corps?

Right Cornerback: This is the last chance for Jack Ikegwunou to make the active roster. Will he be "redshirted" on IR for another year if he can't produce?

Strong Safety: Will Reshard Langford play well enough to earn a spot on the practice squad?

Free Safety: With the free safety spot up for grabs, can Sean Jones become an NFL starter once again?

Kicker: Can David Akers raise his fantasy stock with a few good long field goals?

Punter: Will Sav Rocca and the punt unit be able to contain talented return man Leon Washington?

Philadelphia Eagles win preseason thriller 33-32 over Jaguars

JasonB — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:52:24 -0000

More photos » by Mel Evans - AP

3 months ago: Philadelphia Eagles running back Marcus Mailei, left, dives for a touchdown as Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Thomas Williams and cornerback Pete Ittersagen defend during the third quarter of a preseason NFL football game, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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Yes It doesn't count, but that was still a pretty fun end to a game. Down 12 with 12 minutes left Kevin Kolb led the Eagles on three straight scoring drives, the last of which ended in a go ahead David Akers FG with 15 seconds left in the game. It gave the Eagles their first win in preseason and dropped the Jaguars to 0-3.

It was a big night for Kolb, whose last game action was last years' devastating loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Even though it was against backups in a preseason game, Kolb showed poise and looked very sharp with his passes. Not to steal Bob Q's thunder, but I'll say "stock up" for Kolb tonight.

Now to the important stuff. The first team offense and defense. It was an odd night with two flukey touchdowns that put the Jaguars up early. The first came on a play where Jacksonville had driven down to the red zone and Asante Samuel put a devastating(and probably illegal helmet to helmet) hit on a Jags WR, who dropped the ball on the one yard line. The Eagles players stood around as if it was an incomplete pass, but Torry Holt made a heads up play to pick up the ball and walk it in for a TD. While it was somewhat of a "fluke" play, the fact that the Jags had driven that far down the field and were likely to score anyway was not. Other than that drive though, the Eagles first team defense was much improved from the first two preseason games. The return of Trent Cole meant the return of the pressure as the front four repeatedly hurried and hit Jags' QB David Garrard.

The secondary also played well, led by Asante Samuel... who seemed to have an extra something in his play tonight. Samuel was out hitting like a linebacker, picked off a pass, and made a very nice strip on a Jags' WR that was initially ruled a fumble. Asante certainly seemed like he was up for filling whatever leadership void might exist on the defense in the absence on Brian Dawkins.

We get to the offense after the jump.

The offense is another story. We'll get to Vick later.... First, they generally moved the ball well. In a stat line that was all too reminiscent of last season, they were better than the Jags' offense in pretty much every conceivable stat other than the score. They moved the ball, but failed to score TDs in the red zone. In the red zone, they settled for two FGs and had one fumble returned 92 yards for a TD. The fumble came on a swing pass to Lesean McCoy that the Eagles and most of the Jags thought fell incomplete, but since the pass wasn't thrown forward it was a live ball. Jags' backup LB Brian Iwuh made a heads up play to pick up the live ball and return it all the way for a TD. No excuses though, it was a bad play and McNabb & McCoy certainly share the blame.

The second half opened with a fumble finally going the Eagles way. Broderick Bunkley tore the ball out of the grip of Chauncey Washington and Quintin Demps returned it to put the Eagles in good scoring position. Lesean McCoy ended up scoring after bouncing a run outside and beating two Jaguar defenders to the pylon for a TD. The offensive starters would score another TD on a 4 yard McNabb pass to rookie Marcus Mailei in what ended up being the starters' final drive of the night. The starting offense left having put up 20 points on the board in a little less than three quarters.

Things started tough for the second team when Kevin Kolb was called for an intentional grounding on his first pass which awarded the Jaguars a safety. From there on though, the Eagles reserves thoroughly outplayed the Jaguars' second string and ended up coming from 12 points down to win the game.

Finally, let's get to Vick.

First, I think that the experimenting Andy Reid did with him in the first quarter threw McNabb and the offense off a bit. The team clearly moved better and McNabb looked sharper when Vick wasn't being subbed in every two or three plays. It makes sense that the offense would be somewhat out of sync if they're running gimmick plays once every 4 downs. The experimenting made it hard for me to really evaluate how the first team offense really looked in that first quarter.

Vick himself looked as about as good as expected. Physically he seems like he's in pretty good shape. He didn't appear a step slow, he looked quite comfortable out there, and executed the few things he was asked to do well. That said, he wasn't asked to do much. He did appear in the wildcat formation with McNabb lining up as a WR and tossed a few shovel passes to Lesean McCoy. He threw one beautiful pass to Hank Baskett, which really showed that he still has a cannon for an arm... and ran one designed run play that really wasn't blocked well and left him with no where to go.

So while Vick looked fine, he really wasn't asked to do much.

A few more random thoughts before we wrap this thing up.

- While Jeremy Maclin still didn't show much as a return man, he did play noticeably better as a WR in the first half where he caught 4 passes for 53 yards. Still a work in progress.

- I noticed that rookie Macho Harris started at free safety and not Quintin Demps. Demps had one poor play where he flung himself at TE Marcedes Lewis and bounced off him, rather than make the smart play to wrap him up. Plays like that might be a reason he didn't get the start... He did grab a fumble though and make a decent return with it, although he attempted an ill advised lateral that thankfully went out of bounds. Smart play to pick up the ball and run, bonehead play to lateral it.

- Speaking of second year men having up and down games... DE Bryan Smith made a really nice interception after a Paul Smith pass was tipped, but later drew a pretty stupid and obvious roughing the passer penalty.

- Can anyone make an argument that Jason Avant is at least the second best WR on this team? Avant again caught nearly everything that went near him, ran perfect routes, and constantly got himself open. He was the best WR on the field tonight. With Kevin Curtis being banged up, Maclin still catching up, Reggie being Reggie... should Jason Avant be starting on this team come opening day? You can't say he hasn't earned it.

- Both ex-Patriot starting corners tonight played well. Asante Samuel we've already discussed... but Ellis Hobbs played the run very well tonight and managed to knock down a pass as well. He certainly helped to redeem himself after a rough outing against the Colts.

- Moises Fokou led the team in tackles for the second straight game and saw some time with the first team at middle linebacker.

- 4 FGs for David Akers tonight including the game winner. After two missed against New England it was nice to see him bounce back with a strong night.

Questions to Ask Tomorrow As the Eagles Face the Jaguars

Bob_Q — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

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The most exciting game of the preseason is 24 hours from kickoff, and you're probably wondering what to watch for. Tomorrow's match versus the Jacksonville Jaguars contains more interesting storylines than any Eagles preseason game in recent memory, so there's a lot to keep track of. Quarterback Michael Vick makes his highly talked-about return to the NFL, Brian Westbrook highlights a slew of starters returning from injuries, and several bubble players are still fighting tooth-and-nail for playing time. To help keep track of all the excitement, here are some Eagles to keep an eye on at each position:

Quarterback: The question on everyone's mind: how will Michael Vick perform in his first NFL game in over two years? Now that Andy Reid has announced that Vick will see action with the starters, what packages will the QB be used in and how much will it mess with the Jaguars' defense?

Running Back: In his first gameday action this year, will Brian Westbrook show that he is ready to go full-time by week one?

Fullback: With Leonard Weaver sitting out, will it be Kyle Eckel or Marcus Mailei who steps up and makes the most of their increased playing time?

Tight End: Can Rob Myers give another impressive showing before newly-acquired veteran Tony Curtis returns from his injury and gobbles up all of the playing time?

Wide Receiver: With only eight receivers left on the roster, is now the time for Brandon Gibson to continue his stellar performance and show that he will make the team?

Left Tackle: Can the returning Jason Peters silence the doubts about the o-line that have crept up over the course of the preseason?

Left Guard: Can Max Jean-Gilles perform respectably in place of the injured Todd Herremans?

Center: Will RFA Dallas Reynolds get any playing time and, if so, will he distinguish himself enough for people to take notice?

Right Guard: How will Stacy Andrews look in his return?

Right Tackle: Can Winston Justice prove that Eagles fans have nothing to fear should he need to start in week one?

Left Defensive End: Can Victor Abiamiri contain Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew and show that he is ready to be a starter on this team?

Defensive Tackle: Will Dan Klecko, Willie Williams, or Josh Gaines make a worthy case for Andy Reid keeping four defensive tackles on the roster?

Right Defensive End: Will Trent Cole's return give the defensive line the edge to produce a multi-sack game?

Weakside Linebacker: As the only uninjured WILL left on the roster, can Akeem Jordan benefit from the increased playing time?

Middle Linebacker: If Joe Mays splits starting time with rookie Moise Fokou, what does this mean for the Eagles MLB position?

Strongside Linebacker: How will the newly-acquired Curtis Gatewood perform in his Eagles debut?

Left Cornerback: Can Asante Samuel give the fans what they're dying to see from him: an interception?

Right Cornerback: Will Ellis Hobbs make up for last game's sub-par performance and help end David Garrard's preseason hot streak?

Strong Safety: Does RFA Reshard Langford have a prayer of making the final roster with Quintin Mikell and Sean Jones ahead of him on the depth chart?

Free Safety: Will second-year man Quintin Demps show the consistency needed to be a starting NFL safety?

Kicker: After only kicking an extra point last game, will David Akers get a chance to try for a long field goal?

Punter: Will Sav Rocca make the return men fear his tackling skills?

Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp Preview - Fullbacks

JasonB — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:00:21 -0000

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This is the next installment in our series of 12 positions in 12 days previewing the upcoming Eagles training camp. Rookie and selected vets report to Lehigh July 26th and each day leading up to that date we will bring you a preview of a different position battle.

Today we look at a position that has been forsaken for too long on this team. Yes, the fullback.

Much like punt returner in 2007, the Eagles went into 2008 without an actual fullback on the roster. Tony Hunt was converted from RB a week prior, which was an experiment that didn't go well. He was replaced by converted DT Dan Klecko, who was better but still not "good" Later in the season, Kyle Eckel was added from the Patriots but Eckel worked mostly as a short yardage running back and never really played the fullback position.

The bodies

Leonard Weaver

Kyle Eckel

Marcus Mailei

Presumed starter

Much like punt returner in 2007... it took the Eagles a year to add an accomplished player at the fullback position. Enter Leonard Weaver. Weaver was a pro bowl alternate in 2008 and having played under Andy Reid mentor Mike Holmgrem in Seattle, he comes already equipped with an intimate knowledge of the Eagles style of West Coast offense.

Anyone who followed this site during free agency knows that I thought this move was a no brainer.

Weaver's skill set should fit the Eagles offense very well. He's a very good blocker, a capable run blocker, can carry the ball effectively when asked(career YPA 4.5), and most importantly has great hands catching the ball out of the backfield. He should provide McNabb with an option and an outlet at position where he really has had one since.... who knows when?

New additions

Marcus Mailei - Alectheman wrote a great article on Mailei that will provide you with more insight to the player that I probably ever could. I suggest you check that out.

What to watch for

The battle for starter probably won't be a battle at all. Leonard Weaver is all but guaranteed to be the starting fullback opening day, but there are several things worth watching in camp with Weaver. First is his lead blocking. While it would be wrong to say Weaver is poor lead blocker, it is the part of his game with the most room for improvement. He's an excellent pass blocker, a good receiver, and a capable run blocker. He's improved in that area every year in the league... can he take the next step this year?

It will also be interesting to see how Weaver is used in the offense. Andy Reid will surely be salivating over another good pass catching option and it could be exciting to see the job Weaver can do as a safety valve for McNabb. When given the chance to carry the football last year, Weaver did a solid job. Will he get any carries in the Eagles offense? All things to watch for.

As for the battle at backup... The problem for Kyle Eckel & Marcus Mailei is that there likely won't be a backup FB position to fight for. The Eagles will probably not want to carry an extra fullback on their roster, but the guys can make the team in other ways. The Eagles are always looking for standout special teams player, there's the practice squad for a guy like Mailei, and Eckel could still find a job as a running back on the team.

Previous position previews

Quarterback