We haven't discussed most of the injuries that occurred during this year's training camp, outside the season-ending variety suffered by Stewart Bradley and Cornelius Ingram. There were a lot, including most recently Todd Herremans, who is likely held out for the entire preseason with a "stress reaction" in his foot. For one thing, the majority of injuries haven't been serious, with all but a few players still set to be ready for the opener on September 13.
It's also generally not something to get worked up over in August.
Depth is often the most vastly underrated aspect of the game, but its impact is felt on all 32 teams each season. Everybody is going to battle injuries. Granted they won't all be as big as the starting middle linebacker, or a promising rookie tight end, or three out of five offensive linemen. They all present their own unique challenges though, and the Eagles have consistently proven they are more prepared to handle multiple losses than most clubs.
That's not to say they are in perfect shape. Ingram's injury in particular is magnified by the lack of depth at that particular spot, something that could have been prevented. Everyone loved the value behind the fifth round selection, even though the reason he was still available is the very knee that will cause him to miss '09, and possibly prevent him from ever contributing in the NFL. 31 other teams allowed Ingram to fall, and while somebody would have eventually given him a shot, the Eagles hitched their wagon to him.
All that remains behind Celek are undrafted rookies and Matt Schobel. Meanwhile, they passed on Brandon Pettigrew with the 19th pick and traded the 85th choice while Jared Cook remained, used only half of their selections in the draft, and obtained only one tight end despite holding 14 picks. The situation wreaks of the same stroke of arrogance that led to the decisions not to carry a punt returner or a fullback on the roster.
That's only one position though. How many teams have at least two solid, experienced back-up offensive linemen like the Cole and Jean-Gilles? How many have two players who can replace the middle linebacker, one who has started there, the other an intriguing prospect?
How many teams have a starting cornerback like Hobbs sitting on their bench? How many can rotate five defensive ends on gameday? Who else has five wide receivers who were all drafted in the fourth round or higher? Or three defensive tackles taken in the top two rounds? Is there a better emergency quarterback in the NFL today than A.J. Feeley?
No matter how much depth there is, injuries can railroad a team's season. None of the injuries to Eagles however, individual or cumulative, are great enough yet to say this team isn't any more a contender now than they were three weeks ago. There are plenty of question marks, as there are in most camps, but there is an entire month to work those out, and 16 games to be played between now and January. The landscape of the NFL is going to be much different by then.
Programming Note: Since you've read this far, you might be interested in tomorrow night's live blog for the first Eagles preseason game. We plan to offer more live blogs on Sundays this season, so consider this preseason for us too. Swing by if you're interested in the game.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/08/tr...
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August 12, 2009
