Eagles' TE situation gets curiouser and curiouser...while "Macho" Harris gets the starting nod at Free Safety over Quintin Demps

Good thing it's a long 16-game season, because all the roster trauma is apparently front-loaded...The Eagles unexpectedly announced the release of TE Tony Curtis, whom it was assumed had won the back-up job for 2009, when TE Alex Smith suddenly became available from the New England Patriots. Smith is 6-4, 258, in his 5th year out of Stanford where he starred at TE and also majored in economics. Now this move appears to be an upgrade based on the receiving potential of Smith over Curtis, but damn I feel sorry for Curtis, who probably had just celebrated with his family and friends the night before about his making the Eagles' roster after a great preseason performance against the Jets. The Eagles will still only carry two TE's on their roster, Brent Celek and now Alex Smith, going into the opener against Carolina on Sunday. It kinda makes you wonder why not carry three TE's and dump one of their 7 WR's ? Maybe that's how it will eventualy play out. But for now, the moves at TE are somewhat mystifying. Not that Alex Smith is a slouch at TE by any means. He's got tremendous size for blocking, and decent speed for pass routes, and in four seasons with Tampa Bay, Smith caught 129 passes for 1,252 yards and 11 TD's. Maybe that's the ticket for Smith, who the Eagles must think presents a better red-zone target than Curtis. Plus, it's hard to forget that, as a rookie in Tampa in 2005, Smith finished 2nd on the team with 41 receptions for 367 yards and 2 TD's, leading all rookie TE's that season, and as a blocker he led Carnell "Cadillac" Williams to six 100-yard games and the Rookie of the Year award. And it doesn't hurt that Alex Smith is a real smart young man, a high-character guy whose father, Edwin Smith, was the first-ever Bahamian in the NFL (Denver, 1973). It's actually amazing that Smith was available after the Patriots released him...and the Patriots had traded for him, giving up a 5th-round draft pick in the 2010 Draft to Tampa Bay. But I still don't completely get why we let Tony Curtis and Matt Schobel go, considering that we still have only 2 TE's and a whole bunch of WR's on the roster...Plus, now Smith only has 3 days to absorb small chunks of the Eagles' playbook. How effective can that process be? Well, for now I'll just have to keep the faith in Andy Reid and trust he knows what he's doing and what he's planning... Meanwhile, four more guys were signed to the practice squad: LB Jeremy Leman, CB Jack Ikegwuonu, S Reshard Langford, and FB Marcus Mailei. Another shocking announcement was made today by Reid: Victor "Macho" Harris, the rookie from Virginia Tech, has incredibly unseated Quintin Demps as the starting free safety against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Oh, I've heard the talk about "Macho" Harris all through training camp: "He makes decisions at FS quicker than the veteran Demps...Demps can run faster than Harris, but Harris changes directions better. Harris has 'football speed', Demps has 'track speed'"... I've also heard: "Harris is a better tackler than Demps..." We shall see, and it's a lot of pressure to put on a rookie starting over a veteran at free safety. Demps should still be the Eagles' primary kick returner. But the fact is, I don't like Demps as a KR----he is not shifty enough to hit those small holes that appear for only 0.5 seconds. I will admit, Demps does have great vision, and if he can get off on those straight-line follow-the-wedge returns, good things can happen---after all, he had 1300 yards in KR's last year with a TD. I'm not here to rip on Demps. He belongs in the NFL. And if "Macho" Harris should falter, I believe Demps will be there to help pick him up. Let's just say Carolina fans will be loud and unruly on Sunday down in Charlotte, and both Harris and Demps better be ready to forget their current rivalry and get it together in every way possible to back their defensive front and/or produce on kick returns duty. No matter how Harris and Demps fare, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott better shake off the somewhat unconfident body language we've seen from him in preseason games and start calling some definitive pressure schemes. Conversely, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg better get inside the heads of his starting offensive line and keep that fantastic defensive front of Carolina off Donovan McNabb and out of the backfield. Remember, beating Carolina is a lot about outwitting and out-physically playing DE Julius Peppers. Where will Julius line up? On the left side, on the right? Maybe on the "A" Gap just to drive you nuts? Wow, new tight end and new free safety and new defensive coordinator all at once...and an offensive line for the Eagles that has barely played together since the Spring mini-camp. Fellow fans and friends, this is not going to be a cake-walk at Carolina.