The Eagles will have multiple rookie starters this year. Right now two of them will be PK Alex Henery and P Chas Henry. Some people are concerned about making a Super Bowl run with both kicking specialists being rookies. Are the Eagles taking a crazy risk?

On the surface, it does sound crazy to go with a pair of rookies. The Eagles expect to be a Super Bowl contender this year and wouldn’t make this move unless they really liked both players. PK Alex Henery is the best college kicker I’ve ever seen. He’s got a huge leg. He hit clutch kicks. And he played at Nebraska. He dealt with some bad weather. He also played in big games. He understands how to deal with pressure and how to handle rough conditions. That’s critical for any NFC East kicker.

So far Henery has kicked as well as expected. He’s shown a strong leg and good accuracy. Here’s what Reuben Frank wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning:

Alex Henery: good from 41, good from 45, good from 49, good from 50, tough to tell from 51, wide left from 51, good from 52

That’s pretty good, huh? David Akers was a great kicker for a long time so filling his shoes won’t be easy, but I think Henery is the guy to do it. I would not support this move if I hadn’t seen Henery do some amazing things in college. There’s no guarantee that will carry over to the NFL, but so far, so good.

I can’t say as much about Chas Henry. He was a very good Punter at Florida, but didn’t stick out to me like Henery. Let’s face it, you rarely remember great punts. Field goals are a whole other story. I’m not sure what the Eagles thinking was in regard to Punter. They spent a 4th round pick on Henery so clearly the plan was to replace Akers with a top shelf PK if they could get one. I’m not sure if the plan was to replace Sav Rocca or if that just happened. The Eagles didn’t draft Chas Henry. They had to wait to sign him as a UDFA in late July. At that time we all expected Sav to return. Obviously the Eagles felt getting Henry changed everything. They let Sav go elsewhere. I don’t know what kind of a draft grade the Eagles had on Henry, but I would bet it was a mid-round grade. Punter is just not as significant a position as PK so you can roll the dice on getting your guy as a UDFA.

Reports from Lehigh say that Chas Henry has absolutely been bombing the ball. Even Eagles players have been shocked to see some of his kicks. Henry has a big time leg. Playing at Florida, he didn’t have to deal with elements very much. That’s going to be tricky for him. He seems to be a bright guy and Bobby April is a great coach. We have to hope they can work through that.

Both Henery and Henry have the potential to be Pro Bowl specialists because of their strong legs. The key to being a good kicker in the NFL is consistency. Henery must be accurate. Henry needs to show good ball control. Both players had these skills in college. Starting on Thursday we’ll see how they do in an NFL game.

I don’t think the Eagles would go with Henery I and Henry II if they didn’t trust these guys. It would be a whole other story if we were a rebuilding team and the Eagles could afford to develop young guys without worrying about the consequences. We’re hoping to win the big game this year. We need the young guys to be not only capable, but outright good players. Should the players struggled in the first 3 preseason games, the Eagles will hit the market and look for other options. Until that point we’re going to let the young guys kick away and show what they can do.

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MISC

* Will Brandon Graham play this year? Impossible to know. We don’t know what shape his knee will be in come mid-November. That is 100 or so days away. If Cole, Babin, Parker, Tapp,Teo, and Hunt are getting the job done, there’s no reason to try to bring him back. My hunch is that the Eagles will not play him this year, but all it takes is someone else getting hurt and we may need Brandon to try and get back on the field.

* How many DL will the Eagles keep? Most likely 10. 11 is possible, but that means you go light elsewhere. Roster building is a trade-off. Who is the RS? If the #5 WR can handle that, then you are good to go. If you have to keep a guy that is primarily the RS, that kills a roster spot. You also look at which young players you want to keep. Do we want to try and put Julian Vandervelde or Cedric Thornton on the Practice Squad? Which player are you higher on vs which player is less likely to get claimed by another team? All kinds of crazy decisions. We have to see the players in action before we can make really good guesses.

* Where can you watch practice? Go to PE.com every day at Noon for Eagles Live. They randomly show practice clips. It isn’t user friendly, but they have to do it this way. The Eagles don’t want other teams coming in and studying the clips. That’s why it is random and also not archived. Dave used to have everything archived for convenience, but you know how secretive Big Red is.

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I was one of several writers who contributed to the Maple Street Press 2011 Eagles Annual. I wrote 3 articles.

Draft Review

Story on Mudd, Washburn, and the coaching changes

20th anniversary of Gang Green – our 1991 Defense

The whole magazine is awesome. It is packed with good stories and lots of information. You can buy it at stores or through the Maple Street site. Go here: http://www.maplestreetpress.com/book.cfm?book_id=124