Yesterday Marty Mornhinweg mentioned in his PC that the Eagles had considered using Chris Polk as a lead blocker. Interesting development. Let’s not make this out to be more than it is. They haven’t tried it yet. It is just something the coaching staff is kicking around. Why?

You always want to keep the 53 best football players. There are times when you might keep a lesser backup OL and cut a good backup DB. You do need certain numbers at positions so you can’t truly keep the best 53. That’s just the goal you’re working toward.

Think about the RB/FB situation. Shady McCoy is a keeper. Dion Lewis has been terrific this summer. Bryce Brown has been very impressive. Chris Polk has played well. Stanley Havili has been okay. Emil Igwenagu has had some good moments, but has clearly also shown his limitations. The only reason to keep Havili or Iggy over Polk is that they can play FB. Those guys have not outperformed him this summer. If you want to keep Polk…what about him as FB?

Polk was 224 pounds at the Senior Bowl. He then dropped weight for the Combine and was 215. The Eagles list him at 222. I don’t know if he’s truly back up there. Having just completed Training Camp I wouldn’t think he would be over 220. This is important because most NFL FB’s are 245-pound sledgehammers. Their primary job is to be a lead blocker and blow up the LB in the hole, so that the RB can get into the heart of the defense. Could Polk do this at 215 or 220?

I’ve had a few readers ask about Polk at FB for a while and I’ve shot it down because of his size and also the fact that Chris has shoulder problems. A FB must engage the LB with his shoulder so that he can ideally move the player back a step. At the least, the FB wants a draw. FBs take a huge pounding because of lead blocks. That truly is like being in a car crash. Shoulder and neck problems are always a possibility. Polk already has bad shoulders. I just don’t know if he could handle the job for a full season.

The argument for him is that the FB now only plays 10 to 15 percent of the snaps in a season. There are only going to be a handful of plays a game where he would need to be the lead blocker. The Eagles love to run from 2 TE sets and also 3 WR/1 TE sets. FBs aren’t on the field in either grouping.

So why even bother with a FB? The times you do need a FB are critical. 3rd/1. 1st/Goal from the 2. Stuff like that. Those are situations where you need a lead blocker. Some coaches will go from a one-back set in those cases, but a majority of coaches will tell you that a FB is needed. The defense expects run. Defenders are trying to shoot gaps. If someone breaks free, you want the FB to be there to take him on. That still gives the RB a chance to get the yard or two that he needs. With no lead blocker, any defender who gets penetration has a free run at the RB. Not good.

If Polk was 230 pounds and had good shoulders, I’d be totally on board with him at FB. At 220 and with troubled shoulders, I’m just not sure about the wisdom of the idea. The fact the Eagles are discussing this tells me that they do like Polk and aren’t overly impressed with Havili or Iggy. Those two need to play well in the upcoming games to secure a spot.

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I wrote a TC review for PE.com. I focused on the guys who stood out (and mostly were backups/young players).

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Paul Domowitch wrote about Clay Harbor and how he could be more of a key player for the Eagles this year. Good stuff. Harbor was a quality blocker in the past, but inconsistent as a pass catcher. This summer Harbor worked long and hard to improve his receiving skills. He looked good up at Lehigh. Now the challenge is to show that in game situations. If he is significantly improved, the offense will have another weapon in the mix.

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Sheil Kapadia put up an interesting piece on the defense. Yes, there is reason for optimism, but there are some things to keep in perspective.

One point Sheil brings up is that Juan Castillo having the short offseason is negated by the fact that Wade Phillips had the same circumstances and was able to turn the Texans defense from a joke to an elite unit. Sheil is off target with this point. Wade Phillips is a legitimately great Defensive Coordinator. Wade was the DC under Buddy Ryan with the Eagles for 3 years. He has been a DC or head coach for 30 years. Wade has a proven system that he’s honed over the years. He knows how to teach every part of it.

Juan had never coached defense in the NFL. He was learning about that at the same time he was teaching his system to new players. Juan had incredibly difficult circumstances.

Now, if you want to blame Andy Reid for making the choice, go for it. But comparing Juan to a veteran DC like Wade isn’t fair.

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DRC got fined $21K for hitting the Steelers QB last week. DRC deserved to be fined. You just can’t launch yourself at the upper body of a QB. Dumb.

DRC had previously said he didn’t agree with any penalty/fine, but he changed his tune and acknowledged that he did launch himself. He wasn’t happy when he learned about how much the fine was. “$21,000? I ain’t even got that.” DRC had a bit of a smile as he said this. He knows he screwed up. Something tells me he’s got $21K. If not, we can start a PayPal drive for him.

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One loyal reader has started a new blog…about Dodgers baseball. Kinda crazy, I know, but some of you are big baseball fans and might enjoy his material. Very stats oriented. He is a loyal Eagles fan so go check out the site and see what you think. He posts under the name of BG. Good luck to him.

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Kevin Kolb had another rough outing. Last night he struggled vs Oakland. The Raiders said he looked “scared”. Someone on Twitter said that if Kolb holds the ball any longer he’ll have to start calling it “Wilson!!!”. Thought that was a good line. Hate to see Kolb falling apart like this. Not good.

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Finally, the Marlon Favorite update of the day. Here is what our hero had for breakfast today. I replied to him on Twitter that it wasn’t complete. He’s missing little chocolate donuts.

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