SI: Eagles Rookie gets schooled

[sableholic]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/nfl/training_camp/2006/07/showdown-at-eagles-camp.html

" On one side of the ball: hotshot, second-round offensive tackle Winston Justice from USC -- athletic looking, no visible fat. He had one of the draft's greatest resumes -- blocked for three Heisman trophy winners and only fell out of the first round because of some on-campus altercations.

On the other side of the ball: Veteran, big-money free agent Darren Howard. He had a borderline Pro Bowl tenure with the Saints, but none of that means anything when you're at the first training camp practice with a whole new group of guys.

Offensive line coach Juan Castillo stood near both men. Justice in his pass-blocking stance, Howard in a wide set, ready to pin his ear backs to get to the imaginary quarterback, marked by an orange rubber ring about seven yards behind Justice. Watching intently were the Eagles college and pro scouts and three assistant coaches.

After Castillo barked out signals and an imaginary snap was made, Justice bolted up ready to take on Howard. The on-rushing Howard took two steps forward, juked slightly to his right and then charged to his left, trying to burst by Justice. The juke doomed the rookie because in three more steps, along with a bashing upward right arm move to get Justice's hands off him, Howard was at the orange circle.

"Woo woo woo!" Howard's teammates yelled.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was a first-round TKO.

I asked Howard later about his set-to with the future left tackle of the Eagles. He was properly humble. "He's got great foot speed and he's quick," Howard told me. "But he's a little light and I have to be able to take advantage of that. He's a hard worker. He's going to be a really good tackle in this league.""


Just thought it was interesting. Are the eagles planning to start him?

[Who Del]

I saw this. Howard blew by Justice like it was nothing. Howard was on fire yesterday. Making LT's his *****.

[Chachie]

There's an article in the Washington Post's sports section today about Howard. Apparently he made Tra Thomas look bad too. The guy is very motivated and looking to make his mark.

[CowboysForLife]

I saw this. Howard blew by Justice like it was nothing. Howard was on fire yesterday. Making LT's his *****.


So, either Howard was a great pickup, or you have horrible LT's :laugh:

[thespaniard]

I'd put it on Howard just being that good.

[CowboysForLife]

I'd put it on Howard just being that good.

It doesn't matter for the Cowboys, because our OT's suck anyway :silly: .

[HOF44]

I think Howard is an above average end when healthy. Keeping him healthy will be the test.

[sableholic]

I'd put it on Howard just being that good.

When healthy of course. Although, NO always seems to have good DE, similar to Denver and RBs, so who knows. Oh and RB is a easier position to find later on in the draft as well, so take that into account.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I think this is a good sign for Philly. It says more about Howard in a positive way than it does about the OL in a negative way to me.

[JetSkins]

justice overrated anyway hes a bum

[thespaniard]

When healthy of course. Although, NO always seems to have good DE, similar to Denver and RBs, so who knows.

The difference being that they have 2 first round picks at DE even without howard, and dever finds their RB's on a streetcorner.

[Pocono]

"Just thought it was interesting. Are the eagles planning to start him?"

No...the plan is to go with Thomas. If he can't go then they would use Justice. I wonder why King didn't mention that Justice played ROT at USC to protect Leinhart's blind side and is in the process of adjusting to LOT.

[Oldskool]

justice overrated anyway hes a bum

And you base this on what? The fact that he started on 2 national championship teams, played in 3 championship games, helped LenDale White get 52 rushing TD's in 3 years, helped Reggie Bush gain 1740 yards rushing at 8.7 yards per touch last year?

Please explain? The only reason this guy wasnt a 1st round pick is because he has some well documented off the field issues.

So he might suck as a person but tell me how does he suck as a OT?

[sableholic]

The difference being that they have 2 first round picks at DE even without howard, and dever finds their RB's on a streetcorner.

If by street corner you mean 2nd round and 6th round then yes.

[GrimReefa]

What this story illustartes to me, more than anything else, is the ridiculousness of using a team's performance in the draft (which I argued in another thread on this very board this very day is impossible to guage immeadately, anyway) to try and predict their performance in that season. Evn if Winston Justice turns out to be everything the Eagles dreamed about when they took him, it's going to be a while before he learns enough about the playing the game at this level to become a high-impact player, and that goes for almost everybody taken in the draft.

Now, will Justice and the other Philly draft picks make the Eagles a significantly better team 2 or 3 years down the line? Maybe. But they won't make much of an impact this season.

[dockeryfan]

What this story illustartes to me, more than anything else, is the ridiculousness of using a team's performance in the draft (which I argued in another thread on this very board this very day is impossible to guage immeadately, anyway) to try and predict their performance in that season. Evn if Winston Justice turns out to be everything the Eagles dreamed about when they took him, it's going to be a while before he learns enough about the playing the game at this level to become a high-impact player, and that goes for almost everybody taken in the draft.

Now, will Justice and the other Philly draft picks make the Eagles a significantly better team 2 or 3 years down the line? Maybe. But they won't make much of an impact this season.
Well it does look like Bloom won't be ready for 2006, with the partially torn re occurring hamstring and all. Hoorah 2007.

[GrimReefa]

Well it does look like Bloom won't be ready for 2006, with the partially torn re occurring hamstring and all. Hoorah 2007.

What really sucks for the Eagles is that KRs are one of the few exceptions to the "rookies don't make big impacts in the NFL" rule. Some others are RBs, DTs, some DEs, and freakish athletic talents like Javon Kearse, Jeremy Shockey, Randy Moss, etc.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

HOF,

Where did you get that countdown for your sig? I wanted to see ifI could get it onto my computer.

[TerpsEagles]

Go ahead Oldskool. I love when you regs ..well... regulate

[Oldskool]

Go ahead Oldskool. I love when you regs ..well... regulate

As much as I hate to give any Eagles credit :eaglesuck :silly: Justice was a good pick for them and a steal in the 2nd round.

He has a long way to go to learn how to block in the NFL, especially moving from ROT to LOT but as long as he stays out of trouble, he will be a good player

[fdarugar]

Howard will have a better season than Kearse...

[eagles78]

justice overrated anyway hes a bumHe hasn't even played a pro game yet, and he's already over rated?

[zEnder1241z]

Eh, Justice needs time to adjust. He's overwhelmed with learning all the plays and changing from RT to LT. I don't expect him to play this year.

I'm a bit worried about William Thomas, but I'll take the optimism route and just say Howard is a beast.