Eagles cut 16, set initial 53 man roster

With the Eagles needing to get settle their 53 man roster today, they made a series of moves, including cutting the following 16 players:

S Jamar Adams
RB Eldra Buckley
WR Chad Hall
CB Joselio Hanson
DT Anthony Hargrove
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins
OT Austin Howard
S Marlin Jackson
DT Derek Landri
TE Donald Lee
LB Greg Lloyd
G Mike McGlynn
WR Sinorice Moss
DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
OL Fenuki Tupou
OL Reggie Wells

The Eagles also released linemen Jose Acuna and Ryan Harris, with Harris being waived/injured.  Brandon Graham also remains on the PUP list.

There were a few surprises amongst the list of cuts, most notably that both Landri and Hargrove are out of the mix at DT.  Landri was very impressive in the preseason and Hargrove quickly developed into a leader so it wouldn't be surprising for both to latch on with other teams in the coming days.  Losing Hanson for nothing was somewhat surprising as well.  Apparently other teams figure it is easier to sign him off the scrap heap.  Cutting Chad Hall was a also bit of a surprise considering the health of Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith, who apparently must both be ready to go in Week 1.  There was a ton of turnover along the offensive line, with Howard, McGlynn, Tupou and Wells all being shown the door after being on the roster last season.  The end of the Te'o-Nesheim era is disappointing though hardly surprising.  The former third round pick simply got beat out by Philip Hunt.

As for surprises amongst players that made the team, DT Cedric Thornton and S Colt Anderson are the most notable.  Anderson's special teams ability makes him valuable so it's nice to see the Eagles hold on to him.

Over the last few weeks, I have been making my own projections of the Eagles roster. Here is the Eagles actual roster, with changes from my final version in bold.  Expect a change or two before the season starts.

Offense:
QB(3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka

RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis

FB (1): Owen Schmitt

WR(5): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Steve Smith, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper

TE(2): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor

LT(1): Jason Peters

LG(2): Evan Mathis, Julian Vandervelde

C(2): Jason Kelce, Jamaal Jackson

RG(1): Danny Watkins

RT(3): Todd Herremans, Winston Justice, King Dunlap

Defense:
DE(5): Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Philip Hunt

DT(5): Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws, Cedric Thornton

LB(6): Moise Fokou, Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, Keenan Clayton, Brian Rolle, Akeem Jordan

CB(6): Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Curtis Marsh, Brandon Hughes, Trevard Lindley

FS(2): Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett

SS(3): Nate Allen, Jarrad Page, Colt Anderson

Special Teams:
K(1): Alex Henery

P(1): Chas Henry

LS(1): Jon Dorenbos

PUP: DE Brandon Graham

The positives and negatives from the Eagles first preseason game

Eagles football is back! With one preseason game in the books, the Eagles are undefeated, squeaking by the Ravens 13-6. Wins and losses are meaningless in preseason but the Eagles certainly looked like the better team when the starters were on the field. Here are some of the positives and negatives that I noticed from the Eagles first preseason game:

Positives:

First team offense: Nothing to complain about for the first team as they drove right down the field for a touchdown on their only drive. Michael Vick was solid, completing 4 of 6 passes to the backup receiving group of Jason Avant, Chad Hall and Riley Cooper. I would have liked to see them run the ball more with LeSean McCoy but we all know that isn't how the Eagles offense works.

First team defense: The Ravens did move the ball on the Eagles first team defense but they still looked great. We got our first look at the defensive line rotation, which is crazy deep, and the secondary had the Ravens receivers covered for the most part. The linebackers are fairly weak but the combination of a strong pass rush and a lockdown secondary should make the Eagles an elite defense.

Chad Hall: He took advantage of the extra playing time with the starting wideouts sitting, catching 5 balls for 82 yards. With the signing of Steve Smith, Hall will have a tough time making the team but more nights like this one will force the Birds to keep him.

Riley Cooper: Catch of the game for Cooper, who made a nice grab on the opening drive. He might get lost in the shuffle at wideout this year but Cooper can play and will make the occasional big catch this season.

Darryl Tapp: Two sacks on the night for Tapp, who should be a great contributor in the defensive line rotation. He will have one job this season: get the quarterback. He should do just fine.

Alex Henery: With the David Akers era over, its important that Henery is successful early on. He was perfect tonight, hitting a pair of field goals, and also showed off a strong leg on kickoffs. Can't ask for anything more than that.

Negatives:

Playing time for the first team: Its still early but I'd like to have seen more out of the first team offense and defense than just one drive. All of the free agents and rookies need more than a handful of plays to gel together, especially the offensive line. I know, its only the first preseason game, there is still plenty of time.

Brent Celek: Even though he had a touchdown, Celek still had a drop on a play that was negated due to a Ravens penalty. If Celek is going to have more drop problems this season the Eagles better start thinking about alternative plans at tight end. I'm not sure Clay Harbor or Donald Lee is the answer, though Lee had a couple of nice catches.

Austin Howard: The Ravens had only one sack in the game and Howard was burned on the play as well as on a few others. Howard probably isn't in jeopardy of losing his backup LT spot but he will need to step it up in the next game.

Kurt Coleman: Not a great day for a guy that is fighting for a starting spot. While rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett had a nice interception, Coleman got burned on two big plays early on. It will only be a matter of time before Jarrett leaps over him on the depth chart.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)