Does this mean Jones can’t play?

he didn’t play well at all in preseason games. maybe he’s having a hard time adjusting to a new team, but he dimply wasn’t that good.

i am stoked about this though. i think he’ll do a great job. he’s smart, passionate, and a hard hitter. he reminds me a little of our last free safety.

or if it’s that the eagles don’t feel comfortable moving mikell to the free spot. i haven’t seen him take a snap there all pre season or even in training camp. and jones is most definately not a fs.

… that happened to me once, though, in college they put this guy who I thought sucked ahead of me with 1 week to go before the season. I thought they were trying to motivate me, but he ended up starting the whole year.

Whether it is or isn’t a ploy, I like how Demps is responding a lot better than how I did:

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are turning to a rookie to replace Brian Dawkins.

Victor ‘Macho’ Harris took snaps with the first-team defense Monday, a strong indication he’s beaten out second-year pro Quintin Demps for the starting spot at free safety.

“I had an opportunity and I didn’t capitalize on it,” Demps said after a closed practice. “That’s competition. That’s what happens.”

Demps was considered the favorite for the job after Dawkins, a perennial Pro Bowl pick during 13 seasons in Philadelphia, signed with Denver in free agency. He entered training camp competing with veteran Sean Jones, a former starter with Cleveland. But Harris made the biggest impression on new defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

A fifth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, Harris played cornerback and also saw action as a returner and wide receiver during his four seasons with the Hokies. He had 15 interceptions in 40 starts, returning four of those picks for touchdowns.

“He just had that hunger,” Demps said. “When you first come in, like I came in last year, you have nothing to lose. My second year, I felt like I had a lot to lose, so I was playing not to lose instead of to win.”

Demps, a fourth-round pick last season, played primarily on special teams as a rookie and worked his way on the field in the secondary late in the season. He worked with the starters throughout the preseason.

“We’re all men. There ain’t no sugarcoating it,” Demps said. “It is what it is.”

Demps will serve as the gunner on special teams and could be the backup kick returner. He averaged 25.3 yards on 52 kickoff returns last season, including a 100-yard TD against Baltimore. But Ellis Hobbs will be handling those duties this year.

“If I didn’t start (at safety), I wanted to return kicks,” he said. “I’m just going to come to work, pin my ears back and play football.”

The Eagles also will have a new middle linebacker this season after losing Stewart Bradley to a knee injury early in training camp. Omar Gaither, a former starter, beat out Joe Mays for that job.

Regardless of what you think about Demps’ previous comments, you’ve got to find some solace in those.

where’s mikell going?

Did you mean Jones will be leaving? Demps is a FS not SS.

Lighting a fire under Demp’s ass. Similar to McNabb, some people need that to produce

And I don’t remember seeing too much of him in coverage.

Maybe thats the point. Hopefully that is an indication that he has been solid in coverage and the opposing team’s QB hasn’t felt safe throwing in his direction.

At least that’s what I hope happened.

Big Stew was an enormous loss.

I don’t think Jones was ever meant to be a FS for us. Jim Johnson himself said that he felt that Jones was a SS, not a FS. It was during the OTA’s, when he had his part of the press conference (I believe it was his last). We’ll see how it plays out during the season, but I’ll side with Jim on this one.