Is Chad Hall the favorite for the Na Brown award?
by JasonB on May 24, 2010 11:23 AM EDT
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Longtime readers of BGN are probably already familiar with the Na Brown award, but for those of you who joined us in the last year I'll fill you in... Na Brown was a WR that the Eagles drafted out of North Carolina the same year they picked Donovan McNabb. In his first training camp with the team he looked like an emerging star. Every day at Lehigh he seemed to make plays and turn heads. Entire columns were being dedicated to his potential greatness...
He went on to catch just over 30 passes in his NFL career.
So every year we try to highlight the guy who arrived on the team with little expectations that went on to become the darling of training camp. There is some loose criteria... The player has to be young, he can't have been a first or second pick, & he really can't have ever done anything in the NFL. Previous winners include Lorenzo Booker, Hank Baskett, & Brandon Gibson.
While Lehigh is still a few months away, it's never too early to start identifying potential candidates for the 2010 Na Brown award. One contender that seems to have emerged is WR Chad Hall. He's got all the qualifying credentials. He was undrafted, he hasn't played football in a couple years, and he's a WR. You may notice that an overwhelming number of Na Brown award recipients have been WRs. Odd how often WRs can get overhyped in this town huh?
The #1 thing Hall has going for him is the copious amount of fluff pieces being written about him in the local papers. To be fair, the kid has a great back story. He's currently a 2nd lieutenant in the US Air Force. He flies to Philadelphia for the Eagles OTAs early in the week, then flies straight back to Utah(where he's stationed) to work 12 hour shifts doing aircraft maintenance. This is a great guy by any measure...
However, tons of fluff pieces alone will not win you the Na Brown award... just ask Jeremy Bloom. No, to bag the Na you need to perform in shorts on the practice field. So far, Hall has done that too.
Hall is working primarily as a slot receiver at Eagles practices, although he also gets snaps at running back. On Thursday he left cornerback Geoffrey Pope in a tangle running the stop-and-go. Hall also outran the safety help to haul in Mike Kafka’s deep throw.
If Hall can keep up that level of play when he's up against real NFL players not wearing pads and practicing... we may have ourselves a winner.
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I don't know, dudes...
I’m rooting for the guy.
I’ve seen some interviews with him and he seems straight-up and dedicated. Moreover, we should be glad he’s getting a shot.
Personally, I hope Chad Hall makes the roster, and becomes a great reserve WR and RS.
Veritas Liberabit Te
I think we all do. The Na is not necessarily a bad thing. One day a Na winner is going to have a great career.
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“You may notice that an overwhelming number of Na Brown award recipients have been WRs. Odd how often WRs can get overhyped in this town huh?”
Other than the obvious WR gag, it’s probable that a defensive player won’t get a fair shake either when it’s only training camp for the Na Brown….
Now if it included the preseason games, there was that Jason Babin hype last year…
just in case it isn’t clear..you won’t see a defensive player making impressive hits on his own teammates in training camp.
That’s a good point. It’s hard for a defensive player to look good in shorts.
Of course, that fact is why guys like Lorenzo Booker look great in camp. No one knew he couldn’t break a tackle because no one was tackling yet…
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Babin was tough because he didn’t exactly fit the criteria. He wasn’t a really young player and he was a former first round pick. It was like when Jerome McDougle had that great preseason.
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I think Hall will end up being this years Amendola… a little guy with a big effort that exceeds expectations, survives a few rounds of cuts, but does not make the final roster.
I agree, but last year we didn't have the roster space for Amendola
this year we do.
In Kolb we trust
Correct me if I'm wrong
But didn’t Amendola catch on with the Rams and actually catch some passes last year? I remember being happy for him, and a little bitter at the Rams for having what seemed like all of our WR prospects playing.
Amendola led the NFL in kickoff returns (66) and kickoff return yardage (1,618), and was sixth in punt return average (11.6), for what it’s worth.
I Guess there's a lot of KR opportunity in St. Louis!
Great stats by the way, thanks!
I think
Gibson could have been something special. He went to a shitty team in the Rams but now with Bradford behind center he could emerge and become pretty good.
I like Hall, i think, if used right, he could do damage on special teams and even some select offensive schemes
In 20 We Trust
You don’t have to end up sucking to win the Na Brown award.
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Hoping for the guy, but yeah. Doubtin he’ll be a contributor.
2010-11 Predictions:
Kevin Kolb will go to the probowl and complete >65% of passes.
Jeremy Maclyn will have more receptions than Miles Austin & Steve Smith
Graham will have the starting LDE spot tied up by week 5, win ROTY, and have >10 Sacks
11-5 finish.
by corn on the kolb on May 24, 2010 12:22 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
We can't let this turn into the League MVP Award....
… let’s see a Defensive winner.
I’m pulling for Ricky Sapp. The guy performed well at Clemson and I think he has enough speed to overcome the whole “tweener” curse.
Plus, he just looks beastly- and in the preseason, that counts for a lot.
Yeah he’s got some buzz and he fits the criteria. With all those speedy pass rushers and LBs this could be the year a defensive player takes it.
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I'm going with Riley Cooper...
he makes that fade route/jump ball look easy.
thats Cobb on Kolb crime if you ask me... as said by yophillybro
"I'm trading Kolb to Buffalo for Cribbs"- the brilliant Trade Kolb
Haha, thanks. He plays a bunch of positions so they’ll try him out at a number of places. He has speed, a crazy vertical leap, and he put up something like 30 reps at the combine so I’m sure he’s jacked… The only thing against him is that there’s isn’t much buzz on him (yet), but one great day in camp would change that really quickly.
Formerly Bye, Dawk :(
I think Clay Harbor as well
I see people talking about him like he was a first round TE. If he’s so amazing at everything like I read about, why was he picked in the fourth round? It can’t just be small school concerns either.
I have never heard that he was a first-round suggestion.
Who was it that suggested that?
nyuk nyuk nyuk
by alcatraz0109 on May 24, 2010 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions
oh wow read that wrong
never mind then
nyuk nyuk nyuk
by alcatraz0109 on May 24, 2010 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I can already hear the Wes Welker comparisons.
Every White receiver gets it.
I actually think he is like that Guy from the Jets Danny Woodhead. I think he makes the team over Basket.
In Kolb we trust
Haha, yup. My friend and I joke about that (the white/Welker comparisons) all the time. It’s kind of like in the NBA back in the 90’s – Every white European was a “Toni Kukoc clone.” Or in Madden, every black QB was given a higher rating for their speed – For example, In Byron Leftwich’s first couple seasons, he was fast in Madden, despite being one of the slowest QB’s in league history.
Formerly Bye, Dawk :(
I say Riley Cooper, He will get nooooo burn. Dude's Jersey will forever be clean
"I'm kinda annoyed right now...I was with the Eagles for four years, I was cheating for four years...nobody covered it!!" -Freddie Mitchell on Tiger Woods:
Kolb will win this award.
Hands down. Here it is in haiku form.
With no defenders
To pick his fluffy passes,
He looks half decent.
When the pressure’s on
He folds like a fresh t-shirt
And he’s just as soft.
...But if he pulls the rug on his quarterback, Reid must do it knowing that he let McNabb down more than McNabb ever let him down.
Phil Sheridan--Philadelphia Inquirer
Yeah and McNabb handled good defenses so well in recent games
And he played consistent enough football to win 3-4 playoff games in a row for a title…..NOT
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
as an aircraft mechanic myself,
iv never seen a 2nd liutenant, let alone any officer, working 12 hour shifts, especially maintenance officers.
good for him tho i’m not trying to knock his story, just saying.
"Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
He's doing big shifts so he can come to Philly and meet both obligations..
if he makes the 53 man roster I believe the AF will discharge him honorably…
thats Cobb on Kolb crime if you ask me... as said by yophillybro
"I'm trading Kolb to Buffalo for Cribbs"- the brilliant Trade Kolb
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