Lorenzo Booker's 3 muffed kicks in the last games seems to be enough to drop him from the top slot in the race for the first choice kick returner job. Andy Reid stated that Quintin Demps will be fielding kicks with the first team this week against New England.
Head coach Andy Reid said Demps, the Eagles' rookie defensive back from UTEP, will get a chance to return kickoffs with the first unit when they face the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Mass., in the third of four preseason games.
"It's going to be a good opportunity for me," said Demps, a fourth-round pick. "Any time you're out there with the first team, you've got to pick your game up and do your best. I'm going to take the opportunity and just try to run with it."
The article also mentions that Demps may get a few looks at punt returner as well. For a guy that's also working at safety and corner this offseason, the Eagles sure are putting a lot on the 4th round pick's plate.
As for Booker, I must say that I'm happy to see the Eagles experimenting with personnel and changing things around on special teams in the preseason... as opposed to the say... the first game of the year against Green Bay! While Booker has been a dissapointment on special teams, let's not forget he's never done it before.
"The most important thing on offense is to secure the ball first, whether it be a handoff, catching a pass, or fielding a punt," he said. "As far as special teams, I've never done it. I want to go out and prove to myself that I can do it."
Elsewhere on the roster Jed Collins got his chance to start at FB against the Panthers and impressed.
Collins got a chance to make two plays early on Thursday night, long before either team's first-stringers thought about coming out of the game.
On the opening kickoff, he got downfield and made the coverage tackle. Then, on the Eagles' first possession, he picked up a first down, bulling his way for 3 yards on third-and-1.
"I never intended to go in and get the rock," he said. "But I think I got the job done, so I hope next time on third-and-short they'll look to me again."
By the way, I totally missed this during the game but did anyone see that Jason Avant was the holder on Richmod McGee's 40 FG late against Carolina?