Cody Parkey states his case over Alex Henery in Eagles kicker competition

OK, so maybe I jumped the gun a little bit last week when I suggested the Philadelphia Eagles kicker for the upcoming 2014 season isn't on the roster yet.

But that's not because I was being too harsh on incumbent starter Alex Henery. Instead, it was because I was being too dismissive of recently acquired undrafted rookie free agent placekicker Cody Parkey.

Parkey, who arrived in Philadelphia after the Eagles traded running back David Fluellen to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for him, really put on a performance to remember in the team's 37-7 preseason win over the New York Jets on Thursday night.

Parkey attempted a total of three field goals and successfully converted all of them. One was a chip-shot from 25 yards out while the other two were long-distance makes from 53 and 54 yards. Both of those kicks from far out topped the career long of Henery, a three-year NFL veteran, from 51 yards.

So should the Eagles keep Parkey over Henery? I'd say the answer to that question is... "Yes."

Look, Henery is coming off a below average 2013 performance where he kicked 82.1% on field goals (22nd) and had a second-to-last average kickoff distance of of 64.7 yards (31st). Henery had every opportunity to quiet his doubters this summer. And he didn't do it. With misses from 31 and 47 in the preseason -- which is admittedly a small sample size -- his struggles have only continued. In fairness to Henery, his kickoffs have improved (70.3 average distance), but maybe that's just not enough.

Parkey, on the other hand, has been slightly better on kickoffs (71.9 average distance) and more reliable when it comes to kicking field goals.

It remains to be seen if one good preseason performance will be enough for Parkey to unseat Henery. The signs seems to be encouraging for the rookie so far. Remember that 53-yard attempt Parkey made (of course you do!)? That was supposed to be an attempt for Alex Henery. The decision to put Parkey in for Henery wasn't made until three seconds before the play occurred.

"Coach Chip Kelly told me if it was another long one we want to see what you got. It was another long one so I just went out there. Alex Henery and I were warming up in the net so, but they let me have it," Parkey explained.

The Eagles let Parkey kick over Henery on Thursday night. It's time to make that a more permanent decision.