Under The Radar Who May Rise?

They toil here at the NovaCare Complex every day, working hard to break through and gain some publicity. They are, in a lot of ways, the Unknown Eagles, and they are the kind of players who fascinate me and who could truly impact the football team this season. Some of them are reasonably well established -- Juqua Parker has been a starter here for years -- and some of them may not even make the team. But for the sake of conversation on a slow, off-season day, let's kick around a few names on the Eagles roster ...

JUQUA PARKER, defensive end

Hobbs Eager To Prove Himself On The Corner

Ellis Hobbs lives by the Five P's that he has established: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. It is a daily mantra, and with so much riding professionally on this season, Hobbs is leaving nothing to chance. He is a driven man, motivated like at no other time in his career, as he sets his sights not only on earning the starting right cornerback job for the Eagles, but excelling every week.

"I expect great things, so when they come you won't hear me say that it is at all a surprise," he said. "I have attacked this off-season differently. I wanted to be physically ready before the off-season program began, and because of my injury (neck injury that sidelined him for the second half of the 2009 campaign) I had a lot more down time. Starting in early February, as soon as the doctor released me to do physical activity I was on the treadmill, doing pushups, doing sit-ups, anything minimal I could do without a lot of stress on my neck.

Allen's Tackling Should Prove Just Fine

It's Mother's Day. It's not a day for bickering. And certainly not a day to emphasize the tough, physical nature of the NFL.

But when the Eagles drafted Nate Allen with the 37th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, some fans groaned because of his tackling ability.

The team captain and second-team All-Big East honoree started 39 straight games, racked up 224 tackles and snared nine interceptions.

For whatever reason, though, there's this label that his tackling leaves something to be desired. General manager Howie Roseman certainly doesn't get it.

Who's Still Available In Free Agency?

Even though the Eagles currently have 86 players on their roster - draft picks do not count towards the 83-man roster limit until they sign contracts - there is still a possibility that more players will be added between now and the start of the 2010 season.

Most viable rookie free agents have already been signed by teams across the league, so barring a potential trade, the only arena where talent can still be acquired is through veteran free agency. Of course the cream of the free agent crop has already been gobbled up, but there are still a number of useful veterans who can at the least provide quality depth.

kelly green

It was just the first camp of a long spring and summer and the names could very well change between now and September 12 when the kelly green (for that day) Eagles play Green Bay at Lincoln Financial Field, but it was telling over the weekend that Macho Harris lined up as the starter at free safety and Joselio Hanson started at right cornerback for the defense. Telling in that the Eagles understand they are far away from drawing any conclusions in the all-important secondary.

How will it look when the season opens? Impossible to tell right now. This is not to suggest that Harris was a placeholder at free safety for the post-draft practices, but there certainly are going to be some challenges to the position. Harris is ahead of Quintin Demps on the depth chart, that much we can surmise from the post-draft camp. Where second-round draft pick Nate Allen and veteran free-agent signee Marlin Jackson fit into the equation remain to be seen.

Vick Much Improved Since Last Year

For the first time in his entire life, Michael Vick is a No. 2 quarterback.

The uber-talented former first overall draft pick spent the weekend running the second-string offense during the Eagles' mini-camp, and it was clear to on-lookers that the suddenness and quickness of the "old Michael Vick" has started to return. Of course, Vick spent the 2009 season as the No. 3 quarterback, running his specialty "wildcat" packages and re-acclimating himself to football after his incarceration. Now, with a full season of coaching and practicing under his belt, Vick is closer to the player he was at the peak of his career.
"As a competitor, as an athlete, you always feel like you're the greatest," Vick said. "But in reality, I wasn't there (last year). As I watched myself on film and just and just hearing the guys talking - because I can't see it, I can only react. I feel good when I'm doing it, but I can't see it from the outside looking in. Everybody's telling me I look like my old self, and I feel that way. My quickness is there. Just the sudden movements that I used to have that I did instinctively, without even thinking about it, it's back."