Who’s Terrell Thomas?

“I don’t even know who the hell Thomas is … Is it Tim Thomas?” the Jets’ linebacker said. “Whoever that guy is, he has a right to his opinion. Personally, I don’t give a [expletive].”

It’s only a preseason game — the opener, no less — but the annual Jets-Giants affair has a new twist. A couple of twists, actually: It’s two weeks earlier than usual and it will be the first football game in the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The teams co-own the $1.7 billion stadium, but the Giants, perhaps envious of the Jets’ “Hard Knocks” exposure, have been chirping. Thomas told the New York Daily News that the Jets are “claiming New York and that it’s their town. We’re not feeding into that. But at the same time, we want to send a message to them that it’s still our town. And it’s going to be our stadium.”

No doubt, the Jets are talking a lot, and now the entire HBO-watching nation knows about their Super Bowl mission and their F-bombing coach, Rex Ryan. Don’t like their brash style? Too bad. They don’t care what other teams, least of all the Giants, think.

“We’re just going about our business and having fun, whether the camera is there or not,” Scott said. “We’re not putting on a show for anybody. We’re acting the same way we did before people believed in us.”

Guard Brandon Moore acknowledged the Giants “might have some jealousy. Or maybe they’re plain, old sick and tired of hearing about us. We’ve been in the press, on the back pages and on HBO … I think it’s definitely going to be a little more spirited than it has been in the past, a little more activity in this game, especially in the beginning.”

For the most part, the Jets see this as the start of a long journey, one they expect to end in Dallas in February.

“Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,” wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “This is just the first step.”

Said nose tackle Kris Jenkins: “We hope the fans enjoy the environment and the competition, but at the same time, we understand what we’re building for. Winning a preseason game isn’t going to get you a Super Bowl ring.”

Jenkins tried to downplay the “It’s-our-town” chatter emanating from Albany, but he added, “It’s cool for them to feel that way, but we’re here to stay and that’s it. That’s all I can say.”

Ryan admitted the game might have “a little extra” because it’s opening night in a new stadium, but he doesn’t expect a regular-season atmosphere. Believe it or not, he has a healthy respect for the Giants because “they’re a tough team.”

There’s definitely an arrogance to the Jets. That was Thomas’ impression after watching the first episode of “Hard Knocks,” in which Ryan tells his players on Day 1 of camp, “If we play our best, we will beat every team in this [expletive] league playing at their best.”

Told that Thomas used the word “arrogance” to describe the Jets’ attitude on “Hard Knocks,” Scott smiled.

“Were they watching?” he asked. “That’s all I want to know. Were they watching?”

SPARTANBURG — There were times in Derek Landri’s high school and college career that he thought he’d never lose.

There were times as a pro, however, when he thought he’d never get to play at all.

Now, he has worked his way into a real shot at a starting job at defensive tackle with the Carolina Panthers, with a chance to add to his resume tonight in the exhibition opener at Baltimore.

“This is an opportunity,” Landri said. “That’s all you ever want.”

To watch him walking on the field, you wouldn’t immediately think dominant defensive tackle. Frankly, he’s kind of short-armed and stubby looking compared to his teammates. But each day in practice, he’s making plays, impressing coaches with his tenacity and ability to fight through blockers and into the backfield.

“Just his execution,” coach John Fox said when asked what stood out about Landri. “He does right, he’s in the right place, right now he’s executing his job.

“He works hard, he’s relentless to the ball, he’s a dependable, accountable guy.”

That blue-collar description belies the fact he’s been a big-time player.

Landri played at De La Salle High in Concord, Calif., where the Spartans set a national record with 151 straight wins from 1992 to 2003.

Then he went to Notre Dame and started 8-0 his freshman year (2002) before the Irish lost to Boston College, a 14-7 defeat Landri can recite chapter and verse to this day. To say he didn’t know how to react was an understatement. He and high school teammate Anthony Salvador, who went with him to South Bend, Ind., were in shock at their new teammates’ reactions.

“I didn’t want to talk to anybody, didn’t want to see anybody. I was miserable,” he said. “It was weird, seeing guys around you being used to it and talking to each other, laughing and telling jokes.

“We were miserable and about to go into a … coma because we lost. I didn’t want to talk to anybody, was just (mad) at the world.”

More losses would follow, but Landri excelled. By his senior year, he had worked his way onto the NFL’s radar with a stellar season. He recorded 15.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks as an inside rusher, and set a school record with four blocked kicks.

Jacksonville chose him in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, and that’s when he went back into the shadows. The Jaguars had mammoth bookend tackles in John Henderson and Marcus Stroud, so the challenge was staying ready for whatever chance came.

“You’ve got to prepare every day like something’s going to happen to them and they might not be there, so who’s going to be the next guy,” Landri said. “To me, it wasn’t like they’re going to start, so I can just relax. It was about making myself the best player I can be and knowing at any time I could be out on that field.”

He got that chance in the playoffs his rookie year, when Henderson was injured and he had to play an expanded role against Pittsburgh. He responded with one of the great days by a sub, with a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery in the win. He grins when asked about that game, since it seems to come up quite often.

“Early on, I was taught in high school, you don’t ever dwell on it,” Landri said. “It was a fun game, and I’m sure when I’m done with my career I’ll be hyping it up like it was the greatest game in the world. But right now I’m just thinking about the future.”

At the moment, that’s brighter than anyone could have known.

Landri was an afterthought when the Panthers picked him up in December, just a guy to fill the roster down the stretch, a just-in-case guy.

“Last year was kind of irrelevant,” he said.

But he could become a fit here because of the way he became a misfit there.

Much like when they acquired Louis Leonard and Tank Tyler in trades, the Panthers found Landri because he was miscast when his team switched from a 4-3 alignment to a 3-4 defense. In Jacksonville, he was asked to bulk up and take on blockers, when his game is built on attacking.

At 6-foot-2 and a listed 290 pounds now, Landri admits he didn’t feel good when asked to go to 305, saying it wasn’t all “good weight,” and that his eating habits might have gotten lax.

Now back to a more normal size for him, he’s steadily climbed. He began taking work with the first team late last week, when coaches recognized his effort.

“Here, things are more wide open and it’s about fighting for that spot,” he said. “I probably started out camp five or six deep coming in. But just working, moving up and making plays. They said, ‘Let’s go ahead and see what you do up here.’

“It’s one of those things – you play well, you make plays, they stick you in different spots. If you continue to do well, good things happen.”

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA — The question posed to rookie offensive guard Mike Johnson as he stood in the heat of Tuesday afternoon after wrapping up two days of practice with the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars was: Is it a requirement for Falcons offensive linemen to have a beard?

Johnson’s beard is no match for third-year left tackle Sam Baker or even fellow rookie Joe Hawley’s, but is well beyond five o’clock shadow length. He only responded with a laugh and then provided the perfect football answer.

“Honestly, I just haven’t even thought about shaving,” Johnson said. “I’ll probably trim it up sometime in the near future. It’s just not something that’s on my mind right now.”

What is on his mind, and the mind of Hawley, is earning a spot on a veteran-laden offensive line, a unit that returns all its starters for the third consecutive season. The two rookies are trying to gain every advantage they can, even if it means mixing it up with other players, especially the Jaguars.

Hawley has been involved in more than one skirmish in the past two days from his center position, but chalks it up to being nothing more the way things are in the world of professional football.

“It’s the competition, I think,” he said. “When two guys are trying to win a job, it gets heated, words get exchanged. Coaches tell us not to back down. It’s all in good fun though. No one holds grudges. It’s nothing personal.”

The fourth-round pick listens to what his coaches tell him, as does Johnson, and right now they are preaching leverage.

In the trenches, every one-on-one battle is won with leverage. As the rookies put it: “The low man wins.”

They’ve been working to hone their technique to ensure they’re underneath the competition, with their hands on the inside of their opponent’s chest.

“(If that happens), you’re going to have the leverage, you’re going to be able to drive your feet,” Johnson said. “If your hands are outside and theirs are in your chest, it’s going to go the other way. It’s just one of those things that takes a lot of effort and technique and you have to work to perfect that.”

Johnson and Hawley, consecutive draft selections for Atlanta, attribute much of their lessons about leverage and the ways of the professional offensive lineman to the veterans on the squad. With so much experience in the huddle and the meeting room, they’ve been able to take years worth of lessons to apply to their first seasons in the NFL.

“Those guys have a lot of experience,” Hawley said. “Me and Mike have really learned a lot from them about practice habits, how to take care of our bodies, learning the playbook and just becoming a pro. Without them we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now so it really helps out a lot.”

The Bucs see Quincy Black as capable of playing a variety of defensive roles.

St. Petersburg Times
August 10, 2010
By Stephen F. Holder

The Bucs conducted a full-contact, goal-line drill during a recent practice that was lively and physical. It could have been described as “violent,” a term embraced by coach Raheem Morris.

But even he got more than he bargained for from linebacker Quincy Black.

“I couldn’t tell those were his teammates he was tackling,” Morris said of Black. “When (cornerback) Ronde Barber tackles guys in practice, it’s a lot different than it is on game day. With Quincy, I can’t tell yet.”

One never knows where one stands with Black. He is silent and stoic. When he does speak, he is curt and to the point.

He told a reporter Monday: “I have a camp mentality. … I’m sorry if I’m not the most exciting guy right now.”

Don’t mistake his demeanor as a sign he is not engaged. His intensity on the field makes it clear he is anything but.

“You need that guy who kind of causes some intimidation,” Morris said.

Apparently, Black is just the man for the job.

But there was a time when this would never have seemed likely. When Black was drafted by the Bucs in the third round in 2007, he was nowhere near the forefront of anyone’s mind.

Derrick Brooks was entrenched as the starter at weakside linebacker. Cato June was the Bucs’ prized offseason acquisition and slated to start at strongside. Barrett Ruud was taking over in the middle.

Black quietly — how else? — took his place in the background and, perhaps, got too comfortable.

“I had two Pro Bowlers coming in ahead of me,” he said. “Cato had just come off the Super Bowl (with the Colts). Brooks had just come off a Pro Bowl. Barrett was coming into his own. So, I went out on special teams and did the best I could.”

After two seasons of Black doing just that, there came a time when it no longer was enough.

Said Morris: “He told me, ‘Hey, I kind of coasted through those first two years, and it’s my own fault. Then I developed just a hunger and an itch.’ ”

Then, Black acted on those feelings.

“When I became the defensive coordinator, and I was going to play him at that edge rush spot, it kind of lit a little fire under him,” Morris said. “Now he’s at that point in his career where he’s going to ascend to greatness or he’s just going to be (average). The decision he’s making right now points to greatness.”

Given all the plans the Bucs have for Black, he should have every opportunity to show what he can become. The strongside linebacker often is the least noticeable of the trio, but Morris’ plans call for Black to be put in a unique position to make all manner of plays.

There are times Black might be lined up as a pass rusher in a three-point stance, as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 configuration or deep down the field in pass coverage. While the strongside linebacker typically leaves in favor of a fifth defensive back in passing situations, the Bucs are exploring opportunities to keep Black in the game and turn him loose.

“We did some things with him last year, moving him around and using some 3-4 type of stuff,” linebackers coach Joe Baker said. “We feel good about moving him around because he’s such a good athlete. And, especially when you get into some of the (passing) situations where you already have Geno Hayes on the field, we’d love to find ways to keep (Black) out there.

“It all depends on him. If he becomes such a good player that you don’t want to take him off the field, then we’ll find ways to keep him out there.”

In college at New Mexico, Black played a unique hybrid role made famous by Bears star and former Lobo Brian Urlacher. Black was, in junior college, primarily a pass rusher. At New Mexico, he grew into a linebacker who could cover lots of ground and thrive near the line of scrimmage. Now Black thinks he can get back to his roots with the Bucs.

Black can handle a range of tasks largely because of his athleticism. Morris and teammates have used the term “freakish” to describe him, a reference to Black’s impressive speed and menacing size (6-2, 240 pounds). His weight-room feats are famous around the team facility.

Morris recounted the words of cornerback Aqib Talib during a recent lightning delay.

“Aqib said, ‘Hey, Coach, forget practice,’ ” Morris recalled. ” ‘Let’s just go watch Quincy Black lift in the weight room!’ ”

All Black must do now is make a name for the feats that matter — the ones on the field.

“I think,” Morris said, “he wants to be great.”

The Bucs conducted a full-contact, goal-line drill during a recent practice that was lively and physical. It could have been described as “violent,” a term embraced by coach Raheem Morris.

But even he got more than he bargained for from linebacker Quincy Black.

“I couldn’t tell those were his teammates he was tackling,” Morris said of Black. “When (cornerback) Ronde Barber tackles guys in practice, it’s a lot different than it is on game day. With Quincy, I can’t tell yet.”

One never knows where one stands with Black. He is silent and stoic. When he does speak, he is curt and to the point.

He told a reporter Monday: “I have a camp mentality. … I’m sorry if I’m not the most exciting guy right now.”

Don’t mistake his demeanor as a sign he is not engaged. His intensity on the field makes it clear he is anything but.

“You need that guy who kind of causes some intimidation,” Morris said.

Apparently, Black is just the man for the job.

But there was a time when this would never have seemed likely. When Black was drafted by the Bucs in the third round in 2007, he was nowhere near the forefront of anyone’s mind.

Derrick Brooks was entrenched as the starter at weakside linebacker. Cato June was the Bucs’ prized offseason acquisition and slated to start at strongside. Barrett Ruud was taking over in the middle.

Black quietly — how else? — took his place in the background and, perhaps, got too comfortable.

“I had two Pro Bowlers coming in ahead of me,” he said. “Cato had just come off the Super Bowl (with the Colts). Brooks had just come off a Pro Bowl. Barrett was coming into his own. So, I went out on special teams and did the best I could.”

After two seasons of Black doing just that, there came a time when it no longer was enough.

Said Morris: “He told me, ‘Hey, I kind of coasted through those first two years, and it’s my own fault. Then I developed just a hunger and an itch.’ ”

Then, Black acted on those feelings.

“When I became the defensive coordinator, and I was going to play him at that edge rush spot, it kind of lit a little fire under him,” Morris said. “Now he’s at that point in his career where he’s going to ascend to greatness or he’s just going to be (average). The decision he’s making right now points to greatness.”

Given all the plans the Bucs have for Black, he should have every opportunity to show what he can become. The strongside linebacker often is the least noticeable of the trio, but Morris’ plans call for Black to be put in a unique position to make all manner of plays.

There are times Black might be lined up as a pass rusher in a three-point stance, as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 configuration or deep down the field in pass coverage. While the strongside linebacker typically leaves in favor of a fifth defensive back in passing situations, the Bucs are exploring opportunities to keep Black in the game and turn him loose.

“We did some things with him last year, moving him around and using some 3-4 type of stuff,” linebackers coach Joe Baker said. “We feel good about moving him around because he’s such a good athlete. And, especially when you get into some of the (passing) situations where you already have Geno Hayes on the field, we’d love to find ways to keep (Black) out there.

“It all depends on him. If he becomes such a good player that you don’t want to take him off the field, then we’ll find ways to keep him out there.”

In college at New Mexico, Black played a unique hybrid role made famous by Bears star and former Lobo Brian Urlacher. Black was, in junior college, primarily a pass rusher. At New Mexico, he grew into a linebacker who could cover lots of ground and thrive near the line of scrimmage. Now Black thinks he can get back to his roots with the Bucs.

Black can handle a range of tasks largely because of his athleticism. Morris and teammates have used the term “freakish” to describe him, a reference to Black’s impressive speed and menacing size (6-2, 240 pounds). His weight-room feats are famous around the team facility.

Morris recounted the words of cornerback Aqib Talib during a recent lightning delay.

“Aqib said, ‘Hey, Coach, forget practice,’ ” Morris recalled. ” ‘Let’s just go watch Quincy Black lift in the weight room!’ ”

All Black must do now is make a name for the feats that matter — the ones on the field.

“I think,” Morris said, “he wants to be great.”

The Arizona Republic
August 6, 2010
By Kent Somers

Arizona Cardinals’ LaRod Stephens-Howling (36) gets past Cardinals defender Daryl Washington (58) for a touchdown catch during NFL football training camp practice Friday, Aug. 6, 2010, in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The Cardinals provided a glimpse Wednesday of what fans might see from running back LaRod Stephens-Howling this season.

Stephens-Howling was used in a number of situations during the morning practice: catching passes on wheel routes near the end zone, taking screens for nice gains and breaking open on draw plays.

 Earlier this week, coach Ken Whisenhunt said he envisioned Stephens-Howling being a regular part of the game plan, as opposed to his rookie season last year, when he saw time only occasionally.

“They are throwing a lot of things at me right now, and I’m just trying to keep up with it,” Stephens-Howling said. “It’s a big difference that a year makes. I feel a lot more comfortable out here, and whenever you can relax, you can just go play football like you always have.”

One of the bigger challenges facing Stephens-Howling is improving his blocking when the defense blitzes. He’s only 5 feet 7 inches and 180 pounds, so defenses will challenge him by sending linebackers and safeties at him.

“It’s always a question for any back coming into the league,” he said. “It’s one of the things I have to work on to be able to be out there as much as I can.”

August 5, 2010

By Brad Biggs

One week into training camp it would appear Jay Cutler has a new favorite target, or Mike Martz does anyway.

But the new offensive coordinator said it’s just by chance that receiver Johnny Knox has been targeted considerably more times than the other options in the offense after nine practices. According to the Tribune’s chart of 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven drills to this point, Knox has been targeted 55 times, 16 more than Devin Hester and Greg Olsen.

“We’re installing right now and depending on the coverages the ball will go different places,” Martz said. “Everything we script is just plays going in so it depends on what the defense is doing. Because of our defense, some of what we’re doing, the weak side is going to get kind of emphasized.”

Knox is operating on the weak side and one of the holes in the Cover-2 is the space between the weak-side linebacker and cornerback, a hole for a quick slant that Knox runs well.

“We’re just out there taking what the defense gives us,” Knox said. “It all depends on Jay’s progression and read.”

Devin Aromoashodu, who became a favorite target for Cutler late last season, is fourth with 32 passes his way and he has the highest percentage of catches on balls intended for him at 78.1.

Running backs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor are next and the work has been pretty evenly distributed between them.

Now with retired former star Isaac Bruce helping in camp, the hope is he can share some nuances of the offense with the young group. Bruce had nine 1,000-yard seasons in his career and was a main cog in the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf. The Bears don’t have a 1,000-yard receiver on their roster. He said his goal is to help make the players more confident.

“I don’t see much missing (here),” Bruce said. “I see guys who can make plays. You have a quarterback who can wing it. I always like that. You have guys on the outside who can make plays, who are fast and who can run routes without breaking down. When you have guys like that in this offense, it’s always good.”

But then you look at the linebackers.

The Bucs didn’t feel the need to make a lot of changes at that position. The same guys who ended last season as starters are still there and likely will be for a long while. Even as the rebuilding process swings into full force, they look at Barrett Ruud, Quincy Black and Geno Hayes as long-term answers.

“I’m hoping this is another golden era for linebackers on this team,” linebackers coach Joe Baker said on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon at training camp, “I think it can be.”

That’s setting the bar pretty high, given Tampa Bay’s history with linebackers. From Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles all the way back to Hugh Green and David Lewis, the Bucs have had their share of standout performers at the position. Frankly, a lot of people weren’t so sure that chain remained unbroken as they watched the entire defense – linebackers included – stumble through the first half of the 2009 season.

“Last season, honestly, was kind of chaotic,” Black said. “There’s no hiding that.”

There’s also no hiding that to avoid a re-run of last season, players like Black and Hayes need to have production match expectations. Black is entering his fourth season, Hayes his third. That doesn’t make them old by any stretch, but on a team with as much youth as the Bucs, it does put a load squarely on their shoulders.

So draw your own interpretation from how widely Ruud smiled when asked how far the linebackers are ahead of this time last year.

“Light years,” he said. “It’s night and day, it really is.”

Sounds good, but perhaps we should ask a neutral third party. Greg Lloyd was an outstanding linebacker with Pittsburgh back in the day. He has been working with the Bucs in camp as part of an NFL internship for minority coaches.

“That overall unit is really, really clicking. They’ve bought into the system,” he said. “This unit is fast! They are strong and they know what they’re doing, they’re clicking.

“I see positive things happening. This group is on the rise. With the young guys you have added to the core players, I see them sticking together for the next five or six years.”

Hayes has gotten quite a bit of notice already and we know that Ruud has been a leader here for a while now. Coaches have been saying for a couple of years that Black can be an impact player. If that’s finally happening, the rebuilding job on the defense could come much faster than perhaps first thought.

“I think those guys are both going to have really good years,” Ruud said. “You can see how much more detailed they are, how much more they know the system and are comfortable.

“It has become second nature to them.”

Speed has always been a trademark of Bucs linebackers (see Brooks, Derrick), so we kind of expect any unit put together to run the Tampa 2 will include fast players at that position. Lloyd sees more than just a track team with pads, though.

We offer the following quote from him for your consideration:

“You can see the maturity of this team. This team is led by Ruud, but I think you’ll see No. 58 really start to take charge of the linebackers,” Lloyd said. “This kid is a stud. He has everything it takes to be a linebacker, a Derrick Brooks type, he has it. I’ve seen this kid ask questions, correct coaches. He has so much talent.”

No. 58 is Quincy Black.

That’s high praise, but Lloyd didn’t back off.

“”I had no idea who these guys were before I came down, but they’ve got something special here, they really do,” he said. “They can run, they can cover, and they have depth. When somebody goes down they have another guy to put in.

“This is a bunch of highly intelligent guys, from the guys they’ve drafted to the free agents. They’re really putting in the work, too. I’ve seen some of them watching film when they could have been sleeping. They are on their P’s and Q’s as far as knowing where they need to be.

“To me, that’s championship football.”

For each change made in this most transforming of off-seasons, the Eagles had an answer.

It could be argued – and, indeed, it has been – that the answers won’t prove to be the correct ones. But, by and large, when the Eagles dumped a player during a frenzied month of cuts and trades, they did so with a reasonable replacement in mind.

But there was one move and the lack of a counter-move that remains a head-scratcher for many.

When the Eagles open training camp in Bethlehem on Monday with the reporting of rookies and selected veterans, there will be new faces at positions that had been synonymous with their previous occupants.

For the first time in years, Donovan McNabb will not be the Eagles’ starting quarterback, and Brian Westbrook will not be the starting running back. But it’s not as if their replacements were picked up off the waiver wire. Kevin Kolb and LeSean McCoy are high draft picks that have been groomed to take over someday.

The same can’t be said at right cornerback, where Sheldon Brown started for more than six seasons.

However, when the 31-year-old Brown was dealt to Cleveland in early April, the Eagles said they already had his substitute in the system: Ellis Hobbs.

Hobbs, who couldn’t beat out Brown for the job last training camp and who was coming off season-ending neck surgery? That Hobbs? Surely, it was believed, the Eagles would expend one of their many draft picks in a trade, or, at the very least, use a high pick on a ready-to-start cornerback.

But the draft came and went, and the most the Eagles did to address the need was select Trevard Lindley, a prospect who was injured during parts of his senior season, in the fourth round.

“We had Hobbs coming back, and we had gotten a decent report from his doctor on his recovery,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said last month. “And then we drafted Lindley, and we felt like he has a chance to be a pretty good player. We knew that Macho [Harris] could do both [safety and cornerback]. We felt we could be OK there.”

Despite hardly practicing during spring workouts, Hobbs remains the starter heading into camp. Reid told reporters at the end of June’s voluntary practices that Hobbs would return during camp, but he never said when.

In May, Hobbs likened his surgery – anterior cervical decompression and fusion for a herniated disk – and the risk of reinjury to a game of Jenga. (Pull one piece out and the whole thing falls apart.) Other than that, he said, “I’m at no more risk than anybody out on that field.”

Even if Hobbs is healthy, he has to beat out a handful of competitors. The Eagles traded for the former Patriot last April in the hope that he would push Brown. He did not. Hobbs gave Brown or his counterpart, Asante Samuel, a spell or two. But it’s not as if they were world-beaters.

Brown and Samuel tallied an impressive 14 interceptions, but they were part of a defense that allowed 27 passing touchdowns, was ranked 17th in pass defense, and was undressed by the Cowboys in the last two games of the season.

Hobbs, meanwhile, mostly returned kickoffs until he injured his neck in Game 8.

“Ellis Hobbs played how many games last year?” Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. “So he’s still learning the intricacies of the defense. But he’s not able to take part right now. So at training camp we’re going to try and get him out there as early as we can and get him as many [repetitions] as we can.”

If Hobbs misses the early portion of camp, Harris and Joselio Hanson are expected to get most of the reps with the first team, much as they did during the spring. Harris was an all-American corner at Virginia Tech but was moved to safety as a rookie last year. He eventually won the starting job at free safety but is at least temporarily back to his natural position.

“Macho’s physical,” Reid said. “He’s probably not as fast as Hobbs, but he’s smart, has good football instincts, and understands the defense.”

Hanson has been the Eagles’ nickel for the last several seasons, but he sees the lack of a significant off-season addition as his chance to finally start.

“That was a surprise,” Hanson said. “They’ve always added somebody, like when we got rid of Lito [Sheppard]. Every year it seems like they’ve added somebody else. I guess this year they wanted to give some guys some shots.”

Hanson enters this camp without the burden of a suspension hanging over him. Last year, he appealed a four-game suspension for using a performance enhancer, but eventually he had to serve the time. His play suffered upon his return.

Hanson, generously listed at 5-foot-9, is also smaller than Harris (6-0) and Hobbs (closer to 5-9 than Hanson is). Lindley, at 6-0, is an interesting prospect, because he has such long arms.

Ultimately, Hobbs appears to be the front-runner despite his deficiencies. He did start every game for New England in the two seasons prior to his trade, including 2008, when he and Samuel were the starting corners on the team that opened 18-0 only to lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

He wants to start again – not that he ever thought he wasn’t a starter.

“In my mind the whole time, I’m starting every game,” Hobbs said. “If you were to open me up you would think I was crazy inside because that’s how it was. But that’s how you get through the day. That’s how you get through certain situations.”