HATFIELD OLB Long has shot to make squad
PHILADELPHIA — Chip Kelly interrupted his otherwise routine news conference Tuesday to deliver breaking news.
Outside linebacker Travis Long, a free agent out of Washington State, is one of those longshots who could win a job.
At 6-4, 255-pounds, Long has the length the Eagles are looking for coming off the edge. The ACL he tore in 2012 appears healthy, as well.
“He’s really improved,” Kelly said before minicamp practice. “When we got him, he was coming off an injury. He spent the year on the practice squad. He didn’t miss any time but you could tell he was still recovering from the injury. But he’s really made some great strides. He’s a guy that’s really pushing hard to make this football team. He’s got to be able to contribute on special teams and at outside linebacker.”
For now the starting linebackers are Trent Cole and Connor Barwin, who were No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in sacks last season. Firstround draft pick Marcus Smith will be the next guy up.
The Eagles recently signed outside linebacker Bryan Braman, who almost certainly will be a special teams captain. That basically means Long figures to be competing with veteran Brandon Graham and others for a job.
With 3 sacks, Graham was tied for sixth on the squad last season.
Long had 9 1/2 sacks before suffering the tear in his senior season. He wasn’t invited to the scouting combine and subsequently, went undrafted.
“I thought there was a chance someone would take a chance on me,” Long said after practice. “But no one knew how healthy I was at that point. It was only like three or four months after my surgery. No one was really wanting to take a chance on an injured guy, I didn’t get any calls after the draft, and just put my head down and kept rehabbing and knew something would happen.”
The injury to his right knee occurred in the next-to-last game of the season.
“There wasn’t any contact,” Long said. “It kind of had been bothering me for a couple of weeks. When it first happened, I was like why me? But then I was like, alright I still want to play football so get healthy. So that was my focus for the next eight months.”
Long is playing right and left outside linebacker and playing special teams. As for his style …
“Go get the ball,” Long said. “That’s the way I play.” • NOTES: Foles continues to preach unity and putting everything into each and every practice. Foles feel it’s unnecessary to go beyond the physical training parameters set by the Eagles. Thus, he’s unlikely to ask teammates to attend one of those personal passing camps former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb would hold before training camp. “I’m all about quality not quantity,” Foles said. “That’s how I’ve always been.” … Foles says wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah (6-7, 239), among other items, is doing a good job using his body to keep defenders away … Kelly likes having Alejandro Villanueva, the former Army Ranger around. The Eagles are teaching Villanueva how to play defensive end. “He’s had a real varied background,” Kelly said. “But it’s impressive to see a guy that’s had that much of a background, have that much of a layoff, to see how he’s acclimated and fit in. When we got a chance to see him work out, when we brought him in to work him out, you could tell how athletic he is for a guy that’s 6 9. Now he’s up, I think he was 277.” the bottom of the first on a Christy RBI single and Melchior RBI sacrifice fly to left.
Perkiomen made it 2-1 on Zach Miller’s RBI single in the top of the second, but Hatfield blew the game wide open with six runs in the bottom of the frame.
After a DiLoreto RBI single, Christy drew a bases-loaded walk for a 4-1 advantage. Apple plated another run with an RBI infield single, while DiLoreto scored as Melchior reached first base on an error.
Zach Zeigler’s RBI single and an RBI sacrifice fly from Bobby Scott put Hatfield up 8-1.
Hatfield added a run in the fourth as Apple scored on a double steal. In the fifth, back-toback RBI doubles from DiLoreto and Christy ended the game by 10-run mercy rule.