Lamar Gordon Waived today

[kchats]

Lamar Gordon was waived by the Dolphins today.

http://www.miamidolphins.com/pressbox/pressreleases/pressreleases.asp?contentID=4053

I see Isaac Snell is still on the Jets roster as a 3rd string Right Tackle.

[kchats]

Jared Peck was also waived by the Atlanta Falcons today too. They listed him as an offensive tackle.

[MN_BISONS]

From coach Saban:
(On if it was difficult to waive Lamar Gordon after the Dolphins traded a third-round pick for him) – “Lamar did a good job for us here. He worked hard. When you look at some of these circumstances, everybody has to have a role on the team. Some of the guys at that position are very good special teams contributors, and that certainly played a role in the backs that we’ve selected. I am not here to make any further comments, relative to whatever has happened. What is, is and what’s now is now and we’re going with what we’ve got.”

[bison4life]

Lamar has been picked up by the Eagles as of today.

[sambini]

Not to bad for Lamar.Thanks Bison 4 life.

[kchats]

Lamar has been picked up by the Eagles as of today.

Heck Lamar could end up with a Superbowl ring out of getting cut. Hopefully he can stick with the Eagles they are a good organization.

[kchats]

Here's the story with high praise from Head Coach Andy Reid. Finally on a team that will know how to use him.

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/homeNewsDetail.jsp?id=34191

[sambini]

Thanks KCHATS nice praise from Andy REID.

[gwendel]

Lamar already 2nd on the depth chart at Fullback with the Eagles.
Starts practice with them today. Says he is excited about the move.
What else is he gonna say?


FB 49 Josh Parry 25 Lamar Gordon 41 Stephen Spach

[gwendel]

The word at the Philadelphia Eagles website is Lamar Gordon wasn't brought in to be a superstar, but he was definitely brought in to fill a role:


The staff relishes the opportunity to work with a talented player like Gordon, who comes in knowing he doesn't have to carry the load, only play a role very well. He's a strong runner and a good receiver who looked like an emerging player in St. Louis. In Miami, well, Gordon had nowhere to run, like everyone in Miami the last couple of years.

He fills a key role here: Big running back for short-yardage situations, a pound-it-out player to help eat some clock late in games. Gordon will also be asked to block and receive in one-back sets, something Dorsey Levens did well last year.

There is a fair amount of hype regarding Lamar at the Eagles website including a nice 5-minute or so RealPlayer interview with him:

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/newsDetail.jsp

In a video interview with head coach Andy Reid, it sounds like Philadelphia has had their eye on Gordon a long time, indicating they would have been interested in picking up Lamar at the time he was traded to Miami.

But Lamar will have his work cut out for him. This is the kind of a game Bruce Perry (the back who was cut to make room for Gordon) had on Thursday night against the Jets:


Perry rushed for a game-high 76 yards on 11 carries, an astounding 6.9 yards per carry, and a touchdown. He had a brilliant 31-yard run down the left side in the third quarter.

...And they CUT him!

Actually they told him he made the 53 man squad Saturday night, then waived him Sunday night when they acquired Lamar on waivers.

[silkamilkamonico]

It's two different roles.

Perry is a smaller back who was battling with Westbrook, Mahe, and Moats for the slash back/WR role.

Lamar will be stepping into a role more like Buckhalter, and Staley. Running in between the tackles. I think it will work out quite well for him if he can stay healthy.

[kchats]

Yeah he went for a team with no offensive line and no chance for the playoffs to a team with a very good offensive line with the possibility of a return trip to the Superbowl. The Eagles might even have a shot at winning it. Sometimes things work out in your favor, huh?

[go_bison]

This is from philly.com today, (Philadelphia Daily News)

Birds figure to ease Gordon in

By LES BOWEN

Can Lamar Gordon learn the Eagles' offense quickly enough to be a factor in the season opener Monday night in Atlanta?

Coach Andy Reid equivocated on that point yesterday more than Gordon did.

Asked about newcomers Gordon and Darnerien McCants, both added last weekend, Reid said he plans to "mix 'em in a little bit, see how far along they are" in practice as he prepares for the Falcons, before he decides on their roles. It never seemed likely that McCants, a wideout cut by the Redskins, would play a big role in the opener, but Gordon (6-1, 223) is the only running back with size the Eagles have, and there certainly would seem to be a role there once he is ready to assume it.

Gordon, picked up on waivers from Miami, was asked yesterday just before his first full practice with the team if he thought he was ready to contribute.

"Not right now. I actually know [the offense], but not with the speed - I can't go in the huddle and hear the plays and automatically know what I have to do," he said. "I have to sit there and think about it. Once I get to that level, where I don't have to think about it, then I can play."

Gordon said if the coaching staff gave him a small package of plays to memorize for this week - say, short-yardage situations - he felt he could learn that and be ready.

Miami's run-oriented offense obviously is very different from the Eagles'. The Rams - who traded Gordon to the Dolphins last September, 2 years after drafting him in the third round out of North Dakota State - ran a West Coast offense, but Gordon said it was not at all similar to the Eagles' version.

"None of the terminology is the same," he said. "It's football, so you can kind of tie things together, but nothing is the same."

[go_bison]

Also posted today:

PLAYER-BY-PLAYER LOOK AT THE BIRDS
By Les Bowen

RUNNING BACK
Brian Westbrook answered a lot of questions last season, avoiding major injury while increasing his carries from 117 to 177 and his receptions from 37 to 73, a figure that led NFL running backs. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles keep Westbrook happy while integrating their darting rookie, Ryan Moats. Andy Reid has suggested Moats will have a specific package of plays, as Westbrook did in his rookie season of 2002. Lamar Gordon (6-1, 228) has to learn the offense, but offers badly needed size and power in the wake of the season-ending injury to Correll Buckhalter.

[kchats]

I see on the live game stats Lamar Gordon has one run for 4 yards. Not bad for being in the offense for such a short time.

[RedRiver]

Lamar even started the game! The set the Eagles used for their first offensive play had Westbrook lined up at flanker and Lamar in the backfield.

[gwendel]

I don't know about the coaching staff, but the sports writers assigned to the Philadelphia Eagles seem to think that they need to run the ball more. Their options against Atlanta were too predictable: pass to Terrell Owens or hand off to Brian Westbrook. And too many pass attempts to Owens meant that QB Donovan McNabb took a beating.

If Philly.com sportswriter Rich Hoffman was a coach, he'd be grooming Lamar Gordon to run a lot more, and he thinks the Eagles coaching staff may be doing just that:

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/football/nfl/12639435.htm
(Free subscription required)

The title of the article is "Sorry, Gotta Run."


Dilemma: If the Eagles can't run the ball both more and better, the quarterback will not be alive to celebrate Columbus Day.

Solution: Hand off the ball more, shorten the games, take some of the pressure off the offensive line, keep working at it, try to win a little uglier for a while; run the ball, run the ball, run the ...


s it because the line struggles against better defenses? Is it because Brian Westbrook just can't get it done between the tackles? Does that mean they have to find a way to coach up Lamar Gordon to carry more of the load, pronto? After one carry against Atlanta, how big a role do they really want the newly acquired Gordon to shoulder? And does the fact that they couldn't even find a way to dress rookie Ryan Moats indicate that he is farther away than the coaches were letting on this summer?

[SDbison]

Lamar just ran 6 yards for a TD against the 49ers. He has close to a dozen carries in the game and is averaging 3 to 4 yards per carry. Not bad! Good for Lamar! :)

[gwendel]

Gordon final stats

12 rushing attempts for 40 yards
1 touchdown
1 short pass reception for 3 yards

Philadelphia said they wanted Lamar in for short yardage to pick up a first down on third and short. (He picked up at least two first downs in the first half on third and short.) Also for Westbrook relief late in the game.

And that's exactly the way they used Lamar today.

[sambini]

GOOD JOB LAMAR!