Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Friday, September 18, 2009 - Index

C SECTION
Friday, September 18, 2009
EAGLES VS SAINTS
Justice finally gets his chance
Donald Hunt
Tribune Staff Writer
Winston Justice waited a
long time for his opportunity
to play for the Philadelphia
Eagles. It’s been three years
since Justice was taken in
the second round of the draft
from the University of Southern
California.
He spent most of his first
three seasons behind offensive
tackles Tra Thomas and
Jon Runyan, both of whom
were not retained by the
Eagles during the offseason.
The heir to one of those
starting jobs was to be
Shawn Andrews but he is on
the injured reserve list due
to back problems and will be
ut for the rest of the seaon.
Andy Reid, Eagles head
oach, has already looked at
unyan last week and opted
o use Justice in the season
opener against the Carolina
Panthers. Justice played a
solid game so this is officially
Justice’s job at right tackle.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder,
did a nice job on Panthers’
Pro Bowl defensive end
Julius Peppers. On Sunday,
Justice will face one of the
New Orleans Saints’ defensive
ends, Charles Grant or
Will Smith.
“You know, they’re both big
defensive ends just like Peppers,”
Justice said. “They’re
probably not as fast, but
they’re pretty intense. So this
week, I’ve got a lot to work on
to get prepared for them.
Juan (Castillo, offensive line
coach) and I are going to get
after it. I feel good about it.”
Although Justice played
well against Carolina, he
isn’t taking anything for
granted. He plans to keep
his sleeves rolled up each
week.
“This is the NFL,” Justice
said. “They could always
bring someone in and do
what they want to do. Only
thing you can do is practice
hard every day and take it
day by day. Every play is different
for me. I give every
play to God. That’s played a
big difference.”
Moreover, Justice has had
to really believe in himself
after his first NFL start
against the New York Giants
Eagles – Page 2C
Eagles offensive tackle Winston Justice (74) sets up to provide pass protection for quarterback Kevin Kolb during an exhibition
game against the New York Jets in August. – PHOTO/COURTESY OF THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Kolb makes ‘no excuses’
for failed opportunities
Dan Gelston
Donovan McNabb was a
causal bystander at Eagles practice.
Wearing black sweat pants,
an Eagles cap, and his red No. 5
jersey, McNabb looked more like
an Eagles fan on a football Sunday
than their starting quarterback.
Unlike those Philly die-hards,
McNabb hopes to be playing
instead of watching against New
Orleans.
McNabb, who has a cracked
rib, could not practice on
Wednesday and likely won’t all
week. So third-year reserve Kevin
Kolb took snaps with the firstteam
offense in preparation for
possibly the first start of his NFL
career.
Coach Andy Reid made it clear
on Wednesday: Kolb is the starter
if McNabb can’t play.
“I think between myself and
the coaches and the players, we
all have a lot of confidence that
he’ll go out, given the chance,
and perform very, very well,” Reid
said.
That means former Pro Bowl
QB Jeff Garcia is simply here as
insurance — for now.
Kolb hasn’t impressed anyone
in his limited playing time over the
last three seasons. He is 24 for 45
for 167 yards, no touchdowns and
four interceptions in eight career
games. He was 7 for 11 for 23
yards and sacked twice once he
took over for the injured McNabb
in a win against Carolina.
Eagles quarterbacks Jeff Garcia (9) and Kevin Kolb (4) chat during
practice at the team’s NFL football training facility in
Philadelphia on Wednesday. — AP PHOTO/BARBARA JOHNSTON
“I’ve gotten opportunities and
haven’t done the best job with
them,” Kolb said. “No excuses.”
That’s a small sample size to
determine whether Kolb can
handle the responsibilities of the
No. 1 job if McNabb is out Sunday
and beyond.
The unknown is what makes
Eagles fans jittery entering Sunday.
Kolb may start the game,
but there are no guarantees he’ll
be around for the finish.
Kolb, a second-round pick in
2007, has been waiting for this
moment since draft day.
“You get to run the huddle the
way you want to,” Kolb said. “All
these things have been going
through my head for two years.
I’ll try not to change too much
because you want to the same
continuity, but you want to put
your own little twist on things.”
There’s still a chance that Kolb
could return to his usual role as
McNabb’s understudy. Reid said
McNabb was making progress
and it was too early to rule him
out.
“I know how Donovan’s wired
and he’s a tough guy,” Reid said.
“I’ve got to make sure that myself
and the doctors and trainers
evaluate that as we get closer. If
he were OK’d to play and felt OK,
I think he could go out there with
very little practice and perform at
a high level.”
Garcia, picked up by the
Eagles on Tuesday, would be
Kolb’s backup. He will be the No.
3 emergency quarterback if McNabb
starts.
Michael Vick and Garcia will
share snaps running the scout
team this week. Vick is not eligible
to play until next week
against the Kansas City Chiefs.
McNabb, Garcia and Vick have
combined for 12 Pro Bowls.
“This is (Kolb’s) opportunity to
present to the rest of the league
what he’s all about,” Garcia said.
“Hopefully he takes advantage of
all of that.”
McNabb cracked a single rib
when he was crunched by several
defenders on his 3-yard touchdown
run in the third quarter of
last week’s win at Carolina. He
didn’t immediately get up after
the touchdown, and was attend-
Kolb – Page 2C
Duncan to play for Niagara U.
Frankford High standout was one of
region’s highly sought after prospects
Donald Hunt
Tribune Staff Writer
Shaquille Duncan, Frankford
High’s outstanding basketball
player, has given a
verbal commitment to play for
Niagara University.
Duncan, a 6-foot-8, 198pound
senior, will be playing
his college basketball for one
of the best teams in the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference.
“Niagara plays in a good
conference,” Duncan said.
“They have a lot of good teams
in the league. They have a
good schedule. The competition
should be great. I’m
excited about going up there.
They have a family atmosphere
at Niagara.”
Duncan will be playing for
some great local coaches in
head coach Joe Mihalich, former
La Salle University coach
and Phil Martelli Jr., son of
St. Joseph’s head coach Phil
Duncan – Page 2C
Frankford High School basketball player Shaquille Duncan, left,
poses for a photo with coach Ben Dubin. — PHOTO/BILL ACHUFF
Will Smith
Charles Grant
Smith, Grant
ready to focus
on football
Brett Martel
METAIRIE, La. — With the
specter of his four-game suspension
lifted for now, Will Smith
half-jokingly pointed out that
there was still one game he’d
probably have to sit out.
That game would be the Pro
Bowl, Smith said with a grin,
“because we’ll be in the Super
Bowl.”
Indeed, the Saints have high
hopes that their 2009 squad has
the potential to get the Saints
back to the postseason for the
first time in three seasons, and
are off to a positive start after
handily beating Detroit in their
season opener.
Their playoff chances might
have taken a blow had both
Smith and fellow starting defensive
end Charles Grant been
forced to sit out four games
because of positive 2008 tests for
a banned substance. Instead, it
now appears the matter won’t be
resolved until after this season.
Smith said Wednesday that he
and Grant “know we’re big components
to this defense and we
feel if we’re not here, we would be
hurting the defense.”
“We’re happy we don’t have to
worry about that anymore and
can just move forward and play
football — worry about football
and not worry about that other
stuff,” he said.
On Tuesday, NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell said it would be
unfair to suspend the two Saints
players now, when the league has
been blocked from suspending
Vikings defensive tackles Kevin
and Pat Williams (no relation) for
the same offense while their case is
pending in Minnesota state court.
“We’re happy with the decision
that the commissioner has
made,” Smith said. “I feel as if we
can move on and focus on the
Philadelphia Eagles,” who the
Saints play this Sunday.
Smith, Grant, the Williamses
and former Saints running back
Deuce McAllister all fought their
suspensions last season after
they tested positive for the
banned diuretic bumetanide,
which can be used to mask the
presence steroids.
In May, U.S. District Judge
Paul Magnuson dismissed the
NFLPA’s lawsuit and several
claims in the Williamses’ case,
then sent two claims involving
Minnesota workplace laws back
to state court.
Last Friday, a three-judge
panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals agreed with
Magnuson’s decisions, meaning
the NFL could have suspended
the Saints players.
Grant said the commissioner’s
decision to treat all the players
equally “came as a ... relief yesterday
for us to be able to go out and
help this team accomplish something.”
Saints – Page 2C