Saints Love Ex-Eagles

The Saints signed linebacker Matt McCoy on Sunday and threw him onto kick coverage teams against the Jaguars, where he made a good late tackle to draw welcoming applause.

McCoy, a starter for the Eagles since he was drafted in the second round of the 2005 draft out of San Diego State, lost his starting job and was cut by Philadelphia last Monday..

McCoy drew a $7500 fine for a late hit on Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. McCoy missed time last year with a neck stinger and in 2006 due to hip and shoulder injuries. Undersized at 5'11", 230, McCoy makes up for his lack of bulk with a non-stop, motor. Aggressive sometimes to a fault, McCoy was a fast riser in the 2005 draft but was made expendable with the ascension of Omar Gaither and the trade for Takeo Spikes.

The Saints placed LB Alfred Fincher (concussion) on injured reserve, and McCoy took the place of the Saints' 2005 third round pick on kick coverage teams.

Fines handed down on Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles' 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday afternoon has come with a price tag attached to it.

Literally.

Three Eagles defenders, including one who was waived the day after the game, have been fined a total of $20,000 by the league for their overaggressive play in the win. In addition, one Minnesota player has been sanctioned.

Eagles defensive end Juqua Thomas and former linebacker Matt McCoy were each fined $7,500. McCoy will be liable for the fine, a league spokesman said, even though the Eagles released him Monday afternoon. Philadelphia free safety Quintin Mikell and Minnesota middle linebacker E.J. Henderson were penalized $5,000 apiece.

Thomas was fined for a third-quarter play on which he sacked Vikings' quarterback Kelly Holcomb for an 11-yard loss but grabbed his facemask and pulled him down. Despite the fact Holcomb suffered a neck injury that knocked him out of the game, and has sidelined him for this week, Thomas was not penalized by game officials.

The fine against McCoy was also for a third-quarter play on which made a late hit on Vikings' punter Chris Kluwe. The infraction drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness flag and a rebuke from teammates and coaches when McCoy returned to the Philadelphia sideline. A second-round pick in the 2005 draft, McCoy was waived the next day.

Mikell was fined for a first-quarter hit on Minnesota rookie wide receiver Sidney Rice after a 12-yard completion. The play elicited an unnecessary roughness penalty. The fine against Henderson was for a third-quarter facemask penalty assessed when the linebacker pulled down Eagles' tailback Brian Westbrook at the end of a six-yard run.

It is not yet known if any of the four players will appeal the fines.

>>ESPN.com

They fine you for any little hit now in the NFL. Pretty weak if you ask me.

Kershaw Signed to Practice Squad

A day after the team promoted Akeem Jordan, the Eagles replaced him on the practice squad with second-year linebacker William Kershaw. Jordan was promoted Monday after the team cut former second-round pick Matt McCoy.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Kershaw entered the league as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006. He spent the majority of his rookie season on the Chiefs practice squad before being promoted to their 53-man roster for the final regular season game and the AFC Wild Card game at Indianapolis, where he registered three special teams tackles. The 23-year-old Kershaw saw action in the Chiefs opening-day game at Houston this year before being released on September 19.

A native of Raeford, NC, Kershaw registered 204 tackles, 3 sacks and one interception during his collegiate career at Maryland.

>>Home Page

Matt McCoy Cut

The Eagles cut backup linebacker Matt McCoy today. The second round pick from San Diego State has largely been a huge bust. He was deactivated for almost his entire rookie season, and played poorly as a starter last season.

The Eagles felt the need to replace him in the off season, by trading for Takeo Spikes. Spikes has played well, and McCoy had been designated to special teams. McCoy has a bonehead personal foul penalty for hitting the Minnesota punter in the back. The play took the Eagles out of Minnesota territory, and infuriated Brian Dawkins on the sidelines. Apparently this mistake was stupid enough for Andy Reid to kick him off the team.

Akeem Jordan was signed off the practice squad to take McCoy's spot on the roster.

This move means a few things to me. First I think that the Eagles are confident in the play of Takeo Spikes. He has a team option next year, and I believe the Eagles will pick that up.

The other thing this does, is send a clear message to the rest of the team. No more stupid mistakes. Bonehead plays like that are part of the reason the Birds are 3-4.

You can't shoot yourself in the foot constantly, and expect to win. Reid made an example out of McCoy. I think it should let everybody know that you either play the right way or you will be gone. It does not even matter if you were a high draft pick.

"Bubble Boys"

Jerome McDougle, DE -- The Eagles traded up to select the former University of Miami standout with the 15th overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft, but his pro career seemed doomed from the start. McDougle skipped out on the first week of training camp to get a six-year contract from the Eagles that included $6.122 million in bonuses. McDougle suffered injuries to his ankle, knee and hip in the final preseason game of his rookie year against the Jets at Lincoln Financial Field and missed the first eight games.

In 2004, McDougle first was put on the shelf with an irregular heartbeat, then lost four games to a sprained knee. He missed all of 2005 after being shot in the abdomen during a robbery attempt near his home in Miami on the eve of training camp. He saw his most action last season, but over a most forgettable four-year career in which he has never started a game, McDougle has just 23 solo tackles and three sacks. The Eagles likely will begin the season with 10 defensive linemen.

McDougle is not expected to be one of them.

Ryan Moats, RB -- The Eagles had high hopes that Moats could serve as an apprentice under Brian Westbrook after selecting the former Louisiana Tech running back 77th overall in the 2005 draft.

But Moats has seen far more action on his Internet blog than on the field, where he has been rendered inactive for 19 of a possible 34 games and has rushed for only 347 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries.

Correll Buckhalter, Penn State rookie Tony Hunt and Thomas Tapeh are virtual locks to make the team.

Matt McCoy, LB -- Unless the Eagles think the former second-round draft pick out of San Diego State can help dramatically on special teams, the undersized McCoy could be history.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, McCoy played even smaller than that while starting 10 of the first 11 games of 2006 at weakside linebacker. He lost his job to rookie Omar Gaither after the Indianapolis Colts ran up 420 yards of total offense, including 237 on the ground, Nov. 26 at the RCA Dome.

McCoy could stick if the team keeps seven linebackers. If not, it appears he'll have to beat out Tank Daniels as Gaither, Jeremiah Trotter, Takeo Spikes, Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley are all, barring injury, dialed in.

Kelly Holcomb, QB -- The veteran Holcomb was thrown into the March trade that sent Darwin Walker to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Spikes. He would have been safe as the team's third-string QB behind Donovan McNabb and A.J. Feeley had the Eagles not drafted Kevin Kolb with the 36th pick in the 2007 draft.
..Read more at the Trenton Times>>