After spending the last three years as the Eagles‘ kicker, Alex Henery may be losing his grip on the job this preseason, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer details. In last night’s preseason game against the Steelers, a day after the Eagles brought aboard another kicker (Cody Parkey), Henery missed a 31-yard attempt.
“I wish I could put my finger on that,” said head coach Chip Kelly, asked if Henery was losing his confidence. “I don’t know what he’s battling. Obviously, you got to make a field goal like that. You got to make it.”
As we wait to see what decision the Eagles make on their kicking situation, let’s round up a few more notes out of the NFL’s two East divisions….
- According to Mike Ozanian of Forbes, Sabres owner Terry Pegula did indeed make the high initial bid for the Bills, but it was significantly lower than previously reported. Ozanian pegs the non-binding figure at $890MM, and says the bids by Jon Bon Jovi‘s group and Donald Trump came in at $820MM and $809MM respectively. The next round of bids could be higher, but Ozanian thinks it may be in the Wilson trust’s best interests to fire Morgan Stanley – the investment bank handling the sale – and to start over.
- Meanwhile, John Kryk of the Toronto Sun writes that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, who is reportedly on his way out of the organization, had little to do with the Toronto group’s Bills bid, outside of introducing Bon Jovi and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum.
- Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com takes a look at Michael Vick‘s situation in New York, where the veteran Jets quarterback seems willing to take a back seat to Geno Smith to start the season. “I’m at a very good place,” Vick said. “Very relaxed. Things are more laid back right now as far as football, and off the field. No stress, no pressure. Even though, when you play football, there is always some sort of pressure. But at this stage of my career, I’m just trying to refresh and regroup and see where it takes me.”
- Referring to the Cowboys‘ linebacker corps, sans Sean Lee, as the “worst in history,” Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News suggests the team will need to keep a close eye on the waiver wire next week and potentially snatch up a player dropped by another club.