Alex Henery - Pro Football Rumors

Eagles Notes: Henery, Barkley, Cuts

August 24th, 2014 at 9:57am CST by Rory Parks

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer expounds upon the Eagles’ kicking battle that he referenced several days ago. McLane writes that Alex Henery‘s “chip shot shank” on Thursday night against the Steelers has created a real quandary for the club. The Eagles released Henery’s first challenger this season, Carey Spear, and just acquired Cody Parkey via trade.

Parkey had been on the Colts’ roster–behind incumbent Adam Vinatieri–and was successful on attempts from 45 and 31 yards in the team’s second preseason contest. He was just 14 of 19 in his final season at Auburn University, and he missed a 33-yard try in the second quarter of the BCS Championship Game.

McLane writes that there are currently 12 teams with two kickers on their roster, and the free agent options include Rob Bironas, Rian Lindell, and long-time Eagle David Akers. However, at this point it appears that Philadelphia will wait and see what Henery and Parkey can do in practice this week and in the final preseason contest against the Jets.

Now for some more Eagles notes:

Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Matt Barkley will start the Eagles’ final preseason game on Thursday. The team feels secure with Mark Sanchez as the primary backup and would like to see a more extensive exhibition from Barkley. As Berman notes, unless Barkley performs so well that another team considers making a trade for him, or struggles to the extent that the Eagles would consider keeping G.J. Kinne instead, Barkely will enter the season as the team’s No. 3 signal-caller.
In a separate piece, Berman offers a little more on the team’s first wave of roster cuts and adds a couple of injury notes.
Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com provides a position-by-position breakdown of the Eagles’ defensive performance against the Steelers.

East Notes: Henery, Bills, Vick, Cowboys

August 22nd, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

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.

NFC East Notes: Coughlin, Henery, Redskins, Minter

August 17th, 2014 at 10:54pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Giants‘ offense was sloppy in 2013, with Eli Manning struggling with turnovers early in the season. The team was unable to get on track in time to salvage a playoff run, and it ultimately cost offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride his job. The team hired Ben McAdoo to pick up the pieces and turn the offense around, but the team has been unable to do so as of yet. Head coach Tom Coughlin is unhappy with the progress being made on that side of the ball, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

“It’s obvious, I think we got to work on a lot of things,’’ Coughlin said. “We got to basically work on everything. Last night we didn’t run it, we certainly didn’t throw the ball with any consistency, we don’t have people that are definitely running open, our protection does break down from time to time and we don’t react well under pressure when we do realize there has to be a hot or a sight adjust involved and just getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hand and trying to accomplish a positive play in the face of the pressure.’’

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

Eagles‘ kicker Alex Henery seems to be winning the position competition, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Despite his struggles in 2013 and this preseason, he has been the only kicker to see action during the team’s two preseason games. Head coach Chip Kelly also noted that Henery has been very good in practice during pressure situations.
The Eagles have a number of preseason storylines that are becoming clearer as the preseason progresses. Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com updates a few storylines, including the ongoing injury situation, the progression of the offense in Kelly’s second season, and some recent roster moves.
Final roster cuts are approaching, and the Redskins have a number of players on the bubble of making the team. Rich Tandler and Tarik El Bashir take a look at a few defensive players fighting for the last few spots. They both agree that outside linebacker Rob Jackson and safety Bacarri Rambo will both make the team, while cornerback Richard Crawford will fall short of making the team.
Cowboys‘ defensive tackle Zach Minter made an impression in his first preseason game, writes Brandon George of DallasNews.com. Playing against the Ravens on Saturday after being signed on Thursday, Minter had four tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. That performance could help to earn him a spot on a defense that is in need of talent.

East Notes: Eagles, Cousins, Branch

August 17th, 2014 at 11:34am CST by Rory Parks

Although there was a great deal of cyberspace dedicated to the Jets this morning, there are also a few relevant notes to pass along from some of the league’s other east division teams. Let’s have a look:

Despite Eagles kicker Alex Henery‘s missed 47-yard field goal attempt in last night’s preseason game, Kelly affirmed that Henery is in no immediate danger of losing his job to Carey Spear, tweets Mosher.
In reference to the Eagles‘ kicking competition, Kelly stated, “It’s clear in our mind Alex is number one over Carey.” Henery has performed well in training camp, but as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets, if Kelly is convinced that Henery is the guy–and apparently he is, since Spear has not even had a kick in a preseason game–why is Spear still on the roster?
In a separate piece, McLane notes that Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry got a few reps with the starters on Friday against the Patriots and that he acquitted himself well. McLane believes that, despite speculation that Curry may be traded since he is not a perfect fit in Philadelphia’s defensive scheme, the Eagles are unlikely to deal the player who may be the team’s best pass rusher, particularly since they did little to address their pass rushing group in the offseason.
Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes that the Giants‘ offensive line did nothing to assuage concerns during its lackluster showing against the Colts on Saturday night.
Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes that one of the few bright spots for the Giants yesterday was the performance of tight end Adrien Robinson.
Mike Jones of the Washington Post writes that Redskins backup quarterback Kirk Cousins has continued to be a “good soldier” as he awaits an opportunity to start in the NFL. Cousins, of course, was the subject of trade rumors this offseason and will probably get a legitimate chance to establish himself as a starter at some point in his career.
James Walker of ESPN.com writes that Dolphins guard Dallas Thomas is now on the hot seat after his weak performance against the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Two Bills players who were seemingly roster locks several months ago–Thad Lewis and Alan Branch–are now in danger of being cut, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Rodak elaborates in a separate post.

NFC Notes: Redskins, Eagles, Bears

June 15th, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s check out some notes from ESPN.com’s NFC writers on this Father’s Day evening…

If the Redskins young guards play well, Chris Chester could be a release candidate, writes John Keim. Spencer Long, Josh LeRibeus and Adam Gettis would be among the players looking to replace the 31-year-old.
In the same article, Keim mentions that veteran Adam Carriker hopes to make a comeback. The defensive end was cut by the Redskins in March.
It is unlikely that Eagles rookie kicker Carey Spear (also known as “Murderleg”) beats out Alex Henery, says Phil Sheridan. The former Vanderbilt kicker signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in May.
Assuming the Bears hold on to three running backs, Michael C. Wright believes that Jordan Lynch would be the odd man out. In spite of the players skills, Wright doesn’t think he’ll receive enough repetitions in the preseason to display his talent. Lynch figures to be competing with Ka’Deem Carey and Michael Ford.

NFC Notes: Cards, Lions, 49ers, Rams

June 14th, 2014 at 4:47pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Cardinals have plenty of time to evaluate the players on their roster before they have to cut it down to 53 men, but Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com has predicted which 53 will be suiting up for the team Week 1. Weinfuss writes that the first 45 were easy, but narrowing down the final eight was a difficult decision. Paul Fanaika, Brittan Golden and Jaron Brown were some of the toughest cuts on this list.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC:

Since the Lions released veteran cornerback Chris Houston, they are left with a thin secondary, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Rashean Mathis should be slotted to be the team’s top corner, but the 33-year old veteran is not what he once was. After Mathis, the team has last year’s second-round pick Darius Slay, who struggled mightily in 2013. Aside from those two, there is a long list of question marks rounding out the depth chart.
The 49ers acquired Jonathan Martin earlier this offseason, and are now trying to move him inside from tackle to guard, writes Tyson Langland of Bleacher Report. However, Langland is far from optimistic about Martin’s ability to change positions with his new team. Although he has struggled at both left and right tackle, his inexperience at the position as well as his alleged lack of arm strength and aggressiveness make Langland believe he will be a bad fit at guard.
With Radio City Music Hall unavailable for the 2015 NFL Draft, other cities aside from New York are getting excited at the prospect of hosting the draft either next year or down the road. With Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York (at Madison Square Garden) fighting to host the draft, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Rams are getting into the mix as well. Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff and President of the St. Louis Sports Committee Frank Viverito have discussed a willingness to bring the Draft to St. Louis. “We’ve had conversation about what it would take, and would be interested if the NFL winds up doing this on a long-term basis,” Demoff said. While the 2015 NFL Draft might not be a possibility, the city is open to the possibility of obtaining a future NFL Draft.
Eagles‘ kicker Alex Henery struggled in 2013, including a missed field goal and short kickoffs in a playoff loss to the Saints. Even still, he is not worried about his job security, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Competition can always make you better, but it’s not like I’m worried about it,” Henery said recently. “I’m here to do my thing and do it the best I can. . . . I’m a perfectionist. That’s what drives me.”

NFC East Notes: Maclin, Henery, Cowboys

June 2nd, 2014 at 9:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Onlookers held their breath today during the Eagles’ OTAs after receiver Jeremy Maclin fell to the ground holding his knee, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. While Maclin tore the ACL in his right knee last year, causing him to miss the entire season, today’s incident left him clutching his left knee. Still, any injury to Maclin, who is expected to be leaned on heavily following the release of DeSean Jackson, would have terrified the Eagles’ coaching staff. Luckily, Maclin quickly got to his feet, and later noted that he felt fine.