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Didinger's NFL Notes: What to do With Chad Hall?</div>
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Chad Hall has a lot to overcome before earning a spot on the Eagles' roster -- including is 5-foot-8 stature. (AP)</div></div>
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<a href="http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csnphilly.com%2F08%2F15%2F10%2FbDidingers-NFL-Notesb-What-to-do-with-Ch%2Flanding_eagles.html%3FblockID%3D290658%26feedID%3D704%26&layout=standard&show-faces=true&width=200&action=like&colorscheme=light" target="_blank"><br style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday, August 15, 2010</span>
Posted: 9:50 a.m.</span></font><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br style="font-weight: bold;">By </span></a>
Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com</span>
At
an NFL training camp, while the players soak in whirlpools and wrap
their bodies in ice packs, the coaches meet. They sit in conference
rooms with the doors closed and the shades drawn and they study the
depth chart.
On most teams, about two-thirds of the final roster
is set. There isn't much to discuss with, say, DeSean Jackson and Trent
Cole. The top draft picks are locked in place as well. But when coaches
get down to the free agents and long-shot rookies, they spend a lot of
time comparing this guy to that guy and projecting how they fit into
the team.
After a few weeks, the coaches reach a point where
they start looking for reasons to cut certain players, and they start
looking for reasons to keep others.
You can see it in the way
they coach them. If they spend extra time working with a player on the
practice field, if they pull him aside for individual instruction, they
are telling you they feel he's worth the effort. On the flip side, if
the coaches never call a player's name, if it's like he's not there,
he's already gone. They're just keeping him around to eat up reps
during two-a-days.
Right now, the Eagles' coaches are looking
for reasons to keep Chad Hall.
That's not to say he is a lock to make
the final roster. He still has a lot to overcome, including his size
(5-foot-8) and the fact that the Eagles have a surplus of receivers.
But Hall has crossed that all-important point where the coaches now
want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He had an impressive
debut in the preseason opener against Jacksonville. Coach Andy Reid
singled him out for praise.
Of course, this all could go out the window
if he muffs a punt or drops a pass in the end zone this Friday in
Cincinnati, but for now the former Air Force lieutenant has the coaches
stroking their chins and wondering: "What can we do with this guy?"Â
His
story has unfolded in stages. It began with the Eagles signing him
after he worked out for the NFL scouts in March.
At minicamp, he was a
nice story, an undersized guy fresh off a two-year hitch supervising
maintenance of an F-16 fighter squadron, now getting his shot to
fulfill his dream of playing pro football.
With his size and his
back story, it was hard to envision Hall actually making it through
training camp and onto the 53-man roster. It just seemed so unlikely,
considering he was away from the game for two years and when he walked
on the field he was smaller than many of the ball boys.
But day
after day, Hall kept catching the ball. He didn't drop a pass. He
fielded every punt. Each day, the quarterbacks went to him a little
more. OK, it was just spring ball, shorts and no pads, but still, he
was always open. The coaches couldn't help but notice.
When
the team went to Lehigh, he continued to make plays. The coaches
started moving him around, splitting him wide sometimes, lining him up
in the slot sometimes. The real "What-do-we-have-here?"Â moment was when
they put Hall in the backfield as a tailback. That was a sure sign he
was in the "we have to take him seriously"Â club.
"He's a
pretty sharp guy, and he's done a heck of a job learning [the
offense],"Â Mornhinweg said at the time. "
He's playing pretty much all
positions. You saw we had him at the halfback spot some. We'll continue
to do that. He's really catching the ball well and he's very quick. It
looks like he'll be a consistent player."Â (Hey dumbasses, this is the frickin reason why you keep him!!)
Reid, Mornhinweg and
April gave him a chance to play all of those roles Friday against
Jacksonville. Reid had announced prior to the game that Jackson would
not return punts, and Hall inherited that duty. However, when Quintin
Demps hurt his knee, Hall became the kickoff return man as well. He
handled four chances flawlessly.
In the second half, Hall played
wide receiver and caught two passes for 60 yards, the big one a
57-yarder from quarterback Mike Kafka. He also lined up as a tailback
and broke a 22-yard run around the end. He looked like he belonged,
which is the best thing you can say about a first-year pro in his first
preseason game.
"We were going to give him the opportunity to
play all the positions,"Â Reid said. "I thought he excelled at all of
them. He was a secure catcher on punts and made good decisions. He had
a couple of nice catches and he had a nice run. He had a good night."Â
Hall
has a solid football pedigree. He was a star running back at the Air
Force Academy, where he averaged more than 200 yards a game in
all-purpose yardage. He was the Mountain West Conference offensive
player of the year in 2007 and ranked among the top 20 rushers in all
of college football.
No NFL team was willing to draft him
because of his size and his military commitment, but he never gave up
hope. He was willing to come in via the free agent door and take his
chances. If the Eagles' coaches decide Jackson is too valuable to risk
as a full-time punt returner (which is possible), they will have to
find someone else.
At the moment, Chad Hall is that guy.
<br style="font-style: italic;">E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net
I underlined some of the typical Caste Lingo
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Edited by: celticdb15