Philadelphia Eagles: Rookie LB Mychal Kendricks Impresses While DE Phillip Hunt Presents the Eagles With a Tough Decision

By Tyler Robinson
CFB/NFL Writer

While most NFL teams traditionally play their starters the longest during the third game of the preseason, a scheduling oddity caused the Philadelphia Eagles to move their “dress rehearsal” up a game to Monday night against the New England Patriots.

The Eagles are slated to face the Cleveland Browns in their third preseason game and in Week 1 of the regular season and don’t want to expose too much in the teams’ initial matchup on Friday.

With extended time in the spotlight Monday, two young defensive players stood out for the Eagles and look ready for the big stage, despite the Patriots being without the services of many of their offensive starters, including Tom Brady.

Rookie linebacker Mychal Kendricks displayed the versatility that Philadelphia coveted when it selected him out of California as the No. 46 pick in April’s draft. Kendricks tallied six tackles (three for loss) while for the most part providing solid pass coverage—he was beat by New England tight end Alex Silvestro on a seven-yard out route for a score in the second quarter.

As a high draft choice and projected starter, the notable performance from Kendricks wasn’t too surprising.

Second-year defensive end Phillip Hunt is a different story.

A product of the Canadian Football League, Hunt is an understudy among a couple of Tony Award winners—Philadelphia’s starting defensive ends Trent Cole and Jason Babin have both made the Pro Bowl twice.

Starting in place of the inactive Babin and playing alongside Cole, Hunt held his own and showed he belonged against New England. He recorded four tackles, including a strip sack of quarterback Ryan Mallet that led to a turnover.

It was Hunt’s third sack of the preseason after he recorded two against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

While both Kendricks and Hunt have teamed up to make impact plays in the preseason thus far, it’s conceivable that they may not be teammates in a couple of weeks.

Defensive end is arguably the Eagles deepest position on the roster with Brandon Graham (first rounder in 2010), Vin Curry (second rounder in 2012) and seventh-year veteran Darryl Tapp to go along with Babin, Cole and Hunt. It’s unlikely that Philadelphia will keep all six going into the regular season.

Even if Hunt ends up being a casualty when roster cuts roll around in the coming weeks, his performance so far this preseason has likely ensured he will be in the NFL and not the CFL in 2012. Expect Hunt to be a hot commodity among teams looking for defensive line help if the Eagles do indeed let him go.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TRob27

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