FanHouse Tony Hunt

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

Many Eagles fans didn't think much of the draft day trade that sent an Eagles third round draft pick to Miami for Dolphins running back Lorenzo Booker. After just a few days in to training camp up in Lehigh, the versatile back is making a name for himself.

Obviously the Eagles have all world running back Brian Westbrook as the center piece of their offense but the decision as to which other backs will get to see the field is still up in the air. Correll Buckhalter has managed to stay healthy and contributed a solid effort in 2007. Booker appears to be giving him some stuff competition.

The Eagles tended to use Buckhalter when they wanted to pound the ball up the middle instead of using Westbrook's speed to the outside while Booker's game tends to resemble BWest. Last year's rookie back Tony Hunt may be the odd man out.

This is a slightly modified segment of one that was run on NFL FanHouse last year, in which a specific team blogger scours the internet and interviews a blogger of the opposing team.

I began this season by interviewing Sean Portnoy of Eagles Eye, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dan Benton: "Another year, another group of receivers for the Philadelphia Eagles. Who will be Donovan McNabb's go-to guy this weekend?"

Sean Portnoy: "Reggie Brown had a fine season in his second year, serving as the #2 guy when Donte Stallworth was in the lineup and the top receiver when Stallworth was injured. Brown doesn't have the size and/or speed to make you think he's a legit #1 wideout, but the way the Eagles like to spread the ball around, he doesn't need to catch 100 passes. It'll be interesting to see if Kevin Curtis can handle the transition from mostly being a slot guy to someone playing out wide and having to get separation from press coverage. McNabb's usual safety valve, L.J. Smith, is recovering from sports hernia surgery and a separate groin injury, so he may be limited on Sunday. The sleeper guy who could wind up being the second coming of Chad Lewis is Brent Celek, the team's fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati. The rookie tight end played really well in the preseason, and Andy Reid sometimes likes to play promising first-year guys right away in order to see if they can handle the "baptism by fire." Don't be surprised if Celek catches a couple of passes in the middle of the field on third down."

If Penn State is going to be a legitimate contender for the Big Ten title this season, they're going to need more than just an improved Anthony Morelli to do so. With last year's workhorse Tony Hunt now in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles, Austin Scott will finally get a chance to prove he's the running back everyone thought he was in high school.

Scott was the biggest name of Penn State's 2003 recruiting class, but things haven't worked out quite the way everybody thought they would. His time in Happy Valley so far has been spent standing on the sidelines watching Tony Hunt do all the work. He's rushed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career at Penn State, but those were supposed to be yearly totals, not lifetime.

Well, this season will be Scott's last chance to prove everybody was right about his talent in high school, because Hunt is gone and the onus now falls on him.

"He's always been a good prospect," coach Joe Paterno said. "I think when he came in here, things had been so easy for him in high school, and, all of a sudden, maybe he expected some things to happen to him because he was Austin Scott.

"I think Austin Scott's just got to be a little more consistent. When he wakes up in the morning, he can't be one guy one morning and another guy the next morning. And I think he's much better than he was. We'll see. But I think he's closer to where he's got to be to be a big-time, consistent college tailback than he was a year ago."

Well, I'd hope he is better than last year, because he spent last season redshirting on the scout team.

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

The running back situation in Philly is an interesting one. Brian Westbrook is the star of the Eagles potent offense, but after him, things in the Birds backfield should get interesting this off season.

In the third round of this year's draft, the Eagles selected Penn State's Tony Hunt much to the delight of Philadelphia's Nittany Lion contingent. The way the Eagles value their draft picks, Hunt would be the next likely running back added to the mix. Going along with that theory, the Eagles third round choice from 2005, Ryan Moats will most certainly be fighting for a spot on the roster this season. Moats has failed to live up to expectations and has reportedly had some trouble remembering plays. He says he's ready to show what he is made of this season. Training camp will certainly be a make or break time in Moats career.

Add into the mix the bowling ball that is Nate Illaoa, who the Eagles recently inked to a four your deal, and you have one full backfield. But the battle doesn't stop there. We can't forget oft-injured Correll Buckhalter who had a solid year in 2006 and is reportedly in the best shape of his career this off season.

My prediction: Westbrook, Hunt, and Buckhalter will be the three backs on the opening day roster but Ilaoa and Moats will see some action in 2007. Having this many quality backs is certainly a problem Andy Reid will enjoy this camp.

Other potential Eagles fighting for spots: It's not often that their is a battle at the punter position, but with the import of Australian Footballer Saverio Rocca, Dirk Johnson is going to have to earn his job this camp.

Training camp battles: See them all

In the coming weeks, I plan to start talking about what the Chiefs will likely do this offseason to help themselves at each position. This first blog will reference the easiest positions for the Chiefs to resolve.

Punter:
No mystery here. Dustin Colquitt stays.

Tight End / Fullback:
The Chiefs already took care of business by signing Tony Gonzalez to a long-term deal. They will also return a healthy Ronnie Cruz to the roster, but there's no guarantee that he'll start. Ronnie Cruz turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. He was only an adequate blocker and very average on all other dimensions.

So what now? What the Chiefs do at the fullback position will ultimately determine what they will do at tight end. As of now, Kris Wilson is serving as the starting fullback. He is not a true blocker, but he proved to be a solid receiving option when he was switched into the role of H-back. The question is, are the Chiefs willing to continually sacrifice terrific blocking for a threat like Kris Wilson to serve as an H-back? I think they will. I think Wilson will only get better as a blocker, and he should figure better into a simplified gameplan. Then again, it would not surprised me if the Chiefs used a late round pick on a fullback prospect.

The Chiefs might also want to start looking for a run blocking tight end specialist. Jason Dunn is getting older and more beat up every year.

Game day again, and like two weeks ago the Bucks have a shot at avenging one of their two losses from 2005.

The team is healthy. Penn State looks like they're not at all the same team as a year ago, as evidenced by their bad loss to Notre Dame. But this one could be close than we'd like, because it's probably going to rain quite a bit in Columbus today. You never know what can happen in bad weather. The Buckeyes are fortunate to have an excellent running game, but holding onto the football will be key if it does rain.

It's tough to tell exactly how good the Nittany Lions are. Their two games apart from the Notre Dame loss were against Akron and Youngstown State, so they're not exactly revealing. The key for the Bucks will be stopping the run. Penn State's main back is Tony Hunt, and he's a good one. He's averaged nearly six yards a carry so far this season, and he was one of the few Nittany Lions to have a solid day against Notre Dame. Ohio State's run defense has needed work all season, and they'll be tested again today.

My prediction: Ohio State 34 - Penn State 10

GO BUCKS!