Despite being a liability in the NFC Championship Game last year, second year safety Quintin Demps was supposed to succeed Weapon X Brian Dawkins in the Eagles defensive backfield this year.
Macho Harris has been named the successor to Weapon X as the Eagles starting free safety.
The starting job was Demps to lose as he entered a competition with free agent addition Sean Jones. Demps lost the job, but not to Jones. According to Philly.com, rookie Macho Harris will start.
The pressure of replacing the most loved athlete in Philadelphia sports history is a lot to place on a first year player. Eagles coaches apparently feel the Virgina Tech product is mature enough mentally and prepared enough physically to handle the role.
Macho better be ready because all eyes will be on him; he’s in a no-win situation. One bad play and fans, the media and all NFL analysts will be ready to rip his performance apart to support the notion that the Eagles made a huge error letting the heart and soul of the defense walk away last March.
Macho needs to play well out of the gate to truly win fans support. If he gets lit up like Demps, he could be on the bench next to him. Sean Jones, a ballhawk with 14 interceptions the last three years, is waiting and his mouth is salivating at the opportunity.
For now, Eagles fans will have to give Macho a chance and hope his nickname indicates what kind of player he truly is on the field.
I love Dawk as much as any Eagles fan and am looking forward to seeing him play for Denver (where he’ll be appreciated) this year. But if anyone jumps all over Macho Harris because in his rookie year he may not be ready to play like Dawkins, that’s just stupid. Everyone already knows it was obscene to let Dawk go, but that wasn’t Macho’s fault.
The FO made multiple bone-headed moves this year. They deserve all the heat (or credit) for whatever transpires this year. Macho Harris looks like a major find. Let’s give him a year or so to develop before declaring him a bust.