 Eagles head coach Jeff Jagodzinski meets with his players at the end of Saturday's annual Jay McGillis Memorial spring football game.
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Although it may not have been pretty at times, Saturday's spring game provided Superfans with both a glimpse of next season and realistic hope for the future.
Several thousand fans witnessed the glorified scrimmage that divided the football team into two squads, offense against defense. The format of the scrimmage was simple enough: the first-team offense played against the first-team defense, while the second-team offense matched up against the second-team defense.
Figuring out Matt Ryan's replacement at quarterback was also relatively easy. Chris Crane played every snap for the first-team offense and clearly outshined his competitors, displaying the arm strength and accuracy that pundits have praised him for in the past. The same cannot be said for Dominique Davis, Codi Boek, and Chris Johnson, who each struggled to move the chains forward. Although Davis was visibly better than the other two, he completed just 5-of-16 passes for 58 yards.
Despite starting the day with a quick three-and-out series, Crane rebounded with several strong drives. On his second drive, he led the Eagles downfield, before hitting Rich Gunnell on a slant for a short touchdown pass. The touchdown was the highlight of the day for Gunnell, who caught four passes for 53 yards.
Although the Eagles failed to score any more offensive touchdowns, Crane led the team to two more field goals in the contest. Steve Aponavicius and Billy Bennett split time at kicker, each connecting on their one attempt. Although the two have struggled in the past, their two-of-two performance on Saturday seemed to offer hope for improvement.
Another reason for special teams' optimism was the announced return of Jeff Smith. Smith, who has displayed devastating speed in the past as a kick returner, quit football this winter because of concussion concerns. After talking
with his doctors, however, the former track star decided to give football another try. Assuming he returns to the field in 2008, the Eagles will have one of the nation's top kick returners.
Spring Break
