Coleman Makes A Point-And Maybe The Eagles
By Joseph Santoliquito
The last time Kurt Coleman picked up a fumble before Thursday night he tripped over his own feet trying to run with the ball. The Eagles' seventh-round draft pick was then a junior at Northmont High School, in Clayton, Ohio, looking to make a name for himself. He did at Northmont, grabbing the attention of Ohio State coaches. He may have helped himself even more Thursday night--and this time, he didn't trip over his own feet trying to get where he had to go.
No, the 5-11, 195-pound strong safety scored on two fumble recoveries in the last pre-season game of the season, which resulted in an Eagles' 21-17 loss to the New York Jets. But the final score didn't matter. What did was Coleman's ability to be at the right place at the right time in scoring on a 64-yard fumble return to finish the first quarter, and on an 8-yard fumble return in the second quarter that gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead at the time.
While the game was meaningless to fans and a majority of the players, it held everything for players like Coleman who are trying to make an NFL 53-man roster.
Where Coleman fits into the Eagles' plans won't be officially known until the final cuts to the 53-man roster are made Saturday. There's no question, however, that Coleman helped himself considerably Thursday night.
"I think I did," Coleman said. " That's been my goal. Work hard, be around the ball, make tackles and make plays. It's something I have to do to be a player in this league. I haven't scored two touchdowns in a game in six years, since I wa a junior in high school. There was one game when I returned two picks for touchdowns, and I was a receiver, too, so I had a few games when I caught a few TDs in a game. But as far as I can remember, I don;t think I ever returned a fumble for a touchdown."
Then Coleman stopped for a second, and a wide grin came across his face ...
"In fact, the last time I picked up a fumble I tripped over my own feet trying to run with the ball," Coleman said. laughing. "That's right. I tripped over my own feet."
On the final play of the first quarter, the Jets' Joe McKnight fumbled the ball at the Eagles' 35, and zipping up was Coleman, scooping the ball on a perfect bounce into his hands and taking it 64 yards for a score. Coleman easily outran huffing, puffing 39-year-old Jets' quarterback Mark Brunell, who tried vainly to catch up to the younger defensive back.
"Yea, that would have been a little embarrassing, being caught by [Brunell] from behind, I don't think I would have been able to live that one down," Coleman said. "The second fumble recovery just popped up and it was right there for me. This game meant a lot for the second and third guys. Coach [Sean] McDermott [Eagles' defensive coordinator] told us before the game that this game would mean a lot. I had to give it my all and see what happened. The goal was to show what I could do tonight and make the 53."
