Stephen Davis: Comeback kid or red herring?

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, August 22, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Apparently, the Philadelphia Eagles aren't as taken with the inspiring, feel-good story of Correll Buckhalter as is the popular media; on the other hand, who can resist a marquee name like Stephen Davis?

Buckhalter squeezed about 15 minutes of fame after coming back from knee injuries and gunshot wounds in a story not quite as cinematic as "Invincible," but admirable nonetheless. In the Eagles' lackluster 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, Buckhalter performed, well, like a guy who hasn't played since 2003. Carrying a shovel pass for 48 yards aside (geez, if this had been "Invincible," it would have been 49 and a TD), Buckhalter accounted for eight yards on five carries.

And with the return of Brian Westbrook mysteriously prolonged, Buckhalter may have been the best Philly had to offer. To reiterate that the Eagles' running game is undersized and beset by injuries would be beating the deadest horse since Trigger.

Enter Davis, a name player carrying a Pro Bowl-level resume with four seasons at 1,000 yards, a 6-foot, 230-pound frame, and a decent amount of playoff experience. On paper, the pickup of Davis is a no-brainer. When you talk about filling needs in the preseason, this is the textbook example of a veteran free agent signing. So how was a guy that ran up 549 yards and 12 touchdowns last year available to the Eagles? His history of injuries, of course. He'll fit in perfectly in Philly.

Injuries suffered in 2004 due to some tricky microfracture surgery concerned the Carolina Panthers' brain trust enough to release Davis in March in favor of DeShaun Foster. The word on Davis' injuries was apparently grave enough to cause 31 teams to take a hands-off mentality to Davis.

Coach Andy Reid, on the other hand, claims that giving Davis a shot was the plan all along, telling Associated Press writers that the Eagles now want to "investigate" Davis. Waiting until now, however, makes the claim sound a bit fishy.

Indeed, perhaps the best the likes of Buckhalter, Reno Mahe and Ryan Moats can hope is that the Davis invitation is a red herring, a desperate bid designed to inspire the no-name backs to at least play hard enough to keep a roster spot.

Buckhalter, for one, has got to be hoping so.

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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