Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, about the signing of Stephen Neal

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09/05/2001


Head coach Andy Reid doesn't want his squad to peak too early as they get ready for Sunday's opener. Here's a look at what Reid had to say in his mid-week address to the media.    On [T] Stephen Neal, signed to the practice squad, and his potential: "Stephen has been a world class wrestler. The thing we see there is an athlete who has tremendous strength and size. We saw quick feet. He'd been in a training camp and we were able to evaluate him on film. For a guy who has not played football since high school he really played well. He held his own and I think there's a tremendous upside there. With wrestlers you never question their toughness, it's one of the toughest sports that there is. You're getting qualities that could make a very good offensive lineman in the future.     "That's a position you can develop. As you look at practice squads throughout the league that's one of the positions you can develop players and move them up through your team."    On whether he was aware of Neal before he went to New England: "We were, actually. I tried to get in contact with him at one time. "I guess it was about two years ago, through [Eagles Hall of Famer] Chuck Bednarik. Chuck is an avid wrestling fan. He got a couple of phone numbers to me. I tried all the phone numbers I could  get my hands on, but I was not able to touch base with him. He didn't show up last year, but he showed up this year at training camp."    On how much Neal played in the preseason: "He had a number of snaps. Enough to evaluate. He had enough so you could get a pretty good feel on him."