Philadelphia Eagles to start Demetress Bell

With starter King Dunlap ruled out against the Arizona Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles will give Demetress Bell the nod as the team’s starting left tackle in tomorrow’s game.

Bell lost the starting job to Dunlap in training camp, and he wasn’t even named the Eagles swing tackle; that role was given to fifth-round rookie Dennis Kelly. The Eagles signed Bell this offseason to a big five-year, $35 million deal, and he was supposed to come right in and start in year one with superstar Jason Peters out for the season.

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A starting opportunity hasn’t happened until now, and the Eagles showed very little faith in Bell after he lost the starting gig to Dunlap, who isn’t exactly a good starting LT. He has been a disappointment to this point, and he was even a healthy scratch in the team’s first game.

But there is no denying that Bell is talented and has the physical tools to be a good starting left tackle in this league. The Eagles have noticed his improved play recently, and have thus given him the opportunity to finally start due to Dunlap’s injury.

In other news surrounding the game between the Eagles and Cardinals, ESPN’s Mike Sando reminds us that Larry Fitzgerald is just two catches away from becoming the youngest player in NFL history to reach 700 receptions. The future Hall of Famer is just 23 days past his 29th birthday, and he would beat Jason Witten’s record of 700 catches and 30 years. Fitzgerald will have to fight for those catches against Nnamdi Asomugha after being shutdown by Devin McCourty and a perfectly schemed New England Patriots defense that held him to just four yards on one reception.

The Cardinals have three safeties listed as questionable in tomorrow’s game in James Sanders, Rashad Johnson, and the great Adrian Wilson. I bet Wilson plays, but I’m not sure about the others. Guard Adam Snyder, QB John Skelton, and TE Todd Heap are also questionable.

DeSean Jackson was fined $10,000 by the league for throwing a punch at Baltimore Ravens RCB Cary Williams after tensions heated between DB and WR. DT Cullen Jenkins was also fined $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.

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