Last weekend, Owen Schmitt was watching Week 1 of the NFL action from the couch in his living room. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he'd be a starting fullback in Week 2.

But that's the NFL.

Now donned in midnight green, Schmitt has a lot of learning to do, and not much time to do it. The 6-2, 245-pound bruising fullback said on Thursday that while it can seem overwhelming, he's starting to get a grasp of the Eagles offense.

"Through the offseason you have time so everything is broken up into sections," Schmitt said. "But I'm kind of getting the whole bunch right now. It looks overwhelming when you look at the playbook …but the best way to learn is to mess up and get corrected.

"It's going to take a little bit to get it down, but hopefully I can get it down and just play."

Schmitt spent one season playing in Mike Holmgren's offense is Seattle, which uses very similar terminology to what is used in here in Philadelphia. Needless to say, that makes Schmitt's life just a bit easier this week as he tries to prepare himself to play on Sunday in Detroit.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg agreed, saying that Schmitt's familiarity with the offense, along with his hard work, has put him in a good position.

"I have great confidence in him," Mornhinweg said. "He's been in this terminology before, so he's pretty sharp. He's a big, physical guy."

The NFL is a business, and Schmitt is here to work. But the guy loves to play football and just last week it looked like he might not have that chance this year. So amidst the chaos of his first week in Philadelphia, Schmitt is still able to sit back and realize the chance that's been given to him.

"I didn't think anything like this would happen," Schmitt said. "It's been crazy and I'm just happy to get the opportunity and I'm going to make the best of it. I'm glad I have another year of football to play."

-- Posted by Josh Goldman, 6:00 p.m., September 16