First things first, the fried chicken story that used to be on Jason Babin's Wikipedia page is not true. When the first report of Babin signing with the Eagles surfaced, a trip to Babin's Wikipedia page noted that his pre-game ritual involved eating a bucket of fried chicken - bones and all.
It turned out to be a well-played practical joke.
"That was my cousin getting back at me," Babin said. "ESPN was coming to do a magazine shoot and we always played practical jokes on each other growing up, so he got this idea to e-mail them and came up with this story. I've since then got him back. I can't say on camera what I did, but I got him back."
One thing that wasn't a practical joke was the report that he was signed by the Eagles. The move was made official early Tuesday afternoon and Babin was out on the field for the special teams practice. The 6-3, 267-pound Babin was a first-round draft pick of the Texans in 2004 and recorded 13 sacks over the course of three years with the team. He spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Seahawks before finishing last year with Kansas City. In all, Babin has started 26 games and notched 15 sacks.
Babin has been looking for a place where he could play defensive end - he predominately played outside linebacker in the 3-4 with the Texans - and he thinks Philadelphia could be it.
"It's a good fit for my style of defense, the way I would like to play ultimately," Babin said. "It's a smaller, faster, downhill defense. That's, I believe, where I fit in the best. I'm not the big, solid 6-6, 300-pound run stopper."
Babin is competing with a deep group of ends for a spot on the team. However, Victor Abiamiri has spent the entirety of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a strained pec.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 4:53 p.m., August 4
