I decided to leave my apartment Wednesday morning and venture up to Lehigh University for my annual trip to watch the Philadelphia Eagles throw on the pads and go through full contact sessions at training camp. For the first time this year they took to the field as a complete squad of both veterans and rookies with no holdouts or distractions heading in. There were also about 3,000 other Birds Fans who attended camp that morning as "Eagles Fever" has officially infected the "City of Brotherly Love".
Here are the 5 biggest things that stood out to me in the 8:15am morning session:
Donovan McNabb
Obviously my main focus was on McNabb and his repaired knee. He looked trim and fit, and his demeanor seemed to be the same as usual, up to his old joking style and having fun with his teammates. He supports a brace on the knee just for extra precaution in camp. His drops look good on the early morning dewy grass field, and his arm is as live as ever. When drills started with a full pass rush, McNabb didn't seem to be bothered by it, and even escaped out of the pocket and found Hank Baskett for a nice gain along the sideline one time. On one drop I noticed him slip a bit with his bad knee while planting to throw. He came off of the field the next play and didn't appear to pay any extra attention to it. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with how he looked and I'll admit that I came to watch him having pre-determined notions that he simply just couldn't be near ready to go yet. I was wrong. He might be okay for week one barring any set backs as he continues through the pre-season. Sorry Donovan for doubting you....
Kevin Kolb
Truthfully I wanted to see Kolb do well and show me just what he had that impressed Eagles so much to take him with their first pick in the second round. What I saw Wednesday was a confused rookie quarterback whose arm didn't seem too breathtaking. Missing reads and overthrowing receivers was what stood out to me the most actually. I guess overthrowing might say to some that his arm is strong, but they weren't deep balls. He overthrew short go routes routinely and there wasn't that extra zip that you notice when watching McNabb's ball. When I say missing reads, it could have more to do with the third team wideouts that he had to go to that caused him to hold onto the ball too long and be sacked. His footwork however looked good, and the short throws he made were put in good spots for his receivers to stay in stride. I also noticed a funny sense of humor from him while he was in-between reps on the sidelines. Although it was during a time when he should have been paying closer attention to what was happening on the field.
Tony Hunt
The rookie running back from Penn State looked terrible. I watched a slow, upright runner that appeared nothing like the "Big Back" that I had heard so much about. He didn't even look much bigger than Correll Buckhalter, and every time he ran the ball he stood straight up. Maybe it was jitters from going live with the pads on and veterans wanting to put him in his place? Maybe it's that he's out of his league here in the NFL. He did make a few nice catches out of the backfield earlier in drills, but his ability is not what I expected to see from him at all on my drive up to camp. I was really disappointed.
Ryan Moats
Here is a guy who is on the bubble with making the team this season, and watched the Eagles draft two other running backs this off-season. Yet when I watched him on Wednesday he looked very apathetic, almost depressed and dismal really. He showed no emotion, no smiles, just going through the motions. He seemed to be limping or just dogging it through most drills, and when full contact started he didn't see the ball very much. I'm guessing that maybe Moats has fallen out of favor with Andy Reid and might be moved out of town soon? I am a big Moats fan who has been pinning for him to be more involved in the running game, but watching him loaf around yesterday has changed my opinion of him now.
Takeo Spikes
Wow! That's all I can say. He was around the ball on every play and stood out to all the fans sitting around me on the bleachers. The intensity that he shared with Brian Dawkins and especially Jeremiah Trotter looked as though they had been teammates for years. I think he will upgrade this line backing core big time from the say the likes of a Dhani Jones. Spikes adds another smart player to the Eagles defensive unit who knows just how to get rid of blockers and be in the mix. Kudos' to management for acquiring a professional like him.
Other Notes from Camp:
The starting offensive line looked very sharp and allowed runnigbacks to have big gains against the #2 defensive unit.
Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown are noticeably the best flankers on this team. Hank Baskett didn't run as sharp of routes that you'd like to see from him, but did produce in live drills.
Fullback Jason Davis made some big blocks and looked very strong in the running game, although he did drop a few easy passes throughout the day.
Tight End is going to be a major problem this year if L.J. Smith doesn't get healthy. Rookie Brent Celek looked okay, but was thrown back several times while blocking. Lee Vickers dropped an easy pass, and seemed way to confused on most plays.
Tank Daniels looked 30 pounds heavier than he did last year at camp when he was a Safety. Now that he's just a Linebacker, he appeared to be an entirely different player. I liked what I saw from Daniels last year, and hope he makes the team this year for special teams and depth purposes.
Original Story:
http://www.myspace.com/wpsn.
Here are the 5 biggest things that stood out to me in the 8:15am morning session:
Donovan McNabb
Obviously my main focus was on McNabb and his repaired knee. He looked trim and fit, and his demeanor seemed to be the same as usual, up to his old joking style and having fun with his teammates. He supports a brace on the knee just for extra precaution in camp. His drops look good on the early morning dewy grass field, and his arm is as live as ever. When drills started with a full pass rush, McNabb didn't seem to be bothered by it, and even escaped out of the pocket and found Hank Baskett for a nice gain along the sideline one time. On one drop I noticed him slip a bit with his bad knee while planting to throw. He came off of the field the next play and didn't appear to pay any extra attention to it. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with how he looked and I'll admit that I came to watch him having pre-determined notions that he simply just couldn't be near ready to go yet. I was wrong. He might be okay for week one barring any set backs as he continues through the pre-season. Sorry Donovan for doubting you....
Kevin Kolb
Truthfully I wanted to see Kolb do well and show me just what he had that impressed Eagles so much to take him with their first pick in the second round. What I saw Wednesday was a confused rookie quarterback whose arm didn't seem too breathtaking. Missing reads and overthrowing receivers was what stood out to me the most actually. I guess overthrowing might say to some that his arm is strong, but they weren't deep balls. He overthrew short go routes routinely and there wasn't that extra zip that you notice when watching McNabb's ball. When I say missing reads, it could have more to do with the third team wideouts that he had to go to that caused him to hold onto the ball too long and be sacked. His footwork however looked good, and the short throws he made were put in good spots for his receivers to stay in stride. I also noticed a funny sense of humor from him while he was in-between reps on the sidelines. Although it was during a time when he should have been paying closer attention to what was happening on the field.
Tony Hunt
The rookie running back from Penn State looked terrible. I watched a slow, upright runner that appeared nothing like the "Big Back" that I had heard so much about. He didn't even look much bigger than Correll Buckhalter, and every time he ran the ball he stood straight up. Maybe it was jitters from going live with the pads on and veterans wanting to put him in his place? Maybe it's that he's out of his league here in the NFL. He did make a few nice catches out of the backfield earlier in drills, but his ability is not what I expected to see from him at all on my drive up to camp. I was really disappointed.
Ryan Moats
Here is a guy who is on the bubble with making the team this season, and watched the Eagles draft two other running backs this off-season. Yet when I watched him on Wednesday he looked very apathetic, almost depressed and dismal really. He showed no emotion, no smiles, just going through the motions. He seemed to be limping or just dogging it through most drills, and when full contact started he didn't see the ball very much. I'm guessing that maybe Moats has fallen out of favor with Andy Reid and might be moved out of town soon? I am a big Moats fan who has been pinning for him to be more involved in the running game, but watching him loaf around yesterday has changed my opinion of him now.
Takeo Spikes
Wow! That's all I can say. He was around the ball on every play and stood out to all the fans sitting around me on the bleachers. The intensity that he shared with Brian Dawkins and especially Jeremiah Trotter looked as though they had been teammates for years. I think he will upgrade this line backing core big time from the say the likes of a Dhani Jones. Spikes adds another smart player to the Eagles defensive unit who knows just how to get rid of blockers and be in the mix. Kudos' to management for acquiring a professional like him.
Other Notes from Camp:
The starting offensive line looked very sharp and allowed runnigbacks to have big gains against the #2 defensive unit.
Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown are noticeably the best flankers on this team. Hank Baskett didn't run as sharp of routes that you'd like to see from him, but did produce in live drills.
Fullback Jason Davis made some big blocks and looked very strong in the running game, although he did drop a few easy passes throughout the day.
Tight End is going to be a major problem this year if L.J. Smith doesn't get healthy. Rookie Brent Celek looked okay, but was thrown back several times while blocking. Lee Vickers dropped an easy pass, and seemed way to confused on most plays.
Tank Daniels looked 30 pounds heavier than he did last year at camp when he was a Safety. Now that he's just a Linebacker, he appeared to be an entirely different player. I liked what I saw from Daniels last year, and hope he makes the team this year for special teams and depth purposes.
Original Story:
http://www.myspace.com/wpsn.
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