Training Camp Report - 8/12

[PhillyandBCEagles]

A few caveats--I was only there for the morning practice, and I got there about 30 minutes late which means I didn't get a good viewing spot, which means there was a lot of stuff going on I couldn't see (including virtually all of the OL/DL play, which is why you won't see any comments about the trench guys--too bad since that's what I wanted to see too, but hopefully I'll be headed back up tomorrow).  Still since I haven't seen anyone else post a report, this will have to do for now.



-They started off (well, when I was there) doing 11-on-11 scrimmages, went from there to field goals, 7-on-7 and finally kickoff drills.  My viewing angle was so bad that aside from QBs, RBs, and near-side WRs I couldn't even tell who was on what team offensively in the 11-on-11s.

-Guy that stood out to me the most was Justin Jenkins.  Caught everything thrown his way including a tough catch or two.  This kid could be in for a great year, TO or no TO.

-McNabb looked great as always.  One pass a bit off, other than that everything was perfect.  It's amazing how much bigger he is than the other QBs.

-Mahe had another very nice day.  Spent time in the backfield with the first team (Westbrook was out with a case of the flu, Buckhalter is getting his knee looked at) and also split out a good amount.  Had one great catch in the corner of the end-zone in particular.  I think this guy makes the team on the strength of his versatility.

-Moats looked very good....kid is small, but blindingly fast.  Looks like a badass too with the Dawk face shield.  Nice job catching the ball out of the backfield, I had heard that this is something he struggles with so I was pleasantly surprised to see this.  He was mostly with the second team but also saw a number of snaps with the first team. 

-Akers' leg may be even stronger than it has been in the past.  He nailed a 64-yard FG and also hit several in the 40-50-yard range that would've had another 15-20 yards on them easily.  Circle the date of the Denver away game on your calendar, because if we get stalled at midfield in that one Akers could very well break the FG record (playing against one of the men who currently holds it, no less).

-James Whalen had a great day catching the ball for the second team.  Pulled in 2 really tough catches in particular that I remember.  Couldn't really see how he was doing blocking, however.

-Ritchie caught everything thrown to him, but bobbled several passes.  With another guy this might worry me but he's proven in the past that he's a quality receiving FB, so it was probably just one of those days for him.  Everyone has them.

-LJ Smith also looked good catching.  No spectacular catches but didn't drop anything or come close to dropping anything.  If Spach is doing as well blocking as people are saying he is (couldn't really tell today, and they were in shorts the other day I've been up), I'm fine with LJ as the #1.

-I didn't really notice Billy McMullen one way or the other.  It seemed like he only had a handful of passes thrown his way.  He saw reps with both the 1st and 2nd teams but didn't do anything to stand out one way or the other in my opinion.  Still, in the past he's stood out by dropping everything near him, so one might consider this an improvement.

-Koy had one dreadful pass where it sort of just plopped down in front of him but other than that he was solid.  He's not a starting-quality NFL QB but he's the best placekick holder in the league and if McNabb gets hurt we're farged anyway, so I'm fine with him.

-Hall didn't really stand out to me one way or the other.  McMahon sucked.  His passes were all over the place.

-Dexter Wynn looked very good returning kicks.  Took one out past the 40.

-Crowd was kind of subdued but got lively at times.  One section of the crowd broke out into loud booing several times over the course of 10 minutes or so but I couldn't see what it was about.  Chants of "TO sucks" broke out as people were filing out at the end.  Incidentally, I saw probably a half-dozen TO jerseys the entire morning; best was some sweet-looking 10-year-old girl with a black TO jersey with "Owens" duct-taped over and "For Rent" written in 


That's about it for now, if I think of anything else I'll post it.  Also I'll hopefully be going back up tomorrow so I can get more thoughts then.

[MURP]

thanks for the report man.   and you even got sum luv frum da women i see.

[PhillyGirl]

Great report, thanks!


ONe thing though...when you said "sweet-looking 10 year old girl", I sure as hell hope you meant sweet as in a cute little girl, not "Sa-weeet!"

[TexasEagle]

Great report, thanks!


ONe thing though...when you said "sweet-looking 10 year old girl", I sure as hell hope you meant sweet as in a cute little girl, not "Sa-weeet!"

That tripped me up too...

Nice report though.

[Don Ho]

Thank you!  Being 6 hours away in Hawaii this is always a good way to start the day.  Good stuff.

RENO baby!

[PhillyandBCEagles]

Great report, thanks!


ONe thing though...when you said "sweet-looking 10 year old girl", I sure as hell hope you meant sweet as in a cute little girl, not "Sa-weeet!"

Yes that's what I meant.....I actually wrote "cute" originally but changed it to "sweet" because I thought it'd be LESS likely to sound Quagmire-ish...   

[Dillen]

Whos the douche between the cheerleaders?

[BigEd76]

This report is better than the one from EMB:

Reggie Brown came out early with the rest of the guys and within 20 minutes was hobbling back out of the sun....he could barely walk early on in the morning. He came out again and was hobbling around for awhile. I had a groin injury when I was playing football when I was in my teens and I couldn't push off of it for several months like I wanted too. I see him being set back at least a month or two because of this as his game is about cutting.

Westbrook was not at practice this morning that I could tell...not sure why. Maybe he was out there but I didn't see it.

McMullen has got good size. He can catch the ball on slants and looks OK on balls thrown right at him. However, he has no clue how to find the ball when its thrown over his shoulder. On one play Mcnabb led him to his outside shoulder and he didn't get close to making the play. Several people beside me agreed that TO makes that play in his sleep.

Greg Lewis had a tough time of it early. A DBack was pressing him on the line and Lewis could not get off of it. I see D's pressing him all year as he does not have the upper body strength to fight guys off. This could really throw his timing off with Dmac.

Justin Jenkins could probably make a nice 3rd WR in this league. Not sure he is good enough yet to be a 3 on a SB team though. Made some decent plays today.

Moats was the star of the early morning getting most of the pass plays against the D.

In summary, get used to a whole new offense this year. Last year I believe we led the league in plays over 30 or 40 yards passing. This year we will be able to count them on our fingers.

This is a dump and run offense again with the likes of WRs at the level of Torrance Small and Charles Johnson.

As I've said, Reggie Brown will be slowed down and being a rookie probably won't contribute much early. Lewis will struggle at times and wear down over the year as he's pressed. McMullen is very inconsistent and doesn't look fluid.
.
.
.
Defense looks A-OK,....and will have to win games this year, but they may wear down as the offense will stuggle at times to stay on the field.

[WEST is GOD]

I just can't see Reggie Brown playing this year. The injury is too severe.

[Seabiscuit36]

Was his Leg SEVERED?

[WEST is GOD]

No, but apparently the groin needs to be surgically removed. He was brought into practice today in a wheelchair.

[Seabiscuit36]

I heard he was airlifted so the wheelchair is an upgrade 

[TexasEagle]

I had a groin injury when I was playing football when I was in my teens and I couldn't push off of it for several months like I wanted too. I see him being set back at least a month or two because of this...

That's hysterical. What an idiot. Thanks for reminding me again why I avoid the EMB.

[WEST is GOD]

When asked about the groin injury, Reggie Brown said that this is the risk you get when you risk your life on the football field.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

Brown didn't play but came out about halfway through practice (presumably he was inside rehabbing before that), just watched from the sidelines but he wasn't limping or anything.

Dirk Johnson was also on the sideline FWIW.