The Mini-Camp Thread

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Camp note from the Inky:

Hank Fraley still has a chance to be the Eagles' starting center this season, but he was working on another skill yesterday as the team opened its final off-season minicamp. As the special teams took over the field at the end of practice, Fraley worked on snapping for field goals and punts, a job that belongs to Mike Bartrum. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

[BigEd76]

CSN video clips:


Brown wants to be an elite WR


McDougle on DNL, loves Bunkley


Pinkston, Fraley and Lito are back


BWest likes a camp without distractions

[Father Demon]

McClickity

Dawkins hopes for special treatment from Eagles
By ROB MAADDI, AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- No matter his contract situation, Brian Dawkins doesn't plan to play or act any differently.

The five-time Pro Bowl safety could be entering his final season with the Philadelphia Eagles. But Dawkins isn't going to hold out for a new deal or cause any problems.

"Whether it's a contract year, whether it's the first year after a contract, whether it's the third year on a four-year deal, I'm going to try my best to give everything I have regardless of the situation," Dawkins said Tuesday.

"You want to get a deal done. That is always going to be in the back of your mind and to say that a guy doesn't think about that a lot would be dishonest. But when it bothers you, when it prohibits you from doing what you need to do on the field is when it becomes a problem. That is not going to happen with me. I am going to go out and play ball."

The Eagles could only wish other star players handled their contract issues the same way. Terrell Owens' problems in Philadelphia started when he demanded a new contract just one season after signing a seven-year, $48.97 million deal. Corey Simon forced his release last year because he refused to sign a franchise offer and wouldn't come to training camp.

Dawkins has no intention of missing any time. He joined the rest of his teammates for this week's "voluntary" minicamp, giving the Eagles full attendance.

"Why one guy feels it's in his best interest to hold out, that's the best way they want to handle it," Dawkins said. "I believe things can be handled a certain way when it comes to contracts. I always want to handle it first-class."

Dawkins has watched the Eagles allow other veterans to leave after their contracts expired. Cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor weren't re-signed following the 2003 season, defensive end Hugh Douglas left after the 2002 season.

Philadelphia is reluctant to give long-term contracts to players in their 30s. Dawkins turns 33 in October and is going into his 11th season.

"Hopefully the way they handled situations in the past will be thrown out the door when they deal with me," Dawkins said. "Will that be the case? I don't know."

A second-round pick from Clemson in 1996, Dawkins quickly moved into the starting lineup as a rookie on a team that went to the playoffs. He made his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 1999 and overcame a serious foot injury that sidelined him for nine games during the 2003 season.

Dawkins is the leader of a star-studded defense that played far below expectations last season. He made the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement, but wasn't pleased with his performance throughout the year.

"I made too many mistakes and that's not who I am," Dawkins said. "I personally gave up too many plays and that's not something I will accept."

[ice grillin you]

lolol @ mcdougles opening comment....what is he talking about....ummmmm jerome youve essentially never played and have two sacks in three years

he did shout out killa cole so he gets a plus for that

[Drunkmasterflex]

lolol @ mcdougles opening comment....what is he talking about....ummmmm jerome youve essentially never played and have two sacks in three years

he did shout out killa cole so he gets a plus for that

Yeah, I thought that was funny too.  As with Dawkins there is absolutely no excuse for not signing him for at least another 3 seasons, to me even if he isn't  good player after the first two seasons it is still worth the potential cap hit.

[Rome]

he did shout out killa cole so he gets a plus for that

Who?

[Geowhizzer]

he did shout out killa cole so he gets a plus for that

Who?

Come on Rome, we all know it's Nat King Cole. 


Unforgettable....

[sallad selgae]

he did shout out killa cole so he gets a plus for that

Who?

Come on Rome, we all know it's Nat King Cole.


Unforgettable....

He's a merry old soul

[The BIGSTUD]

[Beermonkey]

That's right bitches, I'm on the team again!!  I got your crab fries here!

[mussa]

I hate you Beermonkey. I hate you

[reese125]

very good $htein beermonkey   

[mussa]

Oh no beermonkey, re-post what you originally said.   

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Bloom has some owies! 

Sam Donnellon | Not yet his time to Bloom
The training room has become his home away from home. Jeremy Bloom knew there was going to be a price to pay in his transition from freestyle skiing to football, knew there would be some bumps on the road back to the sport he always has loved best.

Bumps, yes.

Moguls? That he wasn't quite prepared for.

"I think he's tweaked every muscle in his leg so far," Eagles special-teams coach John Harbaugh said yesterday, that familiar smirk on his face. "Groin, hamstring, quad, ankle and Achilles'...

"I'm hoping to keep the calf out of it.''

As Harbaugh spoke, Bloom was undergoing an MRI. Later, after it came back negative, he resumed his return to football from a forced 2-year exodus, running in a pool, getting treatment.

Maybe in a couple of days, he may even run around on the field again. Catch a punt or two.

"I knew coming into this thing that there was going to be a transitional period," said the Eagles' fifth-round pick. "To come here a week after the draft and to go through these minicamps, and the number of repetitions going full tilt...

"It's just a matter of breaking myself down and building it back up again."

Bloom is 24, a little over 3 months removed from a last-ditch attempt to gain an Olympic medal. He finished sixth in the freestyle ski event at Turin, after winning the World Cup and setting records the year before.

He is on that other list, the one that consists of athletes who dominated their sports in all but Olympic years, the list of athletes more famous for what they were expected to do than what they did.

Bloom was one of the more spectacular athletes his X Games sport has ever known, and certainly its most well-known. An explosive returner and wideout in high school and in his first 2 years at the University of Colorado, Bloom became a political football between those in charge of his two sports. Bloom was unwilling to surrender the sponsorship and endorsements he received from skiing, so the NCAA ruled him ineligible to play for the Buffaloes.

Financially, his decision was solid gold. Type in jeremybloom.com and you will enter a Web site that Terrell Owens can only dream about. There's seven, count 'em, seven major apparel companies with links on his site. Watch the video of him churning down a hill on his way to World Cup gold. Watch a video of him churning through Colorado State for a touchdown on one of his five college plays of 75 yards or more.

There is a striking similarity.

"Visually, to be able to react instantly to things like ice underneath, lights, things coming at you 25, 40 miles an hour," Bloom said. "There's definitely a parallel there with returning a football. But that's the only crossover. Physically they are very different. Just in the muscles you use, it's different."

There are things about him that scream instant Eagle. The phone-book sized playbook has been committed to memory. Despite the individualism and bravado of his other sport, the approach since he got here has been one of humility.

Conceding he is more confident than ever about his ability to succeed at this level, Bloom adds breathlessly, "That's not cockiness. It's confidence. I have to be confident. There's no way you can be in this league without that level of confidence. There's just too many great athletes out there.''

Here's why he should be confident. He runs a 4.2 40-yard dash, and, at 5-9, has both the cuts and balance of a man trained to dart in the straightest line possible between icy mounds of snow - tossing in a few jumps and flips for good measure.

Here are some other reasons. He is well beyond the average age of a rookie. He has traveled the world, felt the need to succeed both from representatives of his country and those various sponsors who made him a millionaire.

"He's a high-intensity guy,'' said Harbaugh, who is said to be one of those himself. "He has great attention to detail, and understands what it is to be successful.

"I don't think he's going to cower,'' Harbaugh said. "The pressure is not going to get to him.''

That remains to be seen, of course. Touted by the networks and major magazines, he finished sixth, not first, in Turin. But he did so after going full tilt down the hill, stumbling just enough at one point to abort that dream. And when it was over he dealt with it well, making no excuses, focusing immediately on his next goal, the one that has left him limping in the early going here.

"I'm in great physical shape,'' he said. "Just not in football shape yet.''

No big deal. Training camp is almost 2 months away.

"He can be the starting returner," Harbaugh said. "Will he be is dependent on him. He's going to have to earn the job. He's going to have to be ready to be our guy.''

[MadMarchHare]

These two quotes concern me.

Thomas Tapeh is recovering from a dislocated hip, which canceled his 2005 season. But if he's healthy, he could challenge present starter Josh Parry.

He better do a spot more than challenge that loser.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said that second-round draft pick Winston Justice received some reps with the first-team offense in William Thomas' spot. Thomas is taking blood thinning medication for the blood clot he experienced last year and as a precaution, the Eagles are limiting his reps in this final week of organized team activity.

What the farg is Thomas STILL doing on heparin or warfarin.  Jesus, that seems a bit extreme for precautionary measures.