AFTERNOON PRACTICE

• END OF PRACTICE 4:43 PM: After a few more redzone plays, the horn sounds signaling the end of practice. It was definitely a positive for the team to get outside and work on some team drills and some actual football situations. No doubt the fans in attendance appreciated it too. A group of linemen stay to do a ball workout and work on their core strength and flexibility, but other than that the second day of Eagles training camp is officially a wrap. Join us again tomorrow when hopefully the weather will hold off and we'll bring more up to the minute Eagles practice coverage straight from the sidelines at Lehigh.
  
  
• 4:34 PM: The team goes back into 7-on-7s, this time working on red zone situations. On the first play, rookie free agent Nick Graham rises up and makes a nice play to break up a fade in the end zone. Graham is a player few have said anything about, but has looked solid during the spring up until now. On the next play, McNabb fires his final throw of the afternoon, a flat pass to Jason Davis. The fullback, who is also coming off an ACL injury, receives the ball and makes a sharp cut to the inside of the field into space.
  
  
• 4:29 PM: In the midst of the 11-on-11s, Andy Reid calls for a quick water break. The heat isn't as bad as it will eventually get during camp, but the coaches are doing their best to keep the players hydrated. They are going really hard in these team drills. Meanwhile Kevin Kolb is getting a lot of reps - by my count close to half the snaps in combined 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s. For the most part, the rookie looks good, and comes out of the water break throwing a frozen rope to Bill Sampy for a 15 yard gain.
  
  
• 4:24 PM: Now the Eagles move onto some 11-on-11 drills. They aren't full contact but it's the closest thing we've seen to football since last January. The defense is blitzing every down and challenging the offense. The defense begins to take the upper hand after the offense had held the advantage throughout the 7-on-7s. Defensive end Marques Murrell drops back in coverage in a zone blitz and makes a nice play to bat a pass down. In all the Eagles quarterbacks go 3-7 during the drill.
  
  
• 4:16 PM: Ok, now the real fun is set to begin as the team gathers for 7-on-7 drills. McNabb kicks off the drill by taking a five-step drop and throwing a 15-yard strike to Jermaine Jamison. On the next play, A.J Feeley completes a 13-yard pass to Jeremy Bloom. After every play Jim Johnson has words of wisdom and advice for his squad. For the time being its obvious that behind the veteran QBs the offense has a bit on an advantage in 7-on-7 drills.
  
  
• 4:10 PM: The offense and defense seperate into a group install period, putting in and walking through various plays. A 40-yard bomb from A.J Feeley to Bill Sampy earns another smattering of applause from the crowd.
  
  
• 4:04 PM: For the first time I take notice of what has developed into a pretty solid crowd considering that it was only announced practice had been moved outside minutes before practice. The crowd of what I estimate to be between 300 to 400 people give Jeremy Bloom a round of applause as he leaps and makes a fine catch. Bloom is continuing to impress as a wide receiver, and his sharp cuts repeatedly earn praise from wide receivers coach Dave Culley.
  
  
• 4:00 PM: The wide receivers are running outs at full speed and receiving balls from the quarterback. The practice field turf seems to be in surprisingly solid condition as there are almost no slips except for one occasion as McNabb is dropping back the turf gives from under his right foot. But McNabb barely notices and maintains solid balance, regroups, and throws a strike.
  
  
• 3:52 PM: Jim Johnson is working with the entire defense on what appear to be different blitz packages. The coaches are using empty plastic trash cans to take the place of offensive linemen, and members of the defense weave in and out of the cans. On the other field Donovan McNabb rolls out and completes a pass, and later simulates throwing a screen off his back foot in the face of a blitz. Granted the drills aren't at full speed, but McNabb appears to have to apprehension with his ankle.
  
  
• 3:43 PM: Sav Rocca walks by as I stand on the sidelines. It's my first time seeing him in pads and a helmet up close. He dons a typical, small kicker's facemask like that of David Akers, and it's almost strange seeing a 6-foot-5, 250-plus pound football player lumbering by with such a small facemask. It's not wonder looking at him Rocca is able to get off the moonshot kicks that he does.
  
  
• 3:41PM: The players break into individual warm-ups. It's amazing to see at each position how important quickness and acceleration are. Those two traits are emphasized everywhere. Linebackers coach Sean McDermott urges his players to shuffle back in forth in quick bursts, the defensive linemen are working on getting a quick release off the ball and even the offensive linemen are quickening their hands and feet as offensive line coach Juan Castillo can be heard throughout the practice complex with outbursts of "THERE YOU GO!!" everytime one of his pupils displays proper form and speed.
  
  
• 3:33 PM: The special teams are working on blocking for kick returns. Most of the team gets a look in on the blocking team, further showing the importance of special teams in this camp. Even Montae Reagor takes a few reps as a part of the wedge. Jeremy Bloom and a bunch of other players take turns receiving and running back the kicks, including Rashad Barksdale, Jermaine Jamison and Bill Sampy. But seeing this is more of a blocking tutorial, who's returning probably means very little.
  
  
• 3:26 PM: And we follow up that bit of good news with another positive sign - that of Donovan McNabb emerging from the locker room onto the practice field. McNabb sat out the morning indoor workout because the floor of the Philip Rauch field house was deemed too hard for the QBs injured right knee. McNabb is donning his typical red number five jersey, but has decided to leave behind the long black tights he wore underneath his shorts yesterday. The knee brace is still there. McNabb settles in and takes his warm-up tosses as the horn blows signaling the start of the special teams portion of practice.
  
  
• 3:18 PM: We start the second half of the day's practice blog with encouraging news: the Eagles have gone back on earlier word that the afternoon practice would take place indoors and instead have moved the workout back outdoors. The storms that settled over the Lehigh Valley and disrupted the morning practice have dissipated and given way to the sunshine and muggy heat that so often characterize training camp. there is still the issue of slippery turf to worry about in wake of the morning's showers. The grass is dry but the ground is soft - we'll see how many problems the players have with footing.

MORNING PRACTICE

10:16 AM: One final announcement for the eventful morning half of the blog. The Eagles have announced that the afternoon practice will also be held indoors in the field house. We'll wait and see what the Eagles attempt to do with that practice. Stay tuned later today and find out as we'll be live again with the latest from the sidelines.


10:12 AM: A few interesting things in wake of the AM practice. First off, Andy Reid explained that Donovan McNabb had been held out of the indoor portion of the morning practice because he didn't want to subject McNabb's right knee to the hard indoor surface. Also a good amount of players have stayed around to get extra work. Among them are the entire offensive line and linebacking corps. It's encouraging especially to see Stewart Bradley and Chris Gocong staying for the extra instruction, knowing the role both could play this season. Bradley is the last one to leave the facility after getting extra instruction from linebackers coach Sean McDermott.


10:02 AM: The thunder is clearly audible from outside and the walls of the field house rattle just a bit as the horn sounds to end practice. Obviously there isn't as much to be gained from a broken-up, half-indoor, half-outdoor practice such as this, but the team made the best of an undesirable situation. We'll wait and hope that the rain and thunder clear up before this afternoon's practice.


9:52 AM: Now the offensive begins to install some passing plays without the offensive line, who move off into more individual drills. It's hard to take anything away from these drills as far as individual players go because they are not being run against a defense. About the only thing to take away is that plays are crisply run, the passes are on target, and there are next to no drops.


9:48 AM: The entire offensive is now working as a unit installing plays. The first set is running plays with an offensive line front. Some coaches and staff members act as defensive linemen to give the O-line a mock front to work against. Because of where the media is positioned we cannot see exactly what the defense is doing, but it looks like they are installing sets and plays as well.


9:35 AM: Now the wideouts and other skill players are working on certain patterns with the quarterbacks. It's clear that Kevin Kolb's best throws come on the seam pattern and deep posts and crosses over the middle. Kolb puts a good zip on the ball and it is almost always well placed where the receiver can get the ball but any potential defender can't. On one particular occasion, the 6-foot-2 Jermaine Jamison rises and plucks the ball out of the air, the rookie quarterback using every inch of the lengthy receiver.


9:32 AM: As practice starts back up, the players go back into positional workouts. The tight ends are working on blocking. It's not hard to tell that Lee Vickers was once a defensive linemen. He is big and physical, and it shows in this blocking drill.


9:20 AM: Well the party has moved inside. The now steady rain and intermittent lightning have forced the coaches to move practice indoors to the Philip Rauch Field House not too fair away from the practice fields at Lehigh. The field house floor where practice is held clearly wasn't meant for football - the badge, rubberized floor surface is clearly better suited for basketball, track, etc. Still, the field house is big (the surface area is smaller than a football field, but not by a huge amount), and there is adequate room to run a close to normal practice. Still, the gray interior and artificial lighting make the scene not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as a typical summer Lehigh day. The losers of course in all this are the fans, who are not allowed to watch the indoor practices. It's a shame that the faithful who came out in adverse conditions couldn't be rewarded for their support, but the field house is just too small to house them.


• 8:59 AM: As the rain picks up a little bit, a flash of lightning is seen not too far off, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Immediately the horn blows and the players are herded back in the locker room. Well have to wait and see if and when the players return to the field.
  
  
• 8:51 AM: The players break into a positional warm-up period. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo is working individually with each of his young linemen on footwork, something he is quite meticulous about. Meanwhile the quarterbacks are warming-up by throwing sideline passes to Harold Carmichael.
  
  
• 8:47 AM: Practice begins today as it did yesterday - with special teams. Rory Segrest working with his kickoff coverage units, teaching them how to get off blocks and swarm to the ball carrier. Segrest is an extremely vocal and high energy coach, giving praise or advice following every play. These instructional period are key for many players who know special teams may be their avenue to a roster spot. Meanwhile, the quarterbacks, offensive linemen and defensive linemen break off into individual drills.
  
  
• 8:37 AM: Most of the players are out on the field, including of course Donovan McNabb, who is greeted to a pattering of applause and autograph requests from the scattered crowd gathered on this damp morning. The players are starting their individual warm-up drills, and practice is set to begin in a few minutes.
  
  
• 8:32 AM: Well, the stage is set for the Day Two of Eagles training camp. The weather isn't quite as favorable this morning. It's fairly overcast and there is a light rain falling. I can tell you from walking on the sidelines that there is a significant amount of moisture on the ground - enough to soak your shoes as walk on it. Well have to wait and see how the rain affects the players footing. There were a few slips yesterday at
  practice following the previous night's showers.