AFTERNOON PRACTICE:

• 2:55 PM: Practice is just about over now, but the kicking team does one more drill. They start in a bunch, kind of like a huddle, and as Akers runs up to the ball to kick it, players start sprinting to the outsides, almost unraveling. Akers then chips up an onsides kick, and here Matt McCoy catches it on the run. There is no defense though, so it's hard to say whether this would work in a game, but it sure looks cool.
  
  
• 2:44 PM: The returners are looking alright as before, perhaps the lack of a full sun facing them is a help. There are, again, a good amount of starters and veterans here, including Lewis, linebacker Chris Gocong and safety Sean Considine.
  
  
• 2:35 PM: The team is on to kickoff returns, as a full kicking team goes up against a full return team. There is no hitting on the returner though, which would give us a better look at how Bloom has progressed physically. It is better to play with a rush, but the threat of actually getting nailed is whole different ballgame.
  
  
• 2:20 PM: Now comes the hard part - the returners switch to the side facing the sun. They look good at first, but Bloom drops one soon after. Lewis has a slight bobble, but he recovers nicely. Punters Dirk Johnson and Sav Rocca are doing well. Johnson's last five punts have gone (in yards) 45, 43, 57, 50 and 49. Rocca's have gone 57, 48, 49, 53 and 49. There is only a simulated rush, but they both look pretty good booming kicks down to the returners, standing about 45 yards downfield at the 20.
  
  
• 2:09 PM: The offensive line is working on individual blocking, learning how to stop stunts, while the rest of the team practices punt returns. The line here is working on picking up the blitz of the punt block, while gunners work one-on-one on the side. Back returning are Jeremy Bloom, rookie corner Rashad Barksdale, wide receivers Greg Lewis and J.J. Outlaw. Most of the reps go to Bloom, but they are all mixed in. Bloom missed a couple two days ago, but is looking sharp here, no one has dropped one.

INJURY UPDATE:

• The big name missing from Monday morning's practice was Donovan McNabb, who was held out of practice, according to head coach Andy Reid, for purely precautionary reasons. Brian Dawkins once again sat out with Achilles tendonitis, and Reid stressed the team was being cautious, stating "you don't want to mess with the Achilles."

  The other players who were absent this morning were guard Shawn Andrews (ankle sprain), running back Correll Buckhalter (knee), cornerback Dustin Fox (Achilles), defensive tackle Montae Reagor (knee), guard Stefan Rodgers (knee), linebacker Dedrick Roper (foot strain) and defensive tackle Ian Scott (knee). None of those injuries are presumed to be serious. Cornerback Lito Sheppard was held out of Monday morning's practice with an oblique strain, despite returning to the field Sunday afternoon. Wide receiver Bill Sampy is "still a ways away" from playing according to Reid with a quad contusion.

  Safety Marcus Paschal (leg) and tight end Matt Schobel (groin) left the morning practice with what are assumed to be minor injuries.

  Running back Brian Westbrook and defensive end Jevon Kearse returned to practice Monday after missing Sunday's workouts.

MORNING PRACTICE:

• 10:33 AM: Practice looks to be about over. The offense looked better than in past days, even without McNabb - whose arm has looked better and better by the day. Westbrook was back practicing after getting some rest yesterday, but gave way to Hunt in many of the live drills. Feeley's throws were shaky at first, but started looking real good by the end of the day, especially when looking for Curtis on 10-to-20-yard patterns.
  
  
• 10:18 AM: With the first offense against the second defense, Tony Hunt takes over. On five straight carries he marches the team down the field for 40 yards and a touchdown. He gets hit numerous times, including a lick from safety C.J. Gaddis, but always keeps running or falls forward. He looks shifty as well as strong, and displays some rare patience for a rookie running back.
  
  
• 10:05 AM: Like yesterday, Curtis has been a monster. Here he is covered by a safety as well as Howard, and Feeley gives him a great pass just over the outstretched arms on the defensive end. He then gets a pass on the sidelines, as Graham again has respectable defense, but still gets beat. He lets someone else get a catch for once, though, as Feeley hits Brown on a 50-yard bomb for a touchdown as Joselio Hanson just can't keep up.
  
  
• 10:01 AM: The defense gets Holcomb and the second-team offense back, though, as Kearse grabs yet another sack. Howard, who is looking real fresh this camp blows up the running play on third down.
  
  
• 9:53 AM: With McNabb taking a day off, Feeley is looking very sharp. He started off slow, but now hits Curtis and throws a dart to Greg Lewis over the middle. With Holcomb in now, he let's Moats do the work, as the third-year back gains about 20 yards down the sidelines on a screen pass.
  
  
• 9:35 AM: Curtis takes a pass near the sidelines (though it looked like a sack should have previously been awarded), and Graham nails him out of bounds. Graham is looking sharp today, but he has to be careful of hits like that, especially on his own teammates. Soon after Feeley fumbles the snap and the defense gets the last laugh.
  
  
• 9:28 AM: In what must have been a mix-up, Avant is covered by no one and takes a screen pass out past the 10-yard line on third down. The offense has looked good for a few plays, but the defense is still looking particularly sharp. Ramsey blows through the line for a big hit on running back Tony Hunt at the one-yard line, and end Jevon Kearse gets by Pat McCoy for a sack.
  
  
• 9:22 AM: On the full-team full-contact drills, what all the fans really come out here for, the offense starts out from its own one-yard line. Feeley hits wide receiver Jason Avant for a few yards, who gets clobbered by corner Sheldon Brown, but holds on. A couple plays later, though, linebacker Takeo Spikes and the first-team defense stuff Ryan Moats in the backfield for a safety. Moats gets a bit of revenge, however, as he gets some nice blocks and scampers for an 10-yard run.
  
  
• 9:09 AM: Kolb throws a perfect deep ball to Kevin Curtis down the right side on the on-on-one wide receiver vs. defensive back drill. He has looked great throwing deep so far.
  
  
• 9:05 AM: Corner Will James is looking good today. He makes a nice pass deflection on wide receiver Kevin Curtis and then stops a ball headed for Michael Gasperson soon after.
  
  
• 9:01 AM: The defensive linemen are doing rips on tackling  dummies, and tackle La Juan Ramsey wipes out on a cut. Quarterback A.J. Feeley also loses his footing briefly while dropping back. The Eagles really have to hope nothing bad happens of this, but so far no one has gotten hurt during a wet practice to my knowledge.
  
  
• 8:55 AM: On the 7-on-7 drills, cornerback Nick Graham makes a nice deflection on a well-thrown deep ball from quarterback Kevin Kolb on the full-team semi-contact drill (without tackling). During the switching of drills, a few players wait outside the one port-a-potty on the field. The team can afford a sweet goalpost but only one bathroom?
  
  
• 8:40 AM: Donovan McNabb is usually a little late, but he's not out there this morning. He could have the day off liike Brian Westbrook did yesterday, but I'm imagining that he's a no-go because of the aforementioned wet field from the rain.
  
  
• 8:32 AM: The kickers are practicing field goals arena-style, with the bars about half-width. Even David Akers has a little trouble with these, but now he's starting to get the hang of it. I'm quite impressed that Lehigh and the Eagles went through the trouble to get adjustable field goal posts. They're pretty sweet.
  
  
• 8:28 AM: The tight ends are cutting around pads and getting passes from coach Tom Melvin, who is throwing behind or ahead of them instead of giving them perfect throws, though the ball at Schobel's feet was, actually, a bad pass. Brent Celek, who has done a nice job so far in camp, slips on his cut. The grass is pretty wet this morning.
  
  
• 8:17 AM: After some warmups, the offense runs some plays as the offensive line and tight end push the sled. The linebackers are acting as running backs and tackling each other, and the defensive linemen hit pads that are would-be offensive linemen. They drive the pad upwards, get off of the block and tackle a loose pad, a.k.a. a running back. Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie is watching practice and talks to head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines.