There are no false values Andy Reid emerged from the post-draft mini-camp and graded the performances. Oh, Reid is excited. He is optimistic. He truly, honestly believes the Eagles are right there in the NFC, in the NFL.

It's just that the true story of a team isn't written until August, and then September and then, finally, into the heart of a regular season.

"Coming out of the mini-camp, I liked the intensity and the enthusiasm and the attitude of the team. I like the speed of the team. But we're only in shorts. I was excited about what I saw from the team, but I realize it is only in shorts," said Reid in a one-on-one interview the other day in his NovaCare Complex office. "I thought it was one of the better efforts since I've been here. It was as good-looking a group from a football standpoint as I've seen since I've been here. But that doesn't mean anything right now. We have to keep building and working hard. The players are still going through their offseason program, busting their tails and working hard.

"We still have some camps to go, and with that the young players will grow a lot, and then comes training camp. Once we get to Lehigh, the pads go on and the players start banging each other around and you see who can get off of the mat and pick themselves up after being beaten down a little bit both mentally and physically. You find the strength of your team in training camp."

We had a fascinating chat, a candid talk. Reid and the Eagles are preparing for the Rookie (and selected veterans) Camp in a handful of days and then 12 practices of Passing Camp in June. All told, there are 14 practices between now and training camp. The offseason conditioning program continues. The improvement each player makes is largely dependent upon his ability to assimilate new information and, for the veterans, to see how much their efforts to condition -- to be bigger, faster and stronger -- have paid off.

"I like the way this team approaches its work on a daily basis. We have a good mix of younger players and more experienced players, and I think the players understand how much work it requires to prepare to win in the National Football League," said Reid. "I sense the excitement they have about this team.

"For the rookies, it is important to get into the conditioning program. Most of them, in general, need to get a little stronger. That is the way it is with rookies in this league. They'll do that. Along with that, they need to get acquainted with the offense, defense and special teams, the way we run things. They need to become familiar with the speed of the game at this level, which only comes by being on the field.

"They had a three-day introduction to it in our last camp, and now we have 14 days of it coming up. Then we are at Lehigh, and by then they should have a pretty good grasp of how it goes at this level. I'll see in the preseason how the player adjusts week-in and week-out to a new scheme being thrown at him on a weekly basis. I want to see how they are able to digest that and function on the football field. Can they play at full speed without being bogged down by things that they are learning?"

When you look at the roster and how it compares to the one from 2007, you notice that the Eagles have made a lot of personnel additions. They signed five unrestricted free agents -- cornerback Asante Samuel, defensive end Chris Clemons, linebacker Rocky Boiman, fullback Dan Klecko and tight end Kris Wilson -- and then added 10 draft picks. Yet the Eagles kept the core of this team intact. Tick off the personnel losses from last year -- fullback Thomas Tapeh and cornerback William James in free agency and defensive end Jevon Kearse and linebacker Takeo Spikes who were released -- and what did the team really lose?

Fact is, the Eagles wanted to keep things rolling in the same direction after last year's 8-8 record, rather than reversing field and making wholesale changes.

"We have good players. We went through a run here the last couple of years where some of those players were banged up just a little bit," said Reid. "That happens. That is just the way it works. Those guys are back now and they have had time to recuperate and so things haven't changed with them. They're still good football players. We were able to go out and add more good football players. We have a good mix with this group. I like that. I want to see how it all comes together."

There were no revelations from Reid. He thinks the offseason acquisitions, combined with the returning players, will push the Eagles back to the top of the NFC East and the NFC. The trade out of the first round? Well, hey, you need to know this: The Eagles had a phone call from another team just prior to being on the clock, turned down that deal to move out of 19, and then Carolina's deal came along and the deal was just too good to pass up. The Eagles felt they could get two good players in the second round and they thought that the extra fourth-round pick could be used to their benefit. Enter Trevor Laws, DeSean Jackson and Lorenzo Booker.

And while the offense has been in the public's eye for most of the last many months, the defense has continued its turnover. Samuel adds top-shelf talent and more depth at cornerback. Clemons is another piece along the defensive line. The Kiddie Corps group at linebacker features Stewart Bradley in the middle, Omar Gaither on the weak side and Chris Gocong on the strong side. For those keeping track, Gaither and Gocong enter their third NFL seasons and Bradley enters his second.

It is time for youth to be served.

"I thought we needed to get better. We weren't getting enough turnovers, creating enough turnovers. We needed some change and that's what we went about doing," said Reid. "Now we've got some good, young players that are really quality football players who will be here a while. At the same time, you still have players like Brian Dawkins, who has been around and who is a player everyone can look up to as a leader. It should all lead to a pretty good defense.

"Stewart is in the position to make the calls for the defense, and if a player isn't a leader before his time at middle linebacker, he sure better grow into one. We had a chance to see Stewart in there last year and we saw him take charge. We feel he's very capable of doing that. He was fortunate that Omar was there and was a great teacher, along with Takeo. Those were good influences in Stewart's rookie year. Stewart is able to rally the players around him.

"It looked like he and Omar had a good thing going together out there at mini-camp."

The offense has more speed and, in theory, more options. Booker impressed the Eagles with his ability to pick up the terminology of the offense quickly and to move around the formation and be a threat from many positions. Reid, in fact, has had his eye on Booker for years. He was tipped off to Booker years ago when Booker was a national star playing high school football in California -- friends who were high school coaches told Reid about him -- and Reid then followed Booker's progress at Florida State. The Eagles had Booker graded highly in last year's draft, but the Dolphins grabbed him in the third round. The Eagles drafted Tony Hunt.

See, Reid is like that. He keeps his eyes open. He was watching a college football game on Saturday five years ago and he saw Houston on the big screen in his office and noticed a freshman quarterback named Kevin Kolb. Reid never forgot, and the Eagles did their due diligence on Kolb before using their first draft pick on him in 2007.

Anyway, on to the here and now. The Eagles are far from being a complete team. There are practices and camps and games to be played before the 53-man roster is set, before Reid really knows how good this team can be.

But at this point, yeah, Reid is as fired up as I've seen him.

"I think everybody in this building is excited," said Reid. "You take it day by day, but I feel good about where we are right now. That's what I feel."