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Players Reflect On A Productive and Physical Camp

As the final whistle of Training Camp sounded Wednesday afternoon, the team bid farewell to both their fans and Lehigh, the campus that has been their home for nearly a month.

Wednesday marked the final day of what was, for many Eagles players, a productive yet grueling Training Camp. As the players exited the field of Lehigh for the final time this summer, they reflected on all they've accomplished over the past few weeks.

"This is probably one of the toughest Training Camps I've been through in my career," said veteran guard Evan Mathis. "I think that should go a long way for setting us up for the season. I think we made a ton of progress in this Training Camp, and now it's time to carry over to Philadelphia and keep working."

Mathis wasn't the only one who felt this way. The tempo of camp was faster and more physical than many players said they had felt in the past.

"This whole camp has been rough, probably the hardest camp I've been in," said running back LeSean McCoy. "Just everyday hitting, knowing guys are banged up, trainers are a little bit tougher on players ... I think it helped us out to kind of fight through adversity."

But at the other end of the hard work is the camaraderie that comes with grinding through the dog days. This didn't go unnoticed by the team.

"We achieved the goal of coming together and getting better as a team," said linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who completed his first camp as an Eagle Wednesday. "It was a good camp for us. Camp is over with. We're happy it's over with. We're looking forward to getting back to NovaCare. It's still a process of continuing to get better, never being satisfied where we're always looking to grow and get better."

Leaving Lehigh means the season is nearly here. It also means getting into the routine of the regular season. That starts with getting home and back into a normal routine.

"It's always nice to be able to sleep in your bed every night when you're going to work like that every day," said tackle Todd Herremans. "Just getting into the city and being back at our complex will be a lot more comfortable."

"That's the main thing, getting out of these dorm rooms," said safety Nate Allen. "It's been fun. We've put in a lot of work and we're happy where we're at, now we just need to get back to NovaCare we'll just keep working."

Perhaps quarterback Michael Vick put it the best. "I am very excited to leave," he said. "No offense to Lehigh, because I appreciate the people here. It's just (that) I'm 32 years old and I'm a little homesick."

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