Skip to main content
Philadelphia Eagles
Advertising

Philadelphia Eagles News

Head Coach Andy Reid

Injury Report: "On the injury side of things, (DT) Trevor Laws and (DE) Bryan Smith, you saw them out here working today doing some rehab exercises. They are making progress. It is day to day, and we'll just see how it goes. I'd say right now that Trevor is a little bit ahead of Bryan and that he'll be coming back sooner. I can't give you an exact day on that though. (QB) Donovan (McNabb), like we've done in years past, will have this afternoon's practice off and tomorrow's. And it doesn't have anything to do with his arm or anything else. His arm feels good, he's throwing well. We're just going to give him a little break here before he gets going with the veterans."

Opening Remarks: "I've been happy with the way the three practices have gone. We've been able to get some of our base work in, some special teams work in, and some red zone work in. And the guys are competing and they are learning. This type of camp here I think is important from a standpoint that you can slow it down for the young guys. Obviously, you don't have as many numbers to give them a blow, but at the same time you can slow things down and teach them. It helps them once the veterans get in here and get going."

On whether this time out of practice will hurt Laws and Smith: "I think they'll be all right. They are still going to the meetings and doing those things. The exercises that we are trying to do with them are as football related as we can without hurting them in their rehab process. (Defensive line coach) Pete (Jenkins) has had a chance to meet with them and spend a little extra time with them. I think they'll be alright. Would we like to have them out here? Yeah, we would, but I think when it's all said and done, they'll be fine."

On whether there will be a difference in pace when the veterans arrive: "Everything picks up a little bit in training camp as far as the pace goes. You add in there the hitting and the heat and the mental fatigue from the long meeting, along with just the grind of training camp, it makes it a little different. It'll be a little bit faster pace, a little bit more aggressive, and it'll be quite a challenge for the rookies."

On whether this is the smallest group he's ever had at camp due to the lack of NFL Europe exemptions: "I don't know that. I want to say that it probably is, but I was here before we had those (exemptions). Nothing really changes. We've worked it out where we brought in, instead of two-second team kickers, we brought in one who can both punt and kick. We obviously only brought in three quarterbacks, but we've got guys who can throw the ball, as far as the coaching staff goes. So we'll be okay there for drills."

On QB Kevin Kolb's patience with his position on the depth chart: "He's working with the second group right now. He's learning every day, getting better every day. I think that the preseason games will be important. He'll get some quality reps there. And then the scrimmages that we have are live with the exception of the quarterback, but they're live and they're fast and I think that that'll help him."

On whether he sees any difference in WR DeSean Jackson's mental fatigue from minicamp to training camp: "If you're talking about DeSean particularly, he is picking things up well as far as the offense goes. He's a sharp kid. He has a nice feel for the game, and we'll just see how he does once the hitting takes place."

On whether he will include RB Brian Westbrook in the 30-plus club: "No, I'll keep it to the guys who are 30 years old and above. It's a nice little reward for them. Then I just monitor the other guys. As far as the quarterback situation goes, I'll probably be more apt to give Donovan time off because he gets a load of the reps during training camp. And (QB) A.J. (Feeley) understands that at the same time."

On how the front office regulates communication in regards to contract situations: "The league takes care of all that. They have rules and regulations on it. Then (President) Joe (Banner) and (Vice President of Player Personnel) Howie (Roseman) take care of the rest of that, I kind of stay out of that. They work according to the rules and getting it done."

On how the front office negotiates contracts: "The communication process takes care of that. We'll just work through it like we do all the other contracts. But the main thing is open communication and talking."

On how much he is looking forward to a peaceful training camp: "It allows you just to focus in on football which is the most important thing, and that's a good thing. You want to try and eliminate as many distractions as you can that don't pertain to production on the football field, so I think it's a positive thing."

On Kolb's understanding of the offense compared to last year: "I think he's well ahead of what he was last year. He's worked very hard at that. He basically spent the whole offseason up here going over film and techniques and all those things. Then the actual reps that he got during minicamps I think were important."

On whether it's a challenge to balance his role in the front office with his role in coaching: "It's not a tough thing. I think honesty is probably the best way to go. You shoot people straight. Not always the easiest way, but I think that's the best way."

On whether he's looking forward to having the whole team here: "I look forward to it. I enjoy this period right here, though. It's good to have the young guys, to be able to teach them and let them take that next step. But you're here to get that whole team going and rolling and making sure that you have continuity there and camaraderie and so on. And that's what takes place at training camp."

On what the biggest difference is from his first year to his tenth year in regards to what he has learned about the players in the league: "I think compared to the first year we were setting the foundation for things and the players weren't really sure about the program. This training camp was tough, and a few of them hadn't prepared for that, so when they got into the training camp it caught up to them. From that point on, your veteran players, they kind of take over and they coach up the young guys, and you better take that to heart right there and get yourself right. And it's to that point now, I've got a couple guys that have been with me a long time and they talk to those young guys. They come back and they're ready to go."

On whether there is a difference from his first year to this year in how efficiently camp runs: "It's much smoother. We had a hard time throwing the ball that first camp. Now very seldom do you see an incompletion, and I'm just saying versus error when you're just doing your group install periods without the defense in there. I think the competition between the offense and defense their first year, they were trying to survive. Now they are competing against each other and they talk back and forth and challenge each other and that's just increased over the years since we've been here."

On whether he expects RB Brian Westbrook to arrive at camp as scheduled: "I do, yeah. I do"

On the wide receivers getting a lot of reps and what he sees out of WR Shaheer McBride: "He's doing a good job. Yeah, he's doing a good job. He's very strong to the football. He's very strong, period. He's a big, big target and I think he's a good route runner. He knows how to use his body very well."

On how he sees the fullback position shaping up: "We'll see. We'll see how the competition goes there. You worry about that position a bit because it's such a physical position. We've got three guys in there that we feel can compete against each other and we'll see how they do with it."

On what the characteristics are that he looks for in a fullback: "You've got to be a good blocker; both in the run game and the pass game. And, then you've got to be able to catch the football. We ask that position to do that. The more versatile you are, the better off it is. And, special teams becomes a big part of that. Your tight ends and fullbacks have to be a part of your special teams. This past year, we got more production out of our wide receivers there than we did our tight ends and our fullback position."

On whether his coaching of QB Kevin Kolb has changed over the past season: "Absolutely. He's tough on himself. He's a coach's kid. He's been raised to where he expects perfection from himself. Last year, he was swimming. This year, he expects a lot of himself, as do the coaches and the players around him."

On where Kolb's performance is in his second year compared to QB Donovan McNabb's second year: "I don't know that. I won't do that. You asked me that same question with Donovan about (former Green Bay QB) Brett Favre."

On whether it's a challenge for Kolb to take over the second spot on the depth chart: "It is. He'll do that. He's excited about it. (QB) A.J. (Feeley) has handled it very, very well. A.J. and Donovan both continue to teach him. He's got (quarterbacks coach) Pat Shurmur, who's phenomenal as a coach, and (offensive coordinator) Marty Mornhinweg, who's one of the best in the business."

On whether he's encouraged by WR DeSean Jackson's early contribution: "I think he has a chance to help us, both in the return game and as a wide receiver."

On LB Andy Studebaker and what he saw in him when he drafted him: "I see a kid right now who had not been a linebacker. He's working that conversion there. He is high-octane. He looks like he loves to play. He goes one hundred miles an hour in everything he does. It's not always right, right now, but he is a smart kid. He's picking it up and that's a tough thing to do. He's picking things up mentally. When he makes a mistake, he's doing it a hundred miles an hour."

On how excited he is to see DeSean Jackson on the field returning kicks: "He'll do a nice job with that, I think. He's got a little experience there. He's got to keep working on it. I heard his comment that it's a little different than college. He's got a guy here that kicks it the highest and the furthest to practice with, with (P) Sav (Rocca). That will be good work for him."

On LB Rocky Boiman's decision to come to camp: "There are rules on that. It's really a rookie camp, unless you had an injured player. Then they're allowed to come out. He had been injured, so we invited him out. It worked out well for him. He didn't get as many reps as what we needed in the minicamps and this allows him to do that."

On whether it's a NFL rule that only rookies and vets coming off injuries are allowed to participate right now: "Yes."

On RB Ryan Moats being the only running back at camp and what that does for him: "I think it's great for him, just to get him back in the swing of things. He's doing a heck of a job right now. You're able to talk through things. He's always been able to carry the football very well and run with the football very well. But, the little intricacies in the pass game, or moving him out where you flex him out into wide receiver positions, this is a great review for him."

On whether those are things Moats can learn: "He's worked hard at it. You see him out here, he's catching the football very well. We'll see how he does with that."

On whether it's mandatory that the players in the 30-plus club sit out certain practices and if he would let them practice if they asked: (Jokingly) "I don't think they're going to do that. But, if they did, I'd probably let them practice."

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

LATEST VIDEOS

Advertising