I had forgotten how much fun OTA coverage can be for Eagles fans. We didn’t get any OTA’s or minicamps last year either…and we missed out on a lot. The NFL should realize by now it must at all reasonable cost avoid interruption of year-round events and coverage. There’s too much fan interest to risk alienating it. For now, the league is getting a pass from fans on last year’s lockout and work stoppage…just don’t let it happen again.
A bit of the outdoor scene at yesterday’s voluntary OTA minicamp at NovaCare Complex in Philly…
The thing that struck me most about being away from the computer for most of the day was how much live commentary on the OTA’s I was missing here… thanks to relays by Kenny, Boner, Blas, Spiffo, JB, Don Pardo and a host of other friends who were watching live reports from PE.com and also forwarding tweets from Geoff Mosher and Jeff McLane…
Man, this Twitter thing becomes more meaningful when an inside reporter can give instant descriptions of an essentially non-televised event. Since the OTA’s are not open to the public, this access to live reports from the inside guys becomes a new and exciting experience.
As McLane sums up pretty well:
“The practices are voluntary, but most veterans are expected to be there. The camp mostly focuses on passing and falls well short of the grueling training camp work Andy Reid puts his squad through. But it’s our first chance to get an impression of new players, guys returning from injury and the young players who have yet to have a full offseason (meaning 2010 and 2011 draft picks). We can gauge how they are moving and who has gotten bigger or slimmer and get a very initial glance at the depth chart.”
I admit I was hanging on the “delayed broadcast” of every word of the tweets from the practice field as I was going over the commentary of our readers here.
Some things I learned: Babin and Jenkins didn’t show up… the offense “scrimmaged” [in shells and shorts, no real “contact” or “hitting”] against the defense, 11-on-11… Jamar Chaney was cleared to practice, and he lined up at WILL (weak-side LB), while the acclaimed rookie Mychal Kendricks lined up as first-team SAM (strong-side LB), which got a “hmmmm” out of me….Trent Cole beat Demetress Bell badly on an outside rush move…Vick, Kafka and Edwards were bombing away on deep patterns with mixed results… Nnamdi covered DeSean deep on a play and covered him well…Marvin McNutt made an impressive reception under defensive pressure from Curtis Marsh…and lots more good stuff like that.
When I get back from this break, I’ll get you some links to the best links I can find to recap the highlights of the OTA sessions.
In the meantime, what our commenters are saying right now below the Livefyre line may give you the most relevant feedback and analysis on anything that can be logically taken from the “Twitter” coverage and other sources. I’m just real glad we have OTA’s to talk about this year…
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