I’ll gather more independent observations of football reporters who were actually inside the practice on Tuesday and Wednesday (June 12 and 13), but for now I’ll kick it off with Dave Zangaro of csnphilly.com and his highlight tweets from Wednesday afternoon’s practice at NovaCare—
Offensive play of the day:~ Mike Vick hit Jeremy Maclin deep down the left sideline for a 30-40 yard completion. Maclin was ready for the ball on his inside shoulder but when it went to the outside, he twisted his body and made the grab over Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Defensive play of the day:~ Trevard Lindley collided with Brandon Boykin deep down the field while intercepting a pass intended for DeSean Jackson. The collision was pretty hard but Lindley was able to hold on to the ball.
Quote of the day:~ “Howard! Are you a part of the media?” – Andy Reid to Howard Mudd, who walked to the sideline to have a chat with analyst Brian Baldinger.
• Rookie DE Vinny Curry missed practice again on Wednesday with a sore ankle. He watched from the sideline.
• There is just one more day of this 2012 minicamp. After Thursday, the team won’t meet again until late July in Lehigh for training camp. Rookies and injured players report on July 22 and veterans report on July 25. Camp breaks on August 15.
Zangaro also gave MLB DeMeco Ryans a high grade for making a good impression during practice:
“The Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans to be their middle linebacker. The team also brought him in to be a vocal leader. So far, he’s doing both. Ryans has looked good through the rounds of OTAs and the first two days of the three-day mandatory minicamp…without hitting, of course.”
OLB Brian Rolle had high praise for Ryans, too. “Who doesn’t want a guy who’s been to Pro Bowls, Rookie of the Year, a guy that’s been through the storm in Houston?” asked Rolle. “[Ryans brings] experience and he’s more vocal than a lot of us were last year. If he says something, the next day, they change it. So, he’s experienced and the coaches are willing to take his advice.”
I’ll dig up some more Twitter updates and summaries of practice from other reporters, but Dave Zangaro provides us with a quick-hit impression of a practice which just ended an hour or so ago as I post this.
Speaking of afternoon practice:
The team tried to mimic what will be its training camp meeting and practice routine Tuesday and Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex, with a morning walk-through followed by a regular practice in the afternoon, although of course the practices this week during minicamp did not involve pads and contact.
This has all evolved from the new CBA rule that only allows one full-pads contact session per day in training camp. Reid said he discussed the rules changes with head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder, and decided the team was better off moving its more intense practice to the afternoon.
“I met with Rick and talked to him about recovery time,” said Reid. “We’ve been presented these new rules, so we’re doing our walk-through in the morning in this camp. In the afternoon, it’ll allow the players to be hydrated coming into practice along with getting two meals under their belt. Hopefully, that and the ability to be walking around, get their lift in, and stretching, and so on, then they’ll come out and have a productive practice and limit the injuries and perform at a high speed.”
The new schedule also more closely follows the team’s regular season routine. Once the Birds break training camp and return to Philadelphia, they have a walk-through in the morning, then have a full practice following lunch.
[I’ll take a short break, then see what else I can dig up from Wednesday practice reports…]Welp, it’s Thursday morning, 12:10 A.M. EST, and I have scoured the internet for further tweets of Wednesday’s practice…not much to be harvested, for as our own Kenny Kenemeka has gleaned, the Eagles have asked press-credentialed reporters to minimize the tweeting, as they feel it somehow encourages unnecessary roughness and contact in the drills… Wow, really? Apparently so…
But a couple of reporters broke the “rules”…
Here’s Les Bowen—
“I don’t wanna say it’s windy today at Eagles minicamp, but equipment guys tethered DeSean Jackson to a cooler full of Gatorade, just in case…”
“Jason Kelce says he’s ready to make calls for the #Eagles. More from @LesBowen: is.gd/3zCugy…”
Then there was Geoff Mosher:
“Vintage Michael Vick. Rolled right, stopped on a dime and flicked a 20-yard rope to Celek, who makes a nice catch over Casey Matthews.”
“How did Vick just connect with Celek but yet two seconds later Vick sent out a tweet?…”
“Eagles not getting what they expected out of Harbor?”…improved blocker but average receiver….”
“Nice connection from Kafka to McNutt on the left side despite good coverage by Wade Bonner…”
“Any looks at Harbor out of FB slot?…None so far.”
“Howard Mudd said things don’t have to change with Demetress Bell at LT, although he admitted it will look “less spectacular”…
“Mudd thinks he can bring out the best in Bell the way he did last year with Peters although he said Peters reminds him of Walter Jones.”
“Mudd says physically Danny Watkins is a ‘monster’ but tends to doubt himself and is just starting to play with more confidence.”
“Fletcher Cox isn’t at practice today. Still in transit back to Philly after recent death in family.”
“It’s that time of the year again. Bobby April is wearing the referee uniform.”
“DRC tips a Vick pass right to Babin in 11s-on-11s. Good camp for DRC.”
“Very gusty today, hard for the QBs to push the ball deep…”
“Jeremy Maclin leaps high to catch an underthrown Vick pass about 40 yards downfield…”
“Maclin is leaving the field, appears to be headed back to the lockers. He’s walking by himself, so it doesn’t look very serious…”
“Maclin is coming back on the field. Looks like he’s limping very slightly. Talking to head trainer Rick Burkholder.”
“Maclin is back in action; Kurt Coleman just made a nice over-the-back breakup on pass to Riley Cooper.”
And Wednesday minicamp ended on that note. Thanks to Les Bowen and especially to Geoff Mosher, who broke the rules to give us a secret glimpse into minicamp… and I pray their knuckles aren’t being broken by the Eagles secret police as we speak!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
