What's ahead? Plenty for this football team. Chip Kelly's pre-draft minicamp opens on Tuesday and that's the first time he will have a look at his players on the field. There isn't going to be contact and the practices are likely to be more walk-through than anything else, but a glimpse is a glimpse and that's worth something.
Already the players have been introduced to the offseason conditioning program and the description that has been universal is that the workouts have been "up tempo" and that we can expect a team that operates the same way on the field. Kelly wants everything fast, fast, fast.
I'm not sure what we're going to learn from the minicamps other than who lined up where and how the players grasped the concepts mentally. It's really going to more about an introduction to the players about how Kelly demands things be done on the practice field, in the classroom and during the hours the players are away from the NovaCare Complex.
Handle your business, guys, or you're not going to be part of the program for long.
The following week, of course, is the NFL draft, and you are free to start your rumor mill now. What the Eagles are going to do is a closely-guarded, and probably not a plan that is complete until it actually happens. The NFL draft is all about being agile and mobile and preparing thoroughly to make the very best decisions in the heat of the moment.
The Eagles are going to have options with the fourth pick in the draft. Teams are going to poke around seeing how much interest Kelly and Howie Roseman have in moving that selection. The Eagles have to weigh the value of taking the best player on the board at four versus moving either up or down in the first round.
I think anything and everything is in play for the Eagles with 10 days to go before the first round of the draft. That's the way it is for every team, too. You have to work the phones and keep your options open and understand that every scenario has viability right now.
This is a quick hit from me, a report from the NovaCare Complex where an energetic offseason is about to go to a new level now. There is no breaking news other than to report that the buzz is louder and louder here. It's fun. It's energy. It's enthusiasm.
Who lines up at first-string quarterback in the minicamp? That's probably going to be the first question Kelly gets at his press conference on Tuesday. What kind of defense are the Eagles going to employ? That's probably question number two or three.
The first day of a non-contact camp isn't going to necesarily carry forth through September, but at least it's something for a fan base on the edge of its collective seat eager for some information.
It's here, gang. The offseason, so interesting already, kicks into a higher gear with two very important weeks that will help the Eagles 2013 season take shape.
