One of the true success stories of the Eagles off-season was the emergence of running back Eldra Buckley.

After spending two seasons on the San Diego Chargers practice squad hoping for a chance in a crowded backfield that, at times, included stalwarts LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner and Darren Sproles, Buckley came to the Eagles' mini-camp in the spring and looked like a roster long shot.

Buckley's biggest drawback as a player was his discomfort as a receiver out of the backfield, a skill that is highly valued in the Eagles offense.

"You have to be a pass-catcher in this offense," Buckley said. "I knew coming (to Philadelphia) that was going to be something I had to work on."

And work on it he did.

"When all the coaches told me to catch passes every day, the offensive line coach (Juan Castillo) stressed to me that if you go out there and catch a lot of passes, you can become a better receiver," Buckley said. "Every day I went out and started catching more and more and more and it became comfortable to me.

"I tried to catch 50 (balls) a day right after practice. And I won't stop; I'm going to keep catching balls before and after practice so I can keep working on catching the ball."

Click here* *to find out how Buckley learned that he made the team and what he envisions his role this year to be.

-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 12.22 p.m., September 8*