Welcome to our weekly Player Diary feature to kick off the 2014 season. We have a rotation of players lined up to contribute, beginning with safety Chris Maragos ...
"I've been in Philadelphia for a couple of weeks preparing for the start of Training Camp. Some guys like to get in a day early, but that's not the way I operate. I like to come back early and get acclimated to everything at home and at work, get used to the weather and the time change. Your life shuts down for a month with Training Camp. That's just the way it is.
"I've been counting my blessings since I signed with the Eagles in free agency. I feel so great about the situation – everything. I love the team, the coaches and the players around me, the organization. The City has been fantastic. The fans love the Eagles. It's an honor to step on the field and to wear the wings on the helmet.
"I like to treat the first day of Training Camp like I treated the Super Bowl. I'm going to bring the same intensity every day, so there is no 'ramping up' during the course of the season. If you bring everything you have from Day 1, you get yourself in the right frame of mind and you bring it physically the same every day. That's how I've survived in the NFL. I'm not the biggest guy in the league and I'm not the fastest guy. I have to take care of the details from the first day of work, every day, to make it.
"I'm an intense guy. I approach every part of the game with the same focus and intensity, no matter if it's the first day of camp or the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. That's just who I am and how I play the game.
"The spring practices were a big help to me to get the defense down pat. It's a complex defense and it puts us in position to make a lot of plays. I'm excited about fitting in. I think the tone of this team is that we're going to play as a team and sacrifice for each other and achieve the goal we all have. This defense has a lot of checks and the language is something you really have to know and you have to sort through a lot, but I think I've got the code down and I feel like I have the foundation in place to try to help in any way I can.
"I've been training really hard in the last five weeks or so since the Organized Team Activities ended. I've been visualizing myself running down the field on special teams and on defense making plays. I've Googled all of the stadiums we're playing in and spent time looking around and becoming familiar with those stadiums so I'm not surprised when we go on the road.
"I didn't lounge around for five weeks. I've had to fight my way to make it in this league and I'm going to keep that edge to my game."
Chris Maragos signed with the Eagles during the free agency period in the offseason after playing for three years in Seattle. You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMaragos
