The next month will be an important one for linebacker Jamar Chaney as he prepared for his first NFL training camp, a training camp that is considered one of the more strenuous in the league.

Until the rookies and selected veterans report to Lehigh on July 26, Chaney, 6-foot, 242 pounds, will need to prepare his body and mind for the rigors of life in the league.

"I'll probably take a little break, but it won't be anything but a weekend or a couple days, then I'll get back to working out," Chaney said. "I plan on going back to Mississippi State and train with my strength coach so I can be in tip top shape when I get to training camp."

And Chaney has heard plenty about training camp from the veterans.

"I heard it's hard. I heard it's hot. But I'm from Florida and I played ball at Mississippi State so it gets real hot down there. It's actually hot down there now so I'll get some good practice in the heat before I come back."

As for the mental aspect of the game, Chaney said that he's got a "pretty good" grasp of the playbook at the moment, but pretty good isn't good enough.

"I want it to be better," he said. "I want it to be like some of the vets because they can check and adjust just like that. That's my plan is to get like that for when I come back so when I get to training camp there's no thinking, it's just going 100 percent full speed ahead."

For Chaney, his chances of sticking on the 53-man final roster will depend on several factors. Chaney spent most of spring practices working on the weak side, where he's competing with Ernie Sims, Akeem Jordan and Omar Gaither. Chaney also got a few reps in the middle, his primary position in college, where he's in the mix to back up Stewart Bradley with Gaither and Joe Mays.

"I think it's important (to play multiple positions) because the more you can do the better it is," he said. "If I could learn all three I would, but I'm just focused on that WILL and that MIKE right now. I like for them to put that burden on me because I think I can handle it.

"If I had to pick one I would say the MIKE because the MIKE is usually the leader of the defense, he makes all the adjustments and what not. But I like both of them a lot so it doesn't matter."

Chaney certainly has a chance to stick as a jack of all trades for the Eagles. After all, their interest in Chaney during the draft was made clear when they traded a future sixth-round pick to move into the seventh round to draft Chaney. So Chaney knows that he'll be given a chance to impress, but he has to make the most of it.

"I think I did a pretty good job (during the spring) of letting the coaches know I can get a hang of the playbook and do that kind of stuff," he said. My goals for training camp are "just to let everybody know that I'm physical and I come out here to play and do everything I can to win a job on special teams and on that defense."

-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 11:53 a.m., June 22