The Eagles bid adieu to Lehigh University on Tuesday as they put a bow on Training Camp.
After 18 full practices and one preseason game, head coach Andy Reid believes that the time away from the NovaCare Complex provided a strong foundation for the team to build upon as the regular season inches closer.
Reid said he witnessed the team carry over the momentum from the four-game win streak to end the 2011 season to the spring camps and ultimately to Training Camp. The key now, Reid explained, is for the team to "finish up the next few weeks very aggressively."
On Monday, the Eagles will play in their second preseason game against the New England Patriots. In a unique twist, Reid said that the starters will play at least the first half in what will be the dress rehearsal for the regular season. Usually, the third preseason game is reserved for that. However, the Eagles play their third preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, the same team that they will play against in the regular season opener.
The team will have Wednesday off before returning to the NovaCare Complex on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will take the field then as he is suffering from whiplash-type symptoms as well as a lip laceration and a sore neck which was the result of a nasty collision Monday with safety Nate Allen. Reid said that Asomugha, who did not practice Tuesday, is day-to-day but reiterated that he did not suffer a concussion and was completely conscious the whole time.
Reid did not have any update on defensive tackle Mike Patterson, who is on the Active/Non-Football Injury list. Patterson continues to wait for clearance after offseason brain surgery. Patterson has not been the only defensive lineman sidelined during Training Camp. With the entire first-team line injured at one point, the second-team line has thrived in practice and the preseason opener. Reid already knows that deciding who will make the final 53-man roster among the defensive linemen will be a "tough decision."
"I mention this to the players all the time, make it tough," Reid said. "Make it tough for Howie (Roseman) and I to make that decision. It's a great problem to have. That's not sorted out yet. That's not going to be an easy thing."
It won't be easy as long as the Eagles continue to build upon the successes that they have had at Training Camp.
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