One week into this training camp and the Eagles are getting into the heat of things. I mean that literally, as in the temperatures are rising on and off the field. I've been to every practice and have talked to a lot of people who know a lot of things, so here are some quick observations to make heading into the meat of the camp pressure ...
- Lorenzo Booker has lived up to the pre-camp hype. He had a 57-yard touchdown run on Monday and has been impressive running the football and lining up all over the formation as a receiver and displaced back. I know a lot of things can happen when the lights go on and the games happen, but Booker has been impressive to date.
- I was hoping wide receiver Reggie Brown would show more consistency in his catching, and I think he has done that. Brown has been outstanding in camp. He has a drop -- I have seen one -- but that is going to happen. Brown has run great routes, has played strong and looks like he is running very, very well.
- Kevin Curtis has been a little bit quiet, and I say that because last year he was on the receiving end of a lot of big plays down the field early in camp. I will look forward to seeing the Eagles get him going in this camp.
- Victor Abiamiri's injury is a concern. If he needs surgery -- he was evaluated again on Monday -- Abiamiri could be in for a long recovery. Defensive linemen need strength in their hands and arms to grab and pull offensive linemen and free themselves to go get the ball. The Eagles have depth at left defensive end, but Abiamiri is a bigger end who the Eagles want to play the run and maybe move inside to tackle in nickel situations.
- Sean Considine has been physical, he has been around the ball and he looks much stronger this year than in the past seasons. He is having a good camp.
- Kris Wilson needs to get into a groove. He is clearly behind L.J. Smith, Brent Celek and Matt Schobel at this point.
- It's time somebody starts thinking about a nickname for the offensive backfield, because "Three-Headed Monster" has already been used. make no mistake, the Eagles are going to use Brian Westbrook, Booker and Correll Buckhalter.
- Looks to me like the fullback position is pretty tight between Jason Davis and Luke Lawton. I like Jed Collins, but I think he is a step behind. The games will be the true test here.
- Greg Lewis, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett are doing well, which leads me to believe that the Eagles are going to keep six wide receivers. Let's talk about it again in a couple of weeks.
- The off-the-top-of-my-head, I'm-too-tired-to-look-it-up list of 30-plus players who sat out on Monday morning: Donovan McNabb, Tra Thomas, Jon Runyan, Kevin Curtis, Darren Howard, Kimo von Oelhoffen, Montae Reagor, Brian Dawkins, David Akers and Sav Rocca. That meant Avant was the holder for placekicker Richmond McGee during the special teams portion of practice.
- Andy Reid is really getting after his players. He abruptly changed a "thud" drill (the players don't tackle, just "thud" into shoulder pads) into a "live" session on Monday morning when the players were not backing off. I think he loved the three fights.
- Rookie report: Quintin Demps is coming on, and so is Andy Studebaker. DeSean Jackson is a legit player here, and I mean for this year. We'll see as time goes on. Joe Mays has been gaining notice since the jump, and King Dunlap intrigues everyone who watches him. Really too hard to see well enough to know much about Mike McGlynn, Mike Gibson or Franklin Dunbar.
- Therrian Fontenot is pressing Nick Graham and I'm going to tell you that Kyle Arrington isn't far behind.
- I love the intensity with which Dan Klecko plays. Great energy and hustle. He is on the bubble, for sure, but he brings it on every play.
- Who starts at cornerback? Who cares? All I know is that Sheldon Brown is having his best training camp. He made another diving knockdown on Monday, continuing a string of big plays.
