They will start arriving in the middle of the afternoon as wide-eyed rookies, beginning a process that will take them through three of the most difficult weeks of their professional lives. Training camp stinks for everyone, especially those who really have no idea what to expect.
"Hard work, that's about all I know. The camps in the spring were hard, so I expect training camp to be that much more difficult," said LeSean McCoy, the team's second-round draft pick.
About two dozen Eagles will take part in the opening three days of training camp and the practices will be run with the players wearing shorts and helmets. No tackling. Lots of instruction. Lots of learning. Lots of stressing the little things. From Sunday night through Wednesday morning, the crowds at Lehigh University can expect a sneak preview of the young Eagles, and of the handful of "selected veterans" coming back from injury and looking to knock off some rust and get in some good practice reps.
The players practice at 8:45 a.m. and then again in the afternoon. Practices last about 90 minutes. The script resembles what the team will run the first three days when the entire team reports, with the major differences the inclusion of pads, full contact and far fewer reps.
Training camp is set to open with Andy Reid's press conference at 5 p.m. We have our kickoff of Training Camp Live! at 4 p.m. and we will have interviews with Eagles arriving at Lehigh, Reid's press conference and a press briefing by Sarah Martinez-Helfman, the Executive Director of Eagles Youth Partnership who will discuss the details of the Inagural Eagles Flight Night! on August 2 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Then, it's 100 mph through the end of the season. Some notes to ponder ...
- Still nothing new late on Saturday night regarding the contract status of first-round draft pick Jeremy Maclin. He is due to report on Sunday for an evening meeting at Lehigh. Only four first-round picks have come to terms in the NFL.
- Reid will address the recovery of Brian Westbrook at his press conference on Sunday afternoon.
- Will Stacy Andrews get back on the practice field in pads early in the week? Could be. He said during the spring that he was eyeing a return to get his timing down.
- Quarterbacks Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb and A.J. Feeley will be part of the early crew reporting on Sunday.
*-- Posted by Dave Spadaro, 10:19 p.m., July 25
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