IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
UPDATE: The Eagles say Brandon Graham's flight to Philadelphia this morning was uneventful and he is about to arrive at Lehigh, making him a go for the afternoon practice. Graham is scheduled to speak to reporters following Eagles coach Andy Reid's scheduled news conference, at the conclusion of practice, which is closed to the publi today.
EARLIER: A few days ago, only one first-round pick in the entire NFL had signed and a lot of people (well, me, anyhow) were poised to begin the ceremonial wringing of hands over how long it might take to get Eagles first-round defensive end Brandon Graham into camp.
Eagles officials didn't say much. They agreed that the pace was ridiculously slow. But even though head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott showed a little frustration, a little impatience, the front-office guys were nonchalant. Their attitude was "when it happens, it happens."
I noticed this but didn't give it its proper weight. These guys aren't nonchalant about much of anything. They must have had a strong feeling that Graham really WAS determined not to miss much time, as he said back in OTAs. Their solid relationship with agent Joel Segal, who also represents Michael Vick and Riley Cooper, probably helped, as well.
Segal declined late last night to provide financial parameters of the five-year deal, or to detail how it came together. He said he plans to visit camp next week, but for now, he wants Graham to have the spotlight, for his news conference today and practice this afternoon, assuming everything goes well with his early morning flight.
Late last night, BGraham54 Tweeted: "Thanks everybody for congratulating me and I can't wait to go out there tomorrow and get to work!! I'm about to cause havoc and kill QB's!!"
That sounds fine, Brandon, except the QBs you face today, they aren't going to let you "kill." In fact, the coaches are going to be kind of picky about that. Otherwise, enjoy!
Unfortunately, today's lone workout, in the afternoon, is not open to the public, but Saturday is when the show starts for real, with everybody on hand.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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