TE Ingram plans to join McNabb in Ariz.
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TE Ingram plans to join McNabb in Ariz.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
It's been just over a week since the draft, but as far as first impressions go, the Eagles seem to have themselves a likeable group of rookies.
Tight end Cornelius Ingram joined WIP's midday show yesterday and called the Birds a "perfect fit."
When asked about meeting Donovan McNabb for the first time, Ingram said the Eagles' quarterback welcomed him and already invited him to work out in Arizona with other teammates before training camp.
"He told me, he was like 'I get the guys to come out to Arizona for a week so we can get some things done,'" Ingram said. "He was gonna definitely make sure everything is taken care of, getting the information, where we're flying out of, everything like that. It's definitely a work in progress, and I'm definitely gonna be willing to do that anyway. Any way I can get better, especially with being around the veteran guys, just learning the whole NFL, how to be a professional athlete, how to practice and all that kind of stuff, every chance I get to be around a lot of veteran guys, I'm willing to do it so I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Some of you have communicated a concern that the Eagles don't have a true blocking tight end. It's a skill Ingram wasn't asked to perfect in Florida's spread offense, but one he's willing to work on.
"This past weekend, I think I was in the three-point stance 90 percent of the time," he said. "It's all about just playing football and being a football player so it wasn't difficult or it didn't feel strange at all."
Ingram had seven touchdowns with the Gators in 2007 and said he's looking forward to being a target in the red zone for McNabb.
"It's to the point where some of the stuff that we ran in the red zone yesterday, I was actually familiar with because we did a lot of it at Florida," he said. "And some of the formations that we run, it was named the exact same thing at Florida so I felt pretty comfortable when they called certain plays or they called certain formations, I automatically knew because I did it here at Florida."
And finally, Ingram explained that he knows about Philadelphia's football tradition and high expectations from fans. It helps that he's gotten advice from another Gator who's now a professional athlete in the city.
"They said they [the fans] can be hard-going sometimes, so I'm gonna definitely make sure I make all my blocks and catch the ball all the time," he said. "But they're definitely great fans, and I've talked to Mo Speights playing with the 76ers because he went to Florida and he's actually looking forward to showing me around whenever I get stable in Philly."
I think a rookie like Ingram, who we might need this season, needs to jump at every opportunity to work with the QB.— Birdsfan83
Don't you all think Ingram has an agent and is being advised by that agent? How do you know he doesn't already have an insurance policy in place to guard against injury hurting his future earnings? Anything to bash DM, no matter how dumb. Relax. If I was Ingram I'd take every opportunity to learn everything I could to get on the field.— tpizza- Whatever it takes to win a championship.5isaking,Dierte and tpizza,why are you guys so mean and nasty? No reason to treat Skipin WV like that.— bigmama5
- tpizza, I am with you I am tired of all these so-called Eagles fans who get on here and bash the top players on the team. I don't get it. How can you like the Eagles if you do not like the QB, RB, and coach? And if you don't like the Eagles, then go comment on your favorite teams website. The negativity on here is draining for REAL eagles fans.— Birdsfan83
- Skipin, lets get this right! You think that Ingram or any other rookie will show up without permission from his agent or other team officials. 5 has been doing this since his 2nd or 3rd year in the league and it has never been an issue with rookies before. If 5 were to not invite the rookie you would find an issue with that too huh! I hope that 5 wins a SB at some point and time, even in another city so he can rub his success in the faces of all of his critics.— nceagle
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- Why would Mcnabb invite Kolb? Like Westbrook said about McCoy, "It's my job to keep him off the field!"— Birdsfan83
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- This guy is a Special player.Blocking or no blocking. It is incumbent upon the coaches to use him properly until he becomes a good blocker.That is what scares me.I think Marty Morningmouth is the worst coach ever!!!!!!— Exhibit
- I would never talk to the Philly media if I was a player. It's as 2 faced as they come...— crohnkiller
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- winning is all about chemistry..ex...the phils,cuddos to ingram and donovan— soliteryman
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