IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
As the Eagles begin their week of preparation for the season opener against Green Bay, everyone is practicing today, coach Andy Reid said.
Quarterback Kevin Kolb will face a lot of questions this week about Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who sat behind Brett Favre for three seasons before taking over a team that this year -- in Rodgers' third season as the starter -- is a popular pick to go to the Super Bowl. Today, Kolb was asked what impressed him about the way Rodgers went about succeeding a legend.
"I think it's how steady he is," said Kolb, who said he has texted with but hasn't spoken to Rodgers about their similar situations. "Nobody ever questioned his confidence. They've always known he had the ability, but the way he's shown solid confidence in the whole thing, Not only is it solid for the fans and the media and everybody on the outside, but it's important for his own teammates ... That's something I can learn from."
This is a huge week for Kolb, another in a series of "firsts" in this year of transition.
"You don't want to get yourself too amped too early," he said. "We've all been champing at the bit here the past four or five days to get out there and practice. Coach always tell us the game's on Sunday."
Reid said he never goes into a game anticipating a shootout, because that would disrespect the preparation of his defense, but knows the Packers "do have an explosive offense, and there will be a play or two made."
The Eagles' defense heads into the opener with rookie starters Brandon Graham at defensive end and Nate Allen at safety. Reid said Allen is intelligent, physical and has good ball skills. He said Graham "has a tremendous energy about him."
Reid said center Jamaal Jackson seems ready but that it's a "little bit of an unknown" as to how well he will hold up for a full game. Jackson tore his ACL last December and did not see any preseason action.
Jackson said the same thing -- that he thinks he is ready to play a whole game, but until he does it, he can't know for sure. "I feel confident in it, but I still haven't played a whole game. I just gotta see how I hold up through four quarters of football."
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We told you earlier this week about the potential issues the Packers might have in the return game. On Tuesday, The team got a visit from Clifton Smith, a Pro Bowl returner with Tampa Bay in 2008 who was sidlined with injuries last year. However, Smith signed with Miami this morning.
To read Paul Domowitch's season in preview, click here.
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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