Pads on, hitting to begin

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - It's the best day of training camp if you're a football fan lucky enough to have a good bleacher seat.

It's the day when the pads go on and the intensity goes up.

It's the day when the coaches begin to find out so much more about the young players they have spent the last three months teaching the offensive and defensive schemes.

It's today.

At 8:15 a.m., everything changes for the Eagles at Lehigh University. Knowing the system and being in the right position is a nice start for the kids in camp. Being able to remember all those things when bodies start crashing together in the intense summer heat is something else entirely.

"Oh, absolutely," Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said before the team's first full-squad workout yesterday afternoon. "Some players are better with the pads on and in scrimmages and the live drills than they are in shorts. Some really good football players are like that."

Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews still has a vivid recollection of this day when he was a rookie in 2004.

"The first one-on-one we had that day with the defensive line, I was up against Corey Simon," Andrews said. "I came up at him with no technique whatsoever, and this was my first time playing guard, too, and he gave me a quick hand slap and gave me some kind of move and I landed flat on my face.

"I said to myself, 'What have I gotten myself into? I know I want this, but what have I gotten myself into?' That night, [offensive line] Coach [Juan] Castillo started working with me, and from then on I started learning the ropes."

Second-year player Chris Gocong, looking to earn the starting job at strong-side linebacker, did not get to spend much time hitting last year in training camp because of a neck injury that forced him to spend his rookie season on injured reserve. But he does have one contact memory.

"I think I was at defensive end and it might have been Tra [William Thomas] or it might have been [Jon] Runyan," Gocong said. "All I can remember is that I was coming off the edge, and I just saw this mean, giant hand and it hit me straight in the neck. That was my first real NFL moment.

"Sometimes you can't believe you're going against guys that big and you're supposed to knock them down and go tackle Reggie Bush or something like that. But that's what we're paid to do, and you've got to get the job done or you're not going to have a job."

Coming from a Division I-AA program at California State Polytechnic, Gocong said he sought advice from a former college teammate about adjusting to the highest level of hitting.

"I have one guy from my school who I was able to talk to about it," Gocong said. "Jordan Beck from the Falcons. He told me he was nervous, too, but then he got out there and realized, 'Hey, I can play with these guys.' I kind of listened to that and when I got here, I realized I'm at the same level as these guys and I can play with them."

These early days of contact are an initial proving ground for the younger players. In order to prove you can play with the big boys, you have to be able to give and take the big hits.

"Oh, yeah, I'm excited," rookie tight end Brent Celek said. "I really like hitting. It's a big part of the game, obviously, and I'm excited to get into it. This is the game. Wearing [shorts] is football, but putting the pads on, that's what you do on game day."

Even head coach Andy Reid admitted yesterday that this part of training camp was a little more fun and exciting.

"You get excited because that's football," Reid said. "You enjoy the competition of it. That's the main part of the game. You're actually playing the game when you add contact."

Runyan, entering his 12th season as an NFL offensive tackle, said he still enjoyed the hitting part of camp.

"At least Coach Reid lets you have some live drills where you can actually hit people instead of letting people jump on piles and that kind of stuff," Runyan said. "It's good to get that kind of practice, and you don't have to wait for the games to get those live hits."

It's not just the coaching staff that is looking to see what the rookies can do.

"This gives you a chance to see what you've got and what they're made of," Runyan said. "Is this kid going to run downfield and hit people? Those kinds of things are usually reserved for games, but Coach Reid has found a way to work that into practice. You don't get that in a lot of other camps."

Starting today and continuing for the remainder of the Lehigh portion of training camp, the Eagles will be hitting. This is when you begin to find out all sorts of things about the football team.