BETHLEHEM, Pa. - It had to happen sooner or later.

Kevin Kolb, whose first days laboring in front of Eagles fans have been a lovefest of welcome and encouragement, threw an interception straight into the arms of rookie free agent safety Chris Smith yesterday.

Boos wafted down from the grandstand closest the field. They were mocking, joking boos, but boos nonetheless.

"Put McNabb back in," one fan advised.

"Underneath this chin strap, I was smiling a little bit,'' said Kolb, who has said he understands what he is getting into as a rookie quarterback for the Birds. "Ball got away from me. It got nicked around a little bit in there [deflected]. It's just a mistake; gotta keep going with it, you know?

"They were giving me a hard time, they were giving [Ryan] Moats a hard time. Everybody was getting a hard time today. It's really comical sometimes. You get used to it. In the end, they want to win as bad as we want to win."

* It was a 7-on-7 drill and no defenders were in the middle of the field, but when Donovan McNabb pulled the ball down and ran, more or less in jest, fans cheered lustily anyway.

* Kevin Kolb hit Dereck Faulkner with a nice long strike, Faulkner working against sixth-round rookie Rashad Barksdale, but the free agent rookie wideout from Moorestown dropped the ball.

* Kevin Curtis was well-covered by Joselio Hanson but still caught a medium-range McNabb strike down the middle.

* Trent Cole was credited with a "sack" when the defense wasn't fooled by a flea-flicker and McNabb couldn't get the pass off.

* Moats jitterbugged into a brick wall named Jeremiah Trotter.

* During special-teams drills, wideout Jermane Jamison chucked gunner Chris Smith about 15 feet through the air, Smith flying through a crowd of onlookers and whacking into the protective padding around the crane that the camera operator uses to tape practice.

The time's yours

Quote of note

- Les Bowen