Babin Found Missing OTAs Unbearable
Jason Babin was brown bear hunting in Alaska. He planned to return for the start of the Eagles' current OTA last week, but bad weather intervened. He's here now.
Babin Found Missing OTAs Unbearable
Les Bowen
Jason Babin was bear hunting in Cold Bay, Alaska, when the Eagles began full-team OTAs last week, as previously reported. But Babin said Wednesday he'd intended to be back at NovaCare in time for the start of the optional workouts; bad weather pinned him down in a remote spot, where he and a hunting guide had to extend their stay several days.
"When the weather blows in, you don't have a lot of options," Babin said after arriving for his first OTA session, on a humid morning in sprinkling rain. "There were times when the tent bent in so hard, the tent was in our sleeping bags. There was snow drifting over."
Babin said he was upset he missed last week's action, though coaches didn't seem upset. "I don't miss stuff. I'm not late," he said.
Babin went to Alaska to hunt brown bear. Saw some, didn't end up shooting any, he said. "Didn't see the one I wanted," he said.
So what'd he do, mostly?
"Survived," he said. "You've got to pack in your food, which are freeze-dried meals. You got to hike up a glacier with snowshoes to get your water. You gotta boil it. If you fall through and get wet while out hiking, no one's gonna come dry you off with a towel. You've got to survive on your wits ... Some of the most extreme climates in the U.S."
After OTAs are over and before training camp, Babin has another adventure planned, he said. He wants to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Babin doesn't think he'll get gored.
"Bulls can't turn the corner on cobblestone. As long as you're on the inside, you're going to be all right,' he said. "I broke the tape down like game film."
***
Defensive tackle Mike Patterson, still recovering from surgery to untangle blood vessels in his brain, worked off to the side Wednesday with safety Colt Anderson, who is rehabbing his ACL.
Patterson said it would be up to Eagles coach Andy Reid to say whether Patterson will be ready for training camp in two months, but he said: "I have a feeling we'll be ready to go. It'll be exciting and we'll see what happens."
Patterson said the scary brain episode hasn't changed his thinking about football.
"I still have the same fire in my stomach...I still have the same excitement. Every time I go out on the field I get excited," he said.
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I like Jason Babin as a player, but he is an idiot. Why not wait until your career is over to run with the bulls? You have a multi-million contract and you are going to put it at risk?— Timo3004- I was thinking the same thing Timo304.— dragoon6
- A man has to do what "he has to do", just sayin'...— DJ
- Babin takes ' chances ' , likes to take risks ,, that's what makes him the player he is ... we just need him to stay in one piece ..— ingy9
- Babin takes ' chances ' , likes to take risks ,, that's what makes him the player he is ... we just need him to stay in one piece ..— ingy9
Comment removed.- He is a free man. Babin can do whatever he pleases as long as he can show up for work when needed. Unless his hobbies are interferring with work, I have no problems with him hunting bears or running with bulls.— penncrow19
- No, actually he CAN'T do whatever he pleases as long as he's under contract to the Eagles. Many teams write clauses into contracts that players can't engage in certain activities that could injure them. Look at Jason Peters as a perfect example. He was working out getting ready for the season, which IS football related, but he wasn't doing it at a team-sanctioned facility, so his pay was cut severely for this season. That's actually part of the CBA. — uncle meat
- HERE WE GO....all talk until the season actually starts— bbewsirhc
- Running with the bulls is still smarter than riding without a helmet... I'm looking at you, Big Ben!— operagost
- That right there is a Michigan Man.— dansdigs
- i'm sure there is something in his contract about that stuff. if he's injured outside of football, he wont get paid.— palmyra21
- Typical roid rager. This guy just likes to thump his chest at the "manly" things he does. What a clown.— Trashcan_Man
- The Big Brown Bear he wanted to shoot was Andy— SkipinWV
- So why is this any different than dog fighting? Where are all the "supposed" animal lovers who condemned Vick with such ferocity? Last I looked, bears aren't food. They aren't needed for clothing. They just walk around the woods helping to keep the deer population down. But I guess it's okay because the law says it is. Oh, and bears don't wag their tails and lick your face when you come home from work. Just remember this the next time some poster self righteously pounds their chest about how evil Vick is.— Hemingway
