Reid: confident in O line, plus other practice notes

Head coach Andy Reid dismissed concerns about his offensive line today, despite some shaky early moments, as chronicled in today's Inquirer.

"I'm not worried about it," Reid said. He praised Stacy Andrews as a "dominant" run blocker and said the guard has worked hard in pass protection.

Bradley return, though Macho Harris might be out for some time

Stewart Bradley was back on the field for a relatively light morning practice with no tackling. He downplayed the injury that kept him largely sidelined for the past two days.

"It was a little spasm. I didn't want to get in trouble," Bradley said.

Meanwhile, Macho Harris' hamstring injury is the most serious of the bunch that has hit Eagles players in the early part of training camp, coach Andy Reid said today. "It's probably going to take him a few days to get back out here," Reid said. Harris came up holding his right leg after defending a deep pass Monday.

Mike Bell, on the other hand, who went down Sunday with a hamstring injury while running out a reception, could be back within "the next few days" as could DeSean Jackson, out with a lower-back strain.

A.Q. Shipley, who is part of a competition for spots at center, is out with a high ankle sprain that "could take awhile," Reid said. Shipley said he would be out about a week.

Others who sat out practice today include Martin Rucker and Asante Samuel, who each sat with hamstring spasms, Stacy Andrews, out with a shoulder strain, and Antonio Dixon, who was held out after taking a blow to the head Monday. Juqua Parker was given the day off as part of Reid's tradition of giving extra rest to players over 30 years of age. Reid said Andrews "should be back fairly quickly."

Reid on Favre

-- Reid was asked about Brett Favre's reported retirement, but declined comment until it's official, saying, "I've been asked that question once or twice."

Morning practice notes

-- Kevin Kolb and Nick Cole combined for another fumbled snap, this one from under center. The two have had problems on exchanges. The first two shotgun snaps were low during the 11-on-11 "thud" period. Cole later seemed to be more precise.

-- The offense spent much of the morning working on its hurry-up offense, without any real pass rush. The first, second and third teams all advanced the ball well, but sputtered in the red zone. Kevin Kolb threw the lone touchdown in the four drives, but it came after several incompletions from in close and a final play where he spent a looooong time standing in the pocket, made possible only by the fact that the defense wasn't allowed to attack the passer.

Michael Vick threw an interception to Geoff Pope on his first drive, and then led the offense down field before his second attempt  stalled. Mike Kafka, working with the third team, got off to a fast start with a long throw to Jared Perry but was ultimately intercepted by Quintin Demps inside the five yard line.

-- Ex-Eagle Mike Quick made a catch on a throw that sailed out of bounds. He was talking to Joe Banner as the ball zoomed in, and shielded the Eagles president as he made the grab. "Sign him up!" a fan yelled. Quick gave the ball back right away, saying, "I didn't want it."

-- Jeremy Maclin and Dimitri Patterson scuffled after the receiver made a nice catch near the end of practice. Mostly pushing, shoving and jawing. Jason Avant -- one of the most overtly religious players on the team -- ran to the scrum, only to mime some WWE-style brawling with Joselio Hanson.

"I made a pretty good play on the ball and he tried to fight it away from me and tempers kind of flared a little bit, but that's pretty much it," Maclin said. He chalked the ruckus up to "a little friendly competition."

Maclin appeared to be limping a little after several plays, but said it was just soreness.

-- The biggest applause of the day came when military personnel in attendance walked past the bleachers of fans. Members of the armed forces were here for the Eagles annual "Military Day." Eagles staffers wore camouflage-style hats.

-- Tight end Clay Harbor, who we wrote about today, gave an insightful look into how he has adjusted to the speed of play in the NFL. The comment didn't make the story, but he repeated it today while again talking to reporters. The lesson came from Brent Celek, who told Harbor not to worry about how fast everything is going on around him, and just focus on his own assignment.

"The speed of the game gets faster, but if you do what you're supposed to do and what you've been coached to do, it doesn't even matter. If you're at the spot you're suppose to be at, it doesn't matter how fast the game is. You're where you're supposed to be and you'll be in a position to make a play," Harbor said. "If you do what you're supposed to do, run your route to the right depth, take the right footwork, it won't matter."

Commissioner Roger Goodell is scheduled to attend the afternoon practice. We'll have more on him, and the team, after that both here and in Wednesday's Inquirer.