Reid: confident in O line, plus other practice notes
Reid is confident in his offensive line, Bradley returns, Harris is sidelined, Mike Quick makes a play and other practice notes from Wednesday morning.
Reid: confident in O line, plus other practice notes
Jonathan Tamari and Jeff McLane
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.
Sounds like Andy is,yet again, whistling past the graveyard. Might be the worst personnell grouping Iggles have ever had on the O-Line.— TBear- I'm optimistic, but everything Andy Reid says scares me.— phillyjim7
all i need is kolb. da da da da..all i need is kolb. da da da da all i need is kolb, kolb.....kolb is all i need....— wolf 4- thank goodness favre didnt retire earlier and mcnabb go to the vikes. haha. Im much more at ease with him on the skins, maybe a playoff win max. Cole will do fine at center, its the entire line I worry about, they just seem mediocre at best including Peters and Justice. Cole played ok with little practice, give him an entire camp and hes serviceable, like the rest, thats whats scary, they just seem ok, no standouts.— peteike
- Can't do it, tacklinjoe. You NEED a good line to be successful. I've got high hopes for our guys, but they're going to have to work at it. Nick Cole has a few weeks to get it together. Let's hope he can. Not ready to call it doomsday yet - It's just the first week of camp.— dlscholt
- bd20, "Offensive Line is nothing to worry about other than the center"?!?! Just like Ron Burgandy, Center is kind of a big deal around here, as he touches the football on every play and makes sure that the QB can do his thing. Bad center play can undo pro bowl talent at each of the 10 other positions.— The Reddgie
- The problem w/ the run game is the lack of run plays being called. And when they are called, they are more like gimmick plays. Like shot gun draws, reverses, the most overrated play used in football the Wildcat, etc. When do they do a basic run off tackle?— realzeel
The problem with the run game is not so much the personnel as it is the scheme. The Birds have the QB drop four yards to hand the ball off, the back is then supposed to hit a primary hole, if it's not there, divert to a secondary gap. The problem is that the line has to hold the blocks for too long, and it the play disintegrates. They need to go to a quick(er) hit scheme where the RB is at the line sooner. The only time the QB should drop back to hand the ball of is on a play action draw play, which should be used no more than once a quarter.— RAS- The O-line is scary. Every position is a question mark and there's no depth. Justice looks like the only dependable one right now, and when has he ever set the world on fire? Tra Thomas and Jon Runyon never got enough credit in this town.— dragoon6
- No way I'm confident in the offensive line, if Reid's goal is the Super Bowl, or at least the playoffs. Can they patch together a line that might get us to 8-8 or 9-7? Maybe. Unless Cole shines at center in a few weeks, and Herremans and Andrews get close to full strength, it's an average line at best. Name the last team that went places with a mediocre line.— tacklinjoe
- Why is it that when a Phillie pulls a hamstring, he's our for a month, and when an Eagle does it, it's only a few days?— RAS
- I disagree with all who think the OL is OK...we can't get to a point where our OL gets pushed around so badly we have to abandon the running game like we have the past couple of years. I can see Kolb getting hit way too much and possibly getting hurt...should have signed Faneca and maw! I think Castillo over-emphasizes pass blocking so much that our guards get pushed into the backfield causing way too much pressure.— robihart15
- Kevin Mawae- 7 time pro bowler, All pro in 2008. A little old, but much better than anyone we currently have and STILL AVAILABLE! Andy, please sign him.— Klambake
- bd20 - "I hope Jamaal Jackson will be back for the opener but Clay Harbor has really looked good." I thought Harbor was a TE.— P Even
- Yeah, Im not worried about Andrews but I am really concerned about the center position and the secondary.— traugdog420
Offensive Line is nothing to worry about other than the center. The good thing is the eagles have depth and starters in gilles and cole but center is a position to worry about. I hope Jamaal jackson is ready for the opener.— briandawkins20- Eagles have to get the center position figured out. I hope Jamaal Jackson will be back for the opener but Clay Harbor has really looked good. Harris really does not need to be missing time because the eagles are stacked at corner.— briandawkins20
