Philadelphia Eagles News

Versatile Hall becomes Eagles' first cut
Comment
July 29
Camden Courier-Post
 
"It took less than two days for the Eagles to make their first cut of training camp. They released hybrid lineman Alex Hall to clear space on the 80-man roster for Nate Allen. It's not anything Hall didn't do well. He just didn't fit the defense. A throw-in from the offseason trade that sent Sheldon Brown and Chris Gocong to Cleveland for draft picks, Hall worked at linebacker and defensive end during the spring camps. But head coach Andy Reid envisions a different destination for the 6-foot-5, 250-pound third-year pro out of Division II St. Augustine. "You go through the roster and see the guys you feel who don't quite fit into what you're doing," Reid said Wednesday morning. "I think Alex"
Cooper's challenge
Comment
July 29
Camden Courier-Post
 
"He turned down World Series rings for national championships. He traded lazy fly balls for tightly thrown spirals. The Phillies once made Riley Cooper an offer they didn't think he'd refuse. They'd make him their third first-round pick, shower him with millions and promote him to the majors as the franchise headed toward unprecedented success. Better yet, they were based each spring in Cooper's hometown of Clearwater, Fla. At least one month every season he'd spend in his backyard. Who could say no? "(I gave it) serious thought," Cooper, the Eagles' rookie receiver, said Wednesday after morning training camp practice. "I love baseball. They were offering me a lot of money. They had the"
Allen signs up to be a starter
Comment
July 29
Camden Courier-Post
 
"Nate Allen's career as an Eagle began on a couch, waiting for the final details of his contract to be ironed out before he could check into his dorm room at Lehigh University. After doing so, at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, he had just a few hours of sleep before his first training camp practice as a professional football player. "I was dead tired," Allen said about waiting out the final negotiating details. "I was on the couch and almost fell asleep a couple of times. . . . I couldn't get into my room until I signed, so I was just sitting in this little living room of one of the dorms." Finally, the "i's" got dotted and the "t's" crossed on Allen's four-year contract. That leaves Eagles'"
Eagles rookies hoping to wrest starting spots from veterans
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"If you're a kid coming out of college right now, the job market is as barren as the Sahara. For an aspiring accountant, nurse, journalist, lawyer, graphic designer, sales rep or any one of a hundred other professions, sending out resumes has become as futile as mailing a Christmas list to Santa. Ordinarily, the same can be said for NFL rookies trying to earn meaningful playing time on the Andy Reid-coached Eagles. But not this year. This year, the team's training camp at Lehigh University has become the land of opportunity for newbies. Young is in and old is out. Goodbye, Donovan McNabb. Hello, Mike Kafka. Au revoir, Brian Westbrook. Bonjour, Charles Scott. Arrivederci, Sheldon Brown. Buon"
Eagles cut Alex Hall, a victim of defense-heavy draft and scheme
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Alex Hall was gone before he even got here. That is, Eagles veterans don't report to Lehigh until this afternoon, something Hall undoubtedly was preparing for either late Tuesday night or very early yesterday morning, when he was informed he had been released so the Birds could make room on the 80-man roster to officially sign second-round pick Nate Allen. It's not like Hall was a projected starter or anything, but given that he played 30 games the past two seasons with the Browns, and the Eagles traded for him in April (Hall and fourth- and fifth-round picks for Chris Gocong and Sheldon Brown), you expected he would at least make it into training camp and play some preseason games. The"
Eagles rookie Nate Allen a day late, apparently not a dollar short
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"No mints on Nate Allen's dorm-room pillow when he finally settled into Eagles training camp at Lehigh around 2:30 a.m. yesterday. But fellow rookie safety Kurt Coleman had thoughtfully placed Allen's playbook on his bed, before Coleman settled down to sleep, about 4 hours earlier. Allen didn't start studying it right then, since he had to be awake at 6:15 for his first practice, after signing a 4-year deal for an undisclosed amount of cash. "I feel good. I just need to seize the moment. Regardless of how much sleep you get, you have to play ball still," Allen said after the abbreviated morning rookie session. Veterans report tonight, and full-squad hitting commences Saturday. After the"
Eagles' Allen ready to live up to expectations
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist John Smallwood
"It was late, and Tuesday night was about to turn into Wednesday morning. Eagles rookie safety Nate Allen had finally arrived at Lehigh University for training camp, but he had nowhere to go. The final details of his contract were still being hammered out, and by NFL rule, Allen wasn't allowed to participate in any part of official practice until all the documents were signed - even sleeping in his assigned dormitory room. "I couldn't get into my room until I signed, so I was just sitting in this little living room of one of the dorms across campus," Allen said yesterday after his first practice in training camp. "Oh yeah, [his roommates, cornerback Trevard Lindley and safety Kurt Coleman]"
Beware the 'gasser' drills
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"The Eagles' offensive line hasn't plummeted to the depths reached during last year's injury filled training camp. Of course, only two starting offensive linemen are in camp and both - center Jamaal Jackson and guard Todd Herremans - are only here early to continue their recovery from injuries. The true test of fitness will come Friday morning when coach Andy Reid puts his behemoths through a series of "half-gassers" - sprints from one sideline to the other and back - and other stamina tests during a closed practice session. A year ago, starting tackles Shawn Andrews and Jason Peters were unable to complete 16 half-gassers. The Eagles' bookends aggravated injuries - Andrews (back) and"
A brief stay for linebacker
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Of all the players the Eagles could have cut Wednesday, they chose a linebacker they had traded for only months ago. That head-scratcher came early in the morning when the team, needing to clear room on its 80-man roster for recently signed rookie safety Nate Allen, released Alex Hall. Hall, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound hybrid linebacker, came to the Eagles in the April trade that sent cornerback Sheldon Brown and linebacker Chris Gocong to Cleveland. He was hardly the only piece the Eagles got in the deal - they also received fourth- and fifth-round picks. Hall, who was used sparingly in 30 games for the Browns, was more of a toss-in, according to a team source. In addition to the draft picks,"
Allen eager to prove himself
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"It wasn't exactly a smooth start for Eagles safety Nate Allen. Allen missed the first day of training camp Tuesday while contract negotiations dragged out. Then, with a deal close, last-minute haggling prevented him from signing until about 2:30 Wednesday morning. Working on less than four hours' sleep, he dropped the first ball lobbed his way in warm-ups, and dropped to the ground for push-ups. "It was kind of a wake-up call, I guess you could say," Allen said. Eagles coaches quickly will forget the first-day hiccups if Allen emerges as the player they hoped for when they drafted him 37th overall in April: a slick coverage man with a knack for interceptions and, more broadly, a player who"
Herremans sidelined
Comment
July 28
Camden Courier-Post
 
"Todd Herremans isn't concerned about the long-term impact on his most recent foot issue. But should he be? The surgically repaired left foot that sidelined the Eagles' left guard for most of last year's training camp, the first five games of the season and most of the spring camps is once again keeping him off the field. "I've been doing what the doctors told me to do -- I'm staying off it. No pounding," Herremans, who will start camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, said Tuesday after a morning workout. "It's been feeling good lately, but we just want to wait and slowly ease into it instead of just getting out there and pressing everywhere." But Herremans also painted a skeptical"
First impression
Comment
July 28
Camden Courier-Post
 
"At the end of the Eagles' first practice of training, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott got overly animated when discussing the development of rookie safety Kurt Coleman. Coleman had just ended practice by making the correct coverage check and batting down Michael Vick's pass during a red-zone drill. More importantly, he played with confidence, with an edge. "We're not in pads and he's not afraid to go chest-to-chest with somebody," McDermott raved. Almost 500 miles away, Tyson Gentry wasn't surprised to hear about Coleman's first impression. About four years ago, Gentry ended up paralyzed after Coleman tackled him during a routine spring practice at Ohio State. He's confined to life in"
Reid doesn't care for hazing
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Don't expect to see any Dez Bryant-type protests at Lehigh. After the Cowboys' rookie wide receiver refused the training-camp tradition of carrying a veteran's pads, several Eagles draft picks said - with smiles - that they would not protest if they got saddled with rookie chores. "You got to put in your time and start from the bottom. The vets have done that, so you got to give them that respect," said defensive tackle Jeff Owens. "Maybe if he was a [rookie] free agent or a seventh-round draft pick, like myself, he would carry some pads." Fellow seventh-rounder Kurt Coleman had a similar take. "Every team has their rookie initiation or rookie thing that they do. If it's not buying a car"
Safety Allen ends holdout, agrees to 4 years
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Nate Allen ended up missing just one day of training camp. The rookie safety out of South Florida and the Eagles agreed to a four-year contract Tuesday evening, ending one of the rare holdouts from a second round-draft pick for the team. Details of the contract were not disclosed. Allen will be at Lehigh in time for Wednesday morning's 8:45 a.m. practice, according to the Eagles. The question that remains is: Will he still have the starting free safety job he was handed in the spring? The Eagles' top pick, defensive end Brandon Graham, is still unsigned and the prospects of his getting into uniform anytime soon appear slim. "We're not waiting on anyone; we're moving forward as a defense,""
McNabb casts a long shadow at Eagles' camp
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Kevin Kolb told Donovan McNabb that he was better than his former Eagles teammate - in basketball. On the eve of his first training camp as the Eagles' starting quarterback, Kolb received a phone-exploding number of calls and text messages wishing him the best of luck. But one message stood out for many reasons. McNabb - Kolb's predecessor, sometime mentor and soon-to-be rival - shot his replacement a note of encouragement and advice. Kolb, in turn, thanked the new Redskins quarterback and complimented him on his hoops savvy in the reality TV show Pros Vs. Joes. "I thought he looked real good," Kolb said Tuesday. "But I told him, 'I'm still better than you.' " If Kolb can someday say the"
Eagles defense focusing on basics
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Kurt Coleman rushed at the running back, arriving a moment after the pass, and rammed a shoulder into Martell Mallett, jarring the ball loose. The rookie safety's play prevented a touchdown on the last play of the Eagles' first training-camp practice at Lehigh University, and caught the eye of defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Coleman isn't afraid to hit. That he did it without pads made it even better to McDermott. "That's playing 'Philadelphia defense' right there," McDermott said. Too often last season, though, the defensive play wasn't something McDermott could boast about. Instead, he saw missed tackles costing the team in close games, a point he acknowledged Tuesday and pledged"
Eagles learn that blitzing not always best approach to pass rush
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"Sean McDermott proved last season that he is every bit as aggressive as his late predecessor, Jim Johnson, when it comes to turning up the heat on opposing quarterbacks. McDermott's defense blitzed 24.8 percent of the time (257 of 1,037 snaps) last year, which was almost 2 percent more than Johnson's unit did the year before (23.1). The thing is, quantity doesn't always translate to quality. It didn't last year. While McDermott's 2009 defense blitzed more than Johnson's '08 unit, it wasn't nearly as effective at it. Opposing quarterbacks compiled a 79.7 passer rating and threw 15 touchdown passes against the Eagles when they sent extra rushers last year. The year before, the opponent"
Opening day of Eagles camp holds its usual promise
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Rich Hofmann
"It is just past 8 a.m.; another year, another training camp. A few Eagles support people are on the fields, making sure things are ready for the first practice. New starting quarterback Kevin Kolb is in civilian clothes, doing a live television interview. The bright sun has not yet evaporated the dew in the grass. Stretching does not begin for about 15 minutes, practice not for another 45. One player is dressed and ready, kneeling on the goal line of the nearest field. Free-agent safety Ryan Hamilton, an undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt, seems just to be taking it all in, alone. It can be a brutal business, this NFL thing. Hamilton, out of Council Rock North High School, already has been"
Staley in camp with Eagles as coaching intern
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Duce Staley is back with the Eagles, this time on the other side of the whistle. "My feet are so wet right now I might fall down," said Staley, who is back at training camp with former linebacker Shawn Barber as part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship intern program. Exchanging the helmet and shoulder pads for a green visor and white T-shirt, Staley now sees the long hours and days coaches go through trying to piece a team together in training camp. "But it's worth it when you put that product on the field," said Staley, who will be with the Eagles for the duration of training camp. "It's worth it when you go out there and you see the guy you're helping get better, go out there and"
Graham still absent from Eagles camp; Allen to show up today
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Brandon Graham was an impressive, heads-up, can-do rookie in the spring. The longer training camp goes without Graham on hand, though, the less that matters. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott was asked yesterday what Graham showed him during the organized team activities; the Eagles are hoping first-round pick Graham, taken 13th overall, can compete for a starting defensive end job. McDermott shook his head dismissively. "Really too early to tell," he said. "You're talking defensive line, no pads. I can tell you this - he comes off the ball well. He comes off the ball well with great leverage. Same thing you guys saw in college. That's all you can tell in the spring. He needs to be"
A world apart
Comment
July 27
Camden Courier-Post
 
"The Eagles' top two draft picks, defensive end Brandon Graham and safety Nate Allen, seem almost millenniums apart in signing the dotted line on a contract. Graham's absence is a bit more understandable than Allen's. First-round picks often hold out, waiting for the draftees near their slot to sign. Eagles coach Andy Reid said that's no fault of Graham's. "Normally, these guys are in kind of a bunker mode," Reid said. "Their agents tell them to not pick up the phone unless it's me calling -- me being the agent. I understand that game." Graham's agent, Joel Segal, declined comment. Graham even said in a June interview he wanted to show up at training camp, with or without a contract. Even"
It's fourth down, and Vick knows it
Comment
July 27
Camden Courier-Post
 
"To borrow a baseball phrase, one more strike and Michael Vick is out. The Eagles' controversial backup quarterback admitted Monday that he's "on thin ice," even after the team and NFL have cleared him to play in the aftermath of last month's shooting at the Virginia nightclub where Vick had been partying for his 30th birthday. "I'm definitely on my last chance. I know that," Vick said Monday, the day rookies and selected veterans reported to training camp. "I was just hoping that the truth would come out, and everybody could see I didn't have anything to do with the (shooting), but I know I'm on thin ice. "I know this is it for me. I know I have to walk a fine line, just the smallest thing"
Let's see if Andy Reid changes with his young Eagles
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Rich Hofmann
"For 11 years, 11 training camps, it was Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, together. Especially at the beginning, they spoke from the same script and shared the same worldview. Each would evolve some, change some, because who doesn't over the course of a decade? But the two of them, almost until the end, shared a destiny most of all. Good, bad or indifferent - and it was rarely indifferent - Reid and McNabb were joined in praise and criticism and conversation. That changed at the end because everybody seemed to need to choose a side, and so the Reid people would talk about McNabb's inaccuracy and big-game performances and the McNabb people would talk about Reid's playcalling and refusal to"
Eagles QB Kolb says he can handle scrutiny
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Cameramen and reporters swarmed Kevin Kolb as the new face of the Eagles unloaded his belongings at Lehigh University yesterday. A new era of Eagles football is here, and ready or not, all eyes are on the fourth-year quarterback expected to lead a young, unproven squad into 3 weeks of training camp in the rolling hills of the Bethlehem campus. It all starts with 8:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. practices for rookies and selected veterans today. No one will be under more watch than Kolb, who was handed the reins of the offense this offseason when the Eagles dealt 11-year signal-caller Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins. "I've been thrown into situations throughout my career, and I've always"
Shortage of first-round signings makes it hard to 'slot' Eagles' Graham
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"If you ask Andy Reid - and reporters did exactly that yesterday evening, because Eagles training camp was opening for rookies and the 12th-year head coach was sitting at the front of a tent, behind a microphone - this first-round signing business has gotten way out of hand. Eagles first-rounder Brandon Graham will not be on the field when those rookies work out for the first time today at Lehigh. Graham, expected to compete for a starting defensive-end role, talked during minicamps about how important it was for him to be here, and vowed he would be here. Of course, this was before he really talked to agent Joel Segal about how the process works. Or, in recent years, how it doesn't work."
McNabb didn't give up on Philly
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Sam Donnellon
"ERIC LINDROS earned your wrath. Scott Rolen did, too. They're on that list of petulant stars who sabotaged seasons and picked a fight with their public. But does Donovan McNabb really deserve what he's getting lately? Does he deserve our slings, our disdain, our recounting of everything that bugged us about him in his 11 seasons here? Does he really deserve to be hated right now? More to the point, will he ever be embraced by us later in life the way Randall Cunningham is now, the way Mitch Williams is now, the way Charles Barkley is now? Maybe it's hard to get a sense of how McNabb will be remembered because it was hard to define him when he played. He made big plays. He missed big plays."
Eagles' Vick laments his poor judgment
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"A lot of people look at Michael Vick and see a bad, bad guy who did a bad, bad thing and are appalled that he was allowed back in the National Football League last year. I know one of those people. I'm married to her. Andy Reid's perception of Vick is slightly different than my wife's. When the Eagles coach looks at Vick, he sees a guy who did a bad, bad thing but isn't a bad, bad guy. "Michael is a very nice guy," the Eagles coach said yesterday. "He tries to please everybody and do the best he can. Those are great, redeeming qualities to have. But you have to be careful the situations you put yourself in." On the night of June 24, Vick put himself in a very bad situation. Foolishly gave"
Safety Allen closing in on deal, sources say
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"By the time this story reaches front doorsteps, Nate Allen could be signed, sealed and delivered. That's how close the Eagles were on Monday to getting their rookie safety under contract and into training camp, according to sources close to the situation. Of course, negotiations have been known to drag on. The Eagles' second-round draft pick out of South Florida was not signed as of Monday night, and that is of mild concern considering that Allen enters camp as the starting free safety. Of course, he could lose that spot if he doesn't report for the start of Tuesday's morning practice. Defensive end Brandon Graham, meanwhile, is not expected to be at camp any time soon. The Eagles' top"
Reid eager to see how team shapes up
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"For a moment, Andy Reid, the coach who holds the hopes of Eagles fans in his playbook, sounded like the rest of us. He said he was curious to see how the sweeping makeover of the team plays out. Talking to reporters from a podium next to the practice fields at Lehigh University, Reid acknowledged that despite all the planning that goes into putting together a football team, there are many "unknowns" facing his youthful squad, adding to the anticipation as he gets ready to see what the revamped Eagles look like when the hitting begins Tuesday. "There's a little bit of unknown, which I kind of like. . . . I think it's a great challenge," Reid said on the eve of his first training camp"
'I Know I'm On Thin Ice'
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Michael Vick arrived at Lehigh on Monday for his first training camp in three years. With one more slip, the Eagles quarterback acknowledged, it could be his last. Usually, on the day Eagles rookies and selected veterans report to Lehigh University, the subject line is the team's prospects for the season. But Vick's appearance and his first long-form comments on the June 25 shooting that occurred after his birthday party overshadowed anything football related. Even though the NFL officially cleared Vick to play when practice opens Tuesday morning, and even though the Eagles and Andy Reid have exonerated their backup quarterback - the Eagles coach called Vick a "very nice" person on three"
More bobbing and weaving from Eagles on Vick
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Inquirer
 columnist John Gonzalez
"Andy Reid has employed the same talking points for more than a decade. You know them well. They're like lyrics from a song you can't forget. One of Reid's favorite phrases, ratty and worn from years of use, is that he needs to put his players in better positions. As far as Michael Vick is concerned, Reid, Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner failed miserably on that front. They set Vick up to fail. The good-citizen bar was set too high above his head for him to clear. On Monday, shortly before he reported to training camp, Vick was cleared by the NFL to play football. Vick reportedly met with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the shooting that occurred outside the quarterback's Virginia Beach"
Vick cleared by NFL
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"The NFL has completed its investigation into the shooting at Michael Vick's birthday party last month in Virginia Beach and he has been cleared to play, a league spokesman told the Daily News today. In an email, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "there is no change in his playing status." The league could have disciplined Vick under the personal conduct policy even though police have said Vick will not be charged. Vick's attorney has said he was gone from the scene before the shooting took place. Vick reportedly met with comissioner Roger Goodell, with Goodell urging Vick to tighten his circle to family and close friends. The NFL has said it will not comment on what it deems private"
A crowd at tight end
Comment
July 26
Camden Courier-Post
 
"Competition for the Eagles' tight end position is, well, tight. Brent Celek sits comfortably at the top of the depth chart. No problems there. No. 2 appears to be Clayton Harbor, the team's fourth-round pick out of Missouri State. The third and final spot is up for grabs. It might be Cornelius Ingram's job to take when he reports to training camp Tuesday. Ingram, the team's 2009 fifth-round pick out of Florida, came in with some hype. He's the prototypical tight end -- 6-4, 250 pounds with 4.68 40-yard dash speed. Ingram's knees haven't been so stellar. He missed his final season at Florida with a torn ACL. He tore his other ACL during his first training camp with the Eagles. Ingram says"
Expert says Eagles' corporate playbook is a winner
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Even a quick glance at Andy Reid's wardrobe will confirm that the Eagles don't operate within the buttoned-down constraints of an IBM. They don't have the same single-minded commitment to profit as a shareholder-driven firm like Microsoft. And while they might have Apple's cult-like following, the team certainly doesn't possess its rule-breaking panache. But, according to one die-hard fan who doubles as an instructor at Penn's famed Wharton School of Business, the bottom line is that the Eagles have become a blue-chip NFL franchise because they operate much like a healthy corporation. The upper-management rapport between Jeff and Christina Lurie, Joe Banner, Andy Reid, and Howie Roseman"
Can new faces take Eagles to new places?
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Inquirer
 columnist Bob Ford
"As they left the field on the floor of the Jerry Jones Pleasure Dome and Pole-Dancing Palace last January, beaten soundly for the second straight weekend by the Dallas Cowboys, every member of the Eagles carried something other than his helmet to the locker room. NFL seasons take a long time to arrive, and a long time to play, but when they come to a halt, football players know that the team they just played for will never exist again. In some ways, that was a comforting thought when the Eagles made their threadbare retreat from Arlington, Texas. The team wasn't good enough, at least not good enough to beat the Cowboys, and changes had to be made. Just a couple of weeks earlier, having"
The young and the restless characterize Eagles' new era
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"The Eagles have changed. Since the end of the 2008 season, the team has parted ways with the building blocks that took it to regular playoff appearances and one Super Bowl. In their place is a team that is young and light on experience, but, according to several players, also closer, energized, and eager to make a new mark in Philadelphia. As with any big change, there are fewer bedrock certainties - such as near-annual playoff appearances - but also fresh possibilities for individuals and the team. "This is a time when you want to make a name for yourself," safety Quintin Mikell said. "You want to create a legacy." Of the 80 players on the training-camp roster and two draft picks waiting"
Setting a winning tone for the season starts at Lehigh
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Winston Justice
"I cannot believe the season is already upon us. The offseason went by extremely fast. It seems like we just left Dallas. I am grateful for the many opportunities I had the past few months. I had a wonderful chance to serve in Haiti at the Mission of Hope orphanage helping the men, women, and children rebuild after the devastating earthquake. I also attended an amazing youth camp, as an honorary counselor in Branson, Mo., at Kids Across America. The camp runs programs for inner-city youths by teaching sports and providing Christian outreach. In both of these experiences, I was reminded how much a gift playing football is and how athletes can inspire so many people just by playing a sport."
Allen close to signing, Graham on hold
Comment
July 26
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Eagles rookies are scheduled to report to Lehigh this afternoon. Indications yesterday, from a source close to the situation, are that second-round safety Nate Allen might be signed by then. First-round defensive end Brandon Graham probably will not be, a source said. As you would expect, there have been more second-round signings than first-round signings so far, including yesterday's inking of Patriots' second-round tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Pats reportedly got around the logjam that has emerged over the payment of option bonuses in a league that has no CBA beyond this season by giving Gronkow-ski a playing-time incentive; perhaps we can expect something similar in an Allen deal."
Can Kolb chisel his own legend?
Comment
July 25
Camden Courier-Post
 columnist Geoff Mosher
"When it comes to facing ridiculously high expectations, Warren Moon can relate to Kevin Kolb. In 1985, the rebuilding Houston Oilers gambled on Moon's cannon right arm and burgeoning legend when they signed him away from the Canadian Football League, where he'd led Edmonton to five straight championships. They made him the league's highest-paid quarterback before he'd thrown his first NFL pass, sending a clear and powerful message to his teammates that a new sheriff had arrived. "Nobody knew who I was," Moon recalled. "Now, all of a sudden, this guy's coming to Houston -- an African-American at the same time; the only African-American quarterback in the league in '85. There was a lot of"
Eagles look to Hobbs to replace Brown
Comment
July 25
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"For each change made in this most transforming of off-seasons, the Eagles had an answer. It could be argued - and, indeed, it has been - that the answers won't prove to be the correct ones. But, by and large, when the Eagles dumped a player during a frenzied month of cuts and trades, they did so with a reasonable replacement in mind. But there was one move and the lack of a counter-move that remains a head-scratcher for many. When the Eagles open training camp in Bethlehem on Monday with the reporting of rookies and selected veterans, there will be new faces at positions that had been synonymous with their previous occupants. For the first time in years, Donovan McNabb will not be the"
Eagles' Fokou impresses at linebacker
Comment
July 24
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"When he arrived at training camp last year, Moise Fokou was a seventh-round draft pick, the last player the Eagles had selected, and battling to make his first NFL roster. He enters training camp 2010 as the front-runner to start at strong-side linebacker, hoping to help stabilize a linebacking corps marked by upheaval in 2009. In one of the many signs showing how much the Eagles are relying on youth this year, the players immediately behind him are two rookies: fourth-round draft pick Keenan Clayton and fifth-round selection Ricky Sapp, though veterans Akeem Jordan and Omar Gaither are also potential competitors on the strong side. They are all part of a crowded field at linebacker,"
Unsentimental Eagles play no favorites when cutting players
Comment
July 24
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Seventh of an eight-part series Some are role players passing through. Others become all-pros. The chosen few become folk heroes. But all Eagles players have one thing in common - eventually, they become ex-Eagles, even if most never see it coming. The end game for a professional football player is harsh. For years they give their bodies, and often their minds, to a franchise. Yes, they do it for a paycheck, but they also presumably do it for the common goal - to have success, to win a championship, to hoist the silver Lombardi Trophy. When it's over, it's over quickly. The Eagles' management team is many things, but emotional is not one. They leave that to the fans. "I'm actually proud of"
Report: Vick may have violated bankruptcy laws
Comment
July 24
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"It seems Michael Vick will have some explaining to do in bankruptcy court, according to a report on ESPN.com. The Eagles quarterback is facing charges that he made unauthorized and illegal gifts to friends and family in the months before he declared bankruptcy. According to court records, Vick wrote and cashed 67 checks between October 2006 and November 2007 that were made payable to "cash." Records show that the total cash he collected from his 31 bank accounts during this period was $751,765, an average of nearly $54,000 in cash in his pocket each month during the final 7 months of his dogfighting operation and the first 7 months of investigations and charges that led to his"
Wild offseason has Eagles on unproven ground
Comment
July 23
Allentown Morning Call
 
"Coming off the most unusua,l and likely the most pivotal, offseason in coach Andy Reid's tenure, the Eagles head to training camp next week with a youth movement that has left them with so many more questions than answers. They have a new quarterback, of course, for the first time in this millenium. Their offensive line remains in a state of transition and their defense, which has undergone some radical re-shaping, is unproven. At least none of their defensive linemen were shot or none of their wide receivers are expected to report with a major attitude problem due to contract dissatisfaction. Not yet, anyway. And they didn't trade Cliff Lee. Here's a look at the top five offseason events"
Don't fret about Eagles draftees just yet
Comment
July 23
Wilmington News Journal
 columnist Geoff Mosher
"Two years ago, on the eve of training camp for Eagles rookies and selected veterans, the team still hadn't signed its first two draft picks. Quantcast There was a murmur of concern from fans because defensive tackle Trevor Laws, chosen 47th overall, and wide receiver DeSean Jackson, drafted two spots later, wouldn't arrive at Lehigh for the start of camp. Tensions were eased when Jackson signed the day before camp commenced. Laws signed the following day, although a foot injury sustained before camp kept the former Notre Dame lineman sidelined anyway. The moral? Right now, there's no reason to throw a tizzy about second-round pick Nate Allen's lack of a contract with just three days to go"
Eagles counting on Cole as their starting center
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July 23
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Nick Cole knows what it's like to be counted out. Undrafted coming out of New Mexico State in 2006, Cole was at the back of the pecking order when it came to practice repetitions and had to work his way onto the Eagles by showing what he could do in preseason games. "It's a lot tougher than it is just getting drafted," said Cole, a bowling-ball-shaped lineman who also plays guard. "You've got a lot more to prove." Four years later, Cole will enter training camp next week as the favorite to be the Eagles' Week 1 starter at center, a critical position for the offense and new quarterback Kevin Kolb. Much of the offense's success depends on the team finding a capable replacement for Jamaal"
Biggest question about Eagles' Vick is on the field
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July 23
Philadelphia Inquirer
 columnist Bob Ford
"There isn't anyone outside of Michael Vick himself who really knows if Vick is a changed man. You can look him in the eyes, as Andy Reid and Jeffrey Lurie did last summer, or study his actions, which has been a media parlor game since he signed with the Eagles, but the truth is that a person's thoughts are his or hers alone. Vick was smart enough to know that, whether factual or fanciful, his "change" had better look genuine. He had a whole lot of old white men sitting in judgment on his future, and that isn't an equation that always went well previously. Broke and out of work, Vick needed a job and he played the interview game well enough to get one. Whether he played the actual game well"
Eagles to new QB Kolb: Go West (Coast), young man
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July 23
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"TECHNICALLY, the Eagles are changing quarterbacks, not offenses. They ran the West Coast offense for the 11 seasons that Donovan McNabb was behind center, and they will continue to run it now that Kevin Kolb is replacing him. But while the playbook will be the same and the formations will be the same, the version of the West Coast that the Eagles will run with Kolb at the controls won't quite be the same as the version McNabb ran. "No two players are exactly the same," Kolb said. "There's got to be some things that will change. I'm a totally different style guy than Donovan." The West Coast offense, as designed by Bill Walsh, is supposed to be about short passes and yards-after-the-catch."
Fishing's the reel deal for Kevin Kolb when he's not quarterbacking Eagles
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July 23
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"BRENT CELEK characterizes Kevin Kolb as "a country boy who likes to fish," but, in fact, Kolb did not grow up pursuing his current favorite off-the-field passion, competitive bass fishing. It developed after college, when he met up with some old friends. "I had no desire to get into it, I just kind of stumbled into it," said Kolb, who won a couples competition in Texas' Hubbard Creek Lake with his wife, Whitney. Kevin took fourth this year in an individual tourney that he said featured about 70 boats. "My dad [Roy] taught me to bass fish a long time ago, but some of my old high school buddies that I ended up moving close to once I moved to [Lake Granbury, near Fort Worth], they said, 'Man,"
With McNabb gone, Eagles about to embark on Kevin Kolb era
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July 23
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"OFFICIALLY, Kevin Kolb became the Eagles' starting quarterback on the evening of April 4, when Donovan McNabb was traded to Washington. In another sense, though, Kolb is still becoming the starting QB. Easter Sunday was the "paperwork" date of Kolb's ascension. The unofficial part of the organization's most significant transition in more than a decade - you could call it the "real" part - started with minicamps, but it accelerates this coming week at Lehigh, when the team reports for training camp. This will be the first camp the Eagles have opened without McNabb since 1999, when the franchise quarterback was a rookie holdout. Next week, for the first time, fans will watch the team work"