From the Desk of Jay Vaidya
Even as the price of a gallon of gasoline nears $5 and heat indexes soar above 100 degrees in the Lehigh Valley, Eagle fans are once again expected to converge at Eagles Training Camp 2008 on the campus of Lehigh University in record numbers. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the summer amongst the fans and the media is nothing new to Coach Andy Reid, who will be preparing for his 10th year as head coach of the Eagles. Yet controversy and concerns still loom amidst an anxious and eager 2008 Philadelphia Eagle squad before the pads even go on. As all of Eagle nation knows, six of Coach Reid’s past Eagle teams have found their way into the post season with limited success (aka one Super Bowl appearance) and four of them have forever been deleted from our memories (not to mention the lingering void from not reaching the playoffs in two of the last three seasons). This all of course is in addition to the salty taste and anger that has been brewing in Southeastern Pennsylvania ever since David Tyree’s “immaculate reception” in last year’s Super Bowl.
Topping the list of the afore mentioned concerns include the contract dispute of disgruntled Pro-Bowlers RB Brian Westbrook and CB Lito Sheppard, the health of Donovan McNabb, and rookies WR DeSean Jackson and DT Trevor Laws.
(1) To begin, both Westbrook and Sheppard have fired their current agents and have re-signed with different agents in order to gain leverage against Eagle management, since their previous representation could get nothing done during talks in their favor before training camp. At the “Welcome to Training Camp” press conference, Coach Reid made it clear that he has been in contact with Westbrook in the past few days, but has not spoken with Sheppard since the discontent cornerback skipped Organized Team Activities (OTA) last month. To me, although the Eagles can survive and thrive in a season without Lito Sheppard (a la Sheldon Brown), a season without Brian Westbrook would mean disaster. Let us all cross our fingers and hope that a Westbrook holdout is not in the near future.
(2) Moving to less turbulent news, Coach Reid also noted (as reported here at www.allphiladelphiasports.com by Zach Zawarski) that Donovan McNabb’s shoulder problems are now in the past. #5 has spent the last few weeks rehabbing his injury and training in Arizona (as he does every year) along with teammate Brian Dawkins and has been quoted as saying his shoulder ailment is a “non-issue”. It is good to see the captain of our offense and the captain of our defense spending some of the offseason together butting heads in attempts to get the Eagles Team focused on another Super Bowl run. Once again, we should all pray that both these cornerstones of our team remain healthy for the duration of not only training camp, but the entire season.
(3) Finally, we move to the contract situations with rookies WR DeSean Jackson and DT Trevor Laws. It is my pleasure to report to you that as of July 21st both these explosive players, one on each side of the ball, have inked 4-year deals with the Eagles. (NOTE: DT Trevor Laws will likely miss a portion of training camp due to what’s described as a “foot injury”, however this injury does not seem to be a major concern to either Laws or the Eagles’ staff)Near the end of his press conference, Coach Reid announced his new “30 Plus Club” policy. This policy is specifically targeted at older veterans (i.e. Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas, and Jon Runyan) to keep them fresh and ready for the start of the regular season. Basically this means that after these players workout back-to-back days, they will receive the following next day “half-off” in order to relax, recuperate, and keep from getting fatigued in the intense summer sun. Players over 30 not included in the “30 Plus Club” include Donovan McNabb and AJ Feeley, since they wear the protective red jerseys, and don’t get as physically into the practices as the rest of the players do.
TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE NOTE: Over the next three days, the Eagles will work out their rookies and some select veterans (27 in total), including throwing sessions with Donovan McNabb, AJ Feeley, and Kevin Kolb so that these select players are ready for when the pads go on this Saturday July 26th.
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