Guest Post: Eagles Training Camp Observations

ATPS is happy to have Mark Trible back to write another guest post, this time on his observations at Eagles Training Camp:

As I made my yearly trip to Lehigh, my thoughts about this year’s Eagles team were unlike any other I’ve had in my life. I knew what I loved about this year’s team, and I knew what occupies the middle ground between disaster and success.

Kolb, Free Safety, Right Cornerback.

As Eagles fans, we’re familiar with these question marks by now, aren’t we? Despite my understanding of the questions on the team, I tried to go into my time at training camp with an open mind. I wanted to see what would jump out at me and give me some type of expectations for this season. For the last nine seasons, we pretty much knew what we would see from the Birds, and while it could be extremely comforting, it was also extremely boring. Now, we head into the 2010-11 campaign with a young team, a new quarterback, and hundreds of dollars worth of training camp merchandise. Well, I do anyway.

I attended an afternoon session of camp this past weekend, one that was non-contact, but nonetheless the team put together a pretty decent scrimmage. I looked for answers to the obvious questions, but also saw some positive things that deserve acknowledgment. Seeing as how I was on vacation, I wasn’t too cynical. I know, I’m disappointed in myself too. Here are some of the impressions while watching the team.

Kolb’s arm- I know that the predominant train of thought on Kevin Kolb is that he will be a more accurate passer than Donovan was, and his long range arm leaves something to be desired. After getting my first look at Kolb, I couldn’t be more impressed. His accuracy was excellent, and I was surprised at how good he looked throwing the deep ball. He hooked up with Jeremy Maclin several times, all of which were perfect. I probably saw Kolb throw 20-25 deep passes, and all but three or four were caught in stride, with excellent placement. One negative to the practice was that most of his deep passes were thrown on go routes, so I cannot vouch for his ability to hit the 20-30 yard crossing or out routes. All in all, I was extremely impressed with our new quarterback. Whether or not he has what it takes mentally and psychologically to run the team is a completely different can of worms. But, on mechanics and physical ability alone, he looked ready.

Nasty Nate Allen- Okay, so I don’t really want to go through another season with a combination of what feels like twelve different free safeties playing in the secondary. I felt it last year and all it did was rub salt in the open wound of losing Brian Dawkins. I went to camp feeling suspicious about all I had heard about Nate Allen and his prowess as a rookie to understand the defense. For all we know, that could be the same propaganda machine that we’ve heard for years by the Eagles. Jeremy Bloom was supposed to be pretty good if you all correctly remember what the organization told us.

Jeremy Bloom was a joke.

Nate Allen is no such thing (I’ll never mention the two in the same breath again, I promise).

Allen was in the middle of everything when he was on the field. He broke up pass after pass, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He looked completely comfortable in the defense, much to my amazement. If I didn’t know he was a rookie before practice, I sure as hell wouldn’t have been able to tell after practice. I’m looking forward to seeing a whole lot more of Nate Allen this season. I have a strong feeling I won’t have to see two different free safeties this season. That’s a great feeling.

Jeremy Maclin- The one thing I noticed while closely observing Kolb during practice was that he loves to throw to Maclin. It seemed like every time number 18 was on the field, the ball was thrown in his direction. I don’t know if that was simply the way things worked out, but it seemed like Kolb and Maclin have excellent chemistry when they’re on the field together. No matter what the reason was, it’s certainly an encouraging sign for the young wide receiver and the team moving forward.

Ellis Hobbs- Hobbs seemed to hold his own most through most of practice; however he was involved in a couple of miscommunications that resulted in wide open receivers. With that being said, there was no contact in the scrimmage, so it was difficult for any corners to really shine. I’m not completely sure if the miscommunications were Hobbs’ fault or simply mistakes made by the safeties, but I was not impressed with Hobbs on the right side. I will be watching him closely throughout the preseason to see if that was an aberration. For the team’s sake, I hope it was.

Linebackers- After the scrimmage installment of practice was complete; the different positions broke into separate drills. I spent this time evaluating the linebackers. Fokou, Bradley and Sims did not participate in the drills. Basically, the drills were concentrated on pass coverage, with each linebacker covering another’s route. The routes started on the hash marks, much like tight end routes would. In watching the drills, it seemed like most of the linebackers were successful in coverage about 50 percent of the time. The exceptions were Akeem Jordan and Jamar Chaney. It’s hard not to think that Jordan will be starting at the SAM as the season opens, and I can’t help but believe that Chaney will find himself on the roster as well. He is extremely fluid and quick for a linebacker, something the birds sorely need when it comes to matching up against the tight ends in the NFC East.

Here are some less in-depth observations I also made upon my visit:

Mike Kafka looked pretty accurate, Michael Vick did not.

LeSean McCoy has the offense down to a T at this point, he looked great.

It’s great to see Stewart Bradley back on the field. He spent 20-30 minutes talking to Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott after practice.

Chad Hall spent quite a bit of time running 40 yard sprints after practice. Whether he makes the team or not, I couldn’t help but be impressed with his work ethic.

Brandon Graham was always the first person on the field when the coaches called for substitutions. He was continuously sprinting on the field to his spots. He was far and away the most enthusiastic player I saw during practice.


*I also had an excellent fan experience with rookie safety Kurt Coleman and wide receiver Kelley Washington. I was lost on Lehigh’s campus and saw the two waiting outside the dorms, for food or a ride I suppose. I stopped and wished them luck. My high school was in the same district as Washington’s, so we struck up some good-natured trash talk. Suffice to say, I was impressed with the both of them as professionals and gentlemen. I’m rooting for both to make the roster this season.

Feel free to follow Mark on Twitter (@Mtrible) or shoot him an email (mtrible@vt.edu).