Training Camp Reports by Jordan Raanan of www.eaglesville.com
7/26/2008 AM Practice
Dan Klecko was told the first three days of Eagles training camp is the toughest. Once you get through that, you’ll be OK. Well, the Birds’ biggest free-agent acquisition this offseason, Asante Samuel, wasn’t able to make it through the first three days unscathed. Samuel hurt his right hamstring in the team’s first practice in pads, and before contact drills started.
How bad is the injury? That is still unknown. The good news is that Samuel did limp off the field under his own power. It’s also not the same hamstring that kept the Pro Bowl cornerback Samuel out of the final minicamp. He had a left hamstring problem previously. Coach Andy Reid labeled the injury a “strain” before offering his standard “we’ll see how he does.”
The bottom line is it’s unlikely the $57 million man will be on the field any time soon. The Eagles are likely to be extra cautious with their big investment. Teams are traditionally very cautious with hamstring injuries anyway.
It’s certainly not the start the Eagles were hoping for at Lehigh University. They knew they would be dealing with two players (Brian Westbrook and Lito Sheppard) disgruntled with their contracts. And they knew there were going to be injuries. They just didn’t know it would be their top newcomer getting hurt on the first full day of practice with the entire team present. They also didn’t know All-Pro guard Shawn Andrews would be MIA.
Team president Joe Banner downplayed all the drama.
“The Giants won the Super Bowl last year. [Michael] Strahan sat out all of camp and [Osi] Uminyora and [Plaxico] Burress and a whole bunch of guys were asking for new contracts,” Banner said. “They did their best to get them and, in the end, in some cases they did something, some cases they didn’t. In the end, they all kind of sucked it up and did the best they could for their team.”
Sucked it up and did the best for the team. Interesting. That’s probably what the Eagles are hoping will happen with Sheppard and Andrews. They have been publicly more open to working with Westbrook on a new deal.
Besides all the training camp drama, there is some football taking place. For details on the big plays and standouts at the first full-contact practice of the year, check out
www.eaglesville.com.
7/26/2008 PM Practice
The Saturday afternoon practice was all about football. Not much talk about new contracts, no mention of the unexcused offensive lineman’s absence and no new injuries. The Eagles had their second workout of the day Saturday afternoon without pads and in front of a rather pedestrian crowd, by their standards.
It is worth noting that Lito Sheppard’s new agent Drew Rosenhaus was spotted in the crowd at Lehigh University. Rosenhaus did not speak to reporters but one would assume that he at least said hello to the Eagles’ front office and attempted to talk about his new client with team president Joe Banner or his right-hand man Howie Roseman.
Clearly Rosenhaus — the same agent that was very outspoken during the Terrell Owens fiasco three years back — has decided to take a different approach this time around. There was no impromptu press conference and no ridiculous statements. Rosenhaus actually attempted to remain incognito.
Max Jean-Gilles continued to work with the first team in place of the missing Shawn Adnrews. It’s hard to decide whether Andrews’ absence hurts or helps Jean-Gilles though. The third-year guard out of Georgia was supposed to battle Todd Herremans for the starting left guard spot. Filling in at right guard could ironically be detrimental to Jean-Gilles’ cause. He does not view it that way.
“It’s an opportunity. I just have to take advantage of it,” Jean-Gilles said. “God works in mysterious ways.”
Coach Andy Reid did give a brief update on Asante Samuel and his injured right hamstring.
“He felt a little better once he got inside [after practice],” Reid said following the afternoon session. “He’ll probably have an MRI [Sunday]. It was more positive after he left.”
The total fan attendance was a more than respectable 8,966 for the first full day of practice with the entire team present. Still, there were empty seats in the grandstands, particularly during a rather quiet Saturday afternoon practice. The atmosphere was much more electric during the morning session, when Brian Dawkins and Samuel — before he was injured — seemed to enjoy the crowd’s enthusiasm, especially during 1-on-1 drills pitting the defensive backs against the wide receivers.
