by Jordan Raanan from www.eaglesville.com
7/29/2008- AM and PM Practice
This is the time of training camp when fatigue starts setting in and the temperatures always seem to approach triple digits. It’s also the inevitable time when the injuries begin to pile up quickly.
Here was the casualty list on Tuesday: Chris Clemons, Kimo von Oelhoffen, Brodrick Bunkley, L.J. Smith and Brian Dawkins. Clemons was the most serious. He was carted off and later taken to the hospital with dehydration. Clemons looked conscious and was sitting up as he was loaded into an ambulance.
During practice, Dawkins missed only a few plays due to what seemed like a cramp before returning, L.J. Smith has a minor calf problem and Kimo von Oelhoffen hurt his knee. Bunkley also missed practice with a shoulder contusion.
Two things really stood out in practice:
- The Eagles employed a four defensive end nickel formation with Trent Cole, Darren Howard, Juqua Parker and Clemons. This, of course, was before Clemons was forced to leave practice. Parker was playing defensive tackle in the formation, something he’s never really done much before. Howard played on the inside last season for the Eagles. The Eagles’ use of all defensive ends on the line in passing situations could be the aftereffects of the Giants’ Super Bowl run last year. The Giants defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, used to work under Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
- Just moments after Merrill Reese lauded the size and leaping ability of Hank Baskett, the Eagles’ wideout made a great leaping grab near the sidelines over the top of cornerback Sheldon Brown. It made everyone wonder why the Eagles don’t throw fade patterns, particularly to Baskett. The former New Mexico product was a stud high jumper in college.
7/29/2008- PM Practice
An Eagles rookie was playing with the first team on Tuesday. No it wasn’t wide receiver DeSean Jackson; he wasn’t even practicing due to a hamstring injury. It was defensive tackle Trevor Laws intertwined with the starters.
The Notre Dame product returned to practice Monday after missing the first week with a foot injury. The Eagles took a long look at their top draft pick — 47th overall in the second round — partially because starting defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley missed the day’s practices with a shoulder contusion.
Andy Reid needed to watch tape of practice before making a real assessment on how Laws did. It’s clear, however, that the Eagles are expecting the 6-foot-1, 310-pound Laws to contribute this season. He already jumped ahead of Dan Klecko and Montae Reagor on the depth chart in just one day, even though the Eagles seem to like what they see so far from Klecko, who had been in the backfield often during contact drills.
As for Jackson, Reid is not happy with the speedy wideout. He can’t make a true assessment on Jackson’s skills because the second-round pick is stuck on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
“He needs to get healthy and get back out there is what he needs to do,” Reid said. “This is a challenge for wide receivers that first year. You have to push yourself through these things, so that’s what he’s working on right now.”
Rookies don’t normally do well in Andy Reid’s offense, unless they’re getting judged on their ability to learn and study from the bench. If Jackson doesn’t return soon, the Eagles might have trouble familiarizing and integrating him into the offense this season. He can, however, still contribute on special teams as a punt returner.
Injury Update
Chris Clemons was taken to a local hospital Tuesday morning due to dehydration. The Eagles’ new defensive end fell to one knee and was taken off the field on a cart. When he was being evaluated inside the makeshift locker room, Clemons was not responding to questions from the training staff. So the Eagles called 911 and an ambulance transported the former Raider to Lehigh Valley Hospital. Trainer Rick Burkholder reported after practice that Clemons was doing fine and will be back on the field relatively soon.
Defensive end Victor Abiamiri’s prognosis is not quite as positive. Abiamiri is out for the remainder of training camp and possibly the season. He underwent surgery Tuesday in Philadelphia and had two screws inserted to fix the dislocated bone in his right wrist. The ligaments around the bone were also repaired.
The Eagles will wait several weeks to see how the wrist/hand heels before determining a timetable for the second-year defensive end. It is possible they might need to put him on injured reserve, meaning he will miss the entire season. The hand is a vital tool for defensive linemen. They not only place their hand on the ground but also regularly engage their opponent with a hand to the chest.
“I’m not reasonable sure [he can avoid IR]. I think we need to take it after training camp and see where it’s at,” trainer Rick Burkholder said. “We’re going to cut into some of the season, especially since he can’t go here and then at some point you start talking what point do you keep him live on the roster. … I’m not ready to say it’s a season-ending injury but I’m not ready to say he’s going to be ready for the opener either.
“It’s just got to heal. The ligaments and bones just have to remain stable.”
