by Jordan Raanan from www.eaglesville.com
7/31/2008- AM Practice
Chris Clemons spent most of Tuesday in the hospital with dehydration. He was back on the field practicing with his teammates at Lehigh University on Thursday morning. This is after all the NFL, where broken legs and blown-out knees are almost as common as touchdowns. It’s where torn ACLs, broken ankles or dangling fingers sometimes aren’t enough to keep players off the field.
Clemons gave the Eagles a scare on Tuesday when he dropped to one knee and wasn’t very responsive to the trainers once he was back in the locker room. The former Raiders defensive end didn’t do much Thursday as the Eagles went though a rare morning practice without pads and contact. Still, after taking just one day off following the ailment, it was back to business without even the slightest hint of apprehension.
“I always move forward, never think about what happened in the past,” Clemons said.
Call it courage, heart, toughness, stupidity or naivety, returning without fear is undoubtedly commendable. It’s part of what makes NFL players such amazing specimens.
It’s also amazing to think that during the whole episode, Clemons was never petrified. He couldn’t have been.
“Your mind is just rambling everywhere and I was out of breath,” he said of the dehydration episode. “That was the two things I felt. You can’t be scared when you don’t know much.”
The no-contact Thursday morning workout without pads made it a little bit easier for Clemons to return. Soon enough though, he’ll be back out there banging and hitting.
The lack of contact Thursday is by no means an indication coach Andy Reid is going too easy on his team. He didn’t make the practice non-contact because of the heat, injuries or Clemons’ dehydration scare. The Eagles just didn’t have enough defensive linemen available and healthy to run a normal practice with hitting.
The Birds’ “Over-30 Club” is causing all kinds of havoc as defensive tackles Montae Reagor and Darren Howard took the morning off. It contributed to the dearth of defensive linemen Thursday, along with injuries to Kimo von Oelhoffen and Bryan Smith. It’s also leaving fans who come watch morning practices when the elders are off disappointed when most of their favorite players are nowhere to be seen.
Don’t fret though, the over 30s aren’t lounging around doing nothing while their teammates are working hard in the Lehigh Valley heat. They are sleeping, working out and studying -- all long-term benefits to the team.
