Focus is on Eagles Wideouts During Afternoon Practice
For good and bad reasons alike, the Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers were the topic of discussion throughout the afternoon practice at Lehigh University. DeSean Jackson left the field with what the Eagles are calling a back injury and did not return. The star wide receiver also made a visit to the trainer’s tent to have his foot looked at earlier in the practice, but returned.
Jackson suffered an unrelated injury when he fell awkwardly after catching a pass and had to be tended to by the training staff before getting up from the turf. Jackson walked to the sideline gingerly with assistance and was then carted off. Linebacker Omar Gaither was near Jackson on the play and didn’t seem too concerned after practice, “He’ll be alright, it wasn’t anything that serious. Obviously they’re going to take full precautions, but he’ll be fine.”
Prior to his injury, Jackson was having a strong practice. Jeremy Maclin, however, was stealing the show. The Eagles number two receiver made an impressive catch over rookie safety Nate Allen on a wobbly deep ball from quarterback Kevin Kolb. Allen had position on the play, but Maclin outjumped him and ripped the ball away.
Kevin Kolb improved on his morning session, showing better accuracy and a tighter spiral. One of the Texas native’s better throws was a perfect spiral over the middle of the field to Brent Celek, who didn’t have to break stride at all as he split the safeties down the seam.
On the flip side, Michael Vick struggled in the afternoon session. He was intercepted on multiple occasions and threw behind receivers several times. It was a big step down from the solid morning practice Vick put together.
On the defensive side of the ball, Stewart Bradley was again a leading performer. The middle linebacker showed his speed in breaking up a pass over the middle and didn’t appear to show any lingering affects from his ACL injury. Bradley was, however, given a rest later in practice when Omar Gaither took several snaps with the top linebacker unit.
Backup safety Kurt Coleman continued to stand out, with an acrobatic interception off of a pass that was underthrown by Vick. Vick wasn’t the only signal caller who struggled this afternoon. Rookie Mike Kafka had difficulty in both practices, both with his footwork and accuracy. The Northwestern product rarely completed a pass more than 10 to 15 yards down the field, but did show strong accuracy on short routes.
Notes
Wide receiver Riley Cooper gives the Eagles a lot of size. I had a close look as he ran out of bounds right in front of me, thankfully stopping just in the nick of time.
Offensive lineman Austin Howard, a rookie out of Northern Iowa, struggled this afternoon. The 6’7, 333 pound tackle was pushed backwards in a hurry on a few consecutive plays.
Fellow tackle Fenuki Tupou continues to impress the coaching staff, particularly in one-on-one drills.
Todd Herremans, Victor Abiamiri and Jamaal Jackson remain on the physically unable to perform list.
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