Practice 13 Observations (Eye on the Eagles)

Practice 13 Observations

By Zach Berman

Another practice in the books.

Here are some observations, notes and tidbits from practice 13:

L.J. Smith returned to practice. So did Sheldon Brown. I spoke with Brown as he was coming off the field and he said his eye was fine.

Hank Baskett had a great practice. He came off the field with cramps in the afternoon practice yesterday, but he excelled today. Baskett found seams in the defense and made some nice grabs.

Jeremy Bloom is fast. I think that's important to acknowledge because even though he's slight, he can burn some cornerbacks. The problem, as has been mentioned earlier, is fighting the cornerback;s hands off in press coverage. If he can do that, though, there's no reason why Bloom can't get open.

Zac Collie was able catch a deep pass down the right sideline from Kelly Holcomb. The problem is Holcomb would have been sacked in a normal game. That was the case on many of the completions throughout practice, so credit the defense for getting to the quarterback.

Correll Buckhalter is as healthy as he's been in years. Buckhalter is walking without a limp. That's important, because he's a tough runner who could complement Brian Westbrook.

Reggie Brown is terrific at making adjustments while the football is in the air. He did it twice in the afternoon practice.

Nick Graham is a cornerback to keep your eye on. He stays with his man on defense, although he's not lining up with first-team receivers often. But he's able to defend the players in front him, which is a good sign.

I want to clarify an earlier post. I mentioned I don't know how long Mikell will be around, although that was not in regard to his contract. I meant Mikell is capable of starting elsewhere and good players seldom remain backups if they have value on the trade market (i.e. -- Al Harris when he was the Eagles' nickel cornerback). The Eagles would be wise to keep him around and I have no indication that he won't. But the simple fact is he's a good player.

My initial note was ambiguous so I fixed it. I apologize for the confusion.

Posted by Zach Berman on August 3, 2007 5:12 PM | Permalink

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