The Birds got in another workout this afternoon, this time they were in the shorts. The word was precision this afternoon and Andy's squad worked on their timing.
Tony is being put in position to team-up with Correll Buckhalter in backing up Brian Westbrook. Unfor- tunately, he's dropping too many passes. The kid has got good hands but either fatigue or a lapse in concentration has caused too many passes slipping through his hands and onto the ground.
Again I haven't been impressed with Kevin Curtis but I know it's early and he's still getting familiar with the offense and the routes. It seems he's getting pushed around a bit. This is going to be a process. There may have to be some subtle changes in the passing offense to give him a better chance to succeed.
I'm going to start calling Omar Gaither "mega" short for megaphone because he's so loud when he's on the field. It's not a negative thing if you've got to make calls during a game.
In both practices the Birds worked a great deal on their nickel offense and defense. I could see them playing a lot of three wide receiver sets and facing quite a few three wide receiver sets but you don't expect to see so much of it on the first day. I think spreading people out and running the ball on them is going to be a staple in the Eagles offense. With three wide outs in the game and Westbrook, teams are going to be thinking about the pass. They'll be shocked when the Birds run the ball down their throats.
If you want to picture a beautiful sight imagine "Big Shawn" hitting the corner with "BWest" on his hip. It's a frightening sight and we're going see more and more of it as the season goes along. Shawn Andrews is a very good athlete who can run. When he turns the corner, linebackers and defensive backs will have to scatter and Westbrook does a great job of reading his blocks. I love the misdirections the Birds are running with their big guards Andrews and Herremans leading the way. BWest and Tony Hunt both have good patience in letting their blockers do the job before exploding through the hole.
I'll updating this article in a few hours with more info.
