Celek: “That’s part of the sport…. He hits hard and I think that’s good”

Eagles tight end Brent Celek caught a pass by the goalline yesterday and linebacker Ernie Sims put his helmet in his back and knocked the wind out of him.  Celek took quite a while to get up and walked slowly to the sidelines.

Nearly every member of the offensive first-team either walked over to where Celek was laying down or later where he was standing to see that he was alright.  Celek wasn’t the first offensive player who has felt the pop from Sims’ helmet or shoulder pads during this training camp.  Some of the other hits have been delivered during drills that were thud sessions.

In thud sessions, a defensive player will just put a shoulder into the shoulder pads of their teammate when offensive player catches the football.  They’re always safe hits without the use of the helmet.

During the workout nobody was sure whether it was a “live” period or a thud session.  Many of the reporters thought it was a non-contact session, but I and a couple of other reporters caught with Celek and he had a different story about the hit.

“It’s football, that’s part of the sport,” Celek told us yesterday after practice.  “That’s part of the sport. You’ve got to play with nick and bruises. move on from there.”

When asked whether it’s part of the game, Celek replied, “Yeah, that’s part of the game.  I hope he does it to the opposing team every week.  He hits hard and I think that’s good.  I’m going get hit  like that in the game, so it’s going to be no different.”

After practice Sims explained the helmet to Celek’s back.

“It all started the play before,” Sims said. “Leonard Weaver came through the hole and he actually got across the goal line. [Defensive coordinator] Sean McDermott wasn’t happy about it, and he put a little fire in us. Next play, I took advantage of an opportunity and took a shot on Celek.

“It’s something that I’ve got to start toning down.”

Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott found himself in a tough position after the practice.  On one hand, he doesn’t want to have his defense jeopardizing the health of key offensive players, at the same time, he wants an aggressive football team.

“I want an attitude and Ernie is part of that attitude and aggressiveness,” McDermott said. “And from a defensive standpoint, when you’re not playing against your teammates, you don’t let them cross the goal line. But we have to keep in mind that these are our teammates and we have to learn how to take care of one another at the same time. But, I love Ernie’s aggressiveness.”

If I were Andy Reid, I would stop the “live” drills because it seems that some players are going all out in “live” drills but others are not.  In my experience, when players have tired legs and bodies, along with a lack of emotion intensity in “live” drills injuries happen.  If I were Reid I wouldn’t have any more “live” drills on this next to last day of training camp.