Post by EagleGene on Jul 31, 2005 20:51:13 GMT -5
BROWN SHINES ON DAY ONE
July 30, 2005
By ZACH BERMAN
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The crowd was chanting Reggie Brown's name. The loudest cheer of the morning practice came when Brown caught a touchdown in the front right corner of the end zone in seven-on-seven drills. And when he finished practice, Eagles fans were eager to test his hands by throwing him a pen to sign whatever memorabilia they brought to Bethlehem.
Clearly, rookie wide receiver Reggie Brown is a draw. After his first training camp practice, onlookers learned why. The second-round pick from Georgia has the talent to be a noteworthy contributor for the Eagles.
His tools were evident on Saturday morning. For a rookie, his route-running was smooth. He was the biggest receiver on the field. His speed was nice, too. And he made some tough catches, displaying a set of hands that would make for a good Stick 'Em advertisement.
"Just as long as I keep making catches, they're going to want to keep giving me the ball," Brown said. "I felt pretty good. It's only the first day of camp, and I think the second practice will be even better."
Still, Brown did have his rookie moments. He dropped a pass thrown by QB Donovan McNabb, something that Brown was not afraid to point out when asked about his practice.
"I dropped one, and hopefully I won't be dropping anymore," Brown said. "I feel like I have a lot of work to do. It's going to be a long training camp and I'm going try to keep getting better."
When asked about Brown, McNabb gushed over the rookie. He complimented the rookie's hands and route-running. McNabb is also excited about what Brown can do after he catches the ball.
"He has big play ability, and he's the type of guy who if you put the ball in his hands, he can make a couple guys miss," McNabb said. "If you give him the ball in a six yard route, he can take it the distance."
But what was more telling was what McNabb said about the rookie's maturity. Brown spent time with McNabb and some of the other Eagles receivers working out in Arizona. It helped give the Georgia product a jumpstart on training camp by developing a rapport with his quarterback.
"That says a lot about the type of person he is," McNabb said. "The work ethic of taking time out of his schedule as a rookie, to come to Arizona and work with his teammates says a lot about him.
"He is a strong individual, a guy who is always open for advice and guidance. He is not a guy that thinks he knows it all."
The quarterback confessed that Brown will need a learning period to adjust to the league and the offense. Historically, rookie receivers have taken some time to learn head coach Andy Reid's system. Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell and Billy McMullen were all first day draft selections who needed considerable time to get comfortable.
"I think as a rookie in general, it's a challenge to come in and learn the position," McNabb said. "It's not just knowing your position, but you have to know every position. I think sometimes a lot of people overlook that fact because they feel that you just line up on the outside and run routes. You have to know what every guy is doing on offense. You have to know what coverage you're seeing, you have to know if you have to convert a route, you have to know if you have to chop a route down, reduce it, and the list goes on."
Brown is prepared to learn. He did it in mini-camps, he did it in Arizona and he'll continue the learning process in training camp. Brown's remaining confident, yet humble. He understands what he can do and he knows the route to making it happen is by learning on the job.
That quality will help when the veterans arrive on Monday. Brown enjoys the increased repetitions while the numbers are small this weekend, but a part of Brown is eager for the rest of his teammates to arrive. He says right now, it's just like the passing camps in June. But once the pads go in, it's a whole different story. And like McNabb said, Brown will seek to soak things up.
So when the obligatory Terrell Owens questions came Brown's way, he took that approach. Brown was unbelievably non-chalant about all the hoopla surrounding the situation. He simply stated that he can learn from Owens.
But without Owens - or any returning receiver - in training camp yet, Brown was the receiver fans came to see. Brown was the receiver that stood out. And at the end of the practice, Brown was the name that they were all calling.
"Hey, it's good," he laughed. "I like that they know my name."
July 30, 2005
By ZACH BERMAN
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The crowd was chanting Reggie Brown's name. The loudest cheer of the morning practice came when Brown caught a touchdown in the front right corner of the end zone in seven-on-seven drills. And when he finished practice, Eagles fans were eager to test his hands by throwing him a pen to sign whatever memorabilia they brought to Bethlehem.
Clearly, rookie wide receiver Reggie Brown is a draw. After his first training camp practice, onlookers learned why. The second-round pick from Georgia has the talent to be a noteworthy contributor for the Eagles.
His tools were evident on Saturday morning. For a rookie, his route-running was smooth. He was the biggest receiver on the field. His speed was nice, too. And he made some tough catches, displaying a set of hands that would make for a good Stick 'Em advertisement.
"Just as long as I keep making catches, they're going to want to keep giving me the ball," Brown said. "I felt pretty good. It's only the first day of camp, and I think the second practice will be even better."
Still, Brown did have his rookie moments. He dropped a pass thrown by QB Donovan McNabb, something that Brown was not afraid to point out when asked about his practice.
"I dropped one, and hopefully I won't be dropping anymore," Brown said. "I feel like I have a lot of work to do. It's going to be a long training camp and I'm going try to keep getting better."
When asked about Brown, McNabb gushed over the rookie. He complimented the rookie's hands and route-running. McNabb is also excited about what Brown can do after he catches the ball.
"He has big play ability, and he's the type of guy who if you put the ball in his hands, he can make a couple guys miss," McNabb said. "If you give him the ball in a six yard route, he can take it the distance."
But what was more telling was what McNabb said about the rookie's maturity. Brown spent time with McNabb and some of the other Eagles receivers working out in Arizona. It helped give the Georgia product a jumpstart on training camp by developing a rapport with his quarterback.
"That says a lot about the type of person he is," McNabb said. "The work ethic of taking time out of his schedule as a rookie, to come to Arizona and work with his teammates says a lot about him.
"He is a strong individual, a guy who is always open for advice and guidance. He is not a guy that thinks he knows it all."
The quarterback confessed that Brown will need a learning period to adjust to the league and the offense. Historically, rookie receivers have taken some time to learn head coach Andy Reid's system. Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell and Billy McMullen were all first day draft selections who needed considerable time to get comfortable.
"I think as a rookie in general, it's a challenge to come in and learn the position," McNabb said. "It's not just knowing your position, but you have to know every position. I think sometimes a lot of people overlook that fact because they feel that you just line up on the outside and run routes. You have to know what every guy is doing on offense. You have to know what coverage you're seeing, you have to know if you have to convert a route, you have to know if you have to chop a route down, reduce it, and the list goes on."
Brown is prepared to learn. He did it in mini-camps, he did it in Arizona and he'll continue the learning process in training camp. Brown's remaining confident, yet humble. He understands what he can do and he knows the route to making it happen is by learning on the job.
That quality will help when the veterans arrive on Monday. Brown enjoys the increased repetitions while the numbers are small this weekend, but a part of Brown is eager for the rest of his teammates to arrive. He says right now, it's just like the passing camps in June. But once the pads go in, it's a whole different story. And like McNabb said, Brown will seek to soak things up.
So when the obligatory Terrell Owens questions came Brown's way, he took that approach. Brown was unbelievably non-chalant about all the hoopla surrounding the situation. He simply stated that he can learn from Owens.
But without Owens - or any returning receiver - in training camp yet, Brown was the receiver fans came to see. Brown was the receiver that stood out. And at the end of the practice, Brown was the name that they were all calling.
"Hey, it's good," he laughed. "I like that they know my name."