Post by EagleGene on Jul 31, 2006 13:55:47 GMT -5
A Thorn In The Defense's Side
July 30, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
It's not possible for Andy Thorn to be any simpler. Run, catch and block. Over and over again.
He doesn't seem to worry about much else. Just run, catch and block.
The second-year tight end was on the practice squad for the entire 2005 season and entered his second training with numbers stacked against him. The Eagles returned all three of their tight ends - starter L.J. Smith, backup Stephen Spach and long-snapper Mike Bartrum - and signed veteran Matt Schobel with the expectation that he'd be able to complement Smith.
And then there was Thorn, who had a lot to prove. He doesn't have Spach's versatility to shift to another position nor Bartrum's pivotal special teams role. If he makes the team, it will be because of the way he run, catches and blocks.
"You can't sit there and count, I'm third, fourth, fifth, 10th, 20th," Thorn said. "It doesn't matter. On that play, you just go tryout, try to win that play."
So far in camp, Thorn's been doing that. He's emerged as a viable option to make the team, displaying impressive hands downfield and impressive blocking on the line.
The coaches have noticed the difference.
"He's really dramatically improved from last year," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. "He's a guy that has worked himself into being a pretty good football player right now and he is a substantial football player. Both in the run game and the pass game, he is showing up."
Much of the progress is because Thorn is feeling comfortable on the team and in the offense. When he arrived in training camp last season, he was a rookie free agent from Northern Iowa, unaccustomed to the complexities of an Eagles offense that was coming off a Super Bowl appearance.
He came down to the final cut, though, before fellow rookie free agent Spach beat him out. Mornhinweg, who was assistant head coach at the time, admitted it was a tough decision.
"It certainly was," Mornhinweg said. "That was a hot and heavy competition there until the end."
But the Eagles liked what they saw in the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Thorn and signed him to the practice squad.
He spent the entire year with the Eagles, doing everything but traveling with the team. The experience helped him adjust to the NFL game and understand what the Eagles expected.
"You're involved in meetings, involved in practice," Thorn said. "That's where you earn your paycheck. You make those guys better.
"It helped me a lot. Blocking Jevon (Kearse), running routes against (Jeremiah Trotter) and (Brian Dawkins). In special teams, locking up with Matt Ware and Mark Simoneau and Jason Short."
When the season was over, Thorn didn't stop. He dedicated himself to come into training camp in better shape to fight to make the roster - regardless of the numbers.
Head coach Andy Reid said no one worked harder during the off-season than Thorn. He started his training with a trainer in Atlanta who exposed him to, as the 24-year old Thorn called, "crazy treadmill stuff."
He then reported back to Philadelphia to participate in the Eagles' off-season training program. When the was finished, he returned to his parents home to Branson, Mo., where he trained in the heat to prepare for precisely what's occurring right now - the dogged late-summer humidity of the Lehigh Valley.
A week into training camp it's paying off. Thorn is catching everything that comes his way, and what's more, he's catching the attention of the coaches.
"It's a world of difference," Thorn said. "Last year, I was trying to learn everything, everything's physical, the head's spinning 100 miles per hour. This year, I knew what to expect, came in in better shape, so it's going better for me this year."
July 30, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
It's not possible for Andy Thorn to be any simpler. Run, catch and block. Over and over again.
He doesn't seem to worry about much else. Just run, catch and block.
The second-year tight end was on the practice squad for the entire 2005 season and entered his second training with numbers stacked against him. The Eagles returned all three of their tight ends - starter L.J. Smith, backup Stephen Spach and long-snapper Mike Bartrum - and signed veteran Matt Schobel with the expectation that he'd be able to complement Smith.
And then there was Thorn, who had a lot to prove. He doesn't have Spach's versatility to shift to another position nor Bartrum's pivotal special teams role. If he makes the team, it will be because of the way he run, catches and blocks.
"You can't sit there and count, I'm third, fourth, fifth, 10th, 20th," Thorn said. "It doesn't matter. On that play, you just go tryout, try to win that play."
So far in camp, Thorn's been doing that. He's emerged as a viable option to make the team, displaying impressive hands downfield and impressive blocking on the line.
The coaches have noticed the difference.
"He's really dramatically improved from last year," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. "He's a guy that has worked himself into being a pretty good football player right now and he is a substantial football player. Both in the run game and the pass game, he is showing up."
Much of the progress is because Thorn is feeling comfortable on the team and in the offense. When he arrived in training camp last season, he was a rookie free agent from Northern Iowa, unaccustomed to the complexities of an Eagles offense that was coming off a Super Bowl appearance.
He came down to the final cut, though, before fellow rookie free agent Spach beat him out. Mornhinweg, who was assistant head coach at the time, admitted it was a tough decision.
"It certainly was," Mornhinweg said. "That was a hot and heavy competition there until the end."
But the Eagles liked what they saw in the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Thorn and signed him to the practice squad.
He spent the entire year with the Eagles, doing everything but traveling with the team. The experience helped him adjust to the NFL game and understand what the Eagles expected.
"You're involved in meetings, involved in practice," Thorn said. "That's where you earn your paycheck. You make those guys better.
"It helped me a lot. Blocking Jevon (Kearse), running routes against (Jeremiah Trotter) and (Brian Dawkins). In special teams, locking up with Matt Ware and Mark Simoneau and Jason Short."
When the season was over, Thorn didn't stop. He dedicated himself to come into training camp in better shape to fight to make the roster - regardless of the numbers.
Head coach Andy Reid said no one worked harder during the off-season than Thorn. He started his training with a trainer in Atlanta who exposed him to, as the 24-year old Thorn called, "crazy treadmill stuff."
He then reported back to Philadelphia to participate in the Eagles' off-season training program. When the was finished, he returned to his parents home to Branson, Mo., where he trained in the heat to prepare for precisely what's occurring right now - the dogged late-summer humidity of the Lehigh Valley.
A week into training camp it's paying off. Thorn is catching everything that comes his way, and what's more, he's catching the attention of the coaches.
"It's a world of difference," Thorn said. "Last year, I was trying to learn everything, everything's physical, the head's spinning 100 miles per hour. This year, I knew what to expect, came in in better shape, so it's going better for me this year."