Maclin Arrives
Jeremy Maclin arrived at Lehigh after the morning practice, signed his contract and was expected to speak to the media following special teams practice, around 2:45. Maclin is scheduled to take the field for the first time Wednesday morning.
Maclin, the Eagles' first-round pick, agreed to terms Monday night, but was in St. Louis. He arrived in Philadelphia a little after 10 a.m., then had to journey northward to Bethlehem.
Apparently, Maclin spent much of last week in Philly, but went home to Missouri over the weekend.
"Every minute of the day [WR Coach] David Culley will be busy with him," offensive coordinator Marty Morhinweg said Tuesday, when asked about the process of bringing Maclin up to speed. "I've been through this many times before, and some guys fit right in and it's normally, like I said, the guys that are natural-type football players, it comes a little bit easier to them, and when they're real sharp mentally, that usually happens pretty quick for them. But we'll see. Some great players, it may take two or three years before they mature into an excellent football player. Sometimes it's very quick, so we'll see."
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Roster moves: As expected, the Eagles added LB Matt Wilhelm and DE Jason Babin Tuesday. With Jeremy Maclin now aboard, that meant they had to cut three players, who turned out to be DT Jervonte Jackson, CB Courtney Robinson and WR Marcus Thigpen. Jackson, half-brother of Eagles center Jamaal Jackson, was featured in a May 22 Daily News story in which he spoke of hoping his pro earnings would fund an appeal for his imprisoned mother, Avonda Dowling, who is serving a 20-year sentence in California for dealing drugs.
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Crunch Time (a collection of hits and a few misses from the morning session):
*Leonard Weaver picked up a blitzing Chris Clemons, allowing Donovan McNabb to connect with LeSean McCoy on a bomb down the right side.
*Reggie Brown broke Quintin Mikell's tackle on a wideout screen to the right side.
*Joe Mays chased down and thumped Lorenzo Booker after Booker took a short flip from McNabb.
*Kevin Kolb ran a fake QB sneak, then screened to Booker, but Mikell and Chris Gocong were not fooled and they buried the back.
*Kolb beat a blitz for a nice goal-line TD pass to Booker.
*Omar Gaither went in unblocked and "sacked" McNabb.
*Brandon Gibson showed strong after-the-catch moves, following a reception from A.J. Feeley.
*McNabb took advantage of strong protection to connect on a bomb with Kevin Curtis, who eluded Rashad Baker.
*Entertaining dustup seemed to start with Gaither and Max Jean-Gilles, quickly involved Jean-Gilles' linemateWinston Justice and linebacker Charleston Hughes.
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To read Paul Domowitch's take on the Andy Reid situation with the media, click here.