Andy Reid thinks training camp changes will keep Eagles fresh

EAGLES COACH Andy Reid talked Tuesday about why he is inverting the normal training camp schedule, planning to hold the contact workout in the afternoon at Lehigh, following a morning walkthrough.

Turns out it wasn't an evil scheme to screw up the commuting plans of fans and reporters, after all. (In the latter case, that was just an added bonus, one assumes.)

"I met with [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and we talked about recovery time," Reid said. He used to run two practices a day with pads early in camp, but last year's collective bargaining agreement ended any chance of that. "We've been presented with these new rules, so we're doing our walkthrough in the morning in this camp. In the afternoon, it'll allow the players to be hydrated coming into practice, along with getting two meals under their belt. Hopefully, that and the ability to allow them to walk around, get their lift in, and stretching, and so on, then they will come out and have a productive practice and limit the injuries and perform at a high speed."

And remember, players don't have to fight rush-hour traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway.

Rookies report for camp July 22, veterans July 25.

Former Eagles backup quarterback Vince Young, now with Buffalo, claims millions of dollars of his money is missing. Young is suing his former agent and financial adviser in Harris County court in Houston.

The suit claims fraud, unjust enrichment, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, usury and breach of contract, among other allegations. Young is suing his former agent, Houston attorney Major Adams II, as well as financial adviser Ronnie T. Peoples and his Raleigh, N.C.-based company, Peoples Financial Service.

Among the things in this world I am happy to care less than nothing about would be the NFL Network's ranking of the top 100 players of 2011, supposedly voted on by players themselves, though no one knows how many players voted, or whether one team had, say, four times as many players respond as another. Or whether players really took the responsibility seriously, instead of just filling in the names of friends. Or how they accounted for the fact that it's pretty much impossible to "rank" a guard vs. a quarterback.

Incredibly enough, though, it has been apparent since the countdown began that some players really do care about the rankings, which were conceived as an artificial offseason ratings ploy for the network. Which brings us to the topic of Michael Vick, who vowed to wreak vengeance on doubters after he was ranked 70th. Vick appeared Monday on 97.5 The Fanatic.

"That's a joke?…?I won't say where I need to be, I'll let my peers and everybody else decide on that," the Eagles quarterback said. "It was voted on by the peers, but I just disagree?…?Thank you, because they've motivated me to become a better player this year, so I'll have that in the back of my mind as I go out and play this year, as well."

By Tuesday's minicamp workout, Vick seemed to have a calmer perspective.

"It's all good. I'm going to prove myself and get myself back in the top 20 next year," he said. "Obviously. I pay attention to it, but I'm a competitor. I feel like I'm one of the best at what I do. It's somebody else's opinion, and I have to prove them wrong and make them say otherwise."