Eagles rookie Danny Watkins finds himself working hard to catch up

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Fireman Danny Watkins has been in full swing in his first two days at Eagles training camp.

First-round pick and starting right guard Danny Watkins is still getting his bearings.

Watkins, a former firefighter in British Columbia, helped one teammate out of a stuck elevator Tuesday, and on Wednesday he lent an experienced hand to EMTs seeing to defensive tackle Mike Patterson after he suffered a violent seizure during morning practice. The team later said that Patterson was stable and alert.

That work seemed to come naturally. On the field, Watkins and his teammates made it clear that the top pick has a lot of work to do after missing the first five days of camp and having no spring minicamps because of the NFL lockout.

"Little lost," guard Todd Herremans said when asked to describe Watkins' first day of practice. "He's coming along. He's behind a lot missing a whole week of preparation."

Watkins is expected to be the team's starting right guard on opening day. He was tossed right into the mix Wednesday, lining up with the first team. When asked about his day, Watkins sighed.

"It was getting thrown into the fire again," he said with a laugh. "You're trying to learn and get the speed of the game and get the cadence and get familiar and build chemistry with players. It's just going to take time."

Watkins emerged after practice wearing a navy Westside Fire and Rescue T-shirt, a six-inch thick Eagles playbook under his left arm.

He said he's been studying hard, spending five to six hours Tuesday with offensive line coach Howard Mudd as he arrived at camp after ending a holdout.

"Whether it's clicking or not is another story," Watkins said of his studies. "It's the first day. I hold myself to a high standard, and I need to continuously get better, and I know Andy Reid and Coach Mudd are going to be right behind me."

Watkins said that the "onus is on me" to learn and that he welcomes hard coaching.

"I'm not afraid to get cussed out or chewed out," he said.

The Eagles need Watkins to learn fast. They are counting on him to solidify the right side of an offensive line, which consistently let defenses get to Michael Vick last year.

"He's a good kid and a good worker," Reid said. "We understand he is playing catch-up here in a couple of different areas, not knowing the offense and also not being physically all-in right now."

"When I was in, I was trying to learn it and process it," Watkins said. "When I had the reps off, I was trying to be at Coach Mudd's hip."

Center Jamaal Jackson, the most experienced lineman on the team, chuckled when asked about Watkins' first day.

"For the bullets to be flying at him he did a pretty good job," Jackson said. "We'll get him up to speed these next couple days."

Watkins seems comfortable, though, with the skills he learned as a firefighter.

On Tuesday, he and guard Evan Mathis got stuck in a Lehigh elevator near the team's dining hall.

"Who better to get stuck with than your fireman Danny Watkins," Mathis said. "He just opens the door, finds the master reset button, and we're on our way."

Mathis - a fallback option at guard - posted a photo of Watkins in action on Twitter.

Wednesday was far more serious. After Patterson had a seizure on the field, Watkins got involved. He helped direct an ambulance that arrived and assisted in unloading a gurney. As a firefighter, he was trained as an emergency medical technician.

"You see something like that, you automatically want to help the guy," Watkins said. "I'm sure any one of the other guys would have done the same thing."

Patterson, who briefly lost consciousness during the four-minute episode, was stable and in good spirits later in the day.

Watkins was off for more studying and getting ready for day two of learning - and playing.