Eagles Wake Up Call: Agholor Says Bradford’s ‘Moving Great’

When the curtain lifts on Sunday, all eyes will be on Sam Bradford and his twice surgically-repaired left knee.

Bradford, wearing a large brace on his leg, did not participate fully this spring. He eased his way into action and  eventually worked his way up to a point where he took part in 7-on-7s, but stepped out during full team drills. The expectation is that he’ll now be full-go.

“If I’m not ready for 11-on-11 by training camp, then I think something has gone terribly wrong,” Bradford said before the Eagles broke for the summer.

There have been few updates in the six weeks since. Nelson Agholor provided a mini one Wednesday while speaking to a few reporters at Brent Celek‘s charity event at South Bowl to benefit seriously ill and physically challenged children throughout the Philadelphia area.

“We threw last week and it was great,” said Agholor of his session with Bradford.

“I think he is moving great. I think that is something the organization can share, but to me he looks great, he looks healthy.”

Agholor spent a portion of his offseason training back in Tampa. He returned to Philly last week, and reports that “a lot of guys” are in town and hanging around the facilities.

He had more than enough incentive to take part in Celek’s Take Flight Foundation event. For one, the veteran tight end has gone out of his way to make the rookie feel welcome since he arrived in Philadelphia. “I can’t thank him enough [for coming],” said Celek, who hosted Agholor for dinner at the end of minicamp. “He’s a great guy, a great young player and definitely has a bright future.” Two, a pair of his childhood friends work for the company Thuzio that helped host the event.

Agholor was a very popular man amongst the fans in attendance. He is already a recognizable face in his new city. There are high expectations for the first-round pick out of USC and a number of firsts that have to be tackled starting this weekend, but he seems to be taking it all in stride.

“I look forward to it because it’s going to be my next step to get better,” said Agholor of the start of camp. “You’re working out every day, stuff like that, but now you take the next step, face a little more adversity…You can train yourself as hard as you can, but if you don’t throw yourself into uncomfortable situations, you don’t grow. I look forward to Sunday because it’s going to be the next building steps.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

Will there be a legitimate QB competition during camp and the preseason? Sheil weighs in on the state of the position.

“Regardless of who plays quarterback this year, I think they’re going to make the playoffs.” Mike Mayock is high on the Eagles.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Zach Berman of the Inquirer reports on the origins of Chip Kelly‘s sports science program:

He was a first-time head coach who looked at coaching with an open mind. The attitude was triggered by a simple question: How do you affect the play on the field?

“And I think it’s a huge way to affect the play of the field,” Kelly said. “You always wanted to have a team that was in great shape but you also wanted to have a team that was fresh. So it was a combination of, how does that work? What’s the best ways to go about it? So I think if you can invest in…the product is the player and you’re trying to invest in the player.”

Kelly said the program has been tweaked since he arrived, but there have not be any drastic changes. Former cornerback Cary Williams was critical of the way the Eagles practiced last season, but Kelly said it did not prompt him to make any changes.

Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly looks at the evolution of the “culture beats scheme” mantra:

“That was a conversation with Jordan Kovacs at the end of the Carolina game,” Kelly said, an inaccurate recall of time and opponent that illustrates the difference in how Kelly perceives his philosophy compared to the public.

“All of sudden everybody wants to make that a banner that flies over this building. That was a [conversation] I had with a player that was telling me how he really enjoyed being here.”

Despite Kelly’s downplay, it’s hard to ignore the difference in the current locker room makeup compared to his first day on the job in 2013, when he replaced Andy Reid and immediately integrated his unique sports science program.

Pro Bowl talents DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Evan Mathis — to name a few — are gone, for one reason or another.

COMING UP

A deep dive on new Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso.