Eagles Wrap Up OTA Session
By Ed Benkin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Championships are not won in May, but the first steps are taken.
The Eagles have plenty of work to do before their season opener on September 7th, but the work began with the team's organized team activities. The Eagles finished a session of full squad OTAs on Thursday and Quarterback Nick Foles says the OTAs are all about working on the smaller details.
"It's really all the little things," said Foles. "I know it's cliche, but it's the truth. You really have to hone in on that. We go out there every day and work on the fundamentals."
While returning players such as Foles are having an easier time settling in in their second year of Chip Kelly's playbook, rookies such as first-round pick Marcus Smith are getting a crash course when it comes to the X's and O's of the NFL. After a rookie camp earlier in the month coupled with this latest session of workouts, Smith is beginning to feel more comfortable on the field.
"I've settled down," Smith said. "I get to meet with the coaches every day at 2:30 so we can talk about stuff that did wrong and stuff that I did right."
Players who missed most or all of last season with injuries are happy to be back out on the field. Quarterback Mark Sanchez missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, and says the Eagles are bringing his arm back up to speed at the right pace.
"It's their job to keep me going at the right pace," said Sanchez. "They've just been tracking the number of throws, and it's been perfect. No soreness and I'm just feeling good every day."
There will be changes to the Eagles offense in Kelly's second season. While every team makes changes to their playbook, there will also be several new targets for Foles to throw to with the departure of DeSean Jackson and the arrival of two highly-touted rookie receivers. Foles is also excited about the return of Jeremy Maclin.
"We're going to have a few different guys out there," Foles said. "Mac's back and we're excited to have him back. He's going to be a huge part of this offense. We have young receivers that are going to step in to roles. It's going to be fun. It's going to be different targets, but we're all out there getting on the same page."
The Eagles will resume OTAs on Monday.
