Eagles Opponent Preview: Ravens Q & A with Ebony Bird

I haven’t had to sit out any days. I’m over here doing this bull [crap] and missing my wife’s birthday.

The real story in Saturday’s game will be exactly how much Bradford plays, how he performs when he plays and whether he is able to take a big hit and bounce back up on his own power. Chip Kelly says he’s not anxious – yet. I am. It would be a question if Kelly would retain all of them in the upcoming NFL regular season. If the coach was trying to amp Bradford up, he succeeded.

Kelly added that Bradford has shown that he’s ready to play. Upon entering the practice field, Eagles players took advantage of an opportunity to shake hands with a dozen or so handicapped visitors lining the indoor and outdoor exits…

“I haven’t talked to him this week”, Bradford said. “With coach, you never know”.

Like fellow tight end Crockett Gillmore before him, rookie Nick Boyle is shedding the stigma that he’s limited to just being a run blocker as his first training camp progresses. So who can we count on to put an end to all the roughhousing? Clearly Bradford won the first round in the battle for the backup quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles. It is what it is.

There are bonds Bradford must form with the receivers, the running backs and the offensive line.

Bradford played in the second game without any issues.

He later relented and said one can always learn from any practice session, but Smith grew tense after three Philadelphia reporters asked him about defensive back Eric Rowe, the Eagles’ second-round NFL draft pick from Smith’s alma mater, Utah.

Pre-game coverage starts at 4:00 p.m. with Keith Mills and Brett Hollander live from Lincoln Financial Field for the Ravens Game Day Insider Report brought to you by Miller-Lite. But by the looks of it, all they seem good for are fistfights and injuries. Then they play a preseason game Saturday night at the Linc.

Kelly’s praise of Bradford remains tempered. “It’s one of those things where you don’t really know until you get there”. We could go into plenty of detail about the various throws but by now it’s become so consistent that we don’t have to.

As Sanchez prepares to face the Ravens on Saturday, he has the advantage of seeing the Baltimore defense throughout this week of joint practices, and if history is any indicator, Sanchez might be in for a good game this weekend.

The same Kelly whose research suggested there’s only a 10-to-12 percent chance Bradford would re-injure the left knee, sounds concerned.

“I think mentally, he’s good, but he has been out for two weeks, so he’ll go through agilities and individual drills today and maybe just a little 7-on-7”, Kelly said.