It was nice breezy day at Lehigh and some cloud cover provided relief from what would have been the oppressive heat. A crowd of over 6,000 showed up on a Sunday to watch the second to last day of live hitting at camp. Later on, considerably less people stuck around for the special teams session...

Brian Westbrook returned from the viral illness that held him out of the previous days practice. He didn't take a ton of reps, but the previous reports from camp have said that Westbrook hasn't been taking a lot of reps period. When he caught his first pass the crowd a cheered and one guy yelled "Andy, give him his money!" drawing laughs from the stands and the sidelines.

After the jump catch my full report and observations

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Some highlights from Brian Westbrook's press conference at Lehigh today.

- Says he has no specific timetable for when a new deal gets done. He just knows that currently his agent and the Eagles are working on it and that they're going back forth with numbers.

- Says he wants to work out a deal that both he and the Eagles will feel comfortable with.

- Asked whether he would play in a preseason game without a new deal, he said that's a bridge you cross when you get there.

-Talked about other RBs who played a long time in the NFL and stayed productive.

- Asked whether he was looking for a contract extension or whether he was simply looking for more money over the next 3 years of his deal. He says his agent and Joe Banner are exploring several different ways to make the numbers work but haven't found one yet. He's not looking for any specific way.

- Said several times he wants to "compensated like a top RB in the NFL should be"

- Said he was impressed with Booker and thinks he can only help the team. The more athletes the offense has the more of an advantage they have and Booker will help there. Doesn't know whether Booker's presence will affect the amount of touches he'll get. Says he just has to be productive as he can with the touches he gets.

- Asked whether he's talked to Shawn Andrews(this is straight from the Eagles site) "'ve talked to Shawn. Shawn's a great player, and just like I was saying before, you want to get the 11 best players on the field at one time to be the best team that you can be. I think that we definitely need him here. He's a great player, he's a great guy, he's a Pro Bowler. For us to miss him, we're going to miss a lot, and I'm hoping he gets back home."

So we get no closer to figuring out this Shawn Andrews saga...

Donovan McNabb checked in on his blog yesterday to fill us in on what he's up to Arizona this week.

Just wanted to check in from Arizona again. I've been out here this week working out with a few guys including Brian Dawkins, LJ Smith, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and Lorenzo Booker.

We have been getting after it from sunup to sundown. We start at Fischer Sports, a place I have been working out at most of the offseason. Brett Fischer – an Eagles fan from Bucks County - is a physical therapist, certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist. He has helped me through what he calls functional training. We mimic the motions that we use on the football field. For me it might be an emphasis on using my abdominals, hips and lower body to create torque when I throw the ball. For some of the other guys it might be trying to get explosion out of their cuts.

If I remember correct, usually Reggie Brown would head out to Arizona to work with McNabb. I'm somewhat surprised he's not there this year... that said, I don't read much into it.

Mike Gibson got a little taste of what Eagles fans are all about.

Mike Gibson found out first hand the other day just how passionate fans are when it comes to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Gibson was taking a subway train to the downtown area with some of his new teammates when a few of the passengers asked if they were football players.

It wasn’t a bad question, as Gibson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds as a rookie offensive lineman for the Eagles, definitely stands out in a crowd.

“They just started singing the (Eagles’) fight song,” Gibson said.

“It was pretty cool. There are die-hard Eagles fans. They definitely love their sports out here, which is really cool. They were very encouraging, saying, ‘Go Eagles.’

“The people are awesome. I like everything about this place.”

"DeSean, everybody knows you’re an electrifying returner. What are the odds of you being a somewhat Devin Hester-type player and what do you think about the criticism of you being a ‘raw’ receiver – that you don’t run routes very well?” Booker asked, doing his best to imitate a television reporter.

Coolly, calmly, Jackson replied: "The best thing I can say is that I just want to be like Lorenzo Booker. That’s my hero.”

Moreover, only Al Harris of the Eagles/Green Bay Packers and Nate Clements of the Buffalo Bills/ 49ers have more career starts at cornerback to begin their NFL career than Brown's active streak of 96 in a row.

"That was a little name that the fans gave me for coming out and playing hard," Mays said following yesterday's workout at the Eagles' camp for rookies and selected veterans. "When you're playing hard, you get in some good hits and sometimes it's the best hits that you can ever imagine. So I got the nickname, but I just try to keep living up to it."

It takes more than a catchy nickname to grab the attention of the Eagles, who made Mays a sixth-round pick (No. 200 overall) in last month's draft. Not only did he hit hard, he also hit often, leading the Bison of Fargo, N.D., in tackles with 90 in 11 games.

"He has good intensity," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "You can tell that he likes the game. He's a take-charge guy. That's what you want as a middle linebacker. He's still learning the system. He's going to make a few mistakes, but he's into his book. He's a very physical linebacker."

“How many times in a 20-year period does one coach,” Vermeil said, “coach anywhere for 10 years? There’s Jeff Fisher and Andy Reid. I think it’s a real great reflection on the strength of the man and the quality of the guy. He has great ability to keep the thing in proper perspective, especially having gone through the family problems at the same time. You’ve got to respect him for that. I think he’s one of the great coaches.”

On day one of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Eagles traded a 4th round pick to the Miami Dolphins for the Dolphins 2007 3rd round pick Lorenzo Booker.

Andy Reid said at his post draft press conference that he sees Lorenzo Booker as basically another draft pick. Considering Booker is just a second year player, Andy makes some sense. Reid also revealed that they really liked Booker in last year's draft and tried to move up in the third round to get him, but couldn't work out a deal. Miami ended up picking the Florida State product Booker and the Eagles grabbed Tony Hunt out of Penn State. This year he called up Bill Parcells to ask about him and they worked out a deal.

Booker didn't end up playing very much last year, so frankly it's fair to look at him like a new draft pick. His scouting reports out of college read much like Brian Westbrook's did. He's a smaller, quick, elusive back that loves to catch the ball out of the backfield. Take a look at this play to see some of his impressive moves . He's also a pretty good kick return man. For those counting, Booker makes 3 return men the Eagles have acquired on draft weekend

It looks to me like Booker is here to be the Westbrook clone that Ryan Moats was never able to become. Scouting report from Yahoo sports

The good: A shifty scatback who was one of the better playmakers in the ACC. Has a quick burst through the hole with the speed to get to the second level and outrun defenders. He is a quality return specialist who may get opportunities in that role. Capable of being an immediate playmaker as a third-down back. As a senior, he rushed for 616 yards and four TDs on 143 carries. He also caught 33 passes for 420 yards. At the Combine, he ran a 4.46 and 4.5 with 26 reps and a 35.5-inch vertical leap.

The bad: Has only marginal strength to break tackles, and it’s uncertain if he has the power to pound inside as a pro feature back. As a blocker, he must show the toughness to contain linebackers.

Outlook: Explosive, versatile playmaker who never realized his full potential at FSU because of splitting playing time and nagging injuries. Has the skills to be a fine playmaker in a pro offense and a full-time starter if he answers the durability issues. Marginal top-50 prospect with the ability to be a major surprise early in his career. Should be picked in the second or third round.

I also talked with Matt of the great Dolphins blog, The Phinsider, who was very surprised by the trade.

The trade initially shocked me.  I remember Tony Sparano saying not too long ago how Lorenzo Booker "jumped off the tape" when you watch film of last year.  But I guess picking up a 4th round pick was important to Miami and Booker isn't really a "Bill Parcells" kind of running back.

With that said, I think you will really like the kind of player Booker is.  He's very fast, but is even more elusive and agile then he is fast.  And he's got terrific hands out of the backfield.  He's not going to run between the tackles often, but he can be a very good return guy and a very shifty receiving back out of the backfield.  And I sincerely do with him the best of luck.  He seemed like a very good kid.

So Booker makes for a very interesting acquisition. The best part is that he should be able to have an impact right away. When Westbrook needs a breather, they can bring in Booker who plays the same way as Westbrook. He's obviously not as good as Westbrook overall, but it's a "like for like" substitution. When the Eagles would bring in Buckhalter or Hunt, they couldn't ask those guys to do the same things as they ask Westbrook to do. That will not be the case with Booker

Here it is in it's entirety

2 (16)		TREVOR LAWS -  DT NOTRE DAME - HT: 6-0.5 WT: 302
2 (18)		DESEAN JACKSON - WR CALIFORNIA - HT: 5-9.5 WT: 169
3 (17)		BRYAN SMITH - OLB MCNEESE STATE - HT: 6-2.5 WT: 231
4 (10)		MIKE MCGLYNN - G PITTSBURGH - HT: 6-4 WT: 311
4 (18)		QUINTIN DEMPS - S UTEP - HT: 5-11.5 WT: 204
4 (32)		JACK IKEGWUONO - CB WISCONSIN - HT: 5-10.5 WT: 195
6 (18)		MIKE GIBSON - G CALIFORNIA - HT: 6-3.5 WT: 305
6 (34)		JOE MAYS - OLB NORTH DAKOTA STATE - HT: 5-10.5 WT: 245
6 (37)		ANDY STUDEBAKER - OLB WHEATON - HT: 6-3 WT: 246
7 (23)		KING DUNLAP - T AUBURN - HT: 6-8.5 WT: 310

Also acquired: RB Lorenzo Booker from Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers' 2009 first round pick & the Cleveland Browns' 2009 fifth round pick.

Well, how's that for a first day?

All told, I gotta say I'm pretty happy. I was at the Eagles draft party and as you could expect the initial reaction to the team trading out of the first round for a second straight year was not positive. I'll post some video up later.

I'll admit that I was pretty upset and disappointed when I saw the news come up, but then I saw what we got... Carolina's 1st next year, their second this year and their 4th this year. That's a pretty good haul. It looks like Carolina made the Eagles "an offer they couldn't refuse."

Then, the Eagles used one of their 3 4th round picks to acquire RB Lorenzo Booker from Miami . That was a shock to say the least, but on it's face it doesn't look like all that bad a deal. Booker was third round pick last year and didn't play a ton for Miami. So we're getting a very young player that I can only guess we coveted before we took Tony Hunt after him.

Then we get yet another trade down as the Eagles deal the second round pick they got from the Panthers to the Vikings. At this point, you had to be asking yourself if the Eagles wanted to make a pick at all! They end up getting what was their 4th 4th round pick in this draft in return, as well the Vikings 2nd round pick which was just 4 slots later. Of course, as we said, one of those 4ths we traded for the RB from Miami.

So finally, it was time for the Eagles to actually pick a player. It's DT Trevor Laws from Notre Dame. I'll get into a full analysis of the picks later tonight, but I like this pick a lot. We needed another DT and the pass rushing Laws will be a good fit to rotate in with Bunkley and Patterson. He's also a guy that should play early on.

Then comes pick #2 in the 2nd. It's WR Desean Jackson from Cal. I have to say I'm pretty amazed he was still on the board late in the 2nd, the Eagles probably were as well. Jackson has blazing speed, was a very good WR in college, and was arguably the best return man in all of college football. He's not a big guy and it'll be interesting to see how he develops as WR... but at the very least it appears our return situation was solved in a big way.

All in all, the Eagles added Trevor Laws, Desean Jackson, Lorenzo Booker, a first round pick next year, and an extra 4th rounder. That's a pretty good haul in my opinion. Lots more coming later, and I'll be live blogging day two.