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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via blogs.phillynews.com

I was perusing the Eagles practice blog over at the official site and got a kick out of this particular entry...

3:04 PM - The jovial, happy-go-lucky atmosphere does not last for long because Andy Reid notices that the team looks like they are "going through the motions."  The afternoon practice is supposed to be a run through of 10 offensive, 10 defensive, and 10 special teams plays.  Half way through the defensive set Reid tells the first team to come back on the field and g back five plays. He was displeased that the defense was not making the interceptions.  "Get your hands on the ball," he says. "I don't care about the ball on the ground, I want the ball in the air."  He is loud enough for the fans to hear him and they love it.  The coach sets the tone and the players responded.  Stewart Bradley, Sheldon Brown, and Quintin Demps all picked off passes following Reid's instructions.

I can not wait to get out to Lehigh this weekend!

We're just living in it!

The Eagles new starting MIKE linebacker got himself a few articles this week... starting with the official site.

At the end of his rookie season, linebacker Stewart Bradley provided a spark to the Eagles defense and showed enough of his ability to impress the coaching staff.

His mental and physical attributes caught their eye as well.

"He's tall," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "He's big - 245 or 250 - but he's got good height. He's smart. He's picked things up. He did a great job in the offseason. He was here almost every day, learning things. So he's done a good job."

Last year, Bradley finished second on the team in special teams tackles with 17. In his first and only career start at middle linebacker, Bradley recorded a sack, an interception and a game-high 10 tackles in a late-season win over the New Orleans Saints which diminished their chances of making the playoffs and avenged a loss in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

The article also states that Bradley will take over as the defensive signal caller this year. Last year, it was Omar Gaither who has moved from the middle to the WILL position.

The Courier Post says that one great game won him the starting job this year

Sometimes a great game is just a great game, but Stewart Bradley's made him the Eagles' starting middle linebacker.A third-round draft pick out of Nebraska in 2007, he flew under the radar for most of his rookie season, contributing mostly on special teams. Then, in the second-to-last game, he went from prospect to present.

In a victory at New Orleans, Stewart became the first player in Eagles' history to record his first career sack and his first career interception in his first career start.

"He had a couple pressures against the Saints, and then all of a sudden got the interception," said defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who added that Bradley had been drafted as a strong-side backer. "All of a sudden, we put him inside in that game and he makes a couple plays."

A lot is riding on that group of young linebackers this year. Omar Gaither, entering his 3rd season is the "veteran" of the group... That said, their athleticism is undeniable. These guys are all big and they can all run. If Gocong can go from "solid" to "playmaker," Gaither can translate good inside play into good outside play, and Bradley is anything close to the playmaker we saw late in the year... we could be in for great things.