The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page E03

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER www.philly.com E3 Eagles Notes Arrington passes physical, set to practice Sunday, August 1, 2010 for so many months now that it doesn't even feel like an issue in my mind," Bradley said. Just to be cautious, Reid gave Bradley the occasional break in the afternoon, bringing backup Omar Gaither up to the first team. Extra points In the morning, Kolb connected with Jackson on two deep throws. One went for a touchdown, the other probably would have been a sack if rookie defensive end Brandon Graham hadn't pulled up. Maclin made a leaping grab in the afternoon that drew applause.

Second-team safeties Kurt Coleman and Quintin Demps made acrobatic interceptions on Michael Vick throws in the afternoon. Wide receiver Jordan Norwood suffered a hamstring strain. By Jeff McLane INQUIRER STAFF WRITER BETHLEHEM, Pa. J.J. Arrington cleared the first hurdle toward making the Eagles' 53-man roster when he passed a physical Saturday evening.

The veteran running back is expected to be at practice Sunday morning. The 27-year-old Arrington was acquired Friday night when the Eagles dealt three-year linebacker Joe Mays to Denver. If he doesn't make the roster, the Eagles will receive a 2012 sixth-round draft pick instead. There's ample reason to believe Arrington won't. He's a little more than a year removed from microfracture knee surgery, a procedure that has been known to end careers.

Some running backs, however, have returned from the operation namely, the Saints' Reggie Bush and Stephen Davis, formerly of the Carolina Panthers. "He's a good runner," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. White, a special-teams contributor with the Eagles the last two seasons. The flurry of transactions didn't end there. Earlier in the day, the Eagles signed wide receiver Kelley Washington, an eight-year veteran.

He worked out for the Eagles on Thursday along with rookie receiver Jared Perry, who was signed later in the day. As circumstance would have it, Washington's addition meant the end of Perry's brief stay as an Eagle. Perry is on the smaller side and the Eagles already have two smaller receivers (starters DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin). The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Washington is more in the mold of rookie Riley Cooper (6-3, 222) and Hank Baskett (6-4, 220). The competition for the fifth receiver spot could come down to Washington and Baskett.

"He's a good special-teams player," Reid said of Washington. "Really, a couple of years ago he was one of the best in the league. He's a good inside receiver, physical, big, strong guy. You'll see him probably helping us more on the inside, as an inside receiver." Fresh stew Maybe Kevin Kolb underestimated Stewart Bradley, since he's still coming back from knee surgery. But when the Eagles quarterback dropped back on one of the first 11-on-ll drills of the day and fired a pass to Maclin, the middle linebacker came out of nowhere for the interception.

"You won't see Kevin do too many of those, he's pretty good at that," Reid said. "But Bradley, he was a sneaky one on that one." Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of when Bradley tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. But on the first day of contact, he didn't show any residual signs. In fact, he didn't even wear any protection on his knee. "I've been clear off my knee YONG KIM Staff Photographer Offensive lineman Max Jean-Gilles keeps an eye on Stewart Bradley as he blocks Moise Fokou.

"He's tough, he's elusive, and he's got good hands. He's a really good catcher." Arrington's best season came as a rookie in 2005 with Arizona, when he ran for 370 yards and two touchdowns and caught 25 passes for 139 yards. He was more of a receiving option out of the back-field during his last two seasons with the Cardinals in 2007 and '08. Arrington will compete with rookie Charles Scott and Eldra Buckley for the third running-back spot behind LeSean McCoy and Mike Bell. The Eagles released running back Martell Mallett, a Canadian Football League product, later in the day.

That move allowed the team to bring back linebacker Tracy Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclanephillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.comJeff McLane Calendar Home game SUN. MON. TUES. WED.

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7 NATIONALS I I MARLINS I MARLINS I MARLINS I METS I METS 1:35 7:10 7:10 7:10 7:05 7:05 MYPHL17 CSN CSN CSN CSN MYPHL17 CREW 8:00 ESPN2 TV ATP World Tour: Farmers Classic, final, 5 p.m. (ESPN2) Haskell Invitational, 5 p.m. (6ABC) Phillies at Nationals, 1 :30 p.m. (MYPHL17; WPHT-AM 1210; WUBA-AM 1480, Spanish) Yankees at Rays, 1:30 p.m. (TBS) Dodgers at Giants, 8 p.m.

(ESPN; WPEN-FM 97.5, ESPN-AM 950) Formula One: Hungarian Grand Prix, 7:30 a.m. (Speed) NASCAR Sprint Cup: Pennsylvania 500, 1 p.m. (ESPN; WNPV-AM 1440, ESPN-AM 950) Local European PGA: Irish Open, 9 a.m. (Golf Channel) Women's British Open, 10 a.m. (ESPN) PGA: Greenbrier Classic, 1 p.m.

(Golf Channel), 3 p.m. (CBS3) USGA: U.S. Senior Open Championship, 4 p.m. (NBC 10) Philadelphia Park, 12:25 p.m., Bensalem Harrah's Chester Casino Racetrack, 12:45 p.m., Chester Games, 1 and 7 p.m. (ESPN2), 1:30 a.m.

Monday (ESPN2) Camden Riversharks vs. Newark Bears, 1:05 p.m., Campbell's Field, Camden Trenton Thunder vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 5:05 p.m., Waterfront Park, Trenton WTA: Bank of the West Classic, final, 3 p.m. (ESPN2) YONG KIM Staff Photographer Running back LeSean McCoy takes a hand-off from Kevin Kolb. Not many fans were wearing Kolb jerseys on Saturday at training camp, though they said they were optimistic after watching the Eagles' new starting quarterback during practice.

Fans need more convincing from Kolb PHILLIES LIVE BiB LEHIGH a "You get to see actually what the players look like," he said. "You get a feel for the size of them, how quick they are, how fast they are. It's nice. In Philly, you're sitting 50 yards, 100 yards away from the game. Here, sometimes they're 10 feet from you." Bahls attended Saturday's practice with his family, which has owned a pair of season tickets for 37 years.

His decision to wear the Kolb jersey was one part loyalty, one part bargain. "My buddy could get the jerseys for cheap," he said, laughing. "But I like Kolb. I want to support him. He's our new guy.

I'm impressed with him. I think he's going to be pretty good this year." One thing is certain: Kolb as a starter marks the beginning of a new era for the Eagles. "I'm just excited to have him at quarterback," said LaRue, who has owned season tickets for two years. "Donovan didn't do us justice, but it's time for a new start. I think we're going to be good." By Mario Aguirre INQUIRER STAFF WRITER BETHLEHEM, Pa.

If jerseys were a measuring stick of fan support, then Kevin Kolb wasn't getting much of it from the crowd at the Eagles' training camp on Saturday. As the Eagles kicked off their first full day of practice with pads and helmets, Kolb jerseys were a rarity. Brent Celek and DeSean Jackson drew more wardrobe support from the fans than the starting quarterback. "He's not really like a first-round pick. They really didn't have high expectations for him.

No one really knows yet whether he's good or bad," said 20-year-old Scott Bahls, a lifelong Eagles fans wearing a Kolb jersey. "If he has a good year, I guarantee you there's not going to be a No. 4 jersey available." Talk with fans attending the Eagles' practices and their optimism, as well as support, is obvious. So why haven't more fans expressed their allegiance through a jersey? "It's probably because they're very pricey," said Phillip LaRue, 43, smiling and wearing a Kolb jersey. Some may also see it as a gamble, considering that Kolb just became the starter after Donovan McNabb's trade to Washington.

But on Saturday, he gave Eagles fans reason to feel optimistic as he enters his fourth NFL season as the team's offensive leader after three years as a backup. "He looked very sharp," said Al Foster, a former season-ticket holder from Hampton, N.J. "He's throwing a nice, tight spiral. He's been hitting a couple of nice bombs, hitting his guys. So he's looking good." Foster, 48, described himself as an Eagles fan since birth.

In 1948, his father attended the league championship game and saw the Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals, 7-0. The Foster family has relinquished its season tickets, but not its support for the team. Foster said he attends a couple of games every year, and training camp, which offers a glimpse into what's usually missed on TV. w7 1 Follow the action at training camp with breaking news, analysis, video, photo slide shows and more: www.philly.comeagles. myphl17.com A Rottor Doa9 Si I.

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