Eagles Mini-Camp No. 1, Day One

The Eagles looked like a Super Bowl team today, without a doubt. This team cannot be beaten. Everything is awesome.

Except that this is only mini-camp, and once the season starts -- check that, when training camp starts -- everything that happened today will look foolishly irrelevant.

You get all worked up about this stuff because it's been so long since anything Eagles-related has actually happened on the field, but this is on the order of covering spring practice for a high school team. The Eagles Nation's appetite demands we attend to these details, not their importance or news value.

Even the players -- especially the vets that have come from other, less rabid cities -- half smile at all the coverage. Yesterday, when somebody asked A.J. Feeley about building chemistry with the new receivers, he kind of smirked and said. "It’s mini-camp, and it’s the first one. You’re not going to determine the outcome of the season here in the first mini-camp. This isn’t going to make or break our season right here."

So maybe the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl, and maybe they aren't. Yes, I guarantee that the Birds will not get beat this weekend, but in the end there's a lot more that can go wrong -- namely injuries -- than right.

Some other notes:

The buzz of the day was definitely around Saverio Rocca, the former Australian rules football star trying to make the Eagles as a punter. This morning he was booming punts consistently 50, 60, 70 yards downfield, and just as consistently beating incumbent Dirk Johnson's attempts by five yards. Also, he was solid when holding for David Akers' place kicks.

I did a story on Big Sav a while back, and I can say with conviction that Eagles fans will love this guy if he makes the team. He's listed at 6-5, 265, though I'd put him at closer to 250. He can get around, he's really easygoing with that trademark Australian ruggedness.

And if you need evidence of his athleticism, look him up on youtube. It's almost enough to make you look forward to a moment where the punt converage breaks down, and Big Sav is suddenly "the last man to beat."

In any case, I'll probably revisit the whole Sav Rocca thing tomorrow for Monday's paper, since special teams coach Rory Segrest is scheduled to talk to us Sunday afternoon.

The other major happening of the day was the seemingly mild leg injury suffered by No. 1 wideout Reggie Brown. It happened during the 11-on-11, apparently, though I was inside the Complex at that moment. He collided with nickleback Will James and ended up with "a leg contusion," according to Andy Reid. We tried to get the word from Reggie himself, but he was evasive about it. Somebody asked him which leg it was, and he just sat there chaking his head. "The left leg?" Smile. "The right leg." Another smile, and then, "The middle one."

So either its a really big deal and Brown is trying to keep a lid on it, or its a really small thing and he doesn't think it's worth being serious about. He sat out the afternoon practice, so we'll see if he's back out there Sunday.

OK, that's all I have time for right now. I have to go call my mom and apologize for not being able to spend Mothers' Day with her tomorrow.