Camp Notes: Kelly Says DeSean is ‘the Ultimate Super Ball’

The highlight from the Eagles first full-squad practice of training camp came courtesy of DeSean Jackson, who made a circus catch over Bradley Fletcher on a long bomb from Nick Foles down the right sideline. Head coach Chip Kelly spent part of his post-practice press conference talking about his wide receiver.

“One thing about DeSean that I’m real impressed with is how he came back in shape. He did a great job yesterday in the conditioning test,” said Kelly. “That proves to me that he spent a lot of time this summer investing in himself, and that’s what we talked about before we left, is I think the sky is the limit for him. He can be a real special player in this league but he’s got to make that decision that he wants to be. I think what he did, just watching where he is right now, kind of his pace and tempo in practice now, he’s what we want.

“We tell our players all the time we want guys to be like super balls, not tomatoes. A super ball bounces all the time and that’s what he is. He’s the ultimate super ball.”

— Foles and Michael Vick split reps with the first team on Friday, as they did during OTAs and minicamp. Vick began and finished the day with the ones but Foles got plenty of snaps. Both were pretty sharp, though Foles seemed to stand out a touch more. Matt Barkley was a little rough around the edges.

The team worked a good bit on the read option, including when Foles was under center. Kelly explained why that was happening.

“If I call 20 read options with Nick in the game you should fire me,” said Kelly. “We’re talking about practice right now. [How about that Iverson drop?] We’ve got to figure out who our quarterback is before we understand the direction of where our offense was going, but we still have to practice plays.”

— Cary Williams sat out for much of the practice after tweaking his right hamstring. Receiver Arrelious Benn left with a knee injury and is being evaluated.

— Kelly on the intensity of the first full-squad practice: “We got 11-on-11, 7-on-7’s, we did one-on-ones today. We got a lot of real good work. I would say it really picked up.”

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