Fatigued DeSean Leaves It All On The Field

These long afternoon practices in the burning Lehigh sun are going to take some getting used to. Just ask DeSean Jackson.

During 7-on-7 drills, Jackson took off on a fly pattern down the left sideline, locked in a battle with Nnamdi Asomugha. Michael Vick overthrew Jackson, who returned to the pack out of gas. He lost his lunch, then spent the next few minutes on bended knee with a cold towel over his head.

Later in the practice, the scene repeated itself.

“Just been running a lot in the heat, gave it up a little bit,” said Jackson, “but that’s part of training camp, man. You get out there and get your work in. Hopefully every day I can get adjusted to the weather and the reps and things like that.”

Andy Reid has vowed to make this a grueling training camp, at least as much is allowed under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Players will be tested even further now that the main practices have been flipped to the afternoon when the temperatures hover regularly in the 90’s.

Reid said earlier today that the players would prefer the new schedule, theorizing that they would rather be active than just standing around when it is so hot.

As for the players’ actual feelings on it…

“If it was my opinion I would say [have the hard practice] in the morning, just to get it out of the way and done with, because afternoon gets a lot hotter,” said Jackson. “I’m just here to work, man. Whenever we have to come out here and put it in, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Reid believes that working in the afternoon is better because the players will have two solid meals in them. On this day, Jackson lost them both.