PHILADELPHIA — The sun was bright and the music was blaring as the Eagles opened their first full-squad practice of training camp Friday in front of about 300 selected season-ticket holders allowed into the NovaCare Complex.
The fans focused, as everyone will, on the quarterback competition between Michael Vick and Nick Foles, watching their every move. They groaned when Vick threw an interception on his second pass on 7-on-7 drills, and they clapped politely when DeSean Jackson made a leaping catch over the back of cornerback Bradley Fletcher.
Just like in the spring organized team activities, Vick and Nick Foles split the reps with the first team offense. Matt Barkley got his reps with the third team.
But there was so much more going on.
Before Kelly names a quarterback, he has to figure out what attributes his players have and how he can best use them.
That's true with the defense as the Eagles are transitioning from the wide nine used under previous coach Andy Reid to a 3-4 hybrid under new defensive coordinator Bill Davis.
Kelly said the Eagles might not make it all the way to a 3-4. Much of that will depend on whether Trent Cole and Brandon Graham can make the transition from defensive end to rush linebacker.
On Friday, each struggled covering a much faster wide receiver.
"When do we get to a 3-4?" Kelly said. "I don't know. We may have to stop at being [a 3-4] and over-and-under defense and still make an evaluation on what our guys can do."
It would seem somewhat strange, just seven weeks from the start of the season, not knowing the type of defense just yet, or the style of offense.
If Vick is the quarterback, there would be more read-option plays. If it's Foles, it would be more traditional drop-backs. And if it's Barkley, it might be a combination of the two.
"To be honest with you, if I called 20 read-options with Nick Foles in the game, you should fire me," Kelly said. "I think we've got to figure out who our quarterback is before we understand the direction of where our offense is going. ... If Player X ends up being the quarterback, then our offense is big enough. Now, what part of the menu are we ordering from?"
That's what these training camp practices are for, and that's why there's competition at practically every position.
"I think everyone is [aware]," said Danny Watkins, the 2011 first-round pick who could be fighting for a roster spot, let alone a starting job. "Coach Kelly has been pretty adamant in saying nothing is carved in stone. I think everyone takes that home with them."
Added tight end Brent Celek: "If you see the practices, there's a sense of urgency no matter what, whether it's minicamp, training camp. Guys definitely accept it. We've got a long road to go."
This was just the first day. That's why Kelly wasn't making too big of a deal about it, even though he's in his first season as an NFL head coach.
"It's no different than the spring," Kelly said. "The only good thing is the [NFL] rules don't restrict what you can do [as opposed to the OTAs]. ... So that part was good that there weren't really any restrictions from a time standpoint.
"The rest of that, I didn't really think that way."
He doesn't have time to.
Frank writes for the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal, a Gannett property.
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