BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Day 10 at Lehigh was a lot like Days 1 through 9 at Lehigh. No DeSean. No Maclin.
The Eagles continue to operate at training camp without their two starting wide receivers, but there doesnt seem to be much concern about their absence.
The Eagles open the preseason with a game against the Ravens Thursday night at the Linc. Their starting receivers will likely be Riley Cooper and Jason Avant, who have gotten a ton of reps with Michael Vick and the first offense while Jackson and Maclin have been absent.
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Vick is having a brilliant camp, and Saturday might have been his best day yet. Despite playing without his starting wide outs and facing a defense stacked with three Pro Bowl cornerbacks, Vick put on a show for the 6,000 or so fans who flocked to Lehigh.
We just got to go with the guys we got and make it work, Vick said. Jeremy will get healthy, DeSean will get back and well get rolling.
Vicks receivers Saturday were Avant, Cooper, Chad Hall, Johnnie Lee Higgins and SInorice Moss.
If you can look like a superstar throwing to that group, what happens when Maclin and Jackson are on the field?
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Its a challenge, Vick said. Some guys are different than others. Some guys do things differently. You just got to work with them and adjust with them. I think the first couple of days was our adjustment period, and I feel like I did pretty well. I feel like Im making strides right now.
DeSean Jackson will be back by Monday, since players under contract who havent reported to their teams training camp by Tuesday do not receive a year of accrued pension credit -- and that means they dont become free agents after four years.
Maclin is at Lehigh but not practicing as he builds up his strength following a bout with a mystery illness. Head coach Andy Reid said he doesnt know when Maclin will be back but expects him to be 100 percent by opening day next month.
You want them as soon as you can, but with the type of talent the Lord has blessed them with, those type of players are able to adjust because they have so much athletic ability, Avant said.
When Jeremy gets healthy enough to get out here, hell be out here and hell be ready to play, and when DeSean gets here, with his contract issue, or whatever it is, I believe that hell be ready to play. I think well be fine.
The guys that are missing know this game plan like the back of their hand. You can put Maclin, you can put DeSean out there, right there today, and they wont have a missed
assignment, because weve been in training camp three years, and we go over every game plan, every day, like its the first time we heard it with Coach Mornhinweg, so guys are very alert and abreast of what we have.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com