Vermeil believes new CBA will benefit Eagles

BETHLEHEM Pa.Dick Vermeil paid a visit to the Eagles training camp on Monday. But in Vermeils eyes, it is now more camp than training. Shorter practices, less contact, no pads in the afternoon. Thats the new NFL.

Vermeil understands those are the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, but as a man who coached 14 years in the league and built winning teams through hard work and notoriously tough training camps, this is a strange new world.

I feel sorry for the coaches, said Vermeil, who coached the Eagles from 1976 through 1982 and led them to their first Super Bowl. How are you supposed to make your team better with these rules?

There is no way to work less and get better. It cant be donenot in swimming, not in golf, not in basketball, certainly not in football. You have to work to get better, but now you cant do that.

Vermeil was asked how he would deal with it if he were coaching today.

Im not faced with it so I havent thought about it, he said. I know this: we would not have accomplished what we accomplished in Philadelphia and St. Louis (Rams) if we had not outworked the other teams. We practiced longer and we worked harder, we put in the time, thats why we went as far as we did.

The way it is set up now, you cant do that. Teams can only practice so long and meet so often. Everyone is the same. What it comes down to now is which team is most efficient? Which (coaching) staff does the best job utilizing that time?

In that regard, Vermeil thinks the new setup will favor the Eagles because they are well- organized. They have new coaches on the offensive and defensive linesHoward Mudd and Jim Washburn respectivelybut Vermeil said that wont pose a problem.

Mudd has so much experience, he wont waste time on things that wont make a difference, Vermeil said. Same thing with Washburn. He knows what to cut out. This isnt a normal preseason or a normal practice routine. Coaches have to adapt.

Still, its not the way you want to prepare your team. You take away the spring camps, the OTAs and all the meetings that were missed during the lockout. Now youre limited in the amount of time you can spend on the field, how many days you can wear pads. Id say the average player right now is 40 percent less prepared to play than he was this time a year ago.

I feel sorry for the new coaches who are taking over losing teams, he said. How are they supposed to catch up?

When Vermeil took over the Eagles and later the Rams, he inherited losing teams with bleak futures. The only thing he could do was make the players he inherited better and the only way he knew to make them better was to work them harder than any other team.

His first training camp (1976) was the toughest camp Ive seen in 40 years of covering the NFL. He practiced twice a day and each practice lasted three to three and a half hours. The players were in full gear and went full-speed every day.

People said Buddy Ryans camps were tough. Ive heard Andy Reids camps described as tough. Trust me, they were like summer resorts compared to what Vermeil put his players through in the 70s.

It was brutal, but it served a purpose. In those grueling camps, Vermeil found Wilbert Montgomery, a sixth-round pick who became the teams all-time leading rusher. Vermeil resurrected the career of Harold Carmichael, who became the teams all-time leader in receptions. He discovered Herm Edwards, a free agent cornerback who set the franchise record for interceptions.

Out of Vermeils training camp hell came a team that climbed from the NFC basement in 1976 to the Super Bowl in 1980. He did the same thing in St. Louis taking over a broken-down franchise and building it into a champion. It was the same formula: sweat and more sweat.

When you arent as good as the other teams, how do you close that talent gap? Vermeil said. You work longer, you work harder and you make your players better. Sometimes you find talents just because you have time to work with them. Guys like Herman Edwards, Kurt Warner and London Fletcher (the latter two played for Vermeil with the Rams) might never get a chance now.

Vermeil turned to Garry Cobb, who played 11 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker and now works at WIP radio and publishes a football newsletter at GCobb.com.

What round were you drafted in? Vermeil asked.

Ninth round, Cobb said.

It would be hard for you to make it today, Vermeil said, because you would have to do something so startling just to get the coachs attention. When you limit the reps, you limit those opportunities.

Thats true, Cobb said nodding.

On Saturday, Vermeil attended the induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was there to honor Marshall Faulk, the great running back who starred for his Super Bowl team in St. Louis. Vermeil sat with Mike Jones, a linebacker on that Rams team, and they talked about the new practice rules.

I said to Mike, How many times did you come to my office and say, Coach, the guys are tired, they dont want to work in pads today? Vermeil said. Each time I told you the same thing: Ill decide when the pads come off. We practiced like that for two years, training camp and regular season.

The third year I said, OK, the pads can come off because I knew the team was ready. We won the Super Bowl that year. But I told Mike, If I took the pads off the first year or even the second year, we wouldnt be wearing Super Bowl rings today. The hard work is what made us champions.
E-mail Ray Didinger at viewfromthehall@comcast.net