Andy Reid Opens Training Camp With Press Conference

Andy Reid opened camp today with his first press conference of the new season and unfortunately spent the majority of it fielding questions about Michael Vick. Most of these questions were ones we already knew answers to, but they were asked anyway.  I'm sure more Vick stories will increase page views and make national news, but there's about a billion things us fans are more interested in hearing the coach asked. Here's a few highlights of some relevant questions and answers. To be fair to the local media though, some relevant questions were asked but not really answered.

On who will start out on the PUP [physically unable to perform] list:

"Well, nobody from this crew until we get with the veteran players. So, right now [C] Jamaal [Jackson], [DE] Victor Abiamiri, and [T/G] Todd Herremans will probably be the three that start off there and we'll just see how it goes from there. Obviously, we'll be doing a little bit more with Todd than we will be with the others at this time. We just want to see where he's at."

"Yeah, it's important. I think since [QB] Donovan [McNabb] had been a rookie or his first couple of years, I think we're back in that situation again here where you've got a new quarterback. So, there will be things that [QB Kevin Kolb] will learn as he goes through the process of being a starter. He's gotten a little bit of a heads up on Donovan that he's been here for some time. But again, as a starter this will be a new experience for him."

On the status of contract talks between Graham and Allen, and the likelihood of Allen signing before tomorrow's practice

"Well, I think we're closer right now with Nate than we are with Brandon. I think it's important that they're here. These three days are great training for the young players and both these two are going to have a role on our defense, so as many reps as they can get will be very important. I think if you lose a day, you lose an opportunity to get better."

On how much Herremans will play this week

"You know what? That's what I want to see. I want to see how he's doing before we take him off the PUP. We'll gradually bring him back. I don't want him to jump in and hurt himself again, so I want to take it nice and slow here. We've got a little bit of time."

On whether he is concerned with Herremans' injury

"Right now, it's really not bothering him. I want to see it. He's had time off here and he's been working with [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder], but I want to see myself, and I want to take it nice and easy here and make sure we go by doing this the right way."

On whether there is a different feel to camp without former QB Donovan McNabb

"I think there is. There's a little bit of unknown-which I kind of like. I like that. I think it's a great challenge. I think it's a great challenge for the coaches and for the players. There are some big-name players that have been proven players on this football team that aren't here. It's important that the young guys step up and they go. That, to me, is exciting."

On whether it had gotten "stale" with the established players that are no longer with the team

"I don't think it was stale, I think you just kind of knew what you had at certain positions. The one that you asked about is a pretty important position-the quarterback-that's a pretty important position, so we've got to find that out. There are also some young guys we've got to work in here. Thirteen draft picks-I want to see how they do with their pads on. That's a lot of new bodies."

On different it was for him to not have McNabb at training camp

"We've gone through a process this whole offseason. It doesn't seem that much different right now. We've had a little bit of lead-in here. This just didn't happen yesterday, so it doesn't seem that unusual right now. I would take it the othe

On whether he anticipates Kolb to play significantly more during the preseason compared to Donovan McNabb in recent years due to Kolb's lack of experience

"I'm just going to see how things go with him. I didn't do that necessarily with Donovan when he was young, so I'll just play it by ear and see how he does in practices. We'll just kind of see how he progresses here. We have a lot of confidence in him. It's a little different situation than when Donovan was coming in. You do have a little experience here with the offense, a little bit more than what Donovan had."

On what some of the unknowns are on this team

"We obviously drafted a lot of young defensive players. I can't wait to see those guys go here and hit and be able to sustain. I think they'll do real good the first day, but I want to see after the third, fourth day when that body is sore and the mind is tired and it's hard to get out of bed. I want to see how they react to that and then I want to see how they work together to gel. The obvious one is Kevin Kolb. [RB] LeSean McCoy now that he is the starter. [WR Jeremy] Maclin is another year into it. Our offensive line. [C] Nick Cole is at the center position as we open up this camp. These are all good things, kind of exciting things to see. I'm curious to see how it all works out."