Cullen Jenkins

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The afternoon heat and a full stomach are a bad combination for someone who needs to run around on the field for more than two hours. Just ask Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who could be seen vomiting during Friday's practice. "We ran a lot. The heat," Jackson said after practice. "Gave it up a little bit, but it's part of training camp. " The new collective bargaining agreement ended two-a-days, so the Eagles conduct one walk-through and one full practice.

The trade for DeMeco Ryans comes with a cautionary tale. You may have heard it before: The Eagles acquire an established player from another team - in this case, a former two-time Pro Bowl linebacker from Houston - and that player does not deliver upon expectations. See: Jevon Kearse and Stacy Andrews. Ryans comes with rather large expectations, although they're tempered with the fact that he is only two years removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon and that he is moving back into the middle of a 4-3 defense after a season as one of two inside linebackers in a 3-4. The Eagles say they believe that Ryans, whom they acquired from the Texans in March for a fourth-round draft pick, is no longer hindered by his injury.

Cullen Jenkins took a pay cut and was happy to talk about it. The Eagles "restructured" the defensive tackle's contract and released the information through a news release. Typically, that does not happen. But the team's announcement and Jenkins' willingness to talk with reporters during a conference call Tuesday reflected the collegial nature of negotiations, because neither side wanted a parting of the ways. But with Jenkins slated to earn $7.5 million in total salary for the coming season - all of which would have counted against the Eagles' salary cap number - there was the possibility the team could have released the 31-year old. It was unclear whether the Eagles were willing to cut Jenkins - one of the few "Dream Team" free-agent signings from last summer to live up to expectations and one who became a locker-room leader - but he said he knew at the end of the season that his contract would have to be reworked if he wanted to return.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Fletcher Cox knew what it meant to hear fans calling his name Monday along the fences beyond the Eagles' practice field at Lehigh University. Cox, the defensive tackle whom the Eagles selected with the No. 12 overall pick in April's draft, arrived here with the onus of being the highest draft selection the Eagles have made since taking another defensive tackle - Corey Simon - at No. 6 overall in 2000. "You expect a lot of out of them," Cox said of first-round picks, a sentiment coach Andy Reid had expressed a day earlier.

Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks was benched for the first drive of Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Coach Andy Reid said it was for "disciplinary reasons" and Kendricks confirmed it was because he was late to a meeting on Friday. "I had to be accountable," Kendricks said. "I let my team down. " Casey Matthews started at strong-side linebacker in Kendricks' place. He watched from the sideline while the Falcons went on a 16-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Kendricks entered the game on the second drive, when he was charged with a critical pass interference on 3d-and-7.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Dennis Kelly has been a backup tackle through the first week of camp, so naturally he started Thursday as a guard and finished as a first-team tackle. This is life in training camp, when injuries accumulate and players down the depth chart must demonstrate that they can help the team in different ways. "I'm working on it," Kelly said. "I think if you know one position, you should know all positions, if someone's helping you or not. It does make it a little easier, but when you put it in action it's a little different.

Jason Babin said he plans to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, later this summer. His teammates' reactions? A little concern, but no surprise. "That's Babin for you," said wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. "I wouldn't do anything like that, personally. " Michael Vick said he might try to stop last year's leading sack man from going. "I'm going to try to talk him out of it, if it's the truth," Vick said. "I would much rather have him on my team this year than have anything catastrophic happen, so we're going to keep him on the safe side.

ATLANTIC CITY - A tuxedo-clad Chip Kelly attended the Maxwell Awards dinner on Friday night, one month before the new Eagles coach can finally begin to work with his players. Until then, it's more film study, administration, and preparation for the draft and free agency. Kelly said he does not have an overriding philosophy on free agency, but he said it's not a panacea for a team's problems. "If you can find someone who can improve your team and get better, but I don't think there's, 'We have to get X amount of players this year,' or, 'Don't get X amount of players,' " Kelly said.

The changes on the Eagles defensive line started two weeks ago when Mike Patterson and Cullen Jenkins were released. Which defensive scheme the Eagles will use has not been disclosed, but the cuts were the first steps of a transition. Expect the Eagles to play a 3-4 or a 4-3 under scheme, which is a hybrid of the 3-4. That means the Eagles need a nose tackle, and they'll have a defensive end/outside linebacker who's primarily a pass rusher but also would drop into coverage. The Eagles have only three sure linemen on the roster: Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, and Antonio Dixon.

IN FOOTBALL, it seems simple: Bigger is better. Experience, especially in its prime, trumps potential. With the Eagles, nothing is simple. Which is why the Eagles head into their first regular-season practice Wednesday without a run-stopping defensive tackle or a proven nickel cornerback. They released 6-3, 322-pound defensive tackle Antonio Dixon. A waiver claim by the Eagles in 2009, Dixon had somehow managed to play in every game for which he had been healthy. A triceps injury shorted his season to four games last year.