LeSean McCoy signs autographs at $30 a pop in at a mall outside of H-burg on Friday.
Josh Korb of Steel-Town memorabilia said by phone Wednesday afternoon that tickets remain on sale for all four players, although “I do anticipate at the very least that LeSean will sell out probably the day of the event. I expect him to sell out if no one else did.”
This lineup was arranged before the draft, and before anyone knew that McCoy would be an Eagle. Korb said he had heard rumblings that the Eagles were interested, but that kind of chatter doesn’t always pan out. But he was certainly happy to see McCoy go to a local team. “The only way I would have been happier is if he [were picked by the] Pittsburgh Steelers, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”
He’s selling out all right. Never quite got the desire to buy autographed memorabilia — let alone stand in line for it. But I don’t begrudge anyone making a buck off it if there’s a market.
Besides, who knows when he’ll actually sign his contract with the Eagles. He is being repped by Drew Rosenhaus, after all. And another Rosenhause client has already reached out to him — sort of.
McCoy acknowledged, too, that the leap from college to the National Football League already has provided some intense experiences.
He has a locker next to Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, whom he followed as a fan for years. Former Eagle Terrell Owens called McCoy about buying Owens’ house in Philadelphia.
Owens is still trying to sell his place? He was deactivated back in 2005. What? Has he refused to come down on price? Is the market for high-end homes that bad?
Meanwhile, Scott McKillop kept a rookie camp diary for the 49ers website (via Pitt Director of Media Relations, E.J. Borghetti’s Twit).
It was also great to finally get to work with coach Singletary. He was definitely intense and he always knew what he was talking about. I noticed that he was over with the linebackers probably more than the other groups during individual drills. It’s nice to have his input and coaching because he was a Hall of Fame linebacker himself. I definitely appreciate his coaching style because you can tell he’s trying to get the best out of you.
Now that rookie minicamp is over, I thought I did ok, but I know I can do much better. It was our first time really being exposed to the playbook, so I’m sort of happy with my play but not 100 percent behind it. I know I can do better. Once I get my nose in the playbook, I’ll be back working again to get better.
On Sunday, the last day of camp, we took a written test to see how much of the playbook we had absorbed.
He’s the latest to do so. According to the intro, Vernon Davis, Joe Staley and Kentwan Balmer did the diaries. All three are still on the team.
Derek Kinder also got through his Chicago Bears rookie camp without being cut.
Non-contact camps are designed for skill-position players to shine, and the three wide receivers the Bears selected in the draft last weekend didn’t disappoint. Third-rounder Juaquin Iglesias, fifth-rounder Johnny Knox and seventh-rounder Derek Kinder all impressed coaches.
“I thought they had three good days,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “I was very pleased with all three of them. I thought they caught the ball very well, No. 1.
“Obviously they all have some work to do on their route-running, to run [routes] the way we run and all that and play the game at the speed it has to be played at here. That’s the thing we tried to get them to understand all week, is that the game speed’s going to be a little different than it was in college. We want them to play fast. But I was pleased with all of them; how they learned and what they did.”
Out of 24 plays in 7-on-7 drills Sunday, Iglesias caught eight passes, Kinder snared two and Knox hauled in one. Defensive highlights were provided by cornerback D.J. Moore, who caused an incompletion by stripping the ball away from George Smith; cornerback Derek Pegues, who broke up a pass intended for Kinder; and safety Al Afalava, who nearly had an interception after making a good break on the ball.
The greatest challenge for the rookies was stepping on the practice field for the first time Friday less than 24 hours after receiving their playbooks.
“It was pretty tough,” Kinder said. “But once you get to studying and you get to learn it a little bit, everything starts to click. These past three days we learned a lot and we’re going to grow.”
GM Jerry Angelo was pleased with the performance of his 3 rookie WRs. As was their OC, Ron Turner.
Not much on LaRod Stephens-Howling’s camp in Arizona other than he’s still got some hamstring issues.
Then there is Adam Graessle who may catch on with the Packers (via the Turk).
In three seasons as the Panthers’ punter, Graessle averaged 42.6 yards gross on 169 punts, ranking in the top 31 nationally all three seasons. He also was Pitt’s kickoff specialist.
It was enough to earn Graessle an invite to the 2007 scouting combine. But he was inconsistent at the combine, went undrafted and then failed to stick in tryouts with Buffalo and Detroit. He spent much of the past two years working out on his own in and around Columbus, Ohio, and working a temp job at the headquarters of the clothing label Abercrombie & Fitch.
About six months ago, Graessle hired agent Mark Mersel, who connected him with noted “kick doctor” Paul Assad. Graessle, 24, credits his work with Assad for cleaning up his technique and making him more consistent.
Shawn Slocum, who replaced the retired Mike Stock as Packers special-teams coordinator after last season, started talking with Graessle after watching his performance at a kicking combine last month in Arizona. There, according to Mersel, Graessle averaged 58 yards and 4.9 seconds of hang time, including some 70-yarders.
Coupled with a steady effort at the Packers’ rookie camp, Graessle earned himself a longer look in Green Bay, though there’s no guarantee he’ll be one of the two punters they take to training camp. He joined the Packers’ offseason strength and conditioning program on Monday.
“It’s real exciting,” Graessle said. “For two years, I’ve been working hard. I’m enjoying (getting signed), but really, in the moment, I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Good for him. Considering how reliable and good he had been at Pitt, it was a surprise that he never made it right out of school.
