In all likelihood, Philbin will oversee the first practice held in full pads tomorrow morning, which means the fans that show up will be in for a treat. This is when the gloves figuratively come off and players are allowed to get more physical with each other, but they won’t find out for certain until when they arrive in the locker room.
“It’s a lot more physical,” linebacker Koa Misi said. “Drills change and speed changes. You’re still not bringing guys down to the ground but you want to get that first contact and make sure you’re fitting right and you’re in the right gaps. You definitely want to bring it when the pads first start. Everybody wants to show what they have.”
For the second straight day, Philbin parked himself on the far field where the bulk of the rookies and first-year players were practicing. “I know some of the guys on the other field a little better,” he explained. “These other guys, not every single one, but a lot of them I don’t have quite that feel for. So I want to have a sense of what their tempo is, what their attitude is and what their demeanor is when they’re practicing.” … One of those youngsters who stood out to Philbin this morning was rookie tight end Dion Sims, a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State, as he singled him out as someone who had a good day with three or four nice receptions. … Wide receiver Kenny Stafford, who was added to the roster last week after playing in both the Arena Football League with the Pittsburgh Power and in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes, made a nice juggling catch down the left sideline of a long ball thrown by Pat Devlin
