PHILADELPHIA -- DeSean Jackson caught Michael Vicks pass over the middle, took a couple steps and braced himself for a hit that Kurt Coleman never delivered. Hard to break the habit. Jackson and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles have nothing to worry about this training camp. Tackling is a no-no for coach Chip Kelly. "We have four preseason games for that," Kelly said. When 30,000 fans came to Lincoln Financial Field to see the Eagles first practice in full pads under Kelly, they saw fast-paced, up-tempo action. But they didnt see any hitting. That was a shock, particularly to older fans who watched physical summer practices when Andy Reid, Buddy Ryan and Dick Vermeil coached the Eagles. "Its like theyre playing two-hand touch now," said longtime fan Joe Iazulla. "They dont even hit each other anymore. Its sissy football." Former players were surprised, too. Brian Dawkins, Garry Cobb and others watched from the sideline on Alumni Day in disbelief. They wondered why they had to endure those rough, two-a-day practices not so long ago. "We used to kill each other in camp," said Cobb, a linebacker for Detroit, Philadelphia and Dallas from 1979-89. "Buddy worked us so hard that veteran players sometimes wanted to quit right there on the field. It was grueling. We left a lot of years on that practice field in training camp. Many of us couldve played longer in the NFL if we didnt hit that much in camp." No tackling is new to the Eagles, but its become normal around the NFL. Teams have been trending toward less physical camps in recent years, especially after the new collective bargaining agreement limited the number of practices and hitting. The league is being sued by about 4,200 players who say they suffer from dementia, Alzheimers disease and other neurological conditions, which they believe stem from on-field concussions. Kellys explanation is injury prevention, though hes already lost three players for the season to ACL tears in the first two weeks of camp. "When you get guys on the ground, its not really the two guys that get tackled, its whats chasing it," Kelly said. "Were trying to keep everybody in every situation up. If Im blocking my guy and Im trying to finish to the whistle, two guys in front of me fell, thats where the biggest thing occurs. Its the pileups. Most of the time its not the tackle or the tackler, its the rest of the guys coming through. You have a lot of big bodies moving. Theres a fine line what we have to get done from a work standpoint. We also know we have to get our guys to the game, too." Reid, who was fired after 14 seasons in Philadelphia, took his opposite approach to Kansas City. The Chiefs werent used to tackling in camp under recent coaches Romeo Crennel and Todd Haley. "You have to be a good tackling team," Reid said. "Normally, good tackling teams end up playing late in the year -- or I guess, early in the year." That philosophy didnt work for Reid last year when the Eagles finished 4-12 and had one of the worst tackling defences in recent history. But Reids teams went to the playoffs nine times and he usually had them playing their best football late in the season. "Its football, so youre going to get hit," Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles said. "I think we need to get hit as early as possible. We dont need to wait until the last minute to get hit. I think its good." Far more AFC teams tackle in camp than in the NFC. The New York Jets, Miami, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Denver and San Diego tackle to the ground to some degree whether its scrimmages, 9-on-7 drills or goal-line situations. "Youre not going to keep a guy on defence if he cant tackle, but you better find out," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. In the NFC, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Green Bay and Dallas have tackled to the ground on rare occasions such as open scrimmages for fans. "Weve had a couple of periods where we have gone live tackling, not very many," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "I think everybody is going to try to control that. Youre not going to have full contact and things like that." Former players disagree. "We used to tackle in every drill," said Brian Baldinger, an offensive lineman for Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Dallas from 1982-93. "Theres a science to tackling and maintaining proper technique. You can only get better at it by practicing and now they dont even practice it." Many coaches yell at players if they hit teammates too hard and nobody wants to see scuffles anymore. Its a far cry from the days of Buddy Ryan and his rugged defence in Philadelphia. "Buddy used to encourage guys he knew wouldnt make the team to start fights," Cobb said. Now, its all about wrapping up instead of tackling and hugging instead of hitting. "It is what it is," Tennessee defensive co-ordinator Jerry Gray said.Diontae Johnson Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Mike Webster Steelers Jersey . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Louis-Lipps-Jersey/ . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Rocky Bleier Womens Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Terry Bradshaw Youth Jersey . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said.RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Venus Williams pushed one last forehand long to lose in the first round for the first time in her record five Olympic singles tournaments, her opponent celebrated as if having claimed a gold medal, dropping down on the green hard court to plant a kiss on the white five-ring logo.This was clearly a very big deal to Kirsten Flipkens, a Belgian ranked 62nd and only once as far as the semifinals at a Grand Slam event.Just two points away from winning on four occasions while portions of the crowd turned hostile toward her, the 36-year-old Williams faded as Saturday nights match stretched past 3 hours and she was stunned 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) by Flipkens on Day 1 of tennis at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.Afterward, Williams did not speak to reporters. Instead, U.S. womens tennis coach Mary Joe Fernandez did, saying that Williams was sick before arriving in Brazil. Fernandez added that Williams had cramping, dehydration and an upset stomach after her loss, but still hoped to play doubles Sunday with younger sister Serena.I would be highly surprised if she didnt play, because this has been her goal for the last four years -- to come back to the Olympics, Fernandez said. She wants to win a medal so badly in anything. Knowing Venus, she will be out there, no matter how badly shes feeling.Williams owns four gold medals: one in singles and three in doubles. She owns 21 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in doubles. But she labored at times Saturday and even showed frustration by shouting Ridiculous! after dropping one point.With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry watching from a second-row seat behind a baseline, the fifth-seeded Williams wasted a 4-1 lead in the final set and was broken while serving for the victory at 5-3.Williams was coming off a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon last month, her best showing at a major since 2010. That also made her the oldest woman since 1994 to reach a Grand Slam tournaments final four. And it helped her attain her best ranking since revealing in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with Sjongrens syndrome, which can cause joint pain and fatigue.Shes used to not feeling 100 percent with her Sjongrens, and I think thats why we saw her compete and fight to the end, Fernandez said. Crediit to Flipkens, who hung around and defended so well and made her play extra shots.ddddddddddddWilliams is the first tennis player to participate in singles at five Olympics, and never had failed to reach at least the third round before, claiming a gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. She also won doubles golds in 2000, 2008 and 2012.But against Flipkens, who was making her Olympic debut, Williams failed to find the right measure on most of her strokes and wound up with 13 fewer winners on courts that competitors agree are playing slowly. Williams, once possessor of one of the best serves in womens tennis, hit one ace, five fewer than Flipkens.This is just one of the most epic matches in my life, Flipkens said.The fans couldnt seem to settle on which woman they wanted to win. They greeted Williams far more loudly and warmly during prematch introductions, although perhaps that was because of her far-greater name recognition.Later, though, they roared when Williams made mistakes. They clapped when she double-faulted. They even gave her grief for the common and innocuous practice of catching a ball toss that wasnt good.When one group of spectators bellowed a USA! USA! chant late in the third set, others responded by booing (Kerry had left by then).They just enjoyed my game because, I think, Im a little girl trying to do some special stuff to get a chance to beat a champion like that, Flipkens said.Williams loss was part of a rough day for the United States tennis team. Seven of the countrys eight singles players were in action, and they went 2-5.Steve Johnson and Madison Keys won, but there were losses for Jack Sock (who said afterward he had walking pneumonia, then got into a Twitter spat with former pro player and coach Brad Gilbert), Denis Kudla, Brian Baker and Sloane Stephens.In all, three of the top six women already are gone, with No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 6 Roberta Vinci of Italy -- who ended Serena Williams bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam at the U.S. Open last September -- joining Venus Williams on the way out.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '
