Kobe puts Birds in a can-do mood

ANAHEIM, CALIF. » Zach Ertz ran routes and caught passes Friday but that was the extent of his participation in Eagles practice.

The team’s leading receiver is listed as questionable, still not over a concussion, for the Sunday showdown with the Rams at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Bigger news at practice, which took place at Angel Park, was that Lakers great Kobe Bryant dropped by, at the invitation of the Eagles, to speak to the players, coaches and owner Jeffrey Lurie. Word is the product of Lower Merion High with five NBA championship rings in 20 seasons is a huge Eagles fan.

“He said of all the games he played, he didn’t really remember getting nervous before a basketball game,” punter Donnie Jones said. “But before we play, he gets the butterflies. Believe that, he gets nervous before we go out on the field? It was really cool.”

The Eagles applauded Bryant before and after he spoke. Wide receiver Torrey Smith, who thinks Bryant and LeBron James are coin-flip close to being the best basketball player of all time, was impressed with the authenticity shown by the 39-year-old Bryant.

“Kobe’s always been someone I’ve admired just by the way he approaches the game and the way things have played out for him,” Smith said. “Even his best situations and his worst situations, to watch them from afar and then kind of know the insides now about what he was really thinking, and how he approached the game, those are things you can take away from it. The biggest thing is always trying to get better and trusting your process, the way you work.”

Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham called Bryant’s appearance the highlight of his time on the West Coast.

“Really it was the best part of the week, for me,” Bradham said. “Just getting the opportunity to hear a great, it’s inspirational. He’s somebody who is legendary. He’s done everything. Won plenty of championships.”

Fellow linebacker Mychal Kendricks said Bryant wasn’t rocking the title jewelry.

“He was wearing one ring – his wedding ring,” Kendricks said. “That was shiny as heck. It had like eight diamonds on it. The whole thing was kind of surreal, really.”

Jones was struck by the time Bryant spent perfecting his craft.

“He said normally he’d get there three hours before the game,” Jones said. “If he didn’t play well he’d get there four hours before. He’d watch film and shoot and do everything he could to make himself better.”

Coach Doug Pederson sounded annoyed when asked if he was the one who made the call to get Bryant to talk. He didn’t. And he doesn’t believe the story is about who made the phone call, just that it was made. Seems he didn’t like the way his team practiced the previous two weeks. He felt it showed up in a penalty and turnover fest of a loss to the Seahawks.

“Obviously being from Philadelphia and a big Eagles fan, it was a pleasure to have him come and just speak to the team,” Pederson said. “A lot of it was to pay attention to details, do your job, focus on your assignment. Sort of have a bulldog-type mentality when you take the field and to be aggressive, and just all the things that he’s learned over his Hall of Fame career.”

••• NOTES » On Ertz, who is still in the concussion protocol, Pederson said, “Part of his protocol was he could do some physical activity and so he was limited today.” The Eagles won with Ertz sidelined by a sore hamstring earlier in the season. Tight ends Trey Burton and Brent Celek combined for five receptions worth 80 yards and one touchdown in a 5123 rout of the Broncos . ... The Eagles lost defensive tackle Justin Hamilton from their practice squad, Andy Reid and the Chiefs signing him to their 53-man roster. Defensive tackle Winston Craig fills that empty spot for the Birds. The Eagles also signed guard Darrell Greene to the practice squad and released tackle Dillon Gordon. … Pederson said the players had a midnight curfew this week and to date, no one had busted it “as far as I know. That’s what they told me.”