PHILADELPHIA — Quarterback Timmy Chang clearly remembers the dialogue overseas and can only smile about the exchange, which was mostly one-sided. Chang, the former Hawai'i star, is one of eight Eagles who did an apprenticeship this winter in NFL Europe.

While the new Eagles are bonding during workouts that began last week for rookies and selected veterans at the NovaCare Complex, it wasn't long ago that some were trying to beat their future teammates' brains in.

One example is when Chang and Eagles defensive tackle Keyonta Marshall faced off in an NFL Europe game, which also happened to be Chang's first start.

That came May 14, and Marshall's Hamburg Sea Devils defeated Chang's Rhein Fire, 13-10.

And when the rookies reconvened last week for Eagles workouts, the first person Chang sought out was Marshall.

"He was trash-talking me from the beginning," Chang said laughing. "I gave him hassles about it. I'm glad we're now on the same team."

Still, it was a little strange, Chang said, to go against a player who would be his teammate a few weeks later.

"When you are on the same team at home and playing each other on foreign soil and trying to beat each other up, it's an interesting scenario," Chang said.

Marshall said he and Chang formed a bond by playing against each other.

"The first thing we talked about when we got here was that game," Marshall said. "We were joking about how I was talking smack."

In that game, Chang completed 14 of 26 passes for 164 yards and no touchdowns. What he remembers most is that he was sacked six times.

"He didn't sack me, but he is such a big guy, and he created double teams and freed up his teammates," Chang said. "That is what he does, create a lot of problems inside."

The consensus of the Philadelphia hopefuls who competed in NFL Europe was that it was beneficial. The downside was that there was no break between the season and the current camp.

Both Marshall and Chang said they had one day off before getting back to the grind last week.

Chang is in the mix for the third quarterback spot, or at least a place on the practice squad.

The 6-foot-1, 325-pound Marshall, on the other hand, spent much of last year on the roster but received just a small taste of NFL action. He appeared in one game and earned two tackles in a 33-10 loss at Dallas on Oct. 9.

Now the attention for many focuses on learning a playbook, albeit a much thicker one than they saw in Europe.

Chang, who signed with the Eagles on Jan. 11 and had stints last year with Arizona and Detroit, is one of those players learning a new playbook.

"When you are trying to make a team, you just learn to adjust," Chang said. "Nothing about this is easy, but I think any of us would do whatever it takes to make the team."