Eagles training camp 2020 observations Day 12: Josh Sweat wrecks Matt Pryor

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Eagles training camp 2020 observations Day 12: Josh Sweat wrecks Matt Pryor

 

For the first time this summer, the Eagles moved their practice over to Lincoln Financial Field for a scrimmage. 

It was the final day of practice I’ll get to watch during training camp. *sheds a tear* 

The Eagles treated warmups like they would for a normal game, so that was fun. They also pumped in fake crowd noise, which was not. 

I cruised through the temperature check at the Linc with a 97.5, my lowest of the summer. 

Let’s get to the observations one last time this summer: 

1. For the second straight day, Matt Pryor lined up at left tackle and Sunday was an absolute disaster. Josh Sweat beat Pryor for at least three or four sacks and consistently got by him. 

Now, Sweat has had a good camp and I don’t want to take anything away from him. But this is more about Pryor. He’s not a left tackle and the Eagles can’t have him out there at that spot in two weeks when they kick off their season in Washington against Chase Young. 

The Eagles were still without Lane Johnson on Sunday and Jason Peters is still at right guard, even after the injury to Andre Dillard (he’s out for the year). Peters reportedly wants to get a pay bump to move over to left tackle … and the Eagles might not have a choice. 

Here was the line on Sunday: 

LT: Matt Pryor 

LG: Isaac Seumalo 

😄 Jason Kelce 

RG: Jason Peters 

RT: Jordan Mailata 

I don’t really like that Peters is basically holding the Eagles hostage to get more money before he changes positions — didn’t we all know this was a possibility? — but the Eagles might just have to pay him. Based on what we saw Sunday, Pryor simply can’t handle that left tackle spot. If he doesn’t show dramatic improvement, it would be borderline negligent to go into a season with Pryor at left tackle while Peters remains at right guard. 

2. Carson Wentz didn’t practice on Sunday and is day to day with a lower-body injury. I’m told it’s a soft tissue injury and isn’t anything serious; the Eagles are just keeping him out as a precaution. Without Wentz, Sudfeld and Jalen Hurts split reps. 

But seeing Jalen Reagor go down during practice definitely wasn’t a good sign. He’s reportedly having an MRI on his shoulder after trying to make a tackle following an INT in a team portion of practice. 

Not practicing today: Wentz, Miles Sanders, Genard Avery, Johnson, Vinny Curry, Dillard, Quez Watkins, Dallas Goedert, Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett. 

3. Reagor had the day’s first touchdowns but DeSean Jackson had the next one. Jackson got around Will Parks in coverage and caught a ball in the left side of the end zone. He celebrated with Reagor after the score. 

4. Rookie John Hightower has consistently made big catches during this training camp. Sunday was no different. He caught a touchdown in the back right corner of the end zone on a pass from Jalen Hurts. Hightower juggled the ball but was able to reel it in and got both feet in bounds for the score. 

A little later, Sudfeld hit Hightower in stride deep down the middle of the field with Avonte Maddox in coverage. Sudfeld had time on that play because Corey Clement stayed in to chip Sweat. If Pryor lines up at left tackle this year, expect a lot of that. 

5. I’ve seen Maddox get beat a little too much during this camp. I’m a little skeptical about how he’ll hold up as an outside corner in 2020. 

6. Receiver Travis Fulgham doesn’t have a real shot to make the team but he did have a nice TD catch on Sunday on a beautiful back-shoulder throw from Nate Sudfeld in the end zone. Craig James had tight coverage but Sudfeld put it where only Fulgham could get it. 

7. James did make a big play on Sunday. Hurts underthrew a ball to Deontay Burnett and James picked it off and went the other way for six. James is less of a long shot to make the team than you might think. He’s a big special teams contributor. 

8. It’s been a pretty quiet training camp for 2019 4th-round pick Shareef Miller but he had a nice TFL during a live period today. 

9. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside made a few more plays today. One was a leaping grab on the sidelines that might have been OPI. But with Reagor’s injury — we’ll see how severe it is — JJAW might need to play a bigger role early this season. If Reagor isn’t ready for Week 1, my guess is that the starters are Jackson, Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward. 

10. After Sudfeld picked up a bad snap off the ground and handed it to Boston Scott, the stout running back pulled off a quick spin move to avoid a defender and then showed his burst into the next level. 

11. Rasul Douglas and T.J. Edwards each had "sacks” on blitzes today. I’ve been impressed by Edwards all camp and Douglas has come on strong. On Sunday, when Darius Slay got a breather, Douglas was with the first team for a bit. 

12. Ward just makes solid catch after solid catch. He had a sweet back shoulder one today to move the chains. That’s the type of player he is, just moves the chains. 

13. While Sudfeld began the day with the starters, he and Hurts split those first-team reps. Without Wentz at practice, Hurts got a lot of time with the first team today. That’s the first time this summer. 

14. The last play of practice was a beauty. With the offense backed up, Hurts delivered a deep ball down the right sideline to rookie Manasseh Bailey, who nearly took it the length of the field. Credit Elijah Riley for a tackle at the 1-yard line. 

Stupid Observation of the Day: I understand pumping fake crowd noise into a stadium, but it’s mind-numbing. They should use that to get criminals to crack. At least real crowd noise makes sense. This is just loud all the time, highs and lows. Heck, when Doug Pederson called on them to raise the volume, it became louder in the Linc today than it was for the NFC Championship Game.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-training-camp-2020-observations-day-12-josh-sweat-wrecks-matt-pryor

This team and its injuries. And I know the Wentz one isn't believed to be serious but a soft tissue injury with this team is a real worry. I'm not confident the medical team will treat this injury properly and I can easily see this becoming an ongoing issue for weeks. 

[weko]

It's time to acquire someone when Mailata is your best option at LT.  I am a bit stunned that this the situation we're in with 2 weeks to go until the opener.  Will have to pay Peters.  Hopefully ego doesn't get in the way of that happening or Wentz is in trouble.

[brkmsn]

5 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

This team and its injuries. And I know the Wentz one isn't believed to be serious but a soft tissue injury with this team is a real worry. I'm not confident the medical team will treat this injury properly and I can easily see this becoming an ongoing issue for weeks. 

You really need to get a grip. 

[time2rock]

Quote

I’ve seen Maddox get beat a little too much during this camp. I’m a little skeptical about how he’ll hold up as an outside corner in 2020.

Obviously too early to make a full evaluation, but based on what we've seen of Maddox in the past when playing outside, I too am skeptical of him starting opposite Slay.  Hopefully the tutelage he gets from Slay helps him to improve, but have always thought he is better suited in the slot and is playing out of position on the outside.  We really need to make CB (as well as DE) a primary focus of the 2021 draft (like we did with WR this year) as Slay is likely only here for a few seasons and we really don't have anyone else that is at least a reliable option on the outside.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

26 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

You really need to get a grip. 

Go on explain...

[weko]

54 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Obviously too early to make a full evaluation, but based on what we've seen of Maddox in the past when playing outside, I too am skeptical of him starting opposite Slay.  Hopefully the tutelage he gets from Slay helps him to improve, but have always thought he is better suited in the slot and is playing out of position on the outside.  We really need to make CB (as well as DE) a primary focus of the 2021 draft (like we did with WR this year) as Slay is likely only here for a few seasons and we really don't have anyone else that is at least a reliable option on the outside.  

Yes Maddox is a good slot corner. Ideally too short to play outside but we missed on jones in the 2nd and douglas in the 3rd so maddox is the option for now.

[time2rock]

42 minutes ago, weko said:

Yes Maddox is a good slot corner. Ideally too short to play outside but we missed on jones in the 2nd and douglas in the 3rd so maddox is the option for now.

Agreed.  I was thinking more of the future than this year - we are pretty much stuck with what we have ATM.  

[weko]

1 hour ago, time2rock said:

Agreed.  I was thinking more of the future than this year - we are pretty much stuck with what we have ATM.  

Unfortunately we are starting to feel the substandard last few drafts at CB, OL, LB.  Hopefully Barnett is healthy and DE will be ok and Sanders won't get hurt and miss any time at RB.  Fortunately it looks like we added some nice pieces this past draft.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, weko said:

Unfortunately we are starting to feel the substandard last few drafts at CB, OL, LB.  Hopefully Barnett is healthy and DE will be ok and Sanders won't get hurt and miss any time at RB.  Fortunately it looks like we added some nice pieces this past draft.

Completely agree. The cupboard is pretty bare at CB but not through neglect. LB is slightly different as they have overlooked that position.

[CaliEagle]

If Pryor is having trouble with Sweat, I would hate to think what Chase Young will do to him.  Better just pay Peters some extra scratch and cut your losses.

[brkmsn]

10 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Go on explain...

You're sliding down the slippery slope you created. 

Wentz most likely received a very mild injury when Dillard  was pushed into Wentz' legs. We don't know exactly what it is, but it could be a bruise, a strain, a sprain. Most likely, he woke up Sunday noticing something was a little off and the team decided to give him a day off to rest. I mean, they're being extremely cautious here. If this was during the regular season, he would have participated in the practice. He was walking around completely normal Sunday. 

Somehow in your mind, you have equated all prior Eagles injuries the last couple years as the fault of the Eagles' med, strength and conditioning staff. You have convinced yourself that they have always made things worse after the injuries occurred. Now you seem to believe in your heart that no other outcome is possible. So Wentz' bruise, strain or sprain is going to cost us the season because our staff is hopeless. 

He sat out one practice (mainly to appease the faint hearted fans). I'll be shocked if he sits out the next one. I mean ... honestly ... he's not even really hurt. The Eagles were scared to risk letting another OT get pushed into Wentz during our live scrimmage. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

8 hours ago, brkmsn said:

He sat out one practice (mainly to appease the faint hearted fans). I'll be shocked if he sits out the next one. I mean ... honestly ... he's not even really hurt. The Eagles were scared to risk letting another OT get pushed into Wentz during our live scrimmage. 

My point has been lost here I think. Do I think Wentz will be OK? Yeah I do. But do I trust this team and have faith that overall the injuries will be OK and will work out? Absolutely not no. 

[weko]

19 hours ago, CaliEagle said:

If Pryor is having trouble with Sweat, I would hate to think what Chase Young will do to him.  Better just pay Peters some extra scratch and cut your losses.

Chase Young vs Pryor or Mailata and my hope will be Wentz survives the game, more than we win it.

[Portyansky]

As long as Big Play Slay is legit. Maddox will need help.

Peters new contract should be by incentives. Stay healthy, get paid. 

[nipples]

13 minutes ago, Portyansky said:

As long as Big Play Slay is legit. Maddox will need help.

Peters new contract should be by incentives. Stay healthy, get paid. 

Tell him they’ll increase his pay, but it goes down with every snap he misses this year. He’ll be back down to his RG salary or less in no time. 

[matchew88]

They could be moving Johnson to the LT position. Working Mailata on the right side...

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 hours ago, matchew88 said:

They could be moving Johnson to the LT position. Working Mailata on the right side...

I just think that would be a horrible move. Lane hasn't played LT for years and I think when he was asked to fill in their a few years ago he struggled? He's a RT, the best in the NFL, leave him there where he's so good. 

[CaliEagle]

11 hours ago, weko said:

Chase Young vs Pryor or Mailata and my hope will be Wentz survives the game, more than we win it.

Yep. It would be the worst decision that Doug and Howie have made and it would probably end up with Carson on IR. I'm guessing they are negotiating with Peters behind closed doors. Neither side probably wants to discuss it in the media. So, they will keep this charade going until they announce a slight pay increase.

[weko]

54 minutes ago, CaliEagle said:

Yep. It would be the worst decision that Doug and Howie have made and it would probably end up with Carson on IR. I'm guessing they are negotiating with Peters behind closed doors. Neither side probably wants to discuss it in the media. So, they will keep this charade going until they announce a slight pay increase.

Has to be.  There is no other option on the roster and Howie has had almost a week to make a move and has not brought in anyone for a workout, which surprises me very much.  They must know they're going to meet Peter's price.  Or Howie is hesitant to bring someone in and admit Mailata isn't going to be able to contribute.  I sense Howie is heavily invested ego wise with the Mailata pick.  It's not happening.  He has to move on.  Otherwise it's malpractice.  That would mean worst WRs in the league last year for Wentz.  Worst RBs in the league the year before.  And now one of the worst LT situations in the league this year.  Wentz deserves better.

[Road to Victory]

14 hours ago, weko said:

Chase Young vs Pryor or Mailata and my hope will be Wentz survives the game, more than we win it.

They should just move Lane over to the left side. It’s not the best scenario but I would prefer him protecting Carson’s blind side over the rest of the bunch. 

[weko]

23 minutes ago, Road to Victory said:

They should just move Lane over to the left side. It’s not the best scenario but I would prefer him protecting Carson’s blind side over the rest of the bunch. 

That's an option if no others.  Lane has played very little there and the times he has, he hasn't performed anywhere near his normal high level.  I 'd like to see Sem play LT.  He may be the best one on the roster.