QUICK TAKES: SEVEN OBSERVATIONS FROM DAY 3 OF EAGLES’ TRAINING CAMP

By Victor Williams

July 30, 2022

 

The Eagles returned to practice on Saturday for Day 3 of training camp before an off day on Sunday.

Participation report:

DID NOT PRACTICE

• WR Zach Pascal – illness
• WR Keric Wheatfall – COVID progression
• DT Milton Williams – elbow

The defense impressed for the second consecutive practice; here are my seven takeaways.

AJ Brown gets the better of Darius Slay

Brown’s power was on display throughout practice. In the first matchup between Brown and Slay, Hurts hit his receiver along the right sideline and Brown put Slay in the dirt with a stiff-arm. On a later rep, Brown made an impressive diving catch with Slay in tight coverage.

An exciting matchup to watch.

Andre Chachere making some noise at safety

Chachere, who got some first-team reps on Saturday, picked off his second pass of camp, putting together another solid day of practice. He’s giving K’Von Wallace a run for his money at backup safety, and his versatility to play cornerback may give him the edge.

Miles Sanders back with the first-team

After exclusively working with the second-team on Friday, Sanders was back with the starters in today’s practice. He’s looked explosive throughout camp, picking up a big gain on the first rep of 11-on-11 drills.

Prior to practice, Sirianni reaffirmed that Sanders was their lead back.

"Miles is our guy. There is no secret, we like to rotate our backs. But Miles is our guy. He is the guy.”

Jalen Reagor going down swinging

Nick Sirianni stated before practice that Reagor is "battling for a spot” in a deep WR room. Reagor opened camp with a strong performance on Wednesday and beat Zech McPhearson in one-on-one coverage for a deep catch today.

He may crack the final-53.

Linebackers making plays

The Eagles finally have some linebackers who can play. TJ Edwards saved a potential first down with a diving pass breakup on DeVonta Smith and had another PBU on a sprint-out throw to AJ Brown. Running with the second-team, Nakobe Dean sniffed out a screen in the flat for a tackle for loss.

Davion Taylor, coming off an INT in yesterday’s practice, got some work with the first-team today.

Another up-and-down day for Jalen Hurts

Looking to bounce back from yesterday’s lackluster practice, Hurts got out to a quick start with four straight completions. On his 5th attempt, Hurts rolled to his left and threw a bad pass across his body right into the arms of Andre Chachere.

Hurts nearly threw another INT to James Bradberry on a poorly thrown ball intended for DeVonta Smith. He followed up with good throws to Smith on a sharp comeback route and found Dallas Goedert up the seem while avoiding a blitz from LB Kyzir White. Hurts had another pretty ball in 7-on-7s hitting Quez Watkins’ fingertips, but his WR couldn’t make the catch.

His best play of practice came on a rep where Hurts hung in the pocket, avoided the rush and fired a nice ball to Greg Ward, a throw I’m not sure he could’ve made last season.

The defense is certainly further along than the offense thus far into camp, and James Bradberry has a lot to do with that. The veteran corner has been a physical presence and recorded a pass breakup on a deep pass intended for AJ Brown. He and Slay will be a formidable duo on Sundays.

Special Teams Notes

Jake Elliott went 6/6 on FGs today, hitting from 26, 33, 36, 39, 40, and 45. Jason Huntley was the primary kick returner today with Devon Allen, John Hightower, and Britain Covey behind him.

The Eagles have an off day tomorrow and return to practice Monday at 10 A.M.

https://thelibertyline.com/2022/07/30/day-3-of-eagles-training-camp/

Grind away boys...grind away.

13 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Grind away boys...grind away.

Exactly bud. That's what practice is for. Getting ready, ironing things out and perhaps trying to add new things. The defenses tend to be a little ahead of the offenses.