Training Camp – Practice Opens

The Eagles had a 10-10-10 practice in shirt and shells so there aren’t a lot of definitive takeaways, but let’s see what happened.

Jimmy Bama
Brandon Lee Gowton
Jeff McLane
Sheil Kapadia
Fran Duffy & Ben Fennell

Let’s start with the Comeback Kid.

JM — Carson Wentz took another step forward – however minor – in his return from torn knee ligaments. The Eagles quarterback participated in 11-on-11 drills for the first time since his December injury. Practice was a light “10-10-10” – a series of 10-minute sessions designed for the offense, defense and special teams – so full team drills weren’t especially competitive and there wasn’t contact. The players were also in shorts and shells. But Wentz’s participation was a positive sign on the first day of camp. He still must be cleared for contact – the next big step – but the Eagles don’t appear to be in any hurry to put their franchise quarterback in that position. If it weren’t for the brace he wore on his left knee, you might not have been able to tell that he wasn’t yet 100 percent. Wentz did essentially the same amount of work as every other quarterback and didn’t spend any separate time rehabbing on another field. After practice, he reiterated that his goal is still to be ready by the opener on Sept. 6 and until I see any reason to doubt him, I’m going to take him on his word.

Wentz worked with the second-team offense. He did take a few snaps with the starters during the installation period, but Nick Foles otherwise ran with the ones. I’d say Wentz looked sharp, but it’s difficult to put much stock in drills that are meant to benefit either the offense or defense depending upon the set. Friday’s practice will be more strenuous and more typical, in terms of its structure, but the pads won’t come out and hitting the won’t start until Saturday.

Nothing significant, but it is important for Wentz to practice as much as he can. QB is an incredibly difficult position. You want to stay as close to action-ready as possible. An extended time off can leave you rusty and throw off your timing.

I think it is good for the other players to see Wentz practicing. I think it is good for him to be out there.

***

BLG — Aziz Shittu managed to notch the rare “actual sack” during practice. He drove an offensive lineman back into Callahan, who tripped and fell. Remember that Shittu was singled out and praised by Pederson for his efforts during OTAs and minicamp.

The Eagles are unsettled at DT, after Fletcher Cox. Tim Jernigan is hurt. Destiny Vaeao and Elijah Qualls are fighting for playing time and roster spots. Haloti Ngata is new to the team. Shittu could take advantage of things by impressing the coaches and forcing them to take a closer look at him. He is the kind of athletic, 1-gap DT that Jim Schwartz loves. I’ll be following Shittu closely, hoping he can impress.

FD — Defensive tackle Elijah Qualls, who was seemingly pretty active throughout the day, nearly broke up a screen pass before it even got started. The second-year player knifed into the backfield just as Carson Wentz faked a handoff to Sproles before quickly dishing the ball out. With the injuries along the defensive line, the former sixth-round pick has a real shot to contribute this fall.

Good start for Qualls. The Eagles spent a pick on him so this is a player they like. He could push for a starting gig. With Jernigan hurt, anyone could win the job next to Cox.

***

JB — Punter Cameron Johnston was highly erratic today. He got 15 punting reps, and I clocked them all for hang time. He did hit two bombs, but had five shankopotamuses (or is it shankopotami?), including three shankopotami in a row.   

1. 4.13
2. 4.59
3. 4.65
4. 3.32 (shankopotamus)
5. 3.53 (shankopotamus)
6. 3.55 (shankopotamus)
7. 5.10 (bomb)
8. 4.86
9. 5.02
10. 4.70
11. 4.12
12. 4.29
13. 3.78 (shankopotamus)
14. 3.42 (shankopotamus)
15. 4.96 (bomb)

To note, it’s possible that Johnston was trying different punts, but it didn’t look that way to me. It looked like the practice was set up for him to just blast away. In any scenario, the five shankopotami were bad punts no matter what he was trying to do.

I would bring in competition.

Dave Fipp said this spring that he thinks it is actually easier when there is direct competition. The player can then judge himself every day based on what he’s done and what the other guy’s done.

Eagles scouts are studying every other punter in the league. That means that Johnston is actually competing with 40 to 50 guys. Everyone assumes the guy the Eagles would bring in would be as good or better than Johnston. What if he’s not? Then Johnston would feel good about himself for no reason. For now, Johnston has to worry every time he’s not at his best.

The Eagles are going to thoroughly study the other punters. I don’t know that seeing one up close would make a huge difference. Look how they found Jake Elliott last year. The Eagles had studied his preseason tape and had a grade on him from his college days.

***

BF — In one particular empty formation, rookie running back Josh Adams, who practiced for the first time after missing all of the spring with a foot injury, was split outside the numbers and blew past veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham on a vertical route. The ball went elsewhere, but you were able to see the speed and strides of the high cut 6-2 running back who clocked a 4.48 40 yard dash at his Pro Day in the spring.

Adams had weird speed in college. There were times when he would look slow, but then if he got out into the open, you weren’t going to catch him. Part of that is him being a long-strider. It takes some space for those guys to get going. I’m real curious to see how he plays this summer.

The Eagles gave Adams a good bonus this spring because there is something that like about him. That speed may be part of it.

***

BLG — Donnel Pumphrey had a few nice runs today. It’s hard to get a great read on running backs since no one is allowed to tackle them but he’s shown me more than he did at this point last year. I still need to see him impress during game action but I slowly continue to be more encouraged about him. I’m still reserving the right to jump ship at any moment.

JB — I think I mentioned this during the spring, but just in case I didn’t, but Donnel Pumphrey looks less shrimpy than he did a year ago.

FD — Donnel Pumphrey ripped off a couple of long runs on Thursday, including one on the seventh defensive snap. This will be a big camp for the former fourth-round pick as he tries to stake his claim for a spot on the back end of the depth chart in a crowded backfield.

Will Pumphrey be joining Dawk in Canton someday? Okay, maybe that’s being just a slight tad optimistic. For now, I’m just glad the guy made some plays and got off to a nice start. He was a mess last summer. That’s fine if he can learn from it and get better. So far that seems to be the case.

***

SK — Peters is not a full participant, and when he comes out, he’s replaced by Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Mack Hollins is getting reps on the outside in Jeffery’s place.

It’s only the first practice, and already offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is yelling at rugby player turned offensive tackle Jordan Mailata. During this particular portion of practice, Mailata is lining up on defense as the offense runs through plays. It looks like Stoutland wants him to fire off the ball more to better simulate a real game.

The first-team offensive line from left to right is: Peters, Stefen Wisniewski, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson. The second team is: Vaitai, Chance Warmack, Isaac Seumalo, Matt Pryor and Taylor Hart.

Seumalo fires a snap over Wentz’s head.

It is smart to still bring Peters along slowly. He is older and coming off injury. There is no reason to rush him. At the same time, he is a special guy and his presence on the field and in the huddle does mean something.

Seumalo is not going in the right direction. The Eagles love his potential at C, but the very first thing you must do is snap the ball consistently well. He did’t do that on Thursday.

JB — Trying to evaluate offensive linemen is too difficult to do when the players aren’t in pads yet, but we will note quickly here that Isaac Seumalo sailed a pair of horrendous snaps over the head of 6’6” quarterback Nate Sudfeld.

I’ll also quickly point out that Halapoulivaati Vaitai’s kick slide looked quicker than I’ve ever seen out of him.

I do love that note on Vaitai. He played his best football in the postseason, but still needed to get better. It would have been easy for him to relax and lose focus. Sure sounds like he is ready to fight for playing time. That’s the mindset you have to have as a young player.

***

BLG — Sidney Jones took first team reps at nickel cornerback, just like he did during the first OTA practice this year. I didn’t notice much from him but it’s a good sign for him that he continues to get looks there.

FD — In the first defensive session, I was really excited to see the personnel in the secondary. Ben kept track of the rotation below, but I was excited just seeing Sidney Jones inside. Talking with some of the other media members in attendance, who asked why Jones would make more sense inside as opposed to someone like Darby, I explained that with his size and physicality, Jones will be able to hold up a bit better in traffic against the run. I’m sure the rotation will be different on Friday, but it will be fun to follow all summer long.

The defense returned to the field and Sidney Jones was the target of the first pass from Carson Wentz. It was a deep fade route to the slot receiver, Markus Wheaton, and Jones was step for step with the veteran and prevented the completion.

BF — With the loss of Patrick Robinson in free agency, the nickel position is seeing some new faces. Sidney Jones served as the starting nickel, D.J. Killings on the second team, and rookie Avante Maddox on the third string.

The Eagles want Sidney Jones on the field. Right now that means putting him in the slot and leaving Ronald Darby at RCB and Jalen Mills at LCB. The Eagles will move guys around somewhat, but that may be the primary look for now. Mills and Darby give you talent and continuity. Jones gives you talent and size.

***

FD — Carson Wentz’s first completion of 2018 came courtesy of rookie tight end Dallas Goedert, who was used in a number of different ways on Thursday. The second-round pick lined up in the slot, out wide, and on the line of scrimmage, showing his versatility. He ran a quick route to the right flat on this play, and Wentz hit him in stride.

I mentioned the versatility Goedert showed throughout the day. A few plays after Clement’s big catch, Goedert lined up by himself on the outside, matched up on defensive back D.J. Killings. Wentz went to the rookie on a slant route, and he almost came up with a big catch, but Killings was able to break on the throw and get the ball on the ground. Killings is competing for a spot in a tough Eagles secondary.

Goedert will be fun to watch this summer. If he can play at a high level, Goedert could earn the #2 TE spot. And the way the Eagles use TEs, that would mean a lot of playing time for the rookie. Not all rookie TEs play well so this isn’t a slam dunk.

He is a gifted pass-catcher already. Blocking will be huge for him. Goedert has to be at least functional.

_