Wednesday’s Practice Notes Roundup

The Eagles tackled on Tuesday so things got dialed back a bit for Wednesday. The big focus was on the Red Zone.

LINKS

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

Let’s go position by position.

QB

Carson Wentz sat out the 11-on-11’s for the third straight day. Doug Pederson addressed this after practice and said that he saw enough from Wentz last week that he didn’t feel the need to press matters so he dialed Wentz’s reps back. This might be spin with some coaches, but Pederson tends to be pretty honest so I’m going to believe him. Plus, Wentz did move really well in those practices. Let your QB rest up before you put him back out there and push him again.

A few people mentioned Nate Sudfeld having a good day. He made one highlight play in the Red Zone.

RB

Great line from Jimmy about Donnel Pumphrey.

“If you find a jock strap anywhere near Broad Street, It’s probably Joe Walker’s, because he got juked out of his by Donnel Pumphrey today.”

Pumphrey made a few plays. Would be nice for him to mix in some more highlight moments.

Jimmy said good things about Josh Adams. The UDFA had some physical runs and got people’s attention. He’s been banged up this spring/summer and that needs to change if he’s going to push for a roster spot or even a practice squad spot. It is encouraging to hear that Adams was running hard. He’s got some size so you want him to run tough and be physical. He’s not going to make guys miss with crazy cuts.

Wendell Smallwood made some good plays today. He excelled in camp last year so his slow start this year was somewhat surprising. There is plenty of time left for him to make his case. But he does need to stand out. Pretty good won’t be good enough.

WR

Shelton Gibson suffered a concussion on Tuesday. He’s in the concussion protocol for now. Gibson has had a promising start to camp so I’m sure he’s highly frustrated.

Fran had some good things to say about Markus Wheaton. He’s especially impressed by his route-running. Wheaton is a veteran player and that shows in some of the drills. He can use his experience to get the best of young DBs. Jimmy thinks you can argue Wheaton is a better receiver than Mack Hollins right now. That’s an interesting take…and maybe true.

TE

The Eagles focused on the Red Zone, which Brandon joked should now be Dallas Goedert Day. Everyone raved about Goedert and how good he looked in the Red Zone. He made a one-handed TD catch and made it look fairly easy. Goedert used his size and caught several other TDs, especially slants. You wonder if watching Gronk shred the Eagles defense in the Super Bowl made the team fall in love with the idea of a big TE. Goedert has a bigger frame, more bulk and longer arms than Zach Ertz. Goedert isn’t just big. He knows how to use that size. Sounds like he could be one heck of a RZ weapon this year.

Richard Rodgers is starting to get more positive reports. No one is raving about him (consistently capable per Mr. Bama), but that’s fine. Rodgers will be a role player for the Eagles. He doesn’t need to stand out. He just needs to be…consistently capable.

OL

Matt Pryor had another good showing. Per Jimmy, he’s mostly facing backup DL, but he’s winning. That’s exactly what you want. Sheil called Pryor “the star” of the one-on-one sessions. That’s pretty impressive. Ben had this to say.

“My biggest takeaway from the defensive line and offensive line 1-on-1s was the play of Matt Pryor. The rookie shined in this period, getting quality reps at both right guard and right tackle, something he did in college at TCU. It should be noted that Pryor was the only player in the drill to get reps at multiple spots. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland gave Pryor a huge high-five after his final rep, clearly impressed with the rookie’s performance in the period. “

That’s pretty darn impressive.

Ben also had some positive things to say about Isaac Seumalo. It is easy to pile on Seumalo after a down 2017 and his sloppy snaps this summer, but the young OL does have talent. He has had some good moments for the Eagles. If he got cut tomorrow, there would be plenty of teams filing a waiver claim for him.

Jordan Mailata continues to improve. Now that he has a better idea of what he’s doing, his physical traits are helping him to have some success.

Any Chance Warmack highlights? Bama had this to say.

“Destiny Vaeao destroyed Chance Warmack, pancaking him on a vicious bull rush. That was an embarrassing moment for Warmack.”

Ouch.

DL

Sheil mentioned DT Bruce Hector having another good practice. When a rookie gets noticed several days in a row, that is a good sign. I can’t wait to see him play in a game. BLG did point out that he got pancaked by OG Darrell Greene on one rep.

Pederson mentioned Joe Ostman at the PC today. There is no special meaning here, but I think it is a good sign that Pederson mentioned him.

LB

Nate Gerry has been the starting WLB a few days. He’s also been the backup SAM. The Eagles clearly like the young LB and want to cross-train him so he can come off the bench and help at multiple spots…if he’s not starting.

S

Jeff noted that rookie Jeremy Reaves has been a disappointment so far. He was a highly sought after UDFA and seemed like a rookie to watch. Reaves is playing with the third team and hasn’t impressed at all.

CB

De’Vante Bausby started at the nickel. He and Sidney Jones are tied 3-3 in that department.

Jeff noted that Rasul Douglas got some time with the starters and played well. While Douglas is going to be a backup this year, the Eagles could use him in some situations because of his size. I think playing him with the starters is smart. Get him on the field in those situations and get him used to that. You don’t want him thinking of himself as “just a backup”.

BLG had praise for Ronald Darby, pointing out that he was the only guy to have success covering Goedert. Darby had a good day overall and has impressed everyone. He could be poised to have a big year.

Fran was impressed by Sidney Jones on a few plays. It doesn’t seem to matter if Jones is a starter or backup, slot or outside. He plays well.

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