Tough Weekend

Posted: August 4th, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Tough Weekend

The one thing you dread this time of the year is injuries.

KGH made a tackle of Jordan Howard on a run play on Saturday and hurt his knee. His injury will likely carry into the regular season, hopefully just for a week or two.

This is obviously bad news. KGH was having a great camp and emerging as an important part of the defense. With Nigel Bradham still working his way back from an injury, this suddenly makes the LB corps thin. Both guys should be back on the field so this isn’t a disaster. You just hate to see a player who is having such a strong summer run into any kind of issue like this.

If there is a silver lining, the timing is good. Other LBs have all of August and all of the preseason to show they can play if needed.

On Sunday, Zach Brown and Nate Gerry were the two key LBs. Gerry might be ready to take on more of a role. He certainly has the confidence of LBs coach Ken Flajole.

I understand Gerry has yet to prove himself on the field, but he’s an ascending player. As a rookie, he played in 10 games, mostly as a STer. Last year Gerry played in 13 games, starting two of them. He was a role player on defense and key STer. That’s the same kind of track KGH was on heading into 2018, when he had his breakout season. This could be Gerry’s breakout season.

As for Brown, he’s been disappointing so far but did seem to make a few plays on Saturday. Maybe KGH’s injury will get him to play with more of a sense of urgency.

This also is an opportunity for L.J. Fort and T.J. Edwards to get more reps and to try to impress the coaches.

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More injuries on Sunday.

Ugh. Ostman was grabbing his knee and this one seems more serious. I don’t know that Ostman was going to make the team for sure, much less play a lot, but you hate to hear this. He had taken a big step forward this year and was making plays on a daily basis. The coaches were trying to figure out ways to use him. Ostman had everyone’s attention.

Keep your fingers crossed for him.

Ostman had the lead for the #5 DE spot. That now is a battle between Shareef Miller and Daeshon Hall. Miller had been quiet most of the summer, but had his best practice on Saturday. He made multiple plays and also got into a fight with OT Casey Tucker.

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This doesn’t hurt the Eagles that much, but you hate it for the young man. He was in a major fight to keep a roster spot and this could kill his chances.

Mack Hollins is in the lead to be the #5 WR. Greg Ward, Carlton Agudosi and Charles Johnson have all done good things and are fighting for a spot. Feels like Gibson’s time in Philly will be coming to an end.

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Johnathan Cyprien practiced this weekend and had some impressive moments. The coaches put him on the second team and mixed him in aggressively. Cyprien responded well.

Maybe this is a player the coaches liked more than we knew. They aren’t easing him in. They want to see what they’ve got and Cyprien has impressed so far.

One side note…Rodney McLeod is doing more at practice. He’s not out there when there is live hitting, but he is on the mend and getting closer to being a full participant. The Eagles will have an impressive group of safeties when he gets back on the field.

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Miles Sanders continues to impress.

https://twitter.com/EagleSessions/status/1158176425842790400

I can’t wait to see him on Thursday night.

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Jimmy Bama and Brandon Lee Gowton both had good things to say about Nate Sudfeld. This is a key development. Sudfeld got off to a bit of a slow start, but has stacked several good practices together. He’s starting to play well consistently.

The Eagles took a chance by having Sudfeld as the backup. The coaches and personnel department believed in him and rolled the dice. Sudfeld is starting to make them look smart. A good showing from him on Thursday night would silence some of the critics.

Not all, of course.

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