Camp Sirianni – Day 1

Football is back. Training Camp football, at least. This is the official start of the Nick Sirianni era, as he gets to see his players on the field for the first time and he gets to see his schemes in action for the first time. No more studying Colts tape. No more projections. Sirianni gets to really coach and the players get to play some football.

Good times.

Based on all the reports, Day 1 went about as you would expect. The defense was ahead of the offense. That’s normal. QB Jalen Hurts was inconsistent. As Sirianni explained after practice, Hurts was running some plays for the first time in his life on Wednesday. It was fine for him to be up and down.

The two big problems people pointed out were him holding the ball too long and Hurts running instead of passing. You love having a QB who is a playmaker in games, but it can be frustrating in practice. Hurts needs to get the ball out. Running around doesn’t help the other players on offense.

I remember seeing Michael Vick pull the ball down and run in 7-on-7’s when he was with the Falcons in 2005. I was yelling at the TV. You don’t want that in practice. Get the ball to an outlet receiver. Take a chance down the field. Do not run. I can see doing it in full team drills, but even then you prefer the QB to throw the ball. That’s how he builds timing and chemistry with his receivers.

One big difference there is that Vick was in his fourth or fifth year as the team’s starting QB and he knew the offense inside out. Hurts is in Year 2, but is learning a brand new offense. He’s going to have moments when he relies on his instincts and just runs. That’s understandable for a young guy. Hopefully Hurts will do less of that as camp goes on.

Random Notes

Andre Dillard got first team reps at LT. I thought for sure Jordan Mailata would get those, but the team might be rewarding Dillard for having such a good offseason. Put him out there and see what he can do. Dillard is a pure LT. Mailata could play elsewhere.

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Rookie DL Milton Williams split time between DE and DT. He’s got tweener size at 6-3, 284. That’s about the size of William Fuller, who was a stud at LDE from 1994-1996. Williams is a gifted athlete so he can play both spots.

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Zach Ertz showed up and practiced like nothing weird was going on. That’s a good sign. I still think the Eagles will deal him, but if somehow he is on the roster when the season begins, you want Ertz ready to play like his pre-2020 self. There was one weird thing about him. See if you can pick it out.

New look for Zach Ertz. pic.twitter.com/BzrJpTFkmc

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) July 28, 2021

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LB Davion Taylor practiced with the 1’s. Alex Singleton missed practice so that opened up a spot, but it is still very interesting that Taylor was the guy who got the nod. Mike Kaye reported that the coaching staff is high on Taylor so this makes sense. The previous coaching staff never bought into Taylor. They were too busy obsessing on Whitesnake’s potential. We don’t know if Taylor will pan out, but this is an encouraging sign.

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Nate Herbig played LG. Isaac Seumalo is out with an injury that could last a few weeks. Herbig got a lot of valuable experience last year so hopefully he can use that to help him play at a high level this time out. He’s also in much better shape.

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Devonta Smith had an okay day. He dropped a couple of passes, but also made one tough catch. He went up against Darius Slay and the veteran corner had a good showing against the rookie receiver. The Eagles did a lot in the Red Zone and that made things easier on Slay. He didn’t have to worry about getting beat deep so that allowed him to be more aggressive.

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The Eagles showed some 3-4 looks. Genard Avery was the extra OLB in those looks. Avery is an ideal fit for that role, but he’s got to show he is worth keeping on the roster. Avery will need to stand out on STs and prove he can do more than be just be the specialty SAM.

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Jimmy Bama had this as his play of the day.

The highlight of the day came via huge 6’7, 249-pound QB-turned TE Tyree Jackson, who caught a ball in the middle of the field, and then absolutely trucked LB Rashad Smith. It didn’t even look like Jackson tried to truck him. He just caught a pass and turned upfield, and when Smith came over and made contact, he got de-cleated. Easy prediction: Jackson is going to be a fan fave.

Jackson is a project, but a really interesting one.

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K’Von Wallace was the FS with the 1’s. Rodney McLeod isn’t ready to practice yet.

Bo Wulf liked what he saw from Wallace.

Wallace looked to have a good day of practice working with the starters alongside Harris. Early on, he made a great break on a Hurts pass intended for Dallas Goedert in the end zone. He got both hands on the ball but did not come down with what would have been a difficult interception. That meant a few post-play pushups at the urging of defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson.

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Rookie CB Zech McPhearson practiced on the outside with the 2’s and 3’s.

Josiah Scott was the slot corner with the 2’s.

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