Stacking

The Eagles had a pair of joint practices with the Browns over the past two days. They got a bit overshadowed by the Deshaun Watson news, but it sounds like the Eagles had a good overall showing.

You want players to practice well. More importantly, you want them to practice well consistently. Have a good practice. Then another. Then another. That’s what we call stacking. Consistency equals reliability and that is something coaches crave. They get frustrated when talented players are erratic. They need to be able to trust players.

Let’s start with Jalen Reagor as an example. Here is what Jimmy Bama had to say about him.

Jalen Reagor caught passes in volume today. I’ve made this observation in past practice notes, but it bears repeating that Reagor is having the best camp of his career. Last year, he had a couple of outstanding catches that got posted on social media and went viral, but he otherwise did not have a good camp, as he was plagued by drops and other mistakes. This year, he has made the plays he should make, but with consistency. If he remains on the team this season and he is not dealt, just consistently making the plays that are there is all they need him to do as the fifth receiver.

Also, Reagor has regularly been the first player up on punt returns throughout camp, ahead of Britain Covey.

Jimmy is exactly right. Last year the Eagles saw flashes from Reagor. You could see his talent, his potential. But you just couldn’t trust him. That has changed this summer. Maybe that’s coaching. Maybe Reagor just finally realized how hard pro football is and is truly focused for the first time. Whatever the reason, this is good news.

Reagor is battling to be the #4 receiver and his performance won’t change that too much. But now the coaches can feel better when they call plays for him. Howie Roseman might get calls about Reagor for a trade. Some other team might need WR help.

Let’s hope Reagor continues to play well.

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Just finished going through my notes and the number I wrote down most while watching the #Eagles defense on Friday vs the #Browns?

Third-year S K'Von Wallace

Showed up in both STs and defensive drills today. Talking it through on the Eagle Eye In The Sky Podcast shortly

— Fran Duffy (@EaglesXOs) August 19, 2022

K’Von Wallace has been disappointing so far in his career. He’s struggled to earn playing time. When he does play, he doesn’t play at a high level. Wallace has mostly had a quiet Training Camp. It seemed like he was on the outside looking in when analyzing who would make the 53-man roster.

Boom. Then Wallace had his best showing of the summer on Friday. First up, thoughts from Fran.

Special Teams action comes up next as the Eagles’ kickoff coverage unit works against the Browns’ return team. The star of this period was third-year safety K’Von Wallace, who always brings a lot of energy to the field but seemed to have a little extra pep in his step on Friday. Wallace flew downfield and was the first man down on two separate returns, impacting the opponent inside the 25-yard line. On the last rep, he drew a holding penalty as well. Later in practice, the field flipped with the Eagles’ return unit getting work in, and it was Wallace who recovered a surprise onside kick from Cleveland.

And

The backups take the field, and who makes a big play? It’s K’Von Wallace, riding the momentum of the special teams period into team action. The former Clemson defensive back took to the air and knocked a pass down intended for a Browns receiver. Wallace drew praise from the coaches two plays later, forcing the quarterback to go elsewhere by locking his man down in coverage as the defense forced an incompletion to get off the field.

Bo and Zach also liked what they saw.

Sirianni’s omission of Harris was probably coincidental, but maybe it’s worth flagging for later. Wallace worked as the second-team safety alongside Josiah Scott Friday while Blankenship and Tartt worked with the third-team defense. A week ago, I would have had Wallace off the roster. Friday’s performance was enough to make me reconsider. He starred.

And

On the first play, Wallace read a pitch from his spot deep in the secondary to force a short gain. A Tarron Jackson sack on the next play elicited excitement from defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for the role Wallace and Patrick Johnson played in setting things up.

This is great to hear. Wallace hasn’t had many practices like this in his career. Great sign. But only if he builds on it. He needs to play well on Sunday. He needs to practice well again next week. One good day gets people’s attention, but he’s got to stack performances to really gain the trust of the coaches.

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Safety remains a wide open position so the Eagles need guys to step up. Marcus Epps feels like the only sure thing and that’s a bit of a scary statement. It isn’t like he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season.

Jonathan Gannon talked about Jaquiski Tartt in his press conference.

Gannon said Jaquiski Tartt has a role for us. This is a big 2 weeks for him. He’s not behind after missing time. He’s caught up #Eagles

— Ed Kracz (@kracze) August 18, 2022

Tartt is a talented veteran, but he’s with a new team and hasn’t shown much to this point. Gannon is being positive with those comments. It will be interesting to see if Tartt plays on Sunday. He needs to but after missing time the coaches might use him sparingly. Is he in game shape?

Reed Blankenship has taken advantage of the situation. He played well in the preseason opener and has also practiced well.

Gannon said he likes what he has seen from UDFA Reed Blankenship who isn’t just a post safety or a box safety. He can do both #Eagles

— Ed Kracz (@kracze) August 18, 2022

Marcus Epps
Anthony Harris

Josiah Scott
K’Von Wallace
Reed Blankenship
Jaquiski Tartt
Andre Chachere

I thought newly acquired Ugo Amadi would be part of this group, but the Eagles had him playing outside corner this week. They’ve got more corners than I do PBRs, but they may not be happy with all the young guys. Or maybe they are just trying to see what Amadi can do. It will be interesting to see where he plays on Sunday.

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DeVonta Smith looked great in the joint practices. A lot of attention this spring and summer went to AJ Brown, but don’t overlook Smith and how good he is. It will be fun to see Jalen Hurts have multiple weapons to get the ball to.

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