Training Camp is Here

The beginning of Training Camp on Wednesday hopefully means we can start to put away 2023. I can’t be the only one who is tired of trying to dissect last year’s epic meltdown. Who called plays? Who quit? Who was a good leader? Who did James Bradberry have compromising photos of?

Let’s flush that away and bask in the excitement of a new season.

Who is ready for some install periods, 10-10-10’s and situational football? Fun for the whole family.

This will be an interesting Training Camp. The Eagles have a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator. That should mean more teaching and learning than previous camps. There is always some of that going on, but new schemes will take things up a notch. The good news is that Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore are veteran coaches. They know their schemes and should be able to communicate what they want from a given player or the overall unit. Clear expectations and improved communication could make a big difference.

Nick Sirianni is back. This is the first time he’ll feel a real sense of pressure. Coaches always know the hot seat isn’t that far away (unless you have multiple rings), but Sirianni wasn’t a lock to return. Jeff Lurie and Howie Roseman decided to bring him back. Still, Sirianni is going to feel a ton of pressure the first time things don’t go well. Will that change him this summer? This season?

I’m curious about Jalen Hurts and excited about Saquon Barkley. Hurts has looked like an MVP at times. He struggled down the stretch last year, coming up short when his team needed him the most. Not all of that is on him, but you pay the QB mega-bucks for a reason. He needs to find answers when things aren’t going well. As for Barkley, he is the most talented RB since Shady. This will be Saquon’s first chance to play behind a good OL and on a talented overall offense. That should bring out the best in him and make the Eagles offense even more dangerous.

The defense added speed and athleticism, both of which were lacking last year. This group has a lot of potential if a couple of key players pan out and play up to expectations. Jalen Carter has a chance to be special. He showed that potential last year, but couldn’t play at that level for the whole season. The secondary should be much better. The team brought in talented, versatile guys who can cover and make plays. LB remains a mystery.

In a way, the whole team is a mystery. There are a ton of questions. Can the team replace Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox? What will the offense look like? Will the young DL start living up to their potential? Is there a functional LB on the roster?

Just because there are questions doesn’t mean there are problems. There is just uncertainty.

Cam Jurgens and Jalen Carter could turn out to be Pro Bowl players. Kellen Moore could do a great job with the offense. Vic Fangio could remind us why so many teams have been trying to run his scheme. The Eagles could turn out to be the best team in the NFC. This is a talented roster.

Things could also go sideways. We saw that in 2020 when Doug Pederson tried to fix his team in the offseason. I think this roster is a lot better than that one, but football can be very humbling as we all learned last year. Super Bowl hopes at Thanksgiving turned into an embarrassing wild card loss.

Hurts and Sirianni are very driven, very competitive men. I tend to think they will do everything possible to win so I expect this to be a good year. But it is fair to be curious about how things will turn out. Lots of questions.

*****

#Eagles DB Cooper DeJean will begin camp on NFI and will be sidelined sidelined three weeks with a hamstring injury suffered when he was caught in an awkward position during offseason training, per league source. It is unrelated to any prior injury. The Eagles are confident in a…

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 23, 2024

This isn’t ideal of course. You would prefer that the rookies are healthy and able to get as many reps as possible. The Eagles do have a deep group of DBs so this just gives more reps to someone else. DeJean should still make his presence felt at some point this year.

*****

LINKS

Jimmy Bama lists 25 things he’ll be watching at camp.

Haason Reddick isn’t reporting to camp. He wants a new deal. I’m glad this is someone else’s mess.

_