Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Eagles-Pats Roundup Day 1

Posted August 19th, 2026 | No Comments »

The Eagles got what they wanted on Wednesday in Foxboro. The Patriots pushed them and tested the Birds in a tough, competitive practice. Both teams won their share of battles. Most importantly, there weren’t any injuries.

I was most curious to hear about the Eagles offense. The starters went up against a new defense and had no gameplan to lean on. This was going to be a day when you had to adjust on the fly and execute well. So how did the offense do?

Here is Jimmy Bama’s take.

I thought the Eagles’ offense got off to a great start today, notably the offensive line. They were moving the Pats’ D-line in the run game and opening up gaping holes. The O-line starters also (mostly) dominated in pass pro 1-on-1’s.

And

The Eagles’ offense also hit on some big pass plays today. The highlight of the day was on a play in which Dre’Mont Jones was buzzing around the corner. Jalen Hurts stepped up away from the pressure and delivered an outstanding ball on a deep corner route to Elijah Moore.

The Eagles also hit on a couple of long pass plays to Will Shipley, and a screen that got Saquon Barkley loose into the open field.

But it wasn’t all good. As the day progressed, the Pats caught up and did better job of bottling up the run and forcing incompletions. They gave Hurts fits when they blitzed, which really has been a theme throughout camp, as well as in previous years, at times.

Hurts also threw a couple of INTs in 7-on-7’s.

The Eagles focused on running the ball today and had a lot of success. Some of that was good blocking, some was Saquon Barkley doing Saquon things. He’s had a great summer. As for Hurts and the passing game, it was a mixed bag. They didn’t have DeVonta Smith in team drills, which didn’t help. The passing game is just erratic right now. The deep ball to Moore was great. But there were also off-target throws that should have been made.

The coaches and players will study the tape to see what went right and what went wrong. Having good tape to study is invaluable when discussing problems and coming up with solutions.

The offense struggled at the end of practice when in a 2-minute-drill. The Pats were able to score, the Eagles weren’t.

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Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton both had solid performances. McKee looked very good, until the end of practice. He struggled in the 2-minute drill and ended the practice with an INT.

That’s encouraging to hear.

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Hollywood Brown had a good day and seems to be coming alive.  That could give the passing game a boost.

Makai Lemon was a limited participant and is getting closer to being back. His return could also help the passing attack.

Will Shipley had a strong day of practice. He flashed in the game on Saturday. Good to see him playing better.

Ty Robinson built off his good game with a good practice. Vic Fangio had a great comment on him.

That is Vic at his best.

***

Let’s talk about the Eagles defense. It wasn’t their best day, especially the secondary. Here are BLG’s notes.

  • Riq Woolen had an excellent spring but he hasn’t been as good in camp. It felt like the Pats came into this practice planning to go at him over and over … and that strategy largely worked. He got beat by A.J. Brown to allow a downfield completion (see video where an unblocked blitzing Jihaad Campbell is ready to light up Drake Maye, debatable if the throw would’ve gotten off in a real game scenario). He got beat on a rep where Romeo Doubs dropped the ball. He just seemed to be the guy in coverage whenever Maye really tested the Eagles’ secondary.
  • Already touched on this a little but DeMario Douglas got the better of Cooper DeJean today. Rare to see DeJean get beat with frequency.

Quinyon Mitchell gave up some catches to AJ Brown. I don’t want to talk about AJ too much, but he had a strong day and seems to be in great shape. With DeVonta missing a lot of time this summer, the Eagles secondary hadn’t really been tested. That changed on Wednesday. I’m not overly concerned because the DBs have been outstanding the past two years. One practice is just one practice.

***

The pass rush did have some good moments. Jeff McLane has the details.

The Eagles’ defensive front had a solid showing in one-on-ones. Edges Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. were standouts. Tackles Morgan Moses and Marcus Bryant each lost to Smith — the first on outside speed. Hunt was able to get around tackle Dametrious Crownover, but Patriots tackle Will Campbell was able to lock him down. A.J. Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie also had strong turns with their edge rushes.

Moro Ojomo had the most success of the Eagles’ interior starters. He beat guard Alijah Vera-Tucker in both of their matchups. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis were kept in check by guard Mike Onwenu and center Jared Wilson. Ty Robinson continued his recent strong performances with two decisive wins over guard Mehki Butler.

Also

Hunt had a good day and Smith is playing his best football of the summer. With Jonathan Greenard out, it is important for Hunt and Smith to make their presence felt.

***

Dave Zangaro has some praise for Zack Baun.

We probably don’t talk about Zack Baun enough but the former All-Pro linebacker had two great reps in coverage on Wednesday in the span of just a few plays. On the first, he covered Rhamondre Stevenson about 20 yards downfield and got his arms up to bat down the pass down the left sideline.

On the other, Baun was able to drop back into a throwing lane when Drake Maye clearly wanted to get the ball to an open A.J. Brown, who was crossing the field. Baun simply took away that option.

Zack Baun met Rhamondre Stevenson in the hole and delivered a hard thud.

Sometimes we take players for granted. It feels like that happens with Baun so I’m glad Dave wrote about him.

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Big Days Coming Up

Posted August 19th, 2026 | No Comments »

The preseason is not something Nick Sirianni approaches the way other coaches do. Starters don’t play. He keeps things super vanilla. He focuses more on practices. He also loves joint practices, when his players face another team in a controlled setting. The Eagles will battle the Patriots on Wednesday and Thursday in what should be spirited joint practices.

These will be important days for the starters and other key players. It would be great for the Eagles to come out like a well-oiled machine and show how good they are. There will be value no matter what happens. The Eagles will find out where they stand when facing talented competition. That will tell the players and coaches what this team’s strengths and weaknesses are.

A lot of attention will be on Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense. How will they do against another team? They have gotten better during the summer so the timing of this test is good for them. Hopefully DeVonta Smith will be able to participate. He would be a difference-maker for the offense. Without him there will be a lot of pressure for the other receivers to step up. The Eagles need to get a better feel for where this WR corps is right now. Darius Cooper could use a good showing after being up and down vs the Ravens.

Both Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton need a good showing after their struggles in Baltimore. The quick turnaround is probably the best thing for them.

Landon Dickerson has also been up and down this summer. It will be good to see him go against talented DTs. The coaches need to get a good feel for whether Dickerson is struggling or just pacing himself. Dickerson is a veteran who might not practice the same as some other guys, especially with his injury history. This setting should get everyone a better feel for where he truly is.

Eli Stowers will have a chance to show he learned from his performance on Saturday. He’s got plenty to clean up. Stowers needs as many reps as possible.

There will be a lot of eyes on Willie Lampkin. It would be great to see him go against Milton Williams. Lampkin has shown he can block 2’s and 3’s. The next test is to see him against starters.

Jalyx Hunt has had a great summer. It will be fun to see him against a different starting OL. It will also be good to see Nolan Smith in action. It feels like he’s been at his best recently.

The overall defense will be tested by Drake Maye and an outstanding offense. This will be good vs good. Both teams will win their share of battles. A lot of eyes will be on the Eagles corners as they go against AJ Brown. It will be interesting if this leads to any yapping or even fights. You know both sides will be a bit on edge in these matchups. Egos will be in full force.

Eagles safeties will have a good chance to show what they can do. This will be true from Drew Mukuba and Marcus Epps to Maximus Pulley and Kapena Gushiken.

Uar Bernard and Josh Weru will get another chance to show their progress. They both showed promise in the preseason opener. Every rep has value for them.

Some people will talk about the Eagles “winning” the practices. The real key is to get pushed by good competition. If the team has some struggles, that’s okay. The coaches need to know the weaknesses of the team. They can address them. Or go to Howie Roseman and say “We’re not good enough at that spot.” You want to know about problem areas now and not in September.

*****

It feels like the Eagles are getting healthier. Smith participated in the last practice and is trending in the right direction. Makai Lemon is more active each day, Hopefully he will be back next week.

Rookie Cole Wisniewski is finally back on the field. He’s got a lot of ground to make up.

We’ll have to see if Johnny Wilson is able to go.

I’m pretty sure the Eagles made this move because Jakorian Bennett got hurt, not to improve the defense.

You need bodies to get through practices and preseason games.

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