A Developing Situation

The Eagles will beging Training Camp this week. This is a time of teaching and learning, of practicing and improving. The Eagles aren’t a finished product. All of the players, even proven veterans and stars, have something to work on.

Former DC Jim Schwartz told a great baseball story to help explain TC. He grew up an Orioles fan and shared a classic Jim Palmer tale. Palmer won more games in the 1970’s (186) than anyone else. One year in spring training he was getting shelled. Someone in the media asked Palmer about it and if he was concerned. Palmer explained that he threw only curve balls in the game. Hitters knew what was coming and hit some of them. Palmer didn’t care about the results. He wanted to improve his curve ball by throwing it over and over in a live setting.

Don’t obsess on results in camp. Players may be working on something to get ready for the regular season.

Nick Sirianni and his staff do a great job of getting the most out of practice. All coaches talk about being detail-oriented. Sirianni and his staff put meaning in those words. They are great teachers. Sirianni talks about how all NFL players are talented. The thing that separates them is good technique. That comes from a combination of practicing by the player and teaching by the coach.

Think about the player development we’ve seen under Sirianni.

Jalen Hurts – The 53rd pick of the 2020 draft is now one of the best QBs in the NFL. He showed some flashes as a rookie, but was 1-3 as a starter and only completed 52 percent of his passes. Hurts led the Eagles to the playoffs in 2021, but still needed to improve as a passer. He took a huge step forward in 2022. He led the Eagles to the Super Bowl and was in the running for league MVP. A player who was a mediocre passer at Alabama just finished 4th in the NFL in passer rating. Hard work and good coaching have helped Hurts develop into a special player.

DeVonta Smith – First round receivers are far from a sure thing. Smith came to the NFL with a great resume, but was rail thin and there were questions about whether he would handle the physicality of the league. The answer is YES. He set a franchise record for catches by a WR (95) and caught 69.9 percent of the throws that came his way. Jeremy Maclin never got above 65.6 percent as an Eagle. Smith doesn’t have special size or speed so he must focus on the little things to play at a high level. He’s a perfect match for Sirianni and his staff.

https://twitter.com/NFLFrance/status/1681238702754869250

AJ Brown – The Eagles wanted a stud receiver to add to the offense so they traded for Brown. He came in and had the best season of his career. He had career highs in catches, yards and TDs. His drops went down and he had the second highest yards/target figure of his career. Sirianni and his staff were handed a star player and got him to play even better.

Javon Hargrave – In his first five seasons, Hargrave had 19 sacks. Since Sirianni and his staff took over, Hargrave had 18.5 sacks in two years. The potential had always been there, but not the production. It will be interesting to see how he does in SF.

Josh Sweat – A great example of player development. Sweat barely played as a rookie. He became a backup the next year and then started three games in his third season. He’s started 29 of 34 games under Sirianni. Sweat had 11 sacks, 15 TFLs and 23 QB hits last year, all career highs. He came to the NFL with size and athleticism, but was raw. He’s gotten better each year in the league. His positional skills finally caught up to his natural talent in 2022.

Crafty Josh Sweat showing counters to the snatch & trap technique Tyler Smith used against Sweat's long arm.
Play 1-Smith executing snatch & trap
Play 2-Sweat flashes long arm to set up ghost technique
Play 3-Sweat replacing arm like Myles Garret shows at 3:30 of the quoted video https://t.co/QCqfURRnwn pic.twitter.com/nN5f2hrw7a

— Nick Waters (@Philly_Films) June 11, 2023

Brandon Graham – The oldest Eagle ruptured his Achilles in Week 2 of 2021. We all wondered what that meant for his future. BG worked hard to get healthy for 2022, but had to come off the bench for the first time since the middle of the Chip Kelly era. BG responded with a career high 11 sacks. He added 11 TFLs and 16 QB hits. Graham played almost 300 fewer snaps than recent seasons, but his production went up. That’s incredibly impressive.

Milton Williams – The Eagles used a third round pick to draft the DE/DT tweener out of La Tech. Williams made plays with a combination of outstanding athleticism and relentless effort. He was raw in terms of technique. Williams showed flashes as a rookie. He played really well down the stretch in Year 2, offering a lot of promise for the future. He’s still a gifted athlete and still has a great motor. Now he’s got an idea of how to play DL from a technical standpoint.

https://twitter.com/EaglesXOs/status/1615118197329477635

CJ Gardner-Johnson – The Eagles needed help at safety last summer. They took a chance by trading for CJGJ, who had mostly played in the slot for the Saints. The Eagles brought him to Philly and plugged him in at FS. CJGJ responded by leading the league INTs and setting a career high in tackles. And he did all that despite missing five games due to injury. The coaches figured out how to get the most out of him and CJGJ delivered in a big way. It will be interesting to see how he fares in Detroit. The talent is still there, but the coaching will be very different.

One of the things that helps Sirianni and his staff to bring out the best in players is their focus on situational football. This was a very telling quote from newly signed LB Nick Morrow.

“Since I’ve been here for six weeks … this is the most that I’ve learned situationally,” Morrow said. “We’ve really emphasized situation awareness, and this is probably the most I’ve learned in my seven-year career.”

“I don’t want to give away too much, but in the team meetings, [we are] constantly going over [situational football],” Morrow said. “Every time we have a team meeting, we bring up situations.

“And everyone’s up. Anyone could be asked a question, and everyone’s responsible to understand what’s going on in a game.”

The coaches are as specific and detailed as possible. They coach everyone, not just the starters.

The coaches don’t just lecture. They are hands-on teachers.

Nick Sirianni says he has specific drills to teach guys how to catch the ball in traffic: "Whether we put a towel around their arm, yank at it when he catches it. We also have a thing where we slap down on his hands when he catches it." #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly

— Michael Greger (@mike_greger) September 26, 2022

They also tell stories as a way to illustrate the value of details. And of course Sirianni has his teaching tapes that he is constantly updating. He shows specific plays from games or reps from practice so they can see what he wants in action, not just theory.

The next month will give the coaches a chance to do more teaching and developing. That will be crucial for a roster with so much young talent. When you lose guys like TJ Edwards, Isaac Seumalo, Hargrave and CJGJ, you need young players to step up. Howie Roseman and the scouts have done a good job of finding the next wave of talent. Now it is up to the coaches to get the most out of the players and for the players to play up to their talent level.

Don’t live and die with the daily reports out of camp. They’re fun to read, but remember that the players are working on skills to get ready for the regular season.

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Here is a good piece on Eagles legend Al Wistert, who should be in the Hall of Fame.

https://twitter.com/NFL_Journal/status/1682915023327297537

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