Cross Training

Fans and the media sometimes obsess over who plays where and when in Training Camp. This can be important in some situations. Other times coaches are just trying to mix things up and we can read too much into it.

Coaches spend the summer trying to find the best 53 players and also getting those players ready for the regular season. They know injuries will happen during the season so they want players to get time at different positions. The coaches mixed up some OL looks on Thursday. Here is a note from Fran Duffy.

Rookie offensive lineman Tyler Steen, who had seen most of his reps as the backup right guard here in camp, got extensive looks as a backup left tackle on Thursday. This was a part of a handful of shuffles up front, with Dennis Kelly sliding inside to left guard in place of Sua Opeta, who switched over to Steen’s previous spot. Jack Driscoll, who has gotten reps at both tackle spots this summer, went back over to right tackle. Versatility is imperative for all offensive linemen, but especially for the backups. Having days like this allow Jeff Stoutland, Brian Johnson, and the rest of the coaching staff to gauge exactly where players can fill in just in case there’s an injury up front.

Steen played LT for 4 years in college so getting him reps there certainly makes sense. It does raise a question, though. Has Cam Jurgens won the RG competition? Jurgens has looked good so far and has an extra year in the league. He is new to OG, but has performed well in practice. Steen has been up and down, as most rookies are. Steen should be cross-trained, but the Eagles will need to have him focus on one position. It will be interesting to see where he practices in the coming days.

Kelly has played LT and RT so far this summer. Moving inside is new, but he’s done it in the past. Here’s a note from the Eagles after his signing.

He’s big, strong, and versatile, having taken more than 100 snaps at four different positions in his career – more than 2,500 snaps at right tackle, 650-plus snaps at left tackle, over 400 snaps at right guard, and 128 snaps at left guard.

Part of Kelly’s value is his versatility. He needs to move around to different spots.

Driscoll can play anywhere but C. If Steen focuses on LT, Opeta could get more looks as the #2 RG.

Back to Jurgens. You can certainly count Zach Berman as someone who’s been impressed by the young OL.

In my opinion, the most significant development of one-on-ones so far has been how impressive Jurgens has looked. On Thursday, he held up well against Fletcher Cox and later took a rep at center, handling Noah Elliss’ power push.

Sure sounds like Jurgens has a solid lead at RG for now.

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Nakobe Dean got hurt (not serious) and left practice. Christian Elliss and Nick Morrow were the starting LBs. After that? Jimmy Bama has the interesting development.

The more interesting positional observation is that first-round rookie Nolan Smith got some reps at off-ball linebacker. There’s little doubt that Smith has the athleticism to play off-ball linebacker, and certainly the Eagles are short on depth there, but do they want to distract from his development on the edge, which of course is the far more important position but one where the Eagles have incredible depth?

To be clear, Smith got a very small handful of reps at off-ball linebacker. It will be interesting to see if he gets more of them as camp progresses, or if it was merely a matter of just letting him fill in for one practice for the injured Dean.

I compared Smith to Micah Parsons in the pre-draft process. They have similar size and both are freak athletes. Parsons started off at LB and moved to edge rusher. Smith has the skills to play LB, as well as being an edge rusher.

Most likely this move was just done because the Eagles were light at LB, but it is interesting that they gave Smith the chance to play there. The Eagles are loaded at Edge (Reddick, Sweat, BG, Barnett). If you want Smith to get on the field more, see if you can mix him in at LB. The coaches should want him on the field. I think that is a guy you look at creatively and experiment with. Find a way to get him snaps.

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Safety is another spot with moving parts. Zach Berman has more.

On defense, the shuffling at safety continued, with Reed Blankenship again spending all his time with the first-team defense while paired with a rotating group. Terrell Edmunds, K’Von Wallace and, for the first time this summer, Sydney Brown comprised the participants in that game of musical chairs. Brown working with the starters is a good sign for the possibility that he will be involved in the defense early on, though Wallace and Edmunds have had their moments too.

Edmunds has the most experience. Wallace has the most experience with the Eagles. Brown is the youngest and most talented. The coaches are giving all three guys a chance to play and show what they can do.

We haven’t seen enough of anyone to say who is actually leading the competition. There is a case to be made for each of them.

Part of me would love to see Brown win because of his potential. He and Blankenship could form a talented duo to run the back end of the defense for the next few years. It is good to see Wallace continuing to improve. He flat-lined early on, but then played well on STs and had some good moments on defense.

Sean Desai might decide he wants a veteran on the field and that Edmunds experience is too important to pass up. Safety is more about brains/instincts than athleticism.

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Chris McPherson was impressed by Christian Elliss.

Linebacker Christian Elliss took advantage of his reps with the first-team defense in the 7-on-7 period, generating the lone takeaway of the day. Elliss punched the ball out of the hands of wide receiver Joseph Ngata, who caught the ball on a shallow cross underneath. It was a bang-bang play, but it looked like Ngata made a football move in control of the ball. Nonetheless, Zech McPhearson recovered the fumble for the defense. Elliss also blitzed Tanner McKee on the final play of the team session and would have gotten home for the sack.

Elliss stood out in the OTAs. He has continued to play well in camp. Elliss has a legit shot to win a starting LB spot. He is making more plays than any of the other LBs and that is huge for that spot. You want playmakers in the middle of the defense.

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Berman had an interesting take on Jalen Hurts.

Hurts didn’t have as many standout plays as in previous sessions, but this was another good practice. It wasn’t outstanding, but in a previous summer, this might have been one of his best days. That’s a good sign — when the floor is so high that even a good day seems like the standard. And it’s in line with Nick Sirianni’s biggest takeaway from Hurts’ summer: Consistency.

“You’re going to make splash plays in camp, you’re going to make plays you want back in camp … but I just see his consistency over and over again,” Sirianni said. “He’s made some big-time plays you’ve seen, but it’s really been his consistency. I think he’s operating at a really high level within the offense, just understanding why we do things and how we do things. He’s really like a coach on the field.”

The point about Hurts standard changing this year is right on the money. What was good last year might not be good enough this year. Hurts has raised his game and with that comes higher expectations. His highs from last year are the norm this time around.

It is a lot of fun seeing Hurts continue to ascend. What a unique and impressive player.

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Marcus Mariota continues to be inconsistent. I think it is too early to get worried, but it is certainly worth watching closely. He’s in a new system and playing with backups so some hiccups are to be expected. Still, it isn’t great that most of his best plays are QB runs. A veteran QB like him should be able to make more plays as a passer. We’ll have to see if this changes as he gets more accustomed to the offense and his teammates.

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#Eagles will have their first back to back open practices of camp when they hit the field at 10 am Friday after practicing Thursday. Sean Desai will speak prior to the practice.

— Ed Kracz (@kracze) August 4, 2023

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