How About Some Defense

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense have been the stars of Training Camp so far this summer. That changed on Monday when a couple of OL starters were missing and  the pass rush came alive.

You never want to see Hurts struggle, but it was encouraging to hear about the defense winning the day and having their moment. It is good for the defense to have success and build their confidence. The offense has had an advantage because the players haven’t worn pads so far and that limits the physicality. Pads will be worn starting on Tuesday and that should really make things interesting.

Jimmy Bama was impressed by the guys up front.

The defensive line dominated on Monday. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Milton Williams were all disruptive on the interior, and the defense also got sacks from Nolan Smith, working against Fred Johnson, and Nakobe Dean on a blitz. Smith set up Kinnard with a power rush on one play then hit him with a quick inside move that left Kinnard with cinderblock feet on the next.

Fran Duffy added this note on Smith.

Nolan Smith also joined in on the party on consecutive snaps, showcasing tremendous bend to get pressure on Hurts.

Smith doesn’t have ideal size so it is important that he’s able to take advantage of what he can do. If you watched his college highlights, the guy can bend and dip really well. That allows him to get under and around blockers who are bigger and stronger. We need to see Smith have this kind of success against starters to really get excited about him after a quiet rookie season. Still, it is great to see him having some success and coming alive.

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BLG wrote about the CB battle.

For the third day in a row, Kelee Ringo took the first first-team cornerback reps across from Darius Slay in 11-on-11. That’s three for Ringo to one for Isaiah Rodgers. But it was Rodgers who arguably made the play of the day by knocking down a Kenny Pickett pass in the end zone to prevent a deep touchdown to Joseph Ngata. It was a good ball by the backup quarterback; he gave his receiver a chance to make the grab. But it was an even better play by Rodgers, who continues to demonstrate impressive ball skills.

Ringo was a project when the Eagles drafted him in April of 2023. A very talented project to be sure, but a player who needed to develop. Ringo got some playing time as a rookie. He flashed ability, but also looked like an inconsistent young DB. Ringo seems like a different player this summer. He is getting reps with the 1’s and has played well. He and Rodgers will keep battling to see who starts opposite of Big Play Slay.

Jeff McLane had some good notes on rookie Quinyon Mitchell.

As predicted in my Day 3 notes, Quinyon Mitchell received reps with the first unit at right outside cornerback. Kelee Ringo and Isaiah Rodgers received the bulk of snaps with the starters, but the rookie is clearly in the mix. He didn’t have any passes thrown in his direction, which is never a bad thing.

But when he moved inside to play some slot corner with the second unit, he beat wide receiver Ainias Smith when he diagnosed a run play. If Mitchell doesn’t win the outside spot, he could certainly get the slot nod. He played some inside in college. He’s going to have to show that he can handle defending the run as there are gap responsibilities in the slot. Avonte Maddox is the main guy inside through the first four days.

If the Eagles want their best players on the field, Mitchell may very well play in the slot. The coaches may prefer to go with a veteran like Maddox there, at least initially. Playing in the slot is tough and can give young DBs fits. Mitchell has shown impressive athleticism so far in camp.

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RG Tyler Steen and RT Lane Johnson missed practice. That allowed Mekhi Becton to get snaps at RG. Fred Johnson took over at RT. Becton will get a look at RG since Steen will be out for a bit. Nick Sirianni wouldn’t give a timetable, but sure sounds like at least a week. Becton has size and strength. He has NFL experience. He doesn’t have much OG experience. He will be learning on the fly. The good news for him is that he’s learning from Jeff Stoutland and has some good players to help him out.

The Mekhi Becton era? #Eagles pic.twitter.com/f2q77A4l24

— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) July 29, 2024

Becton certainly looks the part. It will be interesting to see how he does against Carter, Davis and Williams, the Eagles athletic IDL.

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Will Shipley got more reps with Saquon Barkley missing practice (personal reasons…don’t worry). Shipley had another strong outing and is showing the coaches that he can be part of the passing game this year. Fran had some thoughts on him and Kenny Gainwell.

With Barkley out, both Shipley and Gainwell had the opportunity to shine in 7-on-7 action. Both backs came through. Shipley catches the first pass of the period from Hurts along the sideline before getting shoved out of bounds by Devin White, but he bounces back immediately on the next play and catches a perfectly placed wheel route down the near sideline for a huge gain. On the next rep, Hurts hit Gainwell on the same exact route for a touchdown. Hurts would hit Gainwell again underneath before finding A.J. Brown for a pair of receptions to end the first-team offense’s set of plays in the session. Shipley got an additional rep with the second-team offense and won on a route from the backfield, carving up the linebacker in the process.

Shipley has made some really impressive plays. And I don’t think this is a Lorenzo Booker situation. Shipley feels legit.

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