We are now officially in the off part of the offseason. I could write about Jalen Hurts comments on Nick Sirianni, but I don’t think that’s a big deal. I could write about the Eagles signing Parry Nickerson, but that’s hardly compelling. Jeff Lurie might be selling a minority stake in the team. I don’t think that would change a whole lot. Other writers are covering those topics so I’m going to write about something that interests me.
These are good times.
The Eagles have had three straight winning seasons. They have a star QB. They wore kelly green jerseys last year and will do that again this year. They just spent big money on a star RB in March.
We just saw the team lose one of the greatest centers in the history of football and a DT who was a borderline Hall of Fame player. They are able to replace both of them with homegrown players with big time potential. Cam Jurgens and Jalen Carter might not be as good as Kelce and Cox, but this is worlds different than replacing Brian Dawkins with Quintin Demps or Hugh Douglas with Jerome McDougle.
These are good times.
Life isn’t perfect, of course. The Eagles melted down at the end of last season. There are two new coordinators. While that could be a big improvement, there are no guarantees when it comes to coaching changes. The LB position is still a mystery. It feels like the Eagles will be better there, but we need to see results before we can truly believe.
Let’s circle back to talking about winning. The Eagles should have a winning season in 2024. If they do, that would be four years in a row. They haven’t done that since the peak of the Reid era, 2000-2004. The Eagles had three in a row from 2017-2019 and from 2008-2010. The Eagles reached the Super Bowl in 2022, but couldn’t pull off the win. Still, that was an incredibly fun team.
Don’t take winning for granted.
We all want another Super Bowl, but don’t get into the mindset of championship or misery. The 2024 team has a lot of stars and could be a lot of fun to watch. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see Saquon Barkley in green. The combination of the Eagles offense and OL paired with Barkley’s special ability feels like a match made in heaven.
Let’s hope the match goes that well.
One of the reasons the Eagles melted down last year is that the defense couldn’t get stops or make plays. Howie Roseman added CJ Gardner-Johnson, who was a takeaway machine in the Birds run to the Super Bowl in 2022. They drafted Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, a pair of playmaking DBs who also offer versatility. The Eagles signed Devin White, a LB with playmaking ability. He had 2 INTs last year. He’s got 23 sacks, 40 TFLs, 6 FF and 9 FR in his career. They drafted a playmaking LB in Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The initial reports on him are pretty good and that’s encouraging.
Last year’s meltdown was so bad that it forced definitive changes from the front office and coaching staff. Remember when the 2020 season went sideways and Doug Pederson was hesitant to offer real solutions? Nick Sirianni wasn’t about to stick with the status quo. He’s far too competitive for that. I’m sure he also got a lot of pressure from above. To Nick’s credit, he embraced change rather than trying to protect his coaching staff.
Winning isn’t easy. Sirianni and the Eagles know they have a good thing going, but it needed adjustments. They made a lot of smart changes and now feel like a team that will compete for another Super Bowl.
Good times, indeed.
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I’ll start writing misc pieces on past teams and players. There doesn’t have to be current news for me to come up with something Eagles related.
First up, the 500 greatest plays of Jaiquawn Jarrett’s career!
Posted June 6th, 2024 | Comments Off on Minicamp Talk
The Eagles have had mandatory minicamp practices the last few days. Let’s talk about some of what we’ve learned from those practices.
Zack Baun
Baun played LB and OLB for the Saints. I thought his best moments were as an edge rusher so I thought the Eagles would use him there. Instead he’s been an off-ball LB so far. Baun is well-spoken and had some interesting things to say in a recent press conference. He talked about how the scheme reminded him of the one he played in at Wisconsin. His DC in college was Jim Leonhard, who had played in the NFL. Leonhard and Vic Fangio were both with the Ravens in 2008 so it is no surprise that the UW defense had an NFL feel and the current scheme feels familiar to Baun. Someone asked Baun if there was any frustration with him not being an edge rusher. Baun said he was happy to play wherever the Eagles asked. My guess is that Baun wants to play a lot and is focused on getting on the field. He’s got 14 starts in four years. If the Eagles give him a legit chance to start as an off-ball LB, that is fine with him. Baun and Devin White have gotten most of the reps as the starting LBs. We’ll see if they can keep those jobs. The focus in minicamp has been on the passing game and so far Baun has been solid in coverage.
…one of the obvious standouts on the day was rookie RB Will Shipley, who worked quite a bit out of the slot, and who made about a half dozen receptions on the day. I thought his most impressive moment came on a reception deep down the field, after which he turned on the jets and widened the distance between himself and rookie CBÂ Quinyon Mitchell, who was chasing him from behind. Mitchell ran a 4.33 40 at the Combine. Anyway, my takeaway here? Shipley has some wheels.
Shipley was a gifted pass-catcher at Clemson. He’s been a bit up and down so far in camp, but there is no doubting his potential as a receiver. As he adjusts to the speed and complexity of the NFL game, I think you’ll see more good days from Shipley. One of the reasons the Eagles were so high on him is they loved his competitive spirit. This isn’t a guy who is happy to collect a check. He wants to play. He wants to win. If Shipley fails, it won’t be for lack of effort.
Grant Calcaterra has assumed the backup tight end spot after Jack Stoll’s offseason departure. He has already seen far more action than he did in his first two springs, and caught about a half-dozen passes on the day. Calcaterra has steadily improved as a blocker, and he’ll likely have to do as much of that in 12- and 13-personnel, but he has an opportunity to increase his workload.
I’ve had CJ Uzomah pegged as the backup TE, but maybe Calcaterra can win that role. As Jeff mentioned, Calcaterra must block well enough if he wants to be the backup. The Eagles aren’t going to throw a lot of passes to the backup TE so the player must be able to contribute as a blocker as well as a receiver.
Kenny Pickett had a good day. The backup quarterback fired a bullet through traffic to hit Ainias Smith in the back of the end zone. An official at practice ruled that Smith was forced out of bounds but, still, that was an attention-grabbing play. Pickett also had a really nice back-shoulder touchdown throw to Joseph Ngata. Pickett apparently likes throwing back-shoulder passes; we’ve seen a number of those from him and they’ve looked good more often than not. Pickett was involved in what was arguably the play of practice when he aired it out to Johnny Wilson, whose size came in handy to make a grab just above the outstretched arm of Isaiah Rodgers.
We know Hurts is a good starting QB. Things will start clicking for him soon enough. It is good to hear that Pickett flashed. He’s more of an unknown. The Eagles like his talent, but need to see what he can do in this offense. Pickett is starting to show the talent that got him drafted in the first round. The next step for him is to start to be more consistent.
Here is BLG on McKee.
Tanner McKee made some nice anticipatory throws this spring. We know he can do some good things from the pocket. But he also can throw on the move, apparently, since he found the aforementioned Davis in the back left corner of the end zone while rolling left. Not an easy completion. McKee also made a throw rolling right on Wednesday. He’s doing his part to push for QB2.
McKee is more of a QB of the future. It is encouraging to hear that he’s improved from last year and is having some strong moments.
CB Depth
We know Darius Slay will start at one CB spot. Isaiah Rodgers, Quinyon Mitchell and Kelee Ringo have all played with the starters at different times. Rodgers has the most experience. Mitchell has the most talent. Ringo had multiple good practices and is showing he’s improved from last year. He is pushing for the starting spot opposite of Slay. Mitchell has played in the slot and outside. He’s had some good moments and has been trash-talking AJ Brown so he’s clearly not intimidated by NFL stars.
Cooper DeJean is mostly playing in the slot, even seeing reps with the 1’s. He has made some plays and has looked good.
The overall CB group is vastly improved from last year.
Mekhi Becton
Landon Dickerson was excused from attending the minicamp so LG was wide open. Becton has been playing in Dickerson’s absence. Here is Brooks Kubena on Becton.
Mekhi Becton should remain a player of note during the summer. The No. 11 pick in 2020, Becton started in 30 games for the New York Jets in three seasons as an offensive tackle. He’s being cross-trained as a guard since signing with the Eagles, and he practiced as a first-team left guard in Dickerson’s place. Stoutland said he “didn’t realize” Becton could play other positions. Becton may emerge as Steen’s top challenger for the right guard spot.
Becton has little OG experience. Getting him some reps on the inside in the spring makes sense. You want OL to be ready for multiple spots. Becton is learning a new offense. I wonder if the Eagles want him to spend a lot of time at a new position. I think the smart thing would be to have him focus on playing RT. The Eagles drafted Steen to play RG. They want him to be a long term answer at that position. If he struggles, maybe Becton does win the role. I just think the team will give Steen every chance possible to win the job.
The Defense
Sirianni made sure to praise Fangio and the defense. Sirianni is happy with what he’s seen so far. Brandon Graham talked about how he thinks things are better this year. He praised Fangio and said everyone is on the same page, which he said wasn’t the case last year. Graham also talked about how communication is better this year.
BLG offered this nugget in one of his practice recaps.
Hard to contextualize the frequency relative to practices in previous years but I’ve definitely noticed safeties rotating right before the snap in an effort to disguise coverages.
We won’t know anything until the season starts, but I sure feel better about the defense.
Quick Hits
Jimmy Bama – “John Ross made a bunch of catches, including a one-hander. He was a rookie camp tryout, but has looked like he could legitimately compete for a spot on the 53-man roster.”
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BLG -“UDFA running back Kendall Milton took a swing pass from McKee to the house. Looked fast.”
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Rookie LG Trevor Keegan wasn’t practicing due to an injury. The Eagles signed OG Max Scharping. He is a big OL at 6-6, 325 and has 33 starts under his belt. He’s played for the Texans and Bengals. You wonder if signing Scharping is a sign that Keegan might be out for a while.
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James Bradberry was supposed to play some safety, but got hurt and didn’t practice.