Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Clearing Up

Posted August 9th, 2023 | Comments Off on Clearing Up

The Eagles have not played a preseason game yet, but we have seen enough practices to start to get a feel for certain situations. You might say that things are starting to clear up.

In my previous post I talked about the struggles of backup QB Marcus Mariota. His last two practices have been his best and he looks very different. What changed? The Eagles signed Josh Andrews to be the backup C. While he won’t be mistaken for Jason Kelce anytime soon, Andrews is a reliable snapper. Brett Toth had been in that role and had a lot of issues with snaps. That threw off the whole #2 offense, especially Mariota.

Here is Bo Wulf with his take.

The other best throw of the day came from Mariota, who also threw a deep ball to his left, this one to Britain Covey, who had wheeled past Zech McPhearson. Mariota has looked better the past two days, perhaps in some part because the snaps have been more reliable from Josh Andrews than they had been from the second-team centers earlier in camp. He also hit newcomer Johnny King and Joseph Ngata for tight completions in the red zone. Covey, meanwhile, has also come on of late.

Two good practices doesn’t mean Mariota is now all better and backup QB is hunky-dory. It is a good sign, though. Mariota is a talented veteran. The Eagles wanted him as their backup. This is the guy they expected when they signed him.

There is no shame in a player starting slow and then getting better. Going to a new team and learning a new system can be tough. Add in erratic snaps and you can see where Mariota wasn’t in an ideal situation.

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Let’s talk more about the Eagles new LBs.

Myles Jack is 6-1, 244. He is a gifted athlete with excellent speed and range. He’s played WLB and MLB. He played in the 4-3 in JAX and the 3-4 in PIT. If the Eagles want a LB who can cover ground, Jack is their guy. He has played in 103 of 114 career games, never starting fewer than 10.

Zach Cunningham is 6-3, 238. He is a stout inside LB who is at his best stuffing the run and making a lot of tackles. He led the NFL in solo tackles and total tackles in 2020. He moves well for his size, but relies more on instincts than pure speed. He’s played in 82 of 98 career games. Cunningham never started fewer than 11 until last season when an elbow injury limited him to 6 games.

Jack has seen more reps with the 1’s so far. We can only guess what this means. Nakobe Dean did some work in practice on Wednesday and is close to returning. When he does, he’ll be the MLB. If the Eagles are looking for someone to pair with him, Jack is the better fit. Cunningham could play WLB in this system to be sure, but he’s not as good as Jack in coverage.

What they’ve done in the past is a helpful guide in evaluating them, but how they play now is far more important. Let’s take a look at Fran Duffy’s thoughts.

Myles Jack, mixing in once again with the first-team defense, had a really impressive rep playing downhill to find the football. Zach Cunningham made his presence felt as well, beating a block and thudding up Penny on an inside run early on in the day. Cunningham also was in on an incompletion to a tight end midway through the session. Watching this play out through preseason games will be a big topic this month.

Let’s not forget about Christian Elliss.

I’m excited to watch this linebacker competition continue to unfold this summer, because I thought a handful of guys flashed today in these run-heavy periods. Christian Elliss popped early, stacking and shedding an offensive lineman on a run to the right by Rashaad Penny. Elliss’ explosiveness showed up multiple times as well today, flying into the backfield or to the flat to corral ball carriers.

It will be really interesting to see who plays in vs the Ravens on Saturday and how they are used.

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Really interesting take here from John. He’s seen plenty of Training Camp practices so a few good plays isn’t going to overwhelm him. Still, he’s the only beat writer I’ve seen make this statement.

Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift both have more talent and more experience than Gainwell. But this is Year 3 in the Eagles system. The coaches know him and have seen Gainwell get better each season. Maybe he will jump to the front of the line. The team will still be RB by Committee, but someone has to be the lead dog. Maybe Gainwell will win that role.

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I’m glad to have Allen back. He showed a lot last summer. I hoped he would challenge for a roster spot this time around. A track injury sidelined him until now. We’ll see how quickly Allen can start to make plays.

Both OTs were projects. Here is what I wrote about Reid after his signing.

Reid didn’t play football until high school so he is still learning. He’s put on 70 pounds since then so he’s had to adjust to playing as a bigger body. He was able to maintain his athleticism and that’s why the NFL is interested. Reid is agile, but doesn’t have smooth footwork. He plays too fast overall. Jeff Stoutland will need to slow him down and get him more technique-oriented. There are times when Reid looks natural in pass pro. You will also see him look good coming off the ball and blocking a LB up the field on a run. Reminds me a bit of LeRaven Clark, who was a backup for the Eagles.

Reid’s immediate future will be determined by how he takes to Stoutland’s coaching. If he is a great student, I could see room for Reid on the roster. I think the practice squad is a lot more likely. Reid will need time to learn and develop.

His athleticism wasn’t enough to keep him around. He must not have handled Stoutland’s coaching as well as he needed to.

Okorafor was even more raw than Reid. He just wasn’t a good fit for a team that expects to contend.

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Steen has shown a lot of promise at LB. Here is Jimmy Bama on him.

One of the common matchups we have seen since Tyler Steen has started getting more reps at LT has been Steen against Nolan Smith. Smith has had a good camp as a rookie, but Steen has mostly won those matchups pretty easily. Steen can play. He’s already better than Jack Driscoll both at guard and tackle, in my opinion.

Steen has looked good at LT and has gotten better at RG. Driscoll has been up and down this summer. I think his 16 career starts means he’s likely to stick, but he needs to play well in the games. Driscoll has started at LT, RT and G. Dennis Kelly is now with the #3 OL. He’s got to show something to win a spot.

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I don’t think I’ve heard much about DL Kentavius Street this summer. Luckily Fran shared a note on him.

The depth up front is outstanding for this team once again, and two players who have really caught my eye this summer are Milton Williams and Kentavius Street. Both guys have very similar skill sets and backgrounds as converted college defensive ends who made late transitions inside. They’re both very violent and urgent through contact, with the ability to win from multiple techniques up front. Williams knifed into the backfield, splitting a double team to wrap up a ball carrier early on in an 11-on-11 period halfway through practice.

Williams will be a key player. I started to wonder if Street would make the team. Sure sounds like Fran has been impressed by him.

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I had my doubts about Ngata as a fit in the NFL. I’m happy to report that I was wrong…he’s playing well and pushing for a roster spot.

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Up in the Air

Posted August 7th, 2023 | 2 Comments »

The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. To a lesser extent, the same is true of Training Camp. A slow start to camp or a couple of bad practices doesn’t mean it is crisis time. The coaches and scouts want to give players time to grow, but also know the clock is ticking as they try to find the best 53 players and get the team ready for the season. It can be tricky to find the right balance between being patient and not being aggressive enough.

TC has mostly been good for the Eagles, but there are a few players/situations worth discussing.

Backup QB

Jalen Hurts has missed three games in the past two seasons. The Gardner Minshew Experience is now playing in Indy so the Eagles need to find a new backup QB. They signed Marcus Mariota to give them an experienced, athletic player behind Hurts. Unfortunately, Mariota is off to a disappointing start in camp. Accuracy has been a real issue for him so far. Check out these comments from Jimmy Bama after Sunday night’s practice.

There was a stretch of three consecutive plays in which Mariota badly missed his intended target:

    1. He misfired high on a sideline throw over the head of Zaccheaus out of bounds.
    2. He then threw another pass over the head of tight end Jack Stoll, again, out of bounds.
    3. And finally, he sailed a third pass over the head of Joseph Ngata in the middle of the field. If there had been a safety trailing that play it would have been an easy INT.
That sequence actually drew a few grumbles from the crowd, which is hard to do in an “all love” type of open practice setting.

If Mariota has to play this season, I think you can expect to see a quarterback who will make his share of plays — particularly with his legs — as long as the Eagles are able to keep him on schedule. But if you’re looking for him to mount a comeback with throws to the intermediate and deeper areas of the field, it’s probably not going to happen.

That’s not the worst description of a backup QB, but it isn’t ideal for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Mariota still has several weeks and multiple preseason games to show improvement. The Eagles know what he’s done in the past so I doubt they are overly concerned. But I’m sure the coaches would love to see better play come from Mariota. There is no questioning his ability to make plays. The team needs him to improve as a passer. I do think playing with the starting OL and receivers would help him. Still, you expect more from a player with his track record.

Ian Book is in his first TC with the Eagles. He hasn’t stood out and likely won’t be winning a roster spot. One of his big issues is a lack of arm strength. He doesn’t have to be John Elway, but his throws just aren’t impressive.

Linebacker

As long as Nakobe Dean is a stud, no issues. But he hasn’t stood out this summer and now he’s missed a couple of practices due to injury. While that’s not ideal, it isn’t terrible either. Dean is going to shine in games more than practice. And the injury seems minor. Nick Sirianni said Dean will be back soon.

Nick Morrow was expected to start alongside Dean. Morrow has had a quiet summer so far. Christian Elliss had a terrific spring and has continued to make plays this summer. He and Dean could be your starting LBs. That won’t intimidate opposing players right now, but the duo looked good together in mop-up duty last year. The team has high expectations for Dean. Elliss wasn’t expected to be this good, but he keeps checking every box. The real test for both guys will be starting in the regular season.

Shaun Bradley has impressed those watching camp. He’s not going to win a starting role, but can secure a roster spot if he continues to play well. Ben VanSumeren is a project. He has to show good potential to make the practice squad.

Recent additions Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham are in Philly to compete. They’ll start by battling for roster spots. They also will try to earn playing time. The team needed better depth at LB. Now they have multiple players battling for roles. That’s better than counting on role players and rookies to overachieve.

Safety

I think the Eagles are better at safety than some others might. The team likes Reed Blankenship and has high hopes for him. He showed a lot of promise last year. This time around he’s got some experience to add to his athleticism and ability. The spot beside him is open at this point, but this is different than LB. The Eagles have some good options.

K’Von Wallace is in his fourth season in the NFL. He played his best football last year. That only involved one start, but you could see the light finally coming on for him. He’s gotten reps with the starters a few times this summer and seems to be building on last season. Here is Jimmy Bama’s take on him.

  1. K’Von Wallace continues to get a lot of first-team reps. I don’t have an official count or anything, but at this point I would estimate that he has gotten more first-team reps at safety than Terrell Edmunds. On Sunday night, Wallace was around the ball a lot on running plays, and he had a nice little pop (without going too far) on Grant Calcaterra after a short completion.

Good for him. Not everyone progresses at the same rate. It would be kinda cool to see a safety from Clemson playing well for the Eagles. I think that happened once before. CJ Gaddis maybe?

Terrell Edmunds was brought in to add experience to the secondary. He’s gotten reps with the first team, but has also been a role player. I don’t know if the Eagles are just giving Wallace more of a chance because he’s unknown or if he’s truly out-played Edmunds.

Punter

While the Eagles had the fifth fewest punts in the league last year, this position still matters. Re-watch the Super Bowl if you need a reminder. Unfortunately neither of the punters in camp is having a good summer. Here is Brandon Lee Gowton with his take.

Neither Arryn Siposs nor Ty Zentner have looked good punting in camp but the former has been less worse than the latter.

The results of their three punts in terms of yardage and hang time:

Siposs: 45, 4.31
Siposs: 47, 4.71
Siposs: 43, 4.57

Zentner: 53, 4.31
Zentner: 40, 4.00
Zentner: 55, 4.00

Zentner posted the longer distances but his hang time was bad. He’s not giving the punt coverage team enough time in those instances. For context, the NFL’s two worst punters in average hang time last year came in at 3.85 and 4.10 seconds.

The Eagles also had Siposs and Zentner practice some directional punting. Neither of them was able to pin the ball close to the corner but Siposs came closer than the rookie did.

What in the name of Donnie Jones is going on here? Competition is supposed to push players to be better. This could be a spot where the Eagles will actively watch the waiver wire. They need to be better than last year.

Rookies

Jalen Carter has been up and down. That’s not an issue for a rookie DT. He has moments where he overwhelms blockers, but has also had more than a few where the blockers got the best of him. Carter isn’t on track to start right now, but I didn’t expect him to. He should be a key role player this season. If he does start and makes an impact, that’s even better.

Nolan Smith has been one of the stars of camp. His motor and athleticism have been incredibly impressive. He’s got a lot of players in front of him, but Smith is showing that the Eagles need to find snaps for him.

Tyler Steen had a shot at being the starting RG. Cam Jurgens seems to have won that compeition. Steen is now seeing most of his time at backup LT. You love that kind of versatility from a rookie.

Sydney Brown started with the 3’s and has worked his way up. He’s now with the 2’s. Brown has impressed people with his speed. He flies downhill, closing to the ball in a flash. That’s what you want in run support. And he is physical.

I had low expectations for Kelee Ringo this year. He’s physically gifted, but needs a lot of work. Ringo has started to flash in recent days. I still don’t expect him to play this year, but it is good to see him making some plays.

Tanner McKee probably has the lead for the #3 QB spot. He’s had some good moments in camp. McKee hasn’t stood out, but you can see why the Eagles liked him enough to draft him.

DL Moro Ojomo started slow. He began flashing the past few days. Unfortunately he got poked in the eye on Sunday night. No word on his status. Ojomo is likely battling for a spot on the practice squad.

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