Training Camp Update: Last Practice Before the Preseason

Thursday’s practice clocked in at just under an hour according to multiple Eagles beat reporters as the Eagles prepared to take on Baltimore in the first preseason game.

The Eagles made several tweaks to their camp schedule, notably moving to Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday, though the practice remained closed to the public. Sirianni said that this was done to help prepare the team for additional situations.

“We have to get ready to play and coach in game-like scenarios,” Sirianni told the media on Thursday before practice. “We went to the stadium [on Sunday] and there were some things that I needed to work on as a head coach with some game management things. I also wanted the coaches to practice some more of the communication of what’s going on before our first pre-season game.”

The communication was notably needed on defense. According to several beat reporters, a snag occurred on Wednesday’s practice when the situation called for the defense’s second team to be on the field, but Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai had left his first team out there. Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman saw the communication breakdown and mentioned to Desai that the second team needed to be on the field.

“That was more about coaches getting over there and going through their reps so that we’re operating at game ten when we’re on game one,” Sirianni expanded. “So that’s really important for us that we’re operating at a high level. That’s all that was about.”

Only Deon Cain (ankle) and Patrick Johnson (ankle) did not participate in practice on Thursday, and DeVonta Smith, who was excused from practice on Wednesday to attend the sentencing of former Alabama teammate Henry Ruggs, had returned to practice. LB Nakobe Dean and WR Devon Allen were upgraded to full participants for Thursday’s practice.

Practice sessions over training camp have featured particular situations, often with specific time, down, and distance. This was even true of the public practice, where the Eagles ran several two-minute drills where everything down to the number of timeouts was specified. Sirianni said that these situations can be things that the team needs to be solid on, but can also be based on real-life examples.

“Most of the time it’s the situations that we practice because we have a detailed list of what we want to do and the things we need to be experts at,” Sirianni explained. “Some things come up. Like, ‘Hey, remember, for instance, the Tom Brady drive in 2019. So sometimes you name it that, too, so everybody locks in to say, ‘Okay, here is what we discussed in a two-minute drill with the Tom Brady drive against the Rams.’ Boom, and we’re all locked into it.”

Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a solid day. His big play was reportedly a 20-yard pass to Wide Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. The throw was precise enough to evade Avonte Maddox’s coverage, and Zaccheaus was able to reel it in before getting out of bounds.

Late in the day on Thursday, the Eagles communications staff released the first depth chart, which listed all five of the contending running backs as starting. It’s likely the Eagles will cycle through them during the preseason game on Saturday.

D’Andre Swift, one of those in line for the running back committee, had a nice angle route that was part of his signature, according to PhillyVoice’s Jimmy Kempski. Swift has been the best receiving running back among the group, according to multiple beat reporters.

Also catching looks has been Wide Receiver Joseph Ngata, who had the touchdown reception during the two minute drill session at the Eagles’ public practice on Sunday. Ngata earned some first team reps during 7-on-7s according to multiple beat reporters, but was overthrown by Hurts. During the team drills on the second team, he was reportedly exceptional.

On the defensive side of the ball, it’s apparent that either Terrell Edmunds or K’Von Wallace will probably be starting alongside Reed Blankenship at safety. Sirianni praised Wallace earlier in camp, indicating that he earned his first team reps, but both have been in the mix and had good showings during camp.

Though Marcus Mariota has had some off-kilter throws at the second string quarterback slot, Sirianni has conceded that some of it may have been due to bad snaps during training camp. Getting reps with Mariota at center was Josh Andrews, who was reportedly good but did have a bad snap and spent time after practice working with Jason Kelce.

The Eagles have a closed walkthrough on Friday before the trip to Baltimore. The first preseason game starts at 7 PM on Saturday.