The Pads Are On As Players Continue Training Camp
Greg Ward Jr. catches a pass in training camp, defended by Zech McPherson. (Philadelphia Eagles)
Training camp rose to a new level for players today, as the Eagles players donned pads for practice for the first time.
Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson met with the media before practice and shared that this was a big moment in camp.
“You get a chance to see some real football and how those blocks happen,” Johnson remarked. “Everyone’s excited.”
The excitement was definitely shared by the players.
“It’s my favorite thing of the day to be out here practicing, especially with the pads on,” C/G Cam Jurgens smiled after practice. “It’s fun getting to hit people!”
Safety Reed Blankenship agreed that the pads really help you get back into the football mindset.
“Once you put the pads on, it really shows who you are as a football player,” Blankenship shared.
“First day of pads, we push each other, make sure we finish runs.” Gainwell said. “We’re competing on every small thing.”
Having the pads on also helps Gainwell get some experience on blocking in the game, an area wants to improve this training camp.
“I want to be more firm on this, I want to be more smooth,” Gainwell said. “Knowing the points from [C Jason] Kelce, knowing the points from [T] Lane [Johnson], I just want to be more smooth on pass protection.”
Gainwell abides by a simple code when it comes to blocking.
“Listen to Kelce,” he smiled.
One on ones were a late-practice theme, with the offensive and defensive linemen going at it one on one, and the wide receivers going at it with the corners. According to reports from Eagles beat writers, the offensive line was the dominant force in these drills, though the defensive line held their ground for the most part. Meanwhile, in the DeVonta Smith versus Darius Slay battle, after Slay got one to fall incomplete, the Eagles posted this highlight of Smith catching a beautiful throw.
There was also a punter duel, as Arryn Siposs and Ty Zentner compete for their spot on the team. According to PhillyVoice.com’s Jimmy Kempski, over four punts each Siposs had an average hang time of 4.60 seconds while Zentner’s hang time was 4.65 seconds. Siposs also reportedly shanked two of those four punts. Siposs’ coffin corner punts were better, averaging to the 5.4 yard line over 8 punts while Zentner averaged at the 8.25 yard line over four punts. Both players’ worst punts landed at the 13 yard line, but Zentner had an additional punt at the 10 yard line due to it reportedly landing out of bounds.
Regardless of where you look, it seems that the players are having fun both on and off the field. While speaking to reporters, CB Avonte Maddox was interrupted several times by his teammates joking around and having a good time, and broke out laughing when he alluded to LB Nakobe Dean’s southern drawl.
“We’re always laughing,” Maddox said when asked about it in his media availability. “We make sure we have fun because it makes it a lot easier out here. It makes it a lot easier to communicate, it makes it a lot easier to play with each other, it makes it a lot easier for us to trust each other.”
Once again, the day closed out with a “jamboree” session and the defense won this time, forcing the offense to run sprints at the end of practice.
Maddox was again limited in practice (toe), along with DE Derek Barnett (knee) and LB Haason Reddick (groin), while WR Deon Cain (ankle) was out for practice.
