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Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes | August 6, 2023

WR A.J. Brown caught a touchdown pass to cap off the night for the first-team offense.
WR A.J. Brown caught a touchdown pass to cap off the night for the first-team offense.

More than 50,000 fans descended upon South Philadelphia to watch Sunday night's Public Practice at Lincoln Financial Field. Head Coach Nick Sirianni's press conference on the ground level of the stadium featured several E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES! chants emanating from the seating bowl. If Sunday night offered a glimpse of what home games will be like this season, it's no reason why Sirianni said that the Eagles have the "best home-field advantage in the NFL." Here's a recap of everything that happened:

Pre-Practice Injury Report: Four players were sidelined as cornerback James Bradberry (groin), wide receiver Deon Cain (ankle), linebacker Nakobe Dean (ankle), and linebacker Patrick Johnson (ankle) all missed practice. Coach Sirianni was asked in his press conference about Dean and said the second-year linebacker "was close" to returning to the field. The good news is that players who had been limited in practice – defensive end Derek Barnett, cornerback Avonte Maddox, and linebacker Haason Reddick – were full participants.

1. After a quick special teams period concludes, the team breaks up into their individual position drills, with the running backs heading to the South end zone. Kenneth Gainwell gets the fans lathered up at the jump, playing to the crowd and getting them excited for the action to come as the quarterbacks and ball carriers begin their ball handling drills. Gainwell had to be excited as Head Coach Nick Sirianni wore a shirt promoting Gainwell's Youth Football camp from this past summer. In this period, the players have to get on the same page for all of the different runs they'll be calling in practice for the day, working on the correct footwork and timing with each other to execute a clean handoff. These details mean everything on these plays – that's why this gets repped every single day. – Fran Duffy

2. Jalen Hurts starts the first team period off with a trio of completions, finding A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert all in succession for quick throws to get the offense moving toward the end zone. Smith follows that up with a run off the left side – Milton Williams' burst showed up in pursuit, and Hurts closed the drive with a touchdown on a quarterback draw play that "draws" thunderous applause from the crowd. – Fran Duffy

3. With the second-team unit on the field in the red zone, rookie first-round pick Jalen Carter flashes in a big way with an explosive swim move inside that helps force an incompletion downfield. Carter's suddenness for a big man really showed up on that rep, and he's having more moments like that every day out on the practice field. However, two drives in this red zone team period and two touchdowns for the offense, as quarterback Marcus Mariota hit his former teammate from Atlanta, Olamide Zaccheaus, for the score. – Fran Duffy

4. The offensive and defensive lines squared off in some one-on-one drills, with highlights abound. Haason Reddick tried to work an inside move against Lane Johnson, but to no avail as the veteran tackle shut the door with a strong post hand to stop the rush in its tracks. Jordan Davis got a powerful bull rush in against backup center Brett Toth, pushing the young veteran backwards into the pocket. Davis had another impressive rep later in the drill as well, showing jaw-dropping quickness with his hands to get into the backfield against lineman Cameron Tom.

Landon Dickerson locked up defensive tackle Milton Williams on a rep, showing off bear traps for hands and giving up no room on the rush. Veteran tackle Kentavius Street worked a nice inside move against guard Dennis Kelly to get a "win" for the defense. Derek Barnett pulled a rabbit out of his hat with a nifty move against rookie Tyler Steen at left tackle for a clean victory. – Fran Duffy

5. As the offensive linemen squared off against the defensive linemen, there was a 7-on-7 session taking place at midfield. tight end Dallas Goedert had two nice receptions, including a long gain on an over route to stand out for the offense. Meanwhile, Darius Slay perfectly mirrored wide receiver DeVonta Smith on a double move, forcing quarterback Jalen Hurts to hold onto the ball with nowhere to go. – Chris McPherson

6. Unlike the practices at the NovaCare Complex, the Public Practice opened the door for fans of other teams to view the Eagles. During the 7-on-7 period, a section on the stadium's Southeast side grew tired of a Cowboys fan waving what looked like a blanket. The fans were in midseason form, dishing out the boos. Later in practice, someone wearing a Giants jersey looking for attention walked up the stairs in his section, videotaping the reaction from fans. The NFC East is going to be sooooooo much fun to follow this season. – Chris McPherson

7. The defensive starters up front made some plays in the second team period of practice. Haason Reddick worked underneath a block to make a play at the line of scrimmage on a quick-hitting Trey Sermon run. Fletcher Cox came back on the next play and completely closed up the run lane while taking on a down block. This line is so talented and so deep up front. – Fran Duffy

8. The threes took the field for a "live" session with tackling to the ground. Jalen Carter got a tackle on the second rep, stacking and shedding the offensive lineman and finding running back Kennedy Brooks before getting him down. Brooks came back shortly afterwards and made the fans happy with a nice juke in the open field on a reception in the flat. Rookie Sydney Brown made a great tackle to wrap the period up, coming from the deep part of the field and running the alley to get Brooks down close to the line of scrimmage. – Fran Duffy

9. The third team period featured the starters going against each other on offense and defense. Brandon Graham and Jordan Davis opened by applying pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts, forcing him to throw it into the ground. Linebacker Christian Elliss came up on a run blitz to tap running back Boston Scott in the backfield for a loss. Defensive tackle Milton Williams also came in the backfield to get running back Kenneth Gainwell. Midway through the first-team reps, the offensive line shuffled as Cam Jurgens moved to center, Tyler Steen came off the bench and played right guard, while Jack Driscoll took over at right tackle.

As the second-team offense took over, linebacker Nolan Smith got a "sack" on quarterback Marcus Mariota. Elliss had another play on defense, stopping running back Trey Sermon. – Chris McPherson

10. In the final team period, it was a 2-minute compete session where first the units practice an end-of-the-half scenario, then an end-of-the-game simulation. A.J. Brown made two highlight grabs for the offense. First, he was able to snare a low pass before it hit the ground along the left sideline while keeping his feet in bounds. Then, to cap off the end-of-game drive, he won a jump ball over cornerback Josh Jobe on the left side of the end zone for a touchdown. On the 2-point conversion to tie the game, Hurts kept the ball and ran up the middle into the end zone, much to the crowd's delight, throwing the ball into the stands. Quarterback Marcus Mariota matched Hurts with a touchdown drive of his own, featuring a long scramble to get into a goal-to-go setup. – Chris McPherson

Can you believe that more than 50,000 fans turned out for Sunday night's Public Practice at Lincoln Financial Field?!? When it comes to Eagles fans, nothing should surprise you. Check out some of the best photos from a fun night in South Philadelphia.

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