After nearly two-and-a-half hours, the horn sounded to put an end to the longest Training Camp practice to date. Fran Duffy, Ben Fennell, and Chris McPherson empty out the notebook from a hot, grueling workout at the NovaCare Complex.
1. Thursday's practice had a heavy focus on the red zone, and it was apparent early on. During the individual portion of practice, the defensive backs and linebackers got together on the goal line to work out communication against different formations, motions, and route stems, both pre- and post-snap. Everything happens faster down on the goal line, so things have to be crisp and defined from a decision-making standpoint for the defense when you're in the shadow of your goal posts. – Fran Duffy
2. In the first full-team session, we got to see the first-team offensive line group take the field. Jason Peters and Jason Kelce had the day off Wednesday, which resulted in some shuffling up front. Everyone was back in their regular spots today, and on the first run play they helped open a hole for Jordan Howard to run in for a touchdown. – Fran
3. Sidney Jones continues his strong summer in the opening period, jumping a route on a Carson Wentz pass on the goal line for an interception. It was tough for me to see from my vantage point, but it appeared that the throw was intended for tight end Richard Rodgers. – Fran
4. Jordan Howard may excel running between the tackles, but that doesn't mean he can't contribute elsewhere. After that 11-on-11 period, the team split up into smaller groups, pitting the running backs and tight ends against linebackers and safeties. Howard plucked a ball out of the air nearly 25-30 yards down the right sideline against a trailing linebacker today, and it seems like each day he makes an impressive grab in the passing game. – Ben Fennell
5. The depth at tight end is something to marvel. Sure, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert get the headlines, and deservedly so as they are two of the elite players at the position in the league. Yes, I'm going to include Goedert in that category. Get back to me in February. But after those two, the Eagles have Joshua Perkins, Richard Rodgers, and Will Tye – who have combined for 223 catches, 2,179 yards, and 18 touchdowns in the NFL. Tye snared a one-handed grab during this drill. Rodgers scored in the red zone period later in practice. The Eagles played the most 12 personnel in the league last season and have the ability to continue to do that if they choose to in 2019. – Chris McPherson
6. While Ben studied the backs and tight ends, I was trying my best to watch the receivers and defensive backs play some 2-on-2 down in the far end zone, about 60 yards away. Nelson Agholor was VERY involved in this drill, catching a touchdown down the seam from Carson Wentz on a dart on the very first play. The veteran made a nice catch later in the drill on a pass thrown behind him and also appeared to get both feet in-bounds in the back corner of the end zone on another Wentz throw. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside had a nice catch on a fade in the end zone where he went up and over a defender, and Rasul Douglas had a couple of impressive plays in coverage, including a throw where he matched up with oversized receiver Carlton Agudosi, playing through the front shoulder on a slant route and getting the football on the ground. – Fran
7. The team got together for a "run" period in 11-on-11 action, and on the first play Wentz dropped back off play-action and delivered a bomb downfield to Agholor. Douglas was in position to poke the ball away at the last instant. Despite the fact that it was a designated "run" session, there was still a cat-and-mouse chess game being played by the offensive and defensive coaching staffs. – Ben
8. Greg Ward enjoyed additional reps Thursday, including some with the first-team offense Thursday and he took advantage. Nate Sudfeld drilled a bullet to Wards between multiple defenders down the left side in the 11-on-11 drill. More on Ward later in practice. – C-Mac
9. Second-year tight end Dallas Goedert had a solid day blocking in the run game from my vantage point. Goedert is a key member of this run game and is tasked with blocking both defensive ends and linebackers. He took advantage of angles and his athleticism on some occasions, but he can also seal players at the point of attack as well with his size and strength. – Ben
10. The defensive line, namely the second and third units, were outstanding against the run in this period. A few names that jumped out to me with their ability against the run: Treyvon Hester, Daeshon Hall, and Kevin Wilkins. Later in practice, Josh Sweat shined a handful of times. – Fran
11. Second-year offensive lineman Matt Pryor once again saw reps at left tackle with the third team. Pryor had primarily been getting reps at right guard but has some inside/outside versatility having played both positions at TCU. – Ben
12. The team gathers inside the 20-yard line for another red zone period, and on the third play there goes Sidney Jones again. The third-year cornerback bats a pass down intended for Nelson Agholor, jumping the route along the goal line to force an incompletion. – Fran
13. With some of the younger pieces working in with the first-team offense, the timing was a little off in the red zone drill. The defense won early on, so when Wentz hit Darren Sproles underneath for a 5-yard touchdown, it was no surprise to see No. 43 emphatically spike the ball. – C-Mac
14. The most impressive pass of the day came from Wentz late in the period. Wentz hit Ertz early in the seam route, showing anticipation before Ertz got his head around. Wentz quickly held safety Andrew Sendejo in the middle of the field and then got his head and feet back to Ertz down the seam, playing the ball just out of the reach of linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. – Ben
15. With the third-team offense, Clayton Thorson came onto the field and hit Josh Perkins at the left pylon for a score. It was a nice throw from the rookie quarterback, and a better route and catch from Perkins, who dove to the ground in tight coverage to complete the score. – Fran
16. While the offensive and defensive lines went to the middle field for one-on-one drills, the rest of the team stayed on the far field for 7-on-7 in the red zone. I thought the secondary was outstanding in this sequence, forcing checkdown after checkdown from all of the quarterbacks. Without watching the film, it's tough to pinpoint who exactly to give credit to, so I just want to give love to the group as a whole. – Fran
17. Ward scored two touchdowns in a red zone period, the first came down the right side despite tight coverage by safety Malcolm Jenkins. A 2017 rookie free agent out of Houston, Ward spent his first season on the Eagles' practice squad. He finally got game reps this past spring with the AAF, catching 22 passes for 214 yards and adding a punt return touchdown.
"I think that was valuable experience for him to play and get out there and compete," head coach Doug Pederson said. "He's a guy that we know he knows our system. He's getting comfortable in the slot. Kind of moving him around a little bit. He's showing up on tape. Been excited with his progress." – C-Mac
18. This was the first we've seen this summer from Corey Clement, who stepped on the field with the second team in this drill and had a couple of passes thrown his way in the flat, the second of which he caught and showed a bit of wiggle on his way to the end zone. On the injury front, it was good to see Rodney McLeod continue taking part in 7-on-7s, as he stepped up to stop a receiver on a slant route midway through the drill. – Fran
19. Doug Pederson gave some love to Carlton Agudosi after practice, and he earned it after the day he had. The towering, 6-6 wideout caught a touchdown in the back of the end zone against Josh Hawkins on one play, then caught another one on the far side of the field on a fade route on the very next play as the X-Iso receiver. Both of those plays came from Nate Sudfeld, but a few reps later he caught a touchdown from Cody Kessler on a back-shoulder throw on the right side. – Fran
20. The rivalry between Wentz and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill in the Training Camp continues. Inside the red zone, Wentz tried to look off the linebacker but his throw over the middle was picked off, as Grugier-Hill did a nice job extending to make the play. – C-Mac
21. The first team came back on the field, and Rasul Douglas matched up with Alshon Jeffery (who had a light workload in today's practice) on a back-shoulder throw. Douglas played this ball as well as a corner could, shooting his hands through the catch point along the sideline and getting the ball to the ground. Douglas really has had a strong summer. – Fran
22. Late in practice, with the third-team units on the field, the entire media contingent witnessed offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano decleat Bruce Hector on a block in space. It didn't look like Hector saw him coming, as Donnel Pumphrey (who had a long run earlier in the drill) scampered away from the play on a screen pass. Hector did NOT look happy when he got up from the ground, but Fabiano appeared to be very apologetic and helped the second-year defensive lineman up. There was no pushing or shoving afterward, but I would say that was as close as it's gotten to yet this camp. – Fran
23. Miles Sanders left practice early with what Pederson described as a foot injury. The good news is that he returned to the field at the conclusion of practice to snag footballs from the JUGS machine. – C-Mac
24. Last but not least, your jersey update. I didn't witness the jersey mentioned below, but the competition was over immediately. – C-Mac
