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The DiCecco Daily: Eagles Rookie Cornerback Praised Ahead Of "Green" Practice · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Everybody?
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: Welcome into another edition of the Checko Daily. Andrew de
• 0:15
  Checko bringing you all the sights and sounds from day
• 0:19
  two of Eagles training camp down at the Novacare Complex.
• 0:23
  It was we had a nice little breeze. It wasn't
• 0:26
  super hot. It's not like it gets in August sometimes
• 0:29
  when you get to those dog days of summer. But again,
• 0:32
  I can't emphasize how great it is for football to
• 0:35
  be back in South Philadelphia.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: It just feels right.
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: But let's start with some housekeeping items, as we always do,
• 0:44
  and we'll start with the injury report from today because
• 0:49
  Jalen Carter, Eagles defensive tackle, was sidelined with the shoulder
• 0:53
  and guard Kenyon Green with a knee. Again, he didn't practice,
• 0:58
  so that was very consistent with the first and then
• 1:01
  linebacker Jahad Campbell with the shoulder and center Cam Jurgens
• 1:04
  with the back where limited participants for the second consecutive
• 1:08
  day as well. Again, my understanding regarding Campbell and Jurgons
• 1:15
  is that the monitoring of these reps are part of
• 1:18
  the recovery process.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Let's get to some practice notes.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: How about the practice today was classified as green the green,
• 1:27
  yellow red. It covers around ninety minutes today and defensive
• 1:31
  coordinator Fic Fangio met with the media about nine forty
• 1:35
  this morning. Had some interesting things to say, including highlighting
• 1:39
  a rookie. Well, he was asked about the rookie, but
• 1:42
  he gave a sort of a complimentary feel, I guess
• 1:48
  you could say to this fifth round rookie Mac McWilliams
• 1:51
  as he plays nickel can play outside. Talked about the
• 1:55
  committee approach in terms of the defensive tackles.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: There's a three.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: Three person contingent, I guess you could say, and Moro Jomo,
• 2:04
  Jordan Davis, and Ty Robinson the rookie who are going
• 2:08
  to be tasked with sort of making up for the
• 2:11
  loss of Milton Williams, who again played five hundred snaps
• 2:14
  last season. It doesn't sound like it's going to be
• 2:16
  any one player, So some interesting nuggets there. Those are
• 2:20
  the first two that pop.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: In my mind.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: But let's get to the actual practice observations. I have
• 2:30
  to start with the same player that I opened Wednesday's
• 2:34
  podcast with.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: And that is linebacker Johad Campbell.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: Because this is a guy who beat his projected timeline
• 2:42
  for clearance on Day two, he again repped alongside fellow
• 2:47
  rookie linebacker Smilemonden Jr. On the second team, and as
• 2:50
  I noted in my Day one practice notes, Campbell's range
• 2:53
  and athleticism are apparent, and he really has showcase snak
• 2:58
  for being around the football.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: I will say there was one.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: Occasion, and it's kind of hard of, you know, to
• 3:05
  blame anyone in this situation because it was a very
• 3:08
  very precise throw, but Heurtz delivered an on the money
• 3:13
  pass to wide receiver Johan Dotson on a crosser and
• 3:17
  it was Campbell who was trailing.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: But I'll have more on Jehad Campbell later on.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Let's get to some depth chart notes, especially as it
• 3:26
  pertains to the offensive line. At left tackle on the
• 3:29
  first team, Jordan Malatta will go left to right Jordan Malata,
• 3:33
  Land and Dickerson Brett Toath. The right guard was Tyler Stein,
• 3:37
  right tackle Lane Johnson. Second team from left to right,
• 3:42
  Kendall Lamb, Brett Toath, Drew Kendall at center, Matt Prior
• 3:46
  right guard, Darren Kennard at right tackle. Third team left
• 3:50
  tackle Miles Sinson, left guard, lake In Vakalahee center Trevor
• 3:55
  Keegan right guard, Howard Pearson right tackle. Cameron Williams wrote
• 4:00
  a note Jurgens of course was listed as a limited
• 4:04
  participant and he's on a snap count. But because of that,
• 4:09
  veteran Brett Toath also got some first team work. But
• 4:13
  to me, honestly, it always feels like a matter of
• 4:15
  time before Kendall, the rookie leapfrogs Brett Toth and sort
• 4:21
  of saddles into that number two role. They drafted him
• 4:24
  in the fifth round. I think he offers some good
• 4:26
  value and especially long term, I just think that that
• 4:31
  is a logical sort of transition, if you will. The
• 4:36
  big storyline, probably the biggest position battle in camp is
• 4:41
  the cornerback position, and I talked about it on day one,
• 4:45
  but day two it was not Keiey Ringo who opened
• 4:48
  practice with the first team defense at corner. It was
• 4:52
  a Dori Jackson, the veteran who played in ninety seven games,
• 4:55
  starting eighty two, and Kielee Ringo got the first team
• 4:59
  lo when the Eagles went to seven on sevens. So
• 5:03
  you are seeing a rotation of the two players, which
• 5:06
  should be expected that I do foresee a scenario where
• 5:10
  that sort of continues throughout training camp and even into
• 5:14
  the preseason until someone steps up and claims that position.
• 5:19
  So look, there wasn't any big plays on either side
• 5:24
  of the ball, to be honest with you today, but
• 5:27
  Ringo didn't give up anything.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: He didn't make any plays. The one thing that I.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: Will say is the past on a particular pass that
• 5:35
  came his way. I think it was a comeback route
• 5:36
  from AJ Brown. AJ caught the pass, but Ringo was
• 5:40
  right there to close and prevent any yards after the catch.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: That's really all.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: You can ask for when you're going against AJ Brown,
• 5:47
  who again I believe is the best wide receiver in
• 5:49
  the business, So just expect that to see the you know,
• 5:55
  the rotation between the two players. The interesting one here
• 5:59
  again is safety as well, because there were five players
• 6:03
  who rotated alongside reblanket it with the first team. First
• 6:08
  it was Cooper Degen when the Eagles were in base,
• 6:10
  then Drew mccooba, Sydney Brown, Tristan McCollum, and even Andre
• 6:14
  Sam who's the name you should be familiar with. After
• 6:17
  listening to these podcasts and reading some of the stories
• 6:20
  that I've written over the offseason and last year as well,
• 6:24
  the Eagles open in base as I mentioned, and Cooper
• 6:26
  Degene got the nod initially, but when the Eagles shifted
• 6:30
  to nickel, it was Drew mccooba, the rookie who got
• 6:34
  the first team looks, who got the first opportunity.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Remember yesterday it was Sidney Brown, the third.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Year pro, who got the first opportunity.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: And McCollum and Sam they got a smattering of first
• 6:48
  team reps, not very many, but again, much like Corner,
• 6:51
  expect the mixing and matching to kind of continue on
• 6:54
  throughout the preseason.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: And Drew mccooba.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: I get a lot of questions about Drew mccoob because
• 6:59
  I was very vult.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Goal about how I felt about him.
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  Speaker 3: He was, I believe, my second or third ranked safety
• 7:05
  in this draft class. I like his football intelligence and
• 7:08
  ball skills, but I also like his physicality and I
• 7:13
  think despite his frame, he does play a physical brand
• 7:16
  of football. And even without the pads, you see the
• 7:20
  mentality because on one plan in particular, he delivered a
• 7:23
  thud to wide receiver and Iah Smith after a short completion.
• 7:27
  I can't wait to see what Drew mccoob was able
• 7:29
  to do when the pads come on and at linebacker
• 7:34
  much of the same I opened with Jahad Campbell, so
• 7:37
  you already know where he fell in the pecking order,
• 7:39
  which the first team was Zach Bond and Jeremiah Trotter Junior.
• 7:43
  But again I told you more on Campbell later. With
• 7:46
  as active as he's been, it's fair to wonder if
• 7:49
  the first round pick will soon start to work in
• 7:52
  with the ones, because it did seem initially today that
• 7:58
  Jayalen Hurts, an Eagles passing up offense, was picking on
• 8:01
  Jeremiah Trotter Junior a little bit in the passing game.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: But again those were some throws in tight.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: Windows, in this case to Dallas Goddard, and I thought
• 8:10
  Trotter did some good things, particularly on a play in
• 8:13
  reading and diagnosing and particularly with a run fit. So
• 8:17
  there are areas of his game that I think really shine.
• 8:20
  And again, he only played one hundred and four defensive
• 8:22
  snaps last season. He's gonna need these reps this summer.
• 8:25
  They are so invaluable to him, and I believe that
• 8:28
  he is going to be a really solid football player.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: But that's just.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: Something that I noticed and jotted down into notebook.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Smile.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Mond and I have mentioned Smilemond and Junior, the fifth
• 8:38
  round rookie at.
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: Of Georgia is working on the second team with Jahad Campbell.
• 8:46
  And when the Eagles weren't base defense. For those wondering,
• 8:49
  I talked about what the secondary looked like, well, the
• 8:53
  defensive line was and this again, this is without jaywhen
• 8:55
  Carter Nolan, Smith, Moro Jomo, Jordan Davis, Thomas Booker the
• 9:00
  Fourth and Jaywalks Hunt.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Moro Jomo.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: I've talked a lot about him, but this is kind
• 9:09
  of on the heels of you know, a summer. Last summer,
• 9:12
  he was so disruptive and already you see him being
• 9:15
  able to put pressure in the and push the pocket
• 9:18
  from the interior, and he just has this relentless motor
• 9:22
  about him. He adds a lot of juice. It is
• 9:25
  very distinguishable. And whenever I see a Joemo, and I'll
• 9:28
  even throw Thomas Booker the Fourth in there, they have
• 9:31
  this energy and they're always flowing to the football with
• 9:35
  this urgency. It's really fun to watch and I can't
• 9:38
  wait to watch them in the preseason, especially when the
• 9:40
  pads come on. Those are two guys that are must
• 9:42
  watch for me during one on ones. And this is
• 9:49
  something that I think sometimes we take for granted, you know,
• 9:52
  watching practice, because it almost feels automatic, and he's kind
• 9:56
  of surgical at times. But I thought Jaywen Hurts had
• 10:00
  a really solid day.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Now. There weren't any explosive.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: Plays, they were absent of the offense, but timing accuracy
• 10:07
  and fitting the ball in tight windows, keeping the offense
• 10:10
  on schedule, appearing to be in full command of this
• 10:13
  Kevin Petula led offense.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: That's something I kept writing down.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: One threading the needle to Johan Dotson, to Devonte Smith
• 10:21
  to Dallas Goddard. He just seems like he's attempting throws
• 10:26
  he wouldn't have a couple of years ago. Confident, poised
• 10:30
  as always.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: And.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: The ball just doesn't touch the ground all that much.
• 10:35
  There were two times that it did today, one of
• 10:38
  which Jalen tried to fit a pass into Devonte Smith
• 10:41
  on a short pass over the middle, Zach Bond got
• 10:43
  a hand in to bat it away.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: And then there was another one that.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: Hurts probably could have thrown a little bit of a
• 10:48
  better ball, for being honest, but the pass in the
• 10:51
  flat was dropped by will Shipley, and it was a
• 10:53
  ball that anyone who's watched or Will himself would have
• 10:58
  told you that he should have caught. So those are
• 11:01
  the only two other than that it was the ball
• 11:03
  was never never hit the grounds. There was also a
• 11:06
  lot of running back AJ Dillon today, so the veteran
• 11:09
  running back got a lot of carries out of the backfield.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: It saw a lot of volume. There's a theory that.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: I have about that. It's just my thinking. That's the
• 11:17
  way my mind is sort of programmed here. But I
• 11:21
  think that he's getting some volume and a lot of
• 11:24
  opportunities here because they're trying to add some tread to
• 11:27
  the tires. They want to prepare him and see where
• 11:31
  he's at before the pads come on, because you don't
• 11:35
  want that acclamation period. You want him to kind of
• 11:37
  already be in a rhythm and in the flow of things.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: So that's kind of the way I see it.
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: He did look springy to me, and this is all
• 11:43
  relative because AJ Dillon is not a home run hitter
• 11:45
  by any stretch, but he looked springy when he was
• 11:48
  working through the line and bursting through finishing runs. Of course,
• 11:51
  there's no tackling. He's somebody that I can't wait to see. Well,
• 11:56
  I'm curious to see how he acquits himself when the
• 11:59
  pad come on. Is he the aj Diwan of old?
• 12:02
  How does he handle absorbing contact after a year away?
• 12:06
  And how punishing of a running back can he be?
• 12:10
  And what dimension can he add to this offense if
• 12:13
  he is in fact the player of a couple of
• 12:15
  seasons ago. And lastly, I'll leave you with this. I
• 12:20
  am the type to focus on individual drills.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: This happens for those who don't know.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: Before practice starts warm ups and then individual drills where
• 12:27
  players break off into their positions and they go through drill.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: So today I focus on the wide receivers.
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: And again for what it's worth, I thought that second
• 12:37
  year wide receiver and Nia Smith looks far more confident
• 12:40
  this summer, and he caught the ball cleanly. He has
• 12:43
  caught the ball cleanly really from the spring to this
• 12:45
  point right now. He did reel in at one point
• 12:48
  a difficult over the shoulder catch that highlighted his ball
• 12:51
  tracking ability. Look An Smith had a tough training camp
• 12:56
  last year as a rookie. He did enough at the
• 12:58
  end of the summer to make the roster well, he
• 13:01
  was heard, and then he came back and played a
• 13:03
  little bit. But the point is is this is a
• 13:06
  huge summer for the twenty four year old, and he's
• 13:08
  off to a good start. He's going to have to
• 13:11
  prove some versatility or showcase some versatility to prove his value.
• 13:16
  He's got a positive mindset, he works hard. Now it's
• 13:20
  just about doing enough to sort of elbow your way
• 13:24
  into the roster conversation. The Eagles have a walk through
• 13:28
  tomorrow Friday, but they're back on the practice field as
• 13:31
  normal Saturday morning. I'll have all that for you the
• 13:36
  recap on another edition of The check Odaily tomorrow. Just
• 13:41
  don't expect any training camp up base because there aren't any,
• 13:44
  but I got you covered on Saturday anyway, Folks, hope
• 13:48
  you have a great rest of the day. Thanks for
• 13:49
  listening to The check Odaily, and I'll talk to everybody
• 13:52
  tomorrow