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The DiCecco Daily: What I Learned At Eagles First Practice In Pads · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened? Everybody?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Welcome into this edition of the Checko Daily. Andrew Dechecko
• 0:13
  here reporting to you all the sites and sounds from
• 0:17
  day five of Eagles training camp.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: I'm doing this podcast outside.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: I want to be one with the extreme scorching temperatures,
• 0:25
  I guess, and once you're able to be in it
• 0:27
  for three hours, you know, it's kind of is what
• 0:30
  it is at that point. But it's funny because training
• 0:34
  camp is one of those things where no matter whether
• 0:36
  you get into air conditioning or whatever the case is,
• 0:40
  to cool down, you still feel the remnants.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Of the morning. It does take a lot out of you.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: So it kind of gives you some perspective as to
• 0:48
  what the players deal with being in these type of
• 0:51
  temperatures and wearing the pads today, which of course today
• 0:55
  Tuesday was the first day of fully padded practice, perhaps
• 0:59
  my favorite day on the NFL calendar. Again, that's where
• 1:03
  you can really gauge. You get a better gauge, I
• 1:05
  should say, about where players are and who's able to
• 1:08
  kind of rise to the occasion under these type of circumstances,
• 1:13
  because this is that sweltering heat that can they could
• 1:17
  separate players but there is a lot to glean from
• 1:20
  this practice. It was a green practice, by the way,
• 1:23
  which covered around an hour and fifty five minutes. They
• 1:27
  spent a little over a half an hour going through
• 1:29
  stretching and warm ups, and they did have some water
• 1:32
  breaks intermixed in there. So I think the Eagles did
• 1:36
  a really good job. Of course, they moved practice up
• 1:38
  an hour to try and combat the heat that's sort
• 1:41
  of converging upon the Delaware Valley. So you have to
• 1:44
  you know, the Eagles did everything that they could to
• 1:46
  kind of i'll find a way around it or counter
• 1:50
  it as best they could.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: But it is hot. It is definitely hot.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: And if you listen to Vic Vangio, who was in
• 1:57
  a sweatshirt and sweatpants today, he said, it's not had
• 2:00
  out here.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: It's a mentality.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: And Jay when Hurt said that, you know, fatigue makes
• 2:06
  cowards of us all. So, you know, I mean you
• 2:10
  have to wonder if they if they truly believe that,
• 2:13
  or if they're just trying to, you know, just trying
• 2:15
  to wire in that mentality because it is hot and
• 2:18
  there's nothing you can do about it.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: You have to go out there and you have to
• 2:21
  go and you have to you have to practice.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: But some interesting notes from today, and we'll start with
• 2:28
  the injuries. On Tuesday's injury report included linebacker Zach Bond,
• 2:32
  who missed practice with a back contusion, wide receiver Danny
• 2:36
  Gray with a finger, safety Drew mccuba shoulder, and wide
• 2:40
  receiver DeVante Smith back tightness. Also edge Nolan Smith with
• 2:45
  a concussion.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: He didn't practice.
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  Speaker 2: Bond and Smith are the new additions to the injury
• 2:49
  report and Smith DeVante Smith has missed his second consecutive practice,
• 2:54
  and so has Drew mccuba of the Eagles, rookie safety
• 2:57
  who was sidelined for the second consecutive day. He got
• 3:00
  dinged during Saturday's practice following a collision with wide receiver
• 3:04
  Danny Gray. Limited for the Eagles, where linebacker Jahad Campbell
• 3:08
  with a shoulder, defensive tackle Jayalen Carter with the shoulder,
• 3:12
  center Cam Jurgens with the back, and linebackers Smile Monden Jr.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: With an illness.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Mond and Junior missed Monday's practice with the illness, but
• 3:20
  he was limited and he factored pretty heavily into the
• 3:23
  defensive equation today.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: More on him in a moment.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Also, wide receiver Terras Marshall. Today, he came off the
• 3:30
  field during an early team period following a Montreal Johnson
• 3:34
  junior run. It looked to be into a leg injury.
• 3:36
  He eventually went inside with the trainer and he did
• 3:39
  not return. So that's something that we'll have to keep
• 3:41
  an eye on. Terras Marshall, of course, was benefiting from
• 3:45
  the absence of Danny Gray, and they sort.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Of felt like they were neck and neck.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Marshall has had a relatively solid start to training camp,
• 3:53
  it's fair to say, but now without Marshall and Gray,
• 3:57
  that creates opportunities for the likes of Johnny Wilson and
• 4:00
  Smith and Elijah Cooks, who I'm going to talk about
• 4:03
  a little bit later. And it was interesting because today
• 4:07
  former Raiders GM, Mike Mayock, he's a local guy. He
• 4:10
  was in attendance, and so was Rodney McLeod, Jason kelcey.
• 4:17
  So you never know who you're gonna run into an
• 4:19
  Eagles camp, but that's who was there today. But we'll
• 4:23
  start with the defensive back situation because I know that
• 4:26
  that's something that a lot of folks have a lot
• 4:30
  of interest in, and so I look at it this way.
• 4:35
  There's still a long way to go. There's just five
• 4:37
  practices in. You don't want to overreact or get carried
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  away one way or the other. But the fact of
• 4:42
  the matter is is that Keilee Ringo was the starting
• 4:45
  corner when the Eagles unveiled their starting defense today. Dori
• 4:50
  Jackson of course worked in. There were no seven on
• 4:52
  sevens today, but both players and Adorri Jackson was the
• 4:56
  starter for three consecutive practices prior. Both players are going
• 5:01
  to be trading off with the first team, I imagine
• 5:04
  throughout training camp. That's something to obviously monitor. I thought
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  Keithley Ringo had a relatively solid day and he had
• 5:12
  a couple of really good reps against Marshall, including a
• 5:14
  pass breakup whereas Jackson was called for a DPI defensive
• 5:19
  pass interference on a sideline pass to Tarras Marshall. So
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  I'm sorry it was Johan Dotson, but that kind of
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  just shows you the up and down play, and I
• 5:31
  think it's going to be very competitive and sort of
• 5:33
  linger throughout the preseason until one player steps up and
• 5:36
  sees the job at safety again. In base Cooper dejen
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  open practice opposite Red Blanket Ship and then when they
• 5:43
  shifted to Nickel, it was Sidney Brown. Remember no Drew mccouba,
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  so Sidney Brown got the Lion's share of the reps.
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  And then the second team was comprised of Tristan McCullum
• 5:51
  and Andre sam Without though when Smith in the lineup,
• 5:55
  it was josh ushe the veteran free agent signing, and
• 6:01
  it was also jay loox Hunt. Of course, Oshawn Mathis,
• 6:04
  who was on the Eagles practice squad for a bit
• 6:06
  last season, also worked in, so did Patrick Johnson, but
• 6:09
  primarily it was jayalox Hunt and josh Usha.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: I noticed a lot of josh Usha today.
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  Speaker 2: He was getting very active around the edge and factoring
• 6:18
  into the backfield and putting a lot of pressure on
• 6:21
  the offense. And he was just one of a few
• 6:24
  players you can make that case for. And it's interesting
• 6:28
  because before practice Vic Fangio spoke to the media for
• 6:31
  the second time this camp and he mentioned that it
• 6:34
  has a long way to go behind Nolan Smith and
• 6:37
  jayaloks Hunt. So obviously there hasn't been a player yet
• 6:42
  behind those two who has really leaped forward. But in
• 6:44
  my estimation, if you're looking at aziz O jar and
• 6:47
  josh Usha the two to.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: One year prove It deal signings.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: It's been josh Usha who has caught my eye a
• 6:53
  little bit more than Ojalari. But again we're still very
• 6:56
  early in the process here. A lot has yet to
• 6:58
  be determined. It was only the first day and pads,
• 7:00
  but I think that that was a positive sign for
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  ushe I was also really impressed with the linebackers, and
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  again Zach Bond was not there. He was not practicing,
• 7:11
  I should say, but it gave an opportunity for Jahad Campbell,
• 7:15
  the Eagles first round pick, to join Jeremiah Trotter Junior
• 7:18
  with the first team, and I really thought that both
• 7:21
  players had standout days. I would say that those two
• 7:24
  players perhaps stood out more than any of the of
• 7:27
  the Eagles defensive or offensive players today. And for Trotter Junior,
• 7:31
  he made a nice play pop and Will Shipley, his
• 7:34
  former college teammate, in the running game. He also swarmed
• 7:37
  to the sideline when jaywhen Hurts was sort of scrambling
• 7:40
  and calling his receivers to work back to the football.
• 7:42
  He ended up checking it down to Barkley along the
• 7:45
  sideline and Trotter Junior is right there to give.
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  Speaker 1: Him a little pop.
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  Speaker 2: I don't even I don't quite know if that pass
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  was complete, but he definitely flows to the football with
• 7:53
  urgency and his best player of the day, perhaps the
• 7:56
  best play of practice was on a play where jaywhen
• 7:59
  Hurts was throwing a corner route in the end zone,
• 8:02
  deep in the end zone to Dallas Goddard. Jeremiah Trotter
• 8:06
  Junior got a hand in there to break it up,
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  so he was step first step with Goddard, and one
• 8:10
  of the I guess of the areas of concern or
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  question surrounding Trotter juniors, how is he going to be
• 8:18
  able to acquit himself in coverage, because he does have
• 8:21
  tremendous play recognition and he's very instinctual, but that sort
• 8:26
  of atones for his lack of premier athleticism. So I
• 8:30
  thought he did a really nice job there and it
• 8:32
  definitely opened my eyes. Number fifty four was jotted down
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  more than a couple of times in my notebook, and
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  Campbell plays with such an edge. He's obviously lengthy, he's ranging,
• 8:42
  and he's athletic. But I mentioned, whether it was in
• 8:47
  my observations or on a podcast, that he stormed into
• 8:51
  the backfield on Monday's practice and tried to dislodge the
• 8:55
  ball out of Tanner mckey's hands. Obviously, Tanner McKee and
• 8:58
  all the quarterbacks wear red Jersey.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Can't do that.
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  Speaker 2: But then today on a play where it was a
• 9:05
  short completion to Goddard, Campbell was right there. He read
• 9:09
  it perfectly, and he dropped him and he just he
• 9:14
  dropped him, and he almost apologetically, like he apologized after
• 9:18
  the play. But I think it really underscores the way
• 9:20
  that he plays football, and you can just see the
• 9:23
  just the inherent athleticism and it seems like he's anticipating
• 9:27
  things and the instincts are starting to catch up to
• 9:30
  the athleticism, and that's obviously going to come.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: With more reps.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: So a really good showing for the first team linebackers
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  and Trotter Junior and Jehad Campbell. I also thought that
• 9:42
  that Will Shipley had a nice practice and I got
• 9:44
  a chance to talk to him and catch up briefly
• 9:46
  after practice. He was available for interviews and he had
• 9:51
  a flurry of receptions and team drills. He was a
• 9:53
  good outlet receiver for Tanner McKee and Jayalen Hurts. He
• 9:56
  had a nice catch down the sideline or along the
• 10:00
  sideline with Campbell and coverage. He also scored on a
• 10:04
  Texas route that was Jalen Hurts his touchdown pass of
• 10:07
  the day, Loan touchdown pass of the day. But it's
• 10:10
  very obvious that he adds a different dimension. He's quick,
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  he's shifty. When he gets in the open field, he
• 10:16
  knows exactly which direction tohead. There's no wasted movements with
• 10:20
  will and he's such a natural pass catcher, the most
• 10:22
  natural pass catcher of the Eagles backfield, that it just
• 10:26
  sort of reemphasizes how integral he's going to be to
• 10:29
  this offense. And again we're going to learn more about
• 10:32
  the pass protection aspect of what he's going to be
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  asked to do. I thought he did some nice things
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  during the one on one period where running backs were
• 10:40
  forced to block one on one linebackers. He had a
• 10:44
  couple of nice showings there. But it's very obvious what
• 10:47
  Bill Shipley can bring to the offense.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: I would also say.
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  Speaker 2: That probably my favorite play of the day, well, one
• 10:58
  of my favorite plays of the day was during that
• 11:01
  one on one session where it was Jeremiah Trotter junior
• 11:04
  versus Ben van Sumerin and if you can remember back
• 11:07
  to Saturday, that was where there was a special teams
• 11:10
  drill where Ben forcefully blocked Trotter Junior and.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: It drew a pretty you know, a.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Roar from the players that were in his line, and
• 11:21
  it also got Sakwon Barkley, you know, sort of fired up,
• 11:25
  and he was calling out to him as well. So
• 11:28
  then you see this drill. The first rep, Ben didn't
• 11:31
  have the best technique. Trotter won that one. The next rep.
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  Ben was extremely physical and forceful with the rep and
• 11:37
  he finished it off by throwing Trotter Junior to the
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  ground and for a moment, Trotter Junior popped up and
• 11:44
  the two players just stared at each other for a moment.
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  He got the sense that, uh, is there gonna be
• 11:49
  a little bit of a dust up, but that wasn't
• 11:51
  the case. But it's been a really fun you know,
• 11:54
  it's been a really fun matchup to watch whenever those
• 11:56
  two go head to head, because let's not forget they
• 11:58
  were both in the same room last year. So I
• 12:01
  just thought that that was something that was that was
• 12:03
  kind of fun to observe, and I had a feeling
• 12:06
  that Ben was going to come back with a vengeance
• 12:08
  on that next rep because that's just the way that
• 12:10
  he plays his very intense guy. Saquon Barkley verse smile
• 12:15
  Monden Jr. I mean Saquon Barkley stonewalled Monden Jr. And
• 12:21
  Montreal Johnson Junior. Verse smile Monden Jr. Johnson Junior. I mean,
• 12:26
  I've mentioned before that he's impressed me as a runner
• 12:29
  and as a returner, So he's going to be somebody
• 12:30
  you're gonna want to keep an eye on in the preseason.
• 12:33
  But I thought he did a really nice job and
• 12:35
  showcase some pretty sound technique in terms of past blocking,
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  and he was able to hold up Mondon Jr. And
• 12:45
  Shan Derek Powell. He had good technique and Monden Jr.
• 12:49
  Wasn't able to disengage from that. Shan Derek Powell is
• 12:52
  five ft seven and eighty three pounds, So if he
• 12:55
  is going to really thrive in a drill like that,
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  it's going to come down to technique. It's going to
• 12:59
  come down to how he uses his leverage and where
• 13:02
  he places his hands and leg drive and all of
• 13:05
  those different intricacies. He can't rely on power. Although he
• 13:09
  is a pretty strong player as my understanding, I thought
• 13:12
  he did a nice job there.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Aj dienverse smile.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Mandan Dwan missed his hand placement on the initial strike
• 13:19
  and Manden Jr.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Took advantage. I thought that there.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Was there was one play in particular that really illustrates
• 13:29
  how important it is as a back end of the
• 13:32
  roster player, somebody on the bubble or even a long
• 13:34
  shot to really maximize your opportunities. And there was a
• 13:37
  play where Tanner McKee it looked like he completed a
• 13:40
  pass later in the session. It was an intermediate throw
• 13:45
  and the ball was dislodged. It was wide receiver Darius Cooper,
• 13:49
  but Tristan McCollum came through and knocked the ball out
• 13:52
  and it was obviously much to the chagrin of wide
• 13:54
  receiver wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead who let him know
• 13:57
  about it. But you can't do that. You have to
• 13:59
  maximize those opportunities, and he did not do that. But
• 14:02
  there were two players, and I'm going to finish it
• 14:04
  off with this. I'll have more of my complete observations
• 14:08
  on Inside the Birds dot Com. But there were two
• 14:11
  down the roster players who deserve a mention here first
• 14:14
  of being Elijah Cooks, who's made plays now in three
• 14:17
  consecutive practices. There was a play where Tanner McKee rifled
• 14:22
  a pass in the back of the end zone on
• 14:24
  a post route to Cooks, who managed to get both
• 14:27
  feed in despite having tight coverage from Tristan McCollum and
• 14:30
  linebacker Dallas Gant. The referee single signal touchdown, but McCollum
• 14:36
  was incredulous. He's insisted he was out, but play on
• 14:40
  the field stood. Cooks has a big body at six
• 14:44
  foot four. He's a rangy type of player, and it
• 14:46
  seems like he's been maximizing the reps that he's been getting.
• 14:50
  And let's not forget this is without Devonte Smith, without
• 14:53
  Danny Gray, and potentially without Terris Marshall. We'll have to
• 14:56
  wait and see what the extent of his injury is,
• 14:58
  but I think that he had has been somebody who
• 15:01
  has reaped the benefits and really maximized that. And then finally,
• 15:05
  running back Shan Derek Powell I mentioned five seven hundred
• 15:08
  and eighty three pounds. He's lightning quick, but he in
• 15:13
  the red zone he uses leverage to kind of burrow
• 15:15
  ahead for a clean touchdown.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: It looked like he was kind of gliding through.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: And he also caught a touchdown pass over the middle
• 15:22
  from Dorian Thompson Robinson. It was a bullet and that
• 15:26
  was his first touchdown of the morning. Now, he hasn't
• 15:28
  gotten a ton of reps or opportunities and team drills.
• 15:32
  He's gotten some work as a returner, but I mean,
• 15:36
  that's exactly what you're supposed to do. That's what you
• 15:39
  would hope to see from someone like a Darius Cooper.
• 15:41
  But I thought Powell really really acquitted himself nicely in
• 15:45
  his opportunities, and that's always what you like to see
• 15:50
  because a lot of these players are really trying to
• 15:53
  get the reps and put a lot of good things
• 15:56
  out there for the coaching staff to evaluate. And I
• 15:58
  thought that both players Isajah Cooks and shun Derek Powell
• 16:01
  did just that. But that's going to do it for
• 16:03
  this edition of the Czech Odaily. There'll be plenty more
• 16:06
  to come. We have two more practices this week, maybe
• 16:09
  even three off day tomorrow, but there'll be plenty of
• 16:12
  coverage on Inside the Birds dot com and on.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: The Inside the Birds platform. Catch you on the next one.