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The DiCecco Daily: Inside Eagles "Most Exciting" Training Camp Practice To Date · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:08
Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everybody?
0:09
Speaker 2: Welcome into this edition of the Czech O Daily. Andrew
0:12
Decheco here bringing you the news and notes from day
0:16
seven of Eagles training camp.
0:17
Speaker 1: It was pleasantly cool.
0:19
Speaker 2: It almost felt like a fall football weather day out
0:23
there at the Novacare Complex, as the Eagles were fully padded,
0:29
and I thought it was the most entertaining of the
0:32
seven training camp practices that I've attended. It featured a
0:36
mix of team drills first and you know ones and twos,
0:40
and it also had the drill that I've talked about
0:44
and I've referenced before, the one on one offensive line
0:47
versus defensive line, which is always really fun to watch
0:52
as certain players have some advantages, but it really just
0:56
underscores how dominant this Eagles offensive line is. And we'll
1:00
start with the news and notes. Obviously the most important
1:04
information is that the status report as I always give
1:09
you and not practicing linebacker zachball On, tight end e J. Jenkins,
1:13
wide receiver Terrorist Marshall, cornerback Mac McWilliams, wide receiver DeVante Smith,
1:19
edge rusher Nolan Smith, and fullback Ben Van Sumern. McWilliams
1:25
and Van Sumern are two new additions to the injury report.
1:29
I didn't quite see what happened to Mack, But for Ben,
1:33
that was the play that I talked about where he
1:37
went to block Jahad Campbell on a running play. Jehi
1:41
Campbell tossed him to the ground and that's deemed an
1:44
ankle injury for Ben.
1:47
Speaker 1: So we'll have to wait and see the extent of it.
1:50
Speaker 2: But he was sidelined the day after, which was Friday,
1:54
and then it looked to me like rookie running back
1:56
Montreal Johnson Junior got dinged up early in practice. I
1:59
spotted him walking off and into a tent with the trainer.
2:03
It was after he had a very nice run where
2:07
he took off.
2:08
Speaker 1: Down the left side.
2:09
Speaker 2: It was a really patient run and it made my
2:11
notebook for that reason. But I do remember him getting
2:14
tagged maybe around the five by Safty Andre Sam and
2:17
then he kind of kept churning forward and Eli Rix
2:21
met him at the goal lining collided with You know,
2:23
it was just a regular collision, but sometimes it affects
2:27
players and depending on what you hit when you're thudding
2:30
into them. But I did not see Montreal Johnson Junior
2:35
the rest of practice for what it's worth he is
2:38
a player that I have highlighted as someone that everyone
2:41
should be keeping an eye on as we venture towards
2:44
the preseason. By the way, that'll be next week the
2:46
Eagles play the Bengals and Montreal. Johnson and a couple
2:50
of other players that I'm going to be mentioning here
2:52
will be among those that you should be sort of
2:55
earmarking as players that you're going to be monitoring.
3:00
Speaker 1: This exhibition season.
3:05
Speaker 2: Limited for the Eagles were linebacker Jahide Campbell, defensive tackle
3:08
Jaywen Carter, guard Landon Dickerson, safety Drew mccouba, and center
3:13
Cam Jurgens. Mccooba practiced in shorts and shells and he
3:17
was withheld from team drills, but obviously he's trending in
3:20
the right direction and that's what you want to see.
3:24
So I'm curious to learn what his practice capacity will
3:30
be on Sunday. But obviously this is good news for
3:33
the Eagles, and today's practice covered around. It was just
3:37
under two hours and a lot of variants and a
3:41
lot it was very fast paced. There were some explosive
3:44
plays both ways. It opened with a special teams drill
3:48
which featured Ania Smith and Avery Williams.
3:51
Speaker 1: It was Avery.
3:52
Speaker 2: Williams who took the kickoff was sort of a regular return,
3:57
but Ania Smith had a nice block on Eli Rix
3:59
and that's something that I took note of. It was
4:02
interesting today because the Eagles would have team drills and
4:06
then they would briefly pause and then they'd have the
4:09
special Teams drill and they would have different returners back there.
4:12
That was the first pairing they would return a kick
4:15
and then they get back to team drills.
4:18
Speaker 1: So that was interesting.
4:20
Speaker 2: Obviously, I get asked about the cornerback situation a lot.
4:22
That's one of the more Marquee battles. It was Kiey
4:25
Ringo who opened with the first team opposite Quinnon Mitchell
4:28
and Adri Jackson also worked in. So that's now four
4:32
days of the seven that Dory Jackson has opened as
4:35
the first team corner and three for Ringo. Both players
4:39
continue to mix and match with the first team. It's
4:42
a battle that, as I keep saying, and I'm going
4:44
to continue to say, it's gonna continue throughout the summer
4:48
in my estimation, until one player steps up and is
4:51
the clear winner of that battle.
4:54
Speaker 1: But it was.
4:54
Speaker 2: Today that I thought that Kilee logged the majority of
4:57
the first team reps at safety, much like we've seen
5:01
through seven practices.
5:02
Speaker 1: Cooper Degen opened as.
5:04
Speaker 2: The safety opposite Red Blanken ship when the Eagles were
5:06
in base defense, and then when the Cooper Degen moved
5:10
to Nickel, that's when he saw City Brown come in
5:14
at safety, and that was the tandem for much of
5:16
the practice. The second team was comprised of Andre Sam,
5:19
lewis Seen, who was a new addition to the second team,
5:22
and Tristan McCullum. In my view, it was Andre Sam
5:26
who took most of those second team reps. Lewis Seen
5:28
had a nice pass breakup on a player along the
5:31
sideline to Grant kal Kata. Grant kal Katara, by the way,
5:35
and I've said this for a couple of years now,
5:37
I believe that he has arguably among the best hands
5:41
on the Eagles. He had a one handed catch before
5:45
and he just has really soft hands, secure hands.
5:48
Speaker 1: So that was one of my takeaways from the other day.
5:52
Speaker 2: I think he had a one handed catch along the
5:54
sideline and it was a short toss, but that was
5:59
the safety room and at edge with no Nolan Smith,
6:03
it was zz O Jlari, not josh Usha, who teamed
6:05
up with Jaywixs Hunt and they were the bookmarked defensive
6:10
ends edge rushers, what have you uh with the first
6:13
team defense? But Jlari had a quote unquote sack against
6:19
Jay when Hurst during team period, and while he's been
6:23
much quieter than one compared to us, and I compare
6:27
them to one another because they were both experienced players
6:31
who were signed to one year moderate deals and they
6:34
are both slotting into be reserved edge rushers. Josh Usa
6:37
is flashed far more than his z's O Jilari, but
6:40
I thought that Jilari made the most of his opportunity
6:43
today with running with the first team. Patrick Johnson and
6:47
Usha also mixed in with the first team at linebacker
6:51
without Zach Bond. It was Jeremiah Trotter Junior and Jehad
6:55
Campbell working with the first team primarily that's what they
6:58
opened with, and then it was rookie's smile Manden j
7:02
More on him later, but he ended up taking quite
7:05
a bit of first team reps opposite Jeremiah Trotter Junior.
7:08
And then the second team was Jehid Campbell and rookie
7:11
free agent Lance Dixon and it was notable because Mondon
7:17
mixed in and got some first team reps the other
7:19
day this week, and today he took the most first
7:23
team reps that he's taken off camp. A lot of
7:26
this has to do with mixing and matching, putting him
7:28
in a different situation where he's working with starters and
7:32
seeing where he's at in terms of his development, what
7:34
he needs to work on, how he's seeing things. There's
7:37
a lot that you can gain, especially when you're seeing
7:40
constant rotating going on at certain positions. There's a lot
7:45
that goes into it, and I would not read too
7:47
much into it, but I did think that Monden Jr.
7:49
Had one of the better days of Eagles defenders.
7:52
Speaker 1: On Friday.
7:55
Speaker 2: Without DeVante Smith and Terriss Marshall and later aj Brown,
7:59
who said during the latter part of team drills it
8:02
was an ISAs Smith and Johnny Wilson who both saw
8:06
an uptick in snaps with the first team. So mac
8:11
McWilliams has largely been running as the second team nickel
8:15
and without mac McWilliams, and he also works in some
8:19
dime with with mccooba out of the picture, but without
8:23
mac McWilliams, it was veteran Parry Nickerson and rookie free
8:27
agent Brandon Johnson who sort of split duties with the
8:30
second team at Nickel corner. It was interesting because at
8:34
the end of at the end of practice, well after
8:38
the double horns had sounded, it was an ISAs Smith
8:42
and another rookie, a rookie free agent wide receiver Giles Jackson,
8:46
who were working with Johnson. Johnson was fully padded and
8:50
an ISAs and Giles were sort of working with him
8:54
and running routes on air, and it was more of
8:59
a detailed thing. But I thought that was really notable
9:01
for Annius to do that, and that was after he
9:04
caught a couple passes after practice from Jayalen Hurts. Annius
9:08
has flashed to me a little bit, not necessarily in
9:11
team drills, but in one on ones. He's continuously working
9:15
in in team drills, and you can see the speed,
9:18
I continue to say, you see the confidence that's very
9:21
apparent when if you watch the way that he moves.
9:24
So I'm curious to see if he's able to build
9:26
on some of the looks that he's gotten and some
9:29
of the success that he's had in training camp.
9:31
Speaker 1: But I'm not gonna make it seem like he's been
9:33
a world beater.
9:34
Speaker 2: But when you compare this training camp to where Anais
9:39
was last summer, it's a stark contrast. So perhaps he
9:42
can build on that in the preseason. For a perspective,
9:46
I think I've seen more out of Anius than I
9:48
have Johnny Wilson this.
9:50
Speaker 1: Camp. Through seven practices. It was a tough day for
9:53
Trevor Keegan.
9:54
Speaker 2: He's another player that I get asked about a lot
9:56
because the Eagles have a ton of offensive lineman buying
9:59
for depth spot and Trevor Keegan had some really erratic
10:02
snaps working as the second team center today, and eventually
10:07
they worked in Drew Kendall with the second team. Drew Kendall,
10:10
by the way, the Eagles fifth round pick in April,
10:13
also got a handful of first team reps because Cam
10:18
jurgens Let's not forget was limited. But I think Kendall
10:21
has largely shown that he can handle that and make
10:24
it so that the offense can continue to churn. Because
10:28
there were times where Keegan's low snaps, some of them
10:31
looked like they were almost a roller. It foils the
10:34
series or a play because you're not able to really establish.
10:37
Speaker 1: Any sort of consistency.
10:39
Speaker 2: And I did see Trevor Keegan working on the snaps
10:41
after practice. Let's not forget this isn't the first time
10:45
that he's played center, but he's largely worked as a
10:48
guard in his year's time with the Eagles. He repped
10:51
at center during Senior Bowl practices, so that's something to keep.
10:54
Speaker 1: An eye on.
10:55
Speaker 2: And veteran offensive lineman Brett Toth I talked about Dickerson
10:59
being landon Dickerson at left guard, so Brett Toath when
11:04
Dickerson would come out, that would be Brett Tooth who
11:06
would slote in with the first team the second team
11:08
offensive line from left to right left tackle Kendall Lamb,
11:11
left guard Kenyon Green, center Trevor Keegan, right guard Matt Pryor,
11:15
and right tackle Darien Kinnard. The play of the day
11:18
for me was on a wheel route from jaywent Hurst,
11:22
perfectly placed in the bread basket of running back Will
11:25
Shipley for an early touchdown during team period.
11:27
Speaker 1: Will Shipley slip past rookie.
11:30
Speaker 2: Linebacker Jahad Campbell and this really he will start to
11:35
stack some days here, and this is on the heels
11:38
of him having a flurry of catches and showcasing the
11:42
burst and acceleration in the open field. I thought he
11:45
did some nice things in terms of pass protection for
11:48
the second consecutive day. I noticed him standing in there
11:51
and standing up linebacker Lance Dixon when he was surging
11:55
forward through the line of scrimmage. Good awareness, and it
11:58
really underscores an area that Will has taken it upon
12:02
himself to really hone in on. And that's going to
12:04
be the key for Will Shipley carving out a.
12:07
Speaker 1: Larger role on offense. He has all of the attributes.
12:11
Speaker 2: All the traits that you look for from a change
12:14
of pace running back, but now it becomes can they
12:17
trust you in pass protection and some of the finer intricacies.
12:20
Speaker 1: Of that role.
12:21
Speaker 2: And thus far we will have a better sense when
12:25
the Egles start playing preseason games.
12:27
Speaker 1: But Will has starting to come on, has started to
12:30
come on a little bit.
12:32
Speaker 2: Big day for Saquon Barkley, and it sounds silly because
12:37
he just ran for two thousand yards last season, but
12:40
it re emphasized how lethal he is with the ball
12:44
in his hands and how much of an advantage he
12:46
has almost has over almost every player because he is
12:51
that effective.
12:52
Speaker 1: He was effective as a receiver and as a runner. Today.
12:56
Speaker 2: There is actually a pass that Jalen Hurts attempted later
12:59
in the set, and it was a long wheel route
13:01
down the left sideline, and it was rookie linebacker Smile
13:05
Mondon Junior who ran stride for stride with Barkley and
13:08
broke up the play.
13:11
Speaker 1: But Barkley was heavily involved today.
13:13
Speaker 2: It was actually very reminiscent of the usage he had
13:16
last year. This training camp, to me, has been more
13:22
productive for Barkley. I've seen more from him this time
13:26
around than even last summer, and I think it kind
13:29
of coincides with everything we've heard this offseason about his
13:34
preparation for this season. I don't see any remnants of
13:37
the workload from last season.
13:40
Speaker 1: And again it's very early and.
13:43
Speaker 2: They still have to get through a number of weeks
13:45
here to get to September fourth.
13:47
Speaker 1: But Barkley looked explosive and he made the plays that
13:51
he always does.
13:52
Speaker 2: Good vision, tough between the tackles, runner, effective in space,
13:57
all the things we've grown accustomed to seeing. Thus, so
14:00
it was a big day for a number twenty six.
14:04
Speaker 1: I also believe that maybe we take.
14:08
Speaker 2: There's certain players who get sort of taken for granted,
14:11
and I think sometimes even we in the media may
14:16
overlook Red Blanket Ship or maybe take his consistency for granted.
14:21
But when you really take a step back and realize
14:23
the path that he's coming, sort of what the Eagles
14:26
have unearthed here in this fourth year safety who was
14:30
a rookie free agent in twenty twenty two and he
14:34
really didn't shine until the preseason. Remember a game against
14:37
the Dolphins where he had some nice tackles and some
14:40
heads up plays, And there was a play today where
14:44
I think it really showcased what he's been working on
14:48
and his developing traits because you see the range and
14:52
the instincts he got around to cover up aj Brown
14:57
Jalen Hurts through a deep shot in the corner of
14:58
the end zone, and Blanket Ship got over got a
15:02
hand in to break up the pass. Great play for Reid.
15:06
I mentioned Mondon Junior breaking up a pass. Reid had
15:09
another highlight that definitely made the notebook there.
15:13
Speaker 1: Third year wide receiver Elijah Cooks.
15:15
Speaker 2: I talked about him surfacing as an early favor for
15:18
training camp. Darling he had a nice He's had a
15:22
handful of impressive catches, and he had another nice one
15:24
today in the red zone touchdown against Keeley Ringo and coverage,
15:29
and he's sort of established a rapport with Tanner McKee.
15:33
Speaker 1: He uses his frame really well.
15:35
Speaker 2: Big body receiver at six four two fifteen, has a
15:38
basketball background. I talked about Montreal Johnson Junior, the rookie
15:42
running back, as someone that you should be keeping an
15:44
eye on. So too should wide receiver Elijah Cooks, because
15:48
it's one thing to make a play here and there
15:50
in a practice, but he's now had four consecutive days
15:54
where he's made some nice catches and been more consistent.
15:58
It hasn't been just a flat in the pan. This
16:00
is this is something that is a trend, and so
16:03
for that reason, you should be keeping an eye on
16:06
number eighty six. He's You may get him confused with
16:09
Johnny Wilson because he's also a big bodied receiver.
16:13
Speaker 1: Wilson's, of course, is eighty nine. Cooks is eighty six.
16:16
Speaker 2: But remember that name as we get closer towards Eagles Bengals.
16:23
And there were some one on ones that I just
16:27
wanted to quickly highlight. Jordan Davis, Verse Brett Toth, Jordan
16:31
Davis was too much for Toath. He overpowered the veteran
16:33
and drove him backwards. Moro Jomo versus Landon Dickerson was
16:37
really fun, and Jomo won by using levers to get
16:40
around Landing, and then Landing comes back and wins cleanly.
16:43
On the following rep, it looked like maybe Moro lost
16:46
his footing in the process, but Landon imposed his will
16:50
on that one. As He's O Jilari versus Jordan Malatta.
16:52
They went back to back oj Or he used his
16:56
quickness to slip past Mylotta, and then on the next
16:59
rep there was really no contest. My lot am manhandled Ojalari.
17:05
Josh Usha had some reps against Darrin Canard back to back.
17:08
Canard stood up Usha the first time, who was unable
17:11
to disengage, and then the second time Darrin Canard again
17:14
held off Usha, this time redirecting him outside and forcing
17:19
him wide. And then I'll round things off here by
17:22
mentioning Gabe Hall versus Kenyon Green. There was a rep
17:26
here where I thought it was really impressive from Gabe Hall.
17:29
He overpowered Green with physicality and leverage to win the rep.
17:33
Kenyon Green by the way. Second day in a row
17:36
working as the second team left guard. Didn't really do
17:39
anything to impress me one way or the other, and oh,
17:42
I don't want to forget. I focused a lot today
17:44
on Tyler Steen, the Eagles third year guard who is
17:47
in line to start at right guard. He's sort of
17:50
uncontested in that battle. He's been running with the first
17:54
team at right guard through seven practices and they don't
17:57
really have well.
17:58
Speaker 1: I guess you could say Matt.
17:59
Speaker 2: Pryor maybe ken Yon Green, but neither player has really
18:03
been up to the challenge. Tyler has had quietly had
18:07
a solid camp. Morojomo has given him fits, but Morojomo
18:10
has given a lot of offensive lineman fits because of
18:13
his skill set and his ability to get under their
18:16
pad level and the violence and the force that he
18:19
plays with. He's just a quick player and has a
18:21
really unique skill set. But I thought Tyler Steen today
18:25
in particular, had some really strong showings driving lineman off
18:29
the ball, holding his holding up certain rushes, and he
18:34
was particularly notable to me today, and I made it
18:37
a point to really focus in, especially on some of
18:40
those running plays. I thought he largely did a solid job,
18:44
and I do believe that he's gonna be just fine
18:45
for the Eagles at right guard and not much of
18:48
a drop off, if at all, compared to Mackay Beckton.
18:53
Eagles return to the practice field Sunday morning. Practice starts
18:56
at ten, and I believe we're gonna be hearing from
18:59
off its recordator Kevin Patulo at nine point forty. Tomorrow
19:02
is a player's day off, which means there's no practice,
19:06
which means there's no to check O daily.
19:08
Speaker 1: So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
19:11
Speaker 2: I'll talk to everybody Sunday and catch you on the
19:13
next one.