Another Eagles training camp practice is in the books. They have sessions Thursday and Friday before Sunday’s preseason game against the Colts at the Linc.
Here are my observations:
1. DeMeco Ryans didn’t practice. Maintenance day was the word. That’s understandable given that Ryans is coming back from his second Achilles tear at 31. Still, it’s a little unsettling to see it come two days after defensive coordinator Bill Davis said Ryans has “a ways to go” toward a full recovery and with Kiko Alonso still sidelined by a concussion.
2. DeMarco Murray sort of practiced. He took a few reps early in the team drills but barely did anything after that. After practice, Murray spoke cryptically about getting work on only plays that “he needs work on,” and about working with a trainer on getting his body “activated,” and so forth and so on. Again, if the Eagles are just keeping Murray’s load light, they’re making a completely rational decision given his workload last season and the pitfalls past running backs have endured one year after logging nearly 500 touches. But there’s an undercurrent of vague explanations here, from Murray and coaches, that make you wonder if there’s more to this than meets the eye.
3. It’s easy to be concerned about cornerback depth on this team. With Nolan Carroll and Byron Maxwell as the projected starters, and Jaylen Watkins competing with Eric Rowe for the slot job, the current second defense’s outside corners are mainly rookie sixth-rounder Randall Evans and rookie free agent Denzel Rice. The team is optimistic about both, especially Rice, but we’re talking about two rookies — three if you count Rowe — as backups on the outside if Carroll or Maxwell need to come out. They’re so thin that Walter Thurmond took some third-team reps opposite newcomer Marc Anthony in the nickel, with E.J. Biggers manning the slot. Watkins enters his second season but he barely played as a rookie, so experience is also an issue with him. Biggers has five years in the league but he’s on his third team in six years and isn’t a lock to make the 53-man roster.
4. The coaches might want to give Zach Ertz the DeMarco Murray treatment. Ertz has taken punishment all camp and appeared seriously hurt after catching a pass very close the goal line in red-zone action. Ertz struggled to get up, lumbered to the sideline and then dropped again to his knees as the trainers came running toward him. Ertz eventually got back to his feet and walked off the pain. He barely practiced after. Ertz has endured a few scary moments in camp and missed one practice already.
5. Right guard update: Andrew Gardner took first-team reps, his first run with the starters since Friday’s practice. For those keeping score, Gardner became the leader in the clubhouse with three practices as the first-team right guard. Matt Tobin, John Moffitt and Julian Vandervelde each have two.
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6. Other personnel groupings: With Alonso and Ryans not practicing, the first-team inside linebackers were Brad Jones and Najee Goode. Rookie third-rounder Jordan Hicks and Emmanuel Acho ran with the second string. At safety, Chris Maragos and Earl Wolff took second-team reps. Maragos' continued run with the second team despite exclusively playing special teams last year is also testament to depth concerns at safety.
7. The defense worked on some blitzes, although nobody’s allowed to hit the QB, so it’s really a test for the offense’s ability to pick up the rush and beat the coverage. Sam Bradford did a nice job getting the ball out quickly to tight end Trey Burton with Maragos barreling down on him. Bradford wasn’t his sharpest throughout the practice but still made enough good throws to feel good about his daily development.
8. Nelson Agholor looks real sharp in kick-return drills. Explosive, decisive. He made a sharp cut and broke one to the outside that he took way past midfield. There’s no tackling in the drill, but nobody was close enough to tackle him anyway.
9. This rookie halfback Raheem Mostert has some tremendous speed. Not sure how he can make the roster, but I can see him on the practice squad. His speed to the outside is the best on the team and he’s got nice hands.
10. Tim Tebow had his fair share of good throws and his fair share of terrible ones, which is pretty normal for him. His day might have looked much better had Nelson Agholor not dropped an easy deep ball in 7s.