Nick Sirianni’s pared-down training camp routine worked wonders last year. So he’s pared it down even more this year.
We can’t compare training camp regimens beyond the first preseason games since the Eagles had eight days between their first two last year – the Jets on Aug. 12 and the Browns on Aug. 21 – and they have just four days this year between the Ravens on Aug. 12 and the Browns on Aug. 17.
But it’s interesting to compare the first chunk of practice time this year – from Day 1 on Wednesday through the preseason opener – with the corresponding period last year.
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Because as light as last year’s training camp was, this one is a bit lighter, even though the Eagles are starting a day earlier.
And why not? The Eagles were the healthiest team in the NFL last year and went to the Super Bowl without a single opening-day starter missing. Avonte Maddox missed eight games and Jordan Davis four – and Derek Barnett missed most of the season – but other than Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who missed four games, and Dallas Goedert, who missed five, the Eagles didn’t have a starter miss more than two games.
Safe to say no Super Bowl team in history spent fewer hours on the field during training camp than the 2022 Eagles, and the Eagles are convinced there’s a direct correlation between the shorter, quicker, less frequent practices and the team’s remarkable health.
So let’s compare 2022 and 2023:
Philadelphia Eagles
Last year, the 16 days before the first preseason game vs. the Jets included 10 full practices, two days off and four walkthroughs.
This year, the period from Day 1 of practice until the day before the first preseason game is 17 days and includes nine full practices, three days off and five walkthroughs.
So last year, 63 percent of the initial stretch of camp was devoted to full practices, and this year that figure goes down to 53 percent.
Last year, the Eagles had back-to-back practices four times in that initial stretch (July 29-30, Aug. 1-2, Aug. 6-7, Aug. 9-10). This year, they have back-to-back practices just twice (Aug. 3-4, Aug. 9-10).
And last year they had one early stretch where they practiced four times in a five-day span (Aug. 6-10), and this summer they won’t have any stretches where they practice more than three times in a five-day span.
The Eagles also have one stretch coming up – Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 – where they have back-to-back days without a full practice. That’s probably unprecedented in Eagles training camp history. They have a day off Aug. 7 and a walkthrough Aug. 8 before returning to practice on Aug. 9.
Sirianni’s philosophy of putting his team through quick high-tempo training camp practices and then getting them off their feet and into meetings and film study obviously works – 14-3 with a Super Bowl appearance is proof of that - and he’s just taking it one step farther this year.
Last year, the Eagles had a total of 16 practices between the start of camp on July 27 and the final preseason game on Aug. 27 against the Dolphins in Miami. Among those 16 practices were two joint workouts with the Browns and one with the Dolphins.
The Eagles will be off on Aug. 13 - the day after the Ravens preseason game - and on Aug. 16 – the day before the Browns preseason game. We know the two days in between will be joint practices with the Browns.
The final preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 24 at the Linc vs. the Colts. We know the Eagles and Colts are holding a joint practice on Aug. 22, so accounting for days off on Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, the only days we really don’t know the full training camp schedule are Aug. 18 through Aug. 21.
But if the first few weeks are any indication, they’ll practice once or twice that week. That would give them a total of 13 or 14 practice days from the start of camp until the final preseason game, as opposed to 16 last year. (And 75 total 2 ½-hour practices in 1977.)