Several NFL teams decided to cancel the practice on Thursday to hold discussions on topics of social injustice, but the Eagles held their practice as scheduled at 10:30 p.m.
On Wednesday night, Doug Pederson led her team meeting on the subject after the NBA and other major sports games were postponed during the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin. Pederson also canceled the rest of the evening’s meetings for his team to continue the discussion. Those conversations will continue.
But on the field at the NovaCare Complex, it was so just business. The Eagles have held their 10th training camp practice since the pads went through. They will have a day off on Friday.
I got the temperature control today with a 97.7 today despite the heat.
Let’s go to the obs:
1. There was a really fun fight on Thursday: DeSean Jackson against Darius Slay.
During 7-on-7s, Jackson was able to sneak behind Slay and caught a 40-yard bomb from Carson Wentz for a touchdown. But a little later Wentz tried a deep ball to the right sideline that fell incompletely. Slay was with Jackson every step of the way and hit the ball away at the last second. Great coverage.
2. I do not know if Jackson will stay healthy in 2020, but even at 33 he absolutely does not look like he has lost a step. He’s still lightning fast. Apart from the deep ball, he also grabbed a short pass and then started with a lot of YAC.
Wentz to DeSean pic.twitter.com/0hjsvJVXIo
– Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) August 27, 2020
And Jackson is also still an elite tracker of football. It’s great to see him do that.
3. The Eagles were without Lane Johnson in practice today and then Andre Dillard left early, so a little light on the offensive line.
A few vulnerabilities on the DL to update as well:
Additions to Eagles injuries:
Genard Avery (lower body) day after day
Joe Ostman (lower body) day to day
Seems like a positive indication after Avery was carteled yesterday.
– Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) August 27, 2020
4. The Eagles were without Johnson and Dillard and Jason Peters had a scheduled maintenance day, so they were without three starters on the line.
Here’s how they are lined up: Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Nate Herbig, Matt Pryor
5. Zach Ertz made a fantastic catch during a period of 11 to 11. Wentz threw a rocket, but it was behind Ertz, who came back with one hand and sniped it.
6. Deontay Burnett made the game of the day, which is what he has done a few times in this camp. On Thursday, he jumped near the sideline and grabbed a ball from the air over Cre’Von LeBlanc. Burnett has had a very good camp and probably deserves to make the roster, but a number crunch in his position will make it difficult.
7. John Hightower had another “wow” game. The rookie grabbed a touchdown pass over Craig James in the end zone on a pass from Sudfeld. It might have been a slight turn off from Hightower, but I did not see a flag.
8. The first teams were still practicing in ‘tud’ periods all but the backups had a few live, approach-to-the-ground, periods at the goal line. Michael Warren was able to get a touchdown and then Elijah Holyfield hit it too. After Holyfield’s touchdown, he spiked the ball.
9. Greg Ward Jr. is a former college quarterback and he had to show that today. We saw them make this game work last year, but Ward is throwing his first pass of this summer today.
10. Jordan Mailata went back to practice on Thursday and had an OK day. He was not perfect, but I thought he sometimes fought and held. Still, he did not go well against Brandon Graham.
11. Boston Scott had previously been in camp with an injury, but he now looks healthy. He showed today that a whole season burst through the line.
12. Rookie 7th-round pick Casey Toohill grabbed a few bags, including one on fellow rookie Prince Tega Wanogho. Toohill showed great bend to get under Tega. When I got into this camp, I thought Toohill was a long shot to make the roster. I don ‘t think so anymore.
13. The Eagles tried to run to Ward for a while, but it did not fool TJ Edwards. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Super instinctive player and that makes up for his lack of pure speed.
14. A few Jalen Reagor updates:
– He continues to make catches in tight space. That could be a big part of his game as a rookie.
– And Reagor also worked as a kick-returner today. He had done a lot of point back work before. While Reagor returned 23 points at TCU, he returned 13 kicks and could be used this season in one way or another. His workload of special teams will depend on how many offensive snaps he gets.
15. I thought Wentz had a more consistent day today than Wednesday. There were still a few offsets, but he generally seemed to be more accurate.
Stupid observation of the day: The defense loves rookie running back Adrian Killins Jr., who is named at 177 pounds. It seems like all the defenders want to hit him and see how he flies. He even got clothing line today. Poor boy.
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