Eagles Training Camp Notebook: Offense Takes a Step Back

The Eagles were down to their third left tackle after both Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard suffered concussions on Tuesday and DeVonta Smith was out with a groin injury

John McMullen | Aug 4, 2022

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Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles' offense came down to earth after its sharpest session of the summer earlier this week by struggling mightily in the oppressive heat of South Philadelphia on Thursday morning.

With temperatures expected to soar near 100 degrees, practice was moved up an hour to try to somewhat beat the heat. The session itself was the longest so far for Philadelphia, scheduled to go 110 minutes and clocking in officially at 106.

Two players were seen coming off the field to the trainer's tent during practice - tight end J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and wide receiver Deon Cain.

Eagles Today spotted JJAW after practice and he was limping a bit.

The bigger injuries happened on Tuesday when both starting left tackle Jordan Mailata and his backup, Andre Dillard, suffered head injuries and were placed into the concussion protocol.

In their absences, veteran Le'Raven Clark took the first-team LT reps, and second-year player Kayode Awosika handled the LT2 work.

The Eagles' pass rush had a field day from that side, making it difficult for the offense to work in team drills but the session was also sloppy with a number of dropped passes and a fumble by Jason Huntley which closed things out.

Most of the good moments for the offense came in individual or 7-on-7 work with one notable moment coming when Jalen Reagor beat James Bradberry in red-zone individuals.

The highlight was a nice Gardner Minshew shovel pass to Noah Togiai at the goal line for a TD.

The defense continues to marry an excellent push up front with top-tier coverage on the back end.

PHOTO GALLERY

Nick Sirianni

The head coach met reporters following practice with his three children nearby. He compared his two sons to Miles Sanders and T.J. Edwards, and his daughter to Darius Slay because she has a big personality.

Le'Raven Clark

Clark was working with the first team at left tackle on Thursday because the top two left tackles - Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard - were both out with concussions suffered during Tuesday's practice.

Marlon Tuipulotu

The second-year defensive tackle has had a decent camp

Isaac Seumalo (lef) and Lane Johnson

The right side of the Eagles offensive line - Seumalo at right guard, Johnson at RT - take the practice field together.

Avonte Maddox (left) and Josh Sweat

Maddox had one of the best days of any defender from his slot position and Sweat continues to help the Eagles do a nice job with the pass rush during the first week of camp.

Zach Pascal

The WR was on the practice field for the first time in training camp after battling food poisoning.

Jack Stoll

Last year's backup tight end, Stoll said he is focusing more on being a pass catcher after making the team as an UDFA in 2021 due to his blocking ability

Late in the session, second-year SAM LB Patrick Johnson blew by Clark for a "sack" of Jalen Hurts and stifled the hurry-up offense.

After practice head coach Nick Sirianni noted that ebbs and flows are natural in training camp and that's what you want as a coach.

"I think when you’re in training camp, there are going to be ebbs and flows on both sides of the ball," said Sirianni. "In fact, that’s what you want … You don’t want one side to dominate the other side.

"...There’s no doubt we have good balance on both sides of the football. The defense is presenting challenges, both with the looks and the players that we have on that side of the ball."

BIRD DROPPINGS:

- Sirianni showed up for his post-practice press conference with his three children. When asked to compare his kids to players on the team the coach went with Miles Sanders and T.J. Edwards for his sons and Darius Slay for his daughter because she has a big personality.

So if you're wondering don't worry about the status of Sanders, Edwards, and Slay.

- Though Smith did not practice, he was on the field watching, an indication that the injury isn't terribly serious. CB Mac McCain (knee), TE Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), and WR Greg Ward (toe) remained on the sidelines as well.

- WR Zach Pascal (illness) was back working in individual work while TE Richard Rodgers did the same after being activated off the PUP list. Neither worked in team drills, though. Quez Watkins was also back after missing part of Tuesday's practice with an illness.

- Undrafted rookie WR Britain Covey had a nice day working from the slot, especially in individual and 7-on-7 work. Covey was also the first-team punt returner with Jalen Reagor elevated to first-team reps at WR and Ward out.

- Interesting personnel tweak has been Josiah Scott getting reps at safety on the second-team opposite K'Von Wallace. That's an indication that the Eagles like both Scott and Kary Vincent in the slot and may be trying to find a way to keep both. It's also a sign that the slow start for veteran Jaquiski Tartt continues.

- T.J. Edwards is the so-called green dot LB when on the field. When he's not it defaults to Kyzir White and from there rookie Nakobe Dean. Dean, by the way, got Huntley's fumble to end the practice.

- It wasn't the best day for Kenny Gainwell, who is the Eagles RB1 (sorry Miles) in some high-leverage situations, namely third downs, hurry-up, and goal-line work. Gainwell got stoned on a red-zone run and later had a bad drop in a hurry-up session.

- Got a chance to see some one-on-one pass-rushing drills with the main event being Brandon Graham torturing Jack Driscoll. Graham looks as explosive as ever at 34 and coming off an Achilles' tear.

Rookie center Cam Jurgens also continues to impress with his anchoring skills, a bit of a surprise because that was supposed to be a weakness. The Nebraska product held up against Marlon Tuipulotu very well.

First-round pick Jordan Davis went to a standstill with backup interior option Jack Anderson, who is starting to show some signs.

- Undrafted rookie safety Reid Blankenship had the first "whoo" hit of the summer from fan reaction which I'm not necessarily sure is a good thing because you aren't supposed to hit.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Published Aug 4, 2022

JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen