Eagles Practices Reveal One Big Change in NFC Champs
PHILADELPHIA – It’s hard to argue against the approach from last year when the Philadelphia Eagles had fewer OTAs in the spring than most teams, went without a mandatory minicamp in June, and then rolled back their training camp practices to 90 minutes give or take.
They went to the Super Bowl, no easy feat considering the season's length, which ran from the end of July through the middle of February.
Cries from the old-school side of the aisle, where my seat is, were that practices were too soft. They weren’t long enough. There needed to be more contact.
In Detroit, the Lions were in attack mode every practice, or so it seemed, as evidenced on HBO’s Hard Knocks Series.
The Eagles started 8-0, beating Detroit in its backyard in the season opener. The Lions opened the season 1-6, with a 29-0 thrashing at the hands of the New England Patriots.
So, the idea of scaling things back, in theory, helped the Eagles’ bodies stay fresher and their minds sharper.
As most teams wrap up their mandatory minicamps this week, we will see if the scaled-back version of practices holds true again. This will be the third year since Nick Sirianni was hired that they have had this approach, and it worked when the coach was a rookie, as the team went to the playoffs after inheriting a 4-11-1 team, then again last year.
Still, Philly was the only team not to have a minicamp. The other 31 did. The Eagles coasted into its summer vacation last week.
Additionally, the Eagles were also the last team to start the second phase of their offseason program, doing so on April 24, a week later, in most cases, than any other team.
While it’s true that there are several new players from last year to this year, there is one big difference: The coaching staff has a slightly different look to it this season.
You could make a case that Sirianni’s staff returning fully intact after his first season in charge was a big reason the Eagles hit the ground running, reeling off eight straight wins to open the season en route to a 14-3 regular season.
The players talked last summer about knowing what to expect from their coaches since they were the same.
This year, they were asked about the guys in the new chairs.
None of them seem phased by it, but, then again, what are they supposed to say publicly, that Sean Desai hasn’t got a clue?
Desai is one of those new guys, and he is in an important chair as the defensive coordinator.
So is Brian Johnson, who went from quarterback coach to offensive coordinator and play caller. Johnson talked this spring about how calling plays is a feel, something Shane Steichen had.
Well, for argument’s sake, maybe a few extra practices and a minicamp would help develop Johnson's feel.
The Eagles also have a longtime college coach coming in from the outside to coach linebackers in D.J. Eliot and an assistant DB coach in D.K. McDonald now the man in charge leading the meetings in that room.
Ronell Williams is new, and he will coach the slot cornerbacks, which include Avonte Maddox and Zech McPhearson, who will likely make that his full-time home after moving in from the outside cornerback spot.
It’s not a total teardown, but, still, some new faces in some new roles.
Perhaps more time on the field would have been helpful.
It’s still much too early to make that assessment, and, again, it’s hard to argue how it all played out last year when the practice and training schedule was basically the same as it was and will be this year.
The good news is that Sirianni’s culture is firmly in place, his coaching style fully rooted, so maybe it won’t matter at all.
Or maybe it will matter a lot.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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