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Philadelphia Eagles: Recapping Day 2 Of Minicamp

By Pat Roach

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The Philadelphia Eagles moved on to their second session of mandatory mini-camp this afternoon. Before hand, Chip Kelly spoke to the media and shared several interesting nuggets of information:

Although the release of Pro-Bowl Guard Evan Mathis appeared to be culturally motivated, today, Kelly confirmed that the prevailing reason was indeed the “money.”

Now, there is no doubt that the financial aspect played a role in Mathis’ release, however, it’s hard to believe that cultural implications weren’t the deciding factor. Last offseason Mathis expressed a desire to rework his contract, but showed up, kept his head down, and put in the necessary work. This year, however, he took things a step further by holding himself out of OTA’s and reportedly requested his release back in March. Regardless of the fact that Mathis’ actions were motivated by money, Chip saw his behavior as a detriment to the team and the culture that he and the staff are cultivating. There will undoubtedly be financial conflicts in the future, but Chip’s message is clear: Do not allow personal interest to jeopardize team culture, particularly when you have little to no leverage in the matter.

On a note more relevant to current team activities, Chip wasn’t coy in his praise of RB Ryan Mathews, lauding his explosiveness and ability to play to his impressive size — which according to Chip has increased during the offseason, as Mathews is now close to 230lbs, compared to the 220 he was previously listed at.

Per Kelly, Mathews will also be in the mix at Kick Returner. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given Chip’s proclivity for employing bulky down-hill runners at returner. Chris Polk and Josh Huff handled return duties in 2014, and fit this same profile, though Mathews may provide an even more explosive element if his speed and explosion (4.37 forty) are any indication.

In regards to the defensive side of the ball, Kelly hinted that DE Vinny Curry could see an expanded role, going as far to suggest that Curry sees time at Outside Linebacker. Curry was hyper productive in a limited role this past season, notching 9 sacks and 4 forced fumbles despite playing a fraction of the snaps. Using Curry creatively and giving him more opportunities to rush the passer in exotic packages could be a boost to an already formidable Eagles’ front.

When the team first announced the implementation of the 3-4 defense, some assumed Curry would transition to OLB, now it appears that he might yet see time there, albeit likely in a very limited capacity.

In other news, Curry’s fellow DE Taylor Hart has impressed Kelly with his commitment to the weight room, adding size and going from 281 to “about 300 pounds.”

While Hart had what was essentially a Red-Shirt season in 2014, Kelly seems to be very high on the second year player. Sitting behind a deep and talented group that managed to stay remarkably healthy in 2014 is hardly an indictment of Hart’s abilities, but that same group has remained intact so it’s hard to imagine him assuming a significant role. The team likely hopes that Hart can contribute as a key depth piece for the time being, and judging by Kelly’s endorsement he is putting himself in a position to do just that.

Following the presser, the team picked up where they left off yesterday, diving into day 2 of mandatory mini-camp. Here are a few takeaways from the team’s training session:

According to multiple reports, both Jaylen Watkins and Matt Tobin saw starters’ snaps, the former at Safety and the latter at Right Guard.

While Tobin seeing snaps with the 1’s isn’t much of a surprise, Watkins getting time at Safety is interesting. Chip had previously said that Watkins would be competing at Corner, however, it seems as though plans have changed. I would expect the Watkins situation to remain fluid, as he is likely on the roster bubble, and the coaching staff wants to give him the best opportunity to make the team.

A name that hasn’t received much attention as of late is that of ILB Najee Goode, primarily because he’s seeing his first significant action since injuring his Pectoral early in September. Goode is apparently flashing some of the ability that had the Eagles’ staff high on him heading into 2014:

Goode is a player to keep an eye on, as he was the top reserve ILB prior to landing on the IR. This couples with the additions of Alonso and Hicks has undoubtedly diminished his role. Still, Goode will be a part of what should be an interesting camp battle this summer.

Every year there are players that the fans and media simply expect to produce due to their reputation. LeSean McCoy was one such player that, in the past, kind of fell out of focus during training camp, but was always impressing. With McCoy gone, it appears that the two newcomers, Demarco Murray and Byron Maxwell, seem to have assumed that role:

By all accounts, Maxwell and Murray have been as advertised thus far.

In Quarterback news, Sam Bradford and Co. appeared to have a productive day. Bradford in particular reportedly found his Tight Ends, Zach Ertz and Brent Celek, on multiple occasions for some nice gains. Bradford seems to find Ertz with regularity, and is quickly developing a rapport with the young TE. It’d be nice to see Bradford utilize his inline options, as he lacked any viable options there in St. Louis. Bradford consistently attempted to get Lance Kendricks involved in the passing game, resulting in a lot of frustrating drops. He’ll find that Celek and Ertz are much more reliable targets.

Mark Sanchez made a few nice passes, one going to Josh Huff for a TD. Huff has been more active the past 2 days than he had been in OTAs. Hopefully this marks Huff turning to corner.

Meanwhile, Tebow continues to have some issues:

I don’t see some of Tebow’s mechanical flaws every being fully remedied, however, as Chip noted in his PC, any first year QB has a lot on his plate and things aren’t so vanilla in evaluating them. Still, Bradford seems to be adapting much more quickly (though that is to be expected). Unless he cleans up some of these issues, he’ll have trouble beating out Matt Barkley, who seems to continue to improve and make plays:

On defense, rookie DB Jacorey Shepherd has made a bit of an impression, and made a play in coverage today.

That was all for mini-camp today. Be sure to check in regularly, as we’ll have more content coming your way!

Next: Philadelphia Eagles: Overview Of The Safety Position

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