Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Things we learned from the first weekend of camp
Following the Philadelphia Eagles’ fourth practice of training camp, head coach Doug Pederson took some time to speak with the Philly media.
Well, we’ve made it out of the first weekend of training camp, and so far so good. The Philadelphia Eagles are back to work. Everyone is all smiles. It should be fun getting used to this ‘new norm’.
The first order of business is making sure everyone’s settling in, everyone’s in shape and everyone’s staying healthy. We can definitely check the boxes for those first two areas.
Are far as health is concerned, the most satisfying thing is knowing there haven’t been any new injuries to worry about (knock on wood). The guys who are trying to get back on the field are, seemingly, working their way back to playing soon (more on that in a sec).
Here are five things we’re keeping tabs on now that the first four days of practice are over.
1. Isaac Seumalo is still struggling.
As we mentioned earlier, ‘The Birds’ performed an experiment by trying Seumalo out at center. We’ve often been told about his versatility. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on display when the coaches tried him out in shotgun formation.
No worries yet though. As mentioned, it was only day four.
2. Carson Wentz is on schedule. We just don’t know what the schedule is.
As expected, a couple of questions were directed in the area of where the starting quarterback is in his recovery. One reporter even mentioned that, if we were unaware that he was injured, no one would see any difference between how efficient he looked a year ago and how he looks today.
Pederson acknowledged Wentz was on track according to their schedule but also stated he had no intention of letting anyone know what that schedule was or how it worked.
3. Brandon Brooks misses Sunday’s practive, but he’s okay.
When an All-Pro right guard isn’t at practice, people notice. No worries though. According to head coach Doug Pederson, Brooks had an ‘illness’, and ‘he’s fine’.
4. Competition has helped some of the younger guys.
Whenever someone asks who the standouts are, you kind of want to know who the head coach is going to mention. If you’re on the team, you kind of want to hear your name.
Following Sunday’s practice Pederson mentioned being impressed by Greg Ward, Shelton Gibson, De’Vante Bausby, Corey Clement, Rasul Douglas, Destiny Vaeao and Aziz Shittu as the guys who are making some nice strides.
Keep an eye on all of those guys going forward.
5. Timmy Jernigan is putting in work despite recovering from neck surgery.
Where’s Jernigan and what is he doing some of you might ask? Coach had an answer for that too. He’s still working. He’s getting the mental reps in. He’s with his position coach and fellow defensive tackles. He’s showing up in the afternoons and participating in meetings and every walk through.
Still, there’s no on-field action for the big guy. According to Pederson, ‘We just don’t want him getting banged around on accident’.
Hey, if it’s a good enough plan for the coach, it’s a good enough plan for us.