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August 04, 2022

Eagles 2022 training camp practice notes, Day 6: Dominant defense

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Avonte-Maddox-Eagles-training-camp_072722_80.jpg Colleen Claggett/PhillyVoice

Avonte Maddox

Day 6 of Philadelphia Eagles 2022 training camp is in the books, and it was a hot one out there today. It was also the longest practice of camp so far, at around an hour and 45 minutes. Let's just get right to the notes.

• The Eagles had a bunch of new injuries to report today, so we should probably start there. Here's who did not participate:

  1. Grant Calcaterra – hamstring
  2. Andre Dillard – concussion
  3. Jordan Mailata - concussion
  4. Mac McCain - knee
  5. DeVonta Smith - groin
  6. Greg Ward – toe

The LT1 and LT2 were both concussed in the same practice on Tuesday. Le'Raven Clark got first team reps at LT in their absences. More on that in a bit.

• The Eagles' defense dominated on Thursday, particularly in 11-on-11s. Part of that was because the pass rush was getting home quickly, and part of it was because the defense was making legitimately nice plays all over the field. Jalen Hurts wasn't bad, necessarily, but he was also unable to get the passing game going in any real way. Sometimes when the defense is suffocating you need your quarterback to make some plays anyway, and Hurts did not do that today.

As a disclaimer, I did not watch 7-on-7s, as you have to choose between those and OL-DL 1-on-1s some days. I chose the OL-DL 1-on-1s, as always. That said, a number of reporters noted that Hurts took off running on a few of his 7-on-7 reps. Ideally, the quarterback can throw guys open in that setting. You don't want them pulling it down and running. It should be a drill dominated by the offense.

Hurts verdict: Again, it's not like Hurts made any terrible throws or decision, but today can only be a stock down based on the rare positive results. 📉

• Today was the most physical practice of camp so far.

  1. Marcus Epps laid out Boston Scott after Scott made a reception in red zone 11-on-11s. 
  2. Undrafted rookie safety Reed Blankenship had his second nice hit of camp on undrafted running back Kennedy Brooks.
  3. T.J. Edwards and Shaun Bradley stood out as physical presences in the middle of the defense. Edwards also had a diving pass breakup today. I think he was already a good player, but has made a substantial leap this year, and remains the team's best linebacker.

• The play of the day offensively came via third-string quarterback Reid Sinnett. He didn't have anything open initially, and as the pocket was closing in around him he stepped up into the pocket, and then ran left, keeping his eyes down the field. He eventually found Keric Wheatfall along the left sideline and threw a 20-ish yard strike while on the run to his left. Sinnett also threw on the money to Britain Covey on a slant route TD in the red zone. 

Sinnett hasn't even gotten many reps and has managed to stand out.

• Speaking of Britain Covey, he had his best day of camp so far working out of the slot. He was very active today, eating up the third-string defense. I wouldn't mind seeing Covey getting some reps with the first- and second-team offenses to see what he can do.

• One of the more fun, regular matchups this camp has been Quez Watkins vs. Avonte Maddox. They've both had their wins, but Maddox starred today, and had impressively sticky coverage on a double move by Quez in the red zone.

Cam Jurgens for a really nice seal block on Jordan Davis in a goal line situation. He opened up a hole just big enough for Kenny Gainwell to squeeze through for a touchdown. Jurgens is good.

• 1-on-1 OL/DL highlights

  1. Le'Raven Clark had a really rough day. He got beaten repeatedly in 11-on-11s, playing both at LT and RT. Josh Sweat had his way with Clark, and Patrick Johnson beat him for a sack. During 1-on-1s Clark was beaten soundly by international roster exemption player Matt Leo.
  2. Landon Dickerson won his reps against Javon Hargrave on Monday, and Hargrave won his against Dickerson on Tuesday. On Thursday, Hargrave broke the tie with a win over Dickerson.
  3. Poor Jack Driscoll has to go up against a highly motivated Brandon Graham every day, and it's been no contest. BG has consistently wrecked Driscoll.

Arryn Siposs did some punting today, with the line of scrimmage at the 50 yard line. In other words, he was doing directional "pin them deep" punting today. We already know he can do that. It's the "blast away" punting that is the concern. I'll report back when we see some of that.

• Throughout training camp, I'll have some occasional one-on-one interviews with other Eagles beat writers while the players are stretching and doing other boring stuff. Today I traded embarrassing stories with Fran Duffy. Oh, and here's the iTunes link. Review, subscribe, etc.


Within those beat writer interviews, I'm asking each writer four different questions:

  1. What will the Eagles' record be in 2022?
  2. Will they make the playoffs?
  3. Will they win any playoff games, if so?
  4. Will Jalen Hurts be the starting quarterback in 2023?

The predictions so far:

Writer Record Playoffs Playoff wins? Hurts in 2023? 
7/27: Eliot Shorr-Parks, WIP 10-7 Yes None Yes 
7/29: Jeff McLane, Inquirer 10-7 Yes None No 
7/30: Bo Wulf, The Athletic 11-6 Yes One win, over the Vikings Yes 
8/2: Les Bowen, NJ.com 11-6 Yes One win, over the 49ers Undecided 
8/4: Fran Duffy, Eagles 17-0 Yes Yes, unspecified Yes 


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