August 10, 2023
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles takes the field during practice at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. on August 6, 2023.
With a practice at the Linc on Wednesday and the first preseason game looming on Saturday – not to mention rain in the forecast – the Eagles kept things short and sweet Thursday down at the NovaCare Complex.
They worked for just shy of an hour, with Jalen Hurts and the first team only seeing a drive each at 11-on-11 and then at 7-on-7.
Still, it's a step forward, and one closer to a long-awaited game scenario, even if it's a small one.
So on to the day's abbreviated Hurts watch:
• Play 1: Hurts lines up in the gun and checks it down to Kenny Gainwell for a quick couple of yards.
• Play 2: From the gun again, Hurts threads one to Dallas Goedert over the middle for a medium gain while Terrell Edmunds was sticking tightly to him.
• Play 3: Hurts looks to his right and lets a pass fly, but the ball gets deflected at the line. Milton Williams and Haason Reddick were both in the vicinity of it.
• Play 4: Hurts hits Goedert over the middle again for another quick few yards, and with that, the second team subs in.
• Line: 3/4.
• Play 5: With the ball moving and markers down, Hurts takes the first snap and tries to air one out to A.J. Brown along the left sideline. Brown makes the catch with James Bradberry on him but was just out of bounds as he was making it. Good-looking play, but incomplete.
• Play 6: Hurts makes a quick checkdown to Goedert for a few yards to set up a third-and-short.
• Play 7: Taking it from the gun, Hurts floats one toward the right sideline with Olamide Zaccheaus breaking downfield toward it. Zaccheaus hauls it in for a first down and a massive gain down to within the 10.
• Play 8: Looking toward the back of the end zone, Hurts throws one way too high for anyone to grab. Incomplete. Second down.
• Play 9: Hurts connects with Brown cutting toward the outside and it's an easy trot into the endzone. Touchdown.
• Play 10: Running it back one more time in a third-down scenario, Hurts tries to find Brown again, this time cutting across the back of the end zone, but with three defensive backs closing in, he couldn't make the catch. That wrapped up a short day for the first team.
• Line: 3/6 with a TD.
• Total line: 6/10, 1 TD.
The second and third teams saw one more set after the horn and some 1-on-1 work, but Hurts remained down at the opposite end of the field with the first-string receivers.
Head coach Nick Sirianni wouldn't drop any hints about how much or even if the starters would play Saturday night. As far as that goes, he said "All you're trying to do is make sure guys are ready to go for that first game."
Whether that point gets reached during practice or with preseason reps, well, that varies based on the player.
In Hurts' case, keeping him in a more controlled environment like joint practices with the red no-contact jersey is probably more preferred, especially after he took a late hit against the Jets last preseason.
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