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Sunday was the eleventh day of Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice. It was a special day because the team practiced at Franklin Field, which is where they used to play home games from 1958-70. According to the Eagles, over 28,000 people were in attendance.
There's a lot to talk about, so let's dive right in.
Practice Notes:
• Weather: Beautiful day. Perfect.
• As already noted, the Eagles practiced at the legendary Franklin Field today. It was my first time there and I've got to say, it was pretty cool. Some pictures/videos for you:
Note: There's a special cameo from BGN author Mark Saltveit in that first video. Speaking of Mark, make sure to check out his notes from Sunday's practice where he disagrees with everything that I said. (Kidding.)
• For more on the history of Franklin Field, check out this Ray Didinger column. Good stuff.
• Speaking of history, Eagles alumni were introduced before the game. Complete list here. Hall of Fame linebacker/center Chuck Bednarik, who BGN interviewed last year, came out last and received the biggest ovation of them all.
• Quick injury update: Chris Polk (hamstring), Nolan Carroll II (hamstring/groin), Matthew Tucker (hamstring), Julian Vandervelde (back), Jake Knott (hamstring), and Casey Matthews (back) did not practice. Riley Cooper (foot), Jeff Maehl (ankle), Bennie Logan (hamstring) DID return to practice. More detailed injury report to come later.
• Today was a bit of a lighter day because the Eagles were not wearing pads, unlike their two other practices open to the public. Just shells and shorts. The reason for this is because they just had a game on Friday and also because they are going to be physical against the Patriots in practice at New England this week starting Tuesday.
• Damn, Zach Ertz looks so good.
• Ifeanyi Momah seemed to have a good practice. He made a couple of impressive catches including a touchdown on a fade route. I'm not sure he got two feet down (the defense said no, the offense said yes) but it was still a nice effort. People are intrigued by Momah's upside but as I've noted, special teams matters most when it comes down to the final roster spots. Think back to the Casey Matthews making the roster last season over Emmanuel Acho. Can Momah play special teams?
• Nick Foles was mostly fine. I didn't see him make any egregious mistakes (read: no interceptions) but there were a few passes off target. He made a gorgeous throw to Jeremy Maclin down the sideline at one point after looking off the safety and throwing a pump fake. Maclin was able to get wide open. ... Later on, Foles threw a ball that split two defenders deep in the secondary and found its way into the hands of tight end Brent Celek. Talk about threading the needle. ... In a funny moment, Foles ran into the endzone for a TD during one drill and fans responded with a loud applause. This is funny because the defenders aren't really allowed to even get near quarterbacks, so Foles can pretty much run into the endzone whenever he wants... but alas.
• Yet another rebound performance: Jordan Matthews didn't drop a single pass in practice on Sunday and Sanchez threw his way very often, per usual. Encouraging rebound for the rookie pass catcher.
• More QB talk: Mark Sanchez had a sharp day aside from one interception that was picked off by Jaylen Watkins. The Sanchez highlight came on a deep ball to rookie undrafted free agent receiver Kadron Boone, who had earned a step on cornerback Curtis Marsh. Sanchez's deep ball was perfectly placed right on Boone's outstretched hands.
• Some key observations by fellow BGN writer Dan Klausner, who watched today's practice from the stands:
Favorite part of watching training camp today: Dave Fipp playing returner in the punt/kick coverage drill and mock trying to juke out gunner
— Dan Klausner (@dklausner) August 10, 2014
Scratch that, favorite part of camp today BY FAR is Chip doing special handshakes with each front 7 member of the D before 11-on-11 drills
— Dan Klausner (@dklausner) August 10, 2014
• During practice, Eagles insider Dave Spadaro interviewed former Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter. Trotter said the Eagles have the best fans in the world. I guess that settles it!
• No more open practices! Sunday's open practice was the third and final Eagles training camp practice open to the public.
Up next: The team is scheduled to practice again tomorrow, Monday, August 11th back at the Eagles facility. It'll be a light walkthrough, based on what Chip Kelly said before Sunday's practice.
Remaining Eagles training camp schedule:
July 26 - [Practice Report]
July 27 - [Practice Report]
July 28th (Public Practice at @ LFF) - [Practice Report]
July 30th - [Practice Report]
July 31st - [Practice Report]
August 1st - [Practice Report]
August 3rd (Public Practice @ LFF) - [Practice Report]
August 4th - [Practice Report]
August 5th - [Practice Report]
August 6th - [Walkthrough]
August 7th - [Travel day]
August 10th (Public Practice @ Franklin Field) - [Practice Report]
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August 11th
August 12th (@ New England Patriots)
August 13th (@ New England Patriots)
August 14th (@ New England Patriots)
August 17th*
August 18th*
August 19th*
August 20th*
August 23rd*
August 24th*
August 25th*
August 26th*
August 27th*
* = Media only allowed to watch the first 20 minutes of practice starting August 17th.