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Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: Eagles close the gap on New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles training camp practices notes from the team's practice against the Patriots in New England on Tuesday, August 12th, 2014.

By Brandon Lee Gowton
Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday was the thirteenth day of Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice. It was a special day because the team practiced against the Patriots in New England.

There's a lot to talk about, so let's dive right in. I wasn't at practice so we'll take a look at some of the highlights from Twitter.

Setting the scene

Two fields, two teams.

One-on-one: Wide Receiver versus Defensive Back

Hardly a surprise to see that Williams was being extra physical with the Patriots receivers. Williams called the Patriots "cheaters" just a few weeks ago.

Special Teams

7 on 7

Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis noted on Monday that he wanted his backups to get experience against the Patriots' first time. This is just one example of that.

Ha.

Looks like Foles had a sharp start.

11 on 11

Not encouraging.

Looks like the rookie is rebounding. Matthews also had a good practice on Sunday at Franklin Field.

Sounds like practice ended on a good note.

Quick thoughts:

It was a fairly positive practice for Philadelphia. No injuries. Nick Foles had a great day, which is especially encouraging coming off his poor performance against the Chicago Bears. Jordan Matthews also seemed to rebound. Mark Sanchez appeared to be sharp yet again.

The negatives include the fact that Matt Barkley (and G.J. Kinne) didn't get much time due to the way the practice was set up. It also wasn't encouraging to see that Cox was getting stuffed by the Patriots offensive line. Oh, where were the fights?! (Kidding, sort of.) Cary Williams even called the Patriots "a class organization" after practice. Man.

In seriousness, it sounds like the Eagles were more legitimate competition than the Washington Redskins were when the Patriots practiced with them in Virginia last week. More importantly, the Eagles showed noticeable improvement from how they practiced against the Patriots last year. I was at those practices in 2013 and it was clear the Patriots were the better team. The Eagles were totally outclassed. Tom Brady absolutely destroyed Philadelphia's defense. This time around, it appeared as the difference isn't so big. This is either a positive sign moving forward or just an optimistic training camp observation. We'll see.

Up next: The Eagles are scheduled to practice again tomorrow, Wednesday, August 13th back at the Patriots facility.

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]
August 11th - [Walkthrough]
August 12th (@ New England Patriots) - [Practice Report]
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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.

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