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The Philadelphia Eagles finished their three-day minicamp with a final practice open to the media on Thursday. I was there to watch it all for one last time this spring.
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Keep in mind that these are all non-contact drills at this point. Players aren't allowed to wear shells yet. There's only so much to be gleaned from players running around in shorts, but here's what I learned from Thursday's session.
• Chip Kelly spoke before practice. More on that later today.
• Injury update: Earl Wolff (knee), DeMeco Ryans (Achilles), and rookie cornerback Randall Evans (?) started out practice with the trainers yet again.
Mychal Kendricks appeared to hurt his arm during a team drill. I don't think he returned to practice, but he remained out on the field with the team, which seems like a good sign. Kendricks said he was OK as he walked off the field after practice.
• I streamed some of the Eagles' practice again today. This time I was focusing on the defensive backs along with some looks at other position groups. If you missed it, download Periscope and watch it here on your phone.
• Matt Tobin continued to line up as first team right guard after doing so on Wednesday.
• A few misc. notes: Wolff and Walter Thurmond are the only players to wear hoodies under their jerseys. I don't know why I find this interesting, but I do. Another weird thing at Eagles practice was the E-40 Warriors remix song making an appearance on the playlist. I wasn't kidding when I said the Eagles are happy the Warriors are the NBA champs.
• This was my view of Eagles practice today.
• Sam Bradford didn't have his best day. I wouldn't say he was bad, but he wasn't as sharp as he's looked for most of the spring. And it wasn't all his fault. Jeff Maehl dropped a pass thrown on Bradford's 7-on-7 rep. Later, Bradford threw a pass to no one in particular in the middle of the field. Must have been a miscommunication. Bradford was picked off for the first time this spring (that I can remember, at least) by Walter Thurmond. Not so much a bad throw as it was a great job by Thurmond to jump the route and pick it off. The safety came out of nowhere to make the play. Bradford threw a pass to Ertz along the sideline that sailed out of bounds. Ertz was basically triple covered.
• Speaking of Ertz, Bradford really loves throwing to him. So does Sanchez. So does everyone. Everyone loves Ertz. He gets open and he makes catches. It's that simple.
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• Matt Barkley looked OK. He overthrew a wide receiver early in 7-on-7s. Good arm strength, but I feel like he has a tendency to overthrow his guys at times. Barkley threw a good ball to Trey Burton in the end zone later on. Burton did a good job of getting his hands extending and making the over the shoulder grab for a touchdown. Barkley also hit a Maehl, who was wide open, for a score.
• DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews have looked pretty good catching the ball out of the backfield. Natural pass catchers. No drops. Everything's smooth.
• Sanchez had a really good ball to Brent Celek with Ed Reynolds, who is getting second team reps at safety, in coverage. He also threw a solid pass to Huff along the sideline after rolling out to his right. Good catch by Huff, too. Sanchez tried to fit a ball to Burton in the end zone during a red zone play but Najee Goode did a nice job of breaking up the pass. Last Sanchez note: he slightly overthrew Maehl on 4th and 5. Why didn't Chip Kelly just take the points?
• The Eagles kicked at one point anyway, and Cody Parkey nailed the PAT. Keep in mind those have been moved back to the 15-yard line.
• Huff just looks faster to me than he did last year. His speed was on display during a kickoff drill today. It's not like anyone can tackle him, but he looked good moving around in space. Huff finished off his kickoff for a touchdown return by doing a front flip and laying on the ground to catch his breath a little bit. Like Huff, Agholor also looks really good on returns. So fast.
• Tebow looked about the same he has all spring. Not pretty as a passer but looks great when he takes off and runs. To Tebow's credit, he did end practice on a high note. He scrambled left and tossed up a ball to Bailey who caught it for the score. You just can't stop Tebow in the fourth quarter, even if it's practice.
• To no surprise, most players rushed to get in the building after practice. It's the last day and it was raining. Despite this, Huff, Bailey, and Devante Davis were working hard on the JUGS machine.
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Up next: Training camp begins on Sunday, August 2! Six weeks to go. It'll be a slow time until then but BGN will still have plenty of Eagles coverage on a daily basis. So don't leave!
BGN will have more minicamp coverage today so check back often.