OTAs

[eaglesnut]

Silly offense that was ranked #2 in the NFL and he was still unable to do anything.

Was it that year? And what about points?

Either way he was a rookie. Probably went backwards from his development at USC then had to basically be a rookie again in a real offense last year.

 

[Rey]

Jason Peters' absence from OTAs actually benefits Eagles

Confirmation that Lane Johnson will be moving to LT once Peters is gone. Good to hear that he's more comfortable in pass protection from the left side.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

He has been paid like a top LT for the past few years.. about time he can start to earn it.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

article

Looks like Jernigan has a sprained ankle in practice yesterday. Not yet known to what extent.

Seems unrelated, but the eagles signed another DT, Gabe Wright to a one year deal from the Lions.

Also Jordan Matthews has been listed with “knee tendinitis” which was an issue for him last year.

Algholor is taking first team reps in the slot.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

NEWS FROM OTA yesterday... since no one else posted them....


Wentz started off strong today. He completed a 40-50 yard pass deep down the field to Torrey Smith, who burned Jalen Mills. Right on the money. Wentz had another deep completion to Smith later on in practice.

Alshon Jeffery caught a deep touchdown from Wentz after the quarterback scrambled left and threw across his body. The throw was not an easy one to make by any means but it ended up being perfect. That kind of play is what makes Wentz so dangerous. He can extend plays with his legs and then use his powerful arm to take advantage of coverages that start to break down.

It wasn’t all pretty for Wentz. There were a few reps where the ball wasn’t thrown close to a receiver. Could have been miscommunication issues, hard to say for sure. Wentz had one pass over the middle to Bryce Treggs broken up by the combination of Terrence Brooks and Nate Gerry. The ball got tipped and lucky for the quarterback it wasn’t picked off. Wentz did get intercepted twice later, however. The first one was on a pass to Brent Celek over the middle. The veteran tight end had his hands extended to make the grab and Nigel Bradham (I thought it was Jordan Hicks, but other media members said it was Bradham) ripped it out. Then Wentz sailed a deep pass too high and Jaylen Watkins came up with the ball.


• Really good practice for Smith, by the way. Kind of funny how he really stepped it up after Jeremy Maclin got cut, huh? Just kidding — it’s not like Smith has looked bad at all this offseason. But today was his best day by far. Caught everything thrown his way, including a nice grab along the sideline with his hands extended. His speed is also still very apparent. He got behind the Eagles secondary a number of times.

• Nick Foles hasn’t looked so sharp. He got picked off by Gerry and he overthrew some deep attempts. His best throw came on a play where Nelson Agholor got Rasul Douglas to bite on a double move.

• Speaking of Agholor, yet another good practice for him. No big drops, no glaring mistakes. He made that tough over-the-shoulder grab from Foles and some other nice catches as well. It’s not like he suddenly looks like a superstar, but he’s flashing signs of being a competent NFL player. Which is a big improvement.


• Derek Barnett exploded into the backfield and batted down a Matt McGloin pass. The first round rookie continues to impress.

• Allen Barbre took first team reps at left guard during install periods. But then Isaac Seumalo was back at first team LG during team drills.

• Mike Groh refers to Mack Hollins as “Tar Heel.” I’m partial to my nickname for him: “The Gloveless Wonder.”

• Speaking of Hollins, he had a rare drop today. The pass from Foles was thrown a little behind him though.

• Drops are not so rare for Shelton Gibson. The rookie wide receiver has dealt with a number of those during these spring practices.

• Steven Means was lined up at defensive tackle on one play. He immediately burst through the offensive line at the snap and got pressure. The backup defensive end earned praise from Doug Pederson after the play.


• Interested to see how reserve tight end Anthony Denham is as a blocker, because he can certainly catch. Maybe the Eagles keep four tight ends? It’s a stretch to say at this point, but he continues to catch my eye.

 

[eaglesnut]

I like seeing Gerry's name pop up a couple times. Was he playing safety or lb?

 

[CSB]

I like seeing Gerry's name pop up a couple times. Was he playing safety or lb?

Everything I've read indicates he's playing LB exclusively.

 

[eaglesnut]

Everything I've read indicates he's playing LB exclusively.

Nice

 

[Iggloo]

Positives from today's OTA practice open to reporters:

* Derek Barnett is killing Lane Johnson
* Rasul Douglas running with the starters already
* Agholor looking decent in the slot.


Negatives:

* Wentz continues to be shaky with accuracy and get picked off a lot
* If Peters gets hurt we may be in deep shit at OT

 

[eaglesnut]

Rasul starting and Barnett killing it is good to hear. Those guys are the most important new additions right now.

 

[Rey]

Mack Hollins imo will be our steal of the draft ... this kid has all the physical tools to pay off big if he can stay away from injury. Size, showing great hands at camp, self motivated and has big play ability. If you put injury history aside ... his game is very similar to Bucs WR Mike Evans.

 

[Iggloo]

Hollins is an interesting guy to watch. On a negative note, the other rookie WR, Shelton, looks terrible and keeps dropping everything. He may not make the team if this continues.

 

[Rey]

Hollins is an interesting guy to watch. On a negative note, the other rookie WR, Shelton, looks terrible and keeps dropping everything. He may not make the team if this continues.

Yeah, Gibson seems like he's simply a deep ball tracker, but can't seem to snag the sharp intermediate stuff with any kind of consistency. Hollins' hands on the other hand have been better than advertised. Everyone knew he was an excellent deep ball guy, but he's been plucking everything on the other routes as well. I saw some body catching from Hollins while at Carolina, so I was interested in how he would do at the pro level ... seems like it's all good so far.

 

[Iggloo]

Also, Alshon Jeffery--yes, he is a bit of an upgrade over Jordan Matthews in the hands department.

 

[I miss Dawkins]

SO nice....... for those that can't see it, as the twitter feed seems to be gone.. it's here on youtube...

 

[DutchBird]

Also, Alshon Jeffery--yes, he is a bit of an upgrade over Jordan Matthews in the hands department.

I think that upgrade pales in comparison to the upgrade made in toe-tap department.

 

[Frizzle]

Negatives:

* Wentz continues to be shaky with accuracy and get picked off a lot

Also, Alshon Jeffery--yes, he is a bit of an upgrade over Jordan Matthews in the hands department.

Still early but my biggest concern is the potential for regression in Wentz.

Now he has all new WRs and are they all accuracy issues vs miscommunication between WR and QB?

Wentz throw in your Jeffery post makes you wonder... was Jeffery showing off or was the ball too far behind him and he needed to make a great play to catch the ball. Just break down the 4th second in the video... Jeffery seems to go up and adjust for an overthrown ball.

I am glad we got Jeffery, however if Wentz is to be our QB in the future he will have to make average WRs into great one (similar to Brady or Rogers).

 

[Iggloo]

Wentz hasn't looked great so those concerns are legit unfortunately.

 

[PhillyGreen]

I think some of you are taking these voluntary OTA's way too seriously. Do you guys really expect to see Wentz or any QB in mid season form during the first OTA's? If that was they case why even have practices or training camp since they should be perfect all the time.

 

[eaglesnut]

Honestly don't care about how Wentz looks until the 2nd half of game 1. Who knows exactly what he's working on at any moment.