The Eagles ended their second day of practice on a very different note than the first. While the offense seemingly won the day on Wednesday, the defense dominated on Friday morning.
As with any practice, there were standouts, disappointments, and stories to keep an eye on. Here are some of the highlights from the Eagles second training camp practice.
Jalen Hurts and the Offense Struggles
Unlike the first practice in which Hurts performed very well, the opposite happened on Friday. Incompletions and bad decisions frequented the action at the NovaCare Complex.
There’s always a ‘glass half full’ approach to practices this early in camp. First, it’s a good sign that the defense showed some resilience and came back with more energy after being beaten on Wednesday.
Again, it’s the second day of training camp. Hurts having a bad practice before the month of August should not be a precursor to regular season struggles.
Of course, Jalen wasn’t the only struggling player on offense. Gardner Minshew was reportedly just as bad.
The defense clearly won the day and it will be interesting to see how the offense responds tomorrow.
Gainwell getting RB1 looks in the Eagles backfield
In what was arguably the most intriguing news dump of Friday’s practice, Kenneth Gainwell reportedly took reps with the 1’s today while Miles Sanders was with the 2’s, It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Eagles want to rotate their guys around because of their committee approach.
It’s still significant because Sanders reportedly dropped a pass on Wednesday, something that’s plagued his career up to this point and could eventually force Sirianni’s hand.
Will that structure remain for the entire camp? Absolutely not. But the fact that Gainwell is already getting first-team reps over Sanders is very telling. Things did start out that way in 2021, after all.
Marcus Epps and the defense set the tone
The most consistent player so far through two practices has been Marcus Epps. I don’t think Jessie Bates will be in the Eagles future plans if he continues to play as well as he has.
Before practice, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon touted Epps’ flexibility at safety. He ended up proving that again on Friday.
Epps picked off the lone Hurts interception on a nice read and got the entire defense excited.
If he continues to play like this, the Eagles could very well have a top safety on their roster.
Of course, the defense dominated all day. Davion Taylor reportedly made a few more nice plays, T.J Edwards and Kyzir White were flying around the field, and James Bradberry also had a pass breakup.
The defense was dominant and very solid today. While Hurts and the offense struggled, some attribution needs to go to the level of skill the defense has on the roster as well.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
