Eagles finish a two-hour plus joint practice against the New England Patriots feeling better about themselves, but many starters on offense express a desire to play in the preseason games.
FOXBOROUGH: To a man, Eagles players agree that joint practice are welcomed.
Practicing against an unfamiliar opponent gives a player a chance to where he is at with regards to filling his toolbox with quality stuff.
These joint practices help, but they are flawed.
There is not tackling to the ground and it is still not real football.
While preseason games don't count, it is still real football.
Eagles edge rushing veteran Brandon Graham, in his last year as a player, said he was glad to partake in a joint practice. He was asked what the benefits are.
“It's like details,” Graham said. “Now that you've got the real thing in front of you've got an opponent that don't know us, they ain't seen us until today. So today everybody had to read their keys, their eyes had to be good...you had to trust the guy next to you. We're just building the trust. Obviously, everybody knows what to do, but it's the details of trusting. Hey, you say you're going to be here, I trust that you're going to be there and I'm going be where I'm supposed to be.
“Just make your play when it comes to you. In the middle of came, that's what you're trying to see come together as you get to these moments like this.”
If there is so many benefits from playing against different people, why aren't the starters playing in preseason games? How can you be sharp the quarterbacks in practice, even a joint practice are off limits? He eventually conceded the minuses of not being able to hit.
“Well you know what? I bump 'em,” Graham said. “I don't hit 'em all the way but I gotta bump 'em. Because...it's tough...you can't really touch the quarterback as much but give them a little chest bump or something...after they throw the ball, to let them know I was there.
“We'll be fine when we get there (regular season),” Graham said. “We do a lot of individual drills. We've got a bunch of pads that you knock out if you want to if haven't touched a quarterback in a while. But we gotta wait...it's part of the game.”
A.J. Brown indicated he want to play preseason, but it's not his call. The Patriots represented the only action the starters on offense were going to see until opening day against the Packers in Brazil.
Brown was asked if the Birds will be ready.
“I would hope so,” Brown said after the joint practice. “I can't answer that, nobody knows the future. That's probably a question for Nick (Sirianni) or somebody else.
“Our job is to come out here and compete and get ready to play whenever we play against Green Bay...hopefully we'll be ready.”
Jalen Hurts was asked about how the Birds have had an all-business motif this summer. No ups and downs.
It is noticeable that the Eagles seem to have a little more focus, more of a business-like theme that maybe years in the past.
Hurts said he believes his guys are always about business.
“I think it's business every day, every time we step on this field,” Hurts said after the joint practice. “Obviously we have to come in and take care of our business, have that communication, have that good dialogue and continue to build.”
Hurts was asked if it was good to see other looks than what new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio throws at them?
“It's always helpful, it's always helpful,” Hurts said. “It's always helpful to see other looks. When the opposition, an opponent throws different things at you and you are able to test different things and continue to grow.
“I think I'm most excited to go back an watch some of the tape and talk some of those things through. I think the most important thing in this time right now is the dialogue we have about it.
"And continue to communicate to be on the same page with everything. I think there are good examples of that, I think there are going to be some great conversations to grow from.”
When asked what he learned about the running game at the joint practice which does not allow defenders to tackle to the ground, Hurts used the question to admit the running came could be hurt from a lack of preseason games.
“I don't know...too soon, too soon...I'll have to watch the film after that,” Hurts said. “I think we've been pretty physical in our camp. It come to a point where we want to have that urgency that you want.
“You want to have good urgency, you want to be communicating, operating at a high level. I think when you don't play in this games in the preseason, you really have to test those things with as much initiative as you have right now.
“I think we've done a good job of that, I think it could definitely be better, but that's all we want to focus on right now.”
But can this new offense under Kellen Moore be ready for the start of the season if the joint practice with the Patriots is the only action against different players they will encounter before the opener?
Hurts said they must be ready regardless.
“The goal is to always be ready when the game when it comes,” Hurts said. “I don't know what the future looks like, but I know today, we had an opportunity to get better and I think we did.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni has been vague about playing starters on offense during the preseason.
For the last few years he has not let any of his main players on offense see the field.
Sirianni did address the same question brought up by Hurts about the running game.
If there is no tackling to the ground and of the stars aren't playing, how can he gauge the quality of the running back room?
"Yeah, of course. You know, plays that aren't going to the ground, right?” Sirianni said just before the joint practice started. “When you're in a controlled environment and you're not tackling to the ground, the offensive line is still full go up front. Like it's just the exception of cutting on the edge or stuff like that.
“They're full go. You get a good feel for that. Now, you might not get as good of a feel for oh, the running back would've slipped that. If you're in an offense/defense meeting, I know Vic (Fangio) is probably saying, no we would've tackled them there, and Kellen (Moore) is saying, no, we might have slipped that there.
“So that's what you don't get. Working tackling is more -- if you're not going to take people to the ground it's about the approach and getting yourself in position. You can still do that all the way up to the tackle and then you can do some things that you drill in tackling.
“So, to be a good run defense you have to be able to tackle well, and to be a good run offense you have to be able to break tackles, and starts up front for both of those things.
“In the run game I definitely feel like in every point of the game, because you're live up front essentially, you can get a good feel what it's looking like when you're out there.”
The players seem like they'd rather find that stuff out on their own. *
Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com
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