By this point in Training Camp, the Eagles welcome the idea of seeing new faces. They've been on the field for nearly three weeks now, white jerseys against Midnight Green jerseys. They've played against the same teammates every snap, and they have gone to school with each rep. Cornerback Darius Slay has seen wide receiver Jalen Reagor enough times that he can anticipate moves and routes and subtle body suggestions that might otherwise go unnoticed.
In short, it's time for some fresh blood on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The fact that it's the Patriots, with the history between the teams, makes it just a bit more special.
"It feels good playing against them in practice because you don't really get that downtime with them on the field other than after the game. Everybody, depending on whether you win or lose, the losing team always wants to hurry up and get back in the locker room so we can hurry up and get this thing over, and of course the winning team wants to stay out and talk to everybody," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "I feel like now, it's a more intimate practice, things are a little more relaxed so you can say, 'What's up?' to guys. They (Patriots) came back the next year (after Super Bowl LII) and won another one (Super Bowl LIII) so I don't think there will be hard feelings. It's cool to get to know people than just playing on the field."
Former Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills and wide receiver Nelson Agholor, two key pieces from that Super Bowl-winning team, are now Patriots. They know the NovaCare Complex intimately from the home-team standpoint, so these two days will be conducted from a new perspective. But the bottom line here is that this is no social experiment. Pulling this entire endeavor together collaboratively with the Patriots has been an admirable undertaking, all with the intent of providing two more practice sessions to evaluate players in a new light, against different schemes and unfamiliar players.
With the preseason now at three games – instead of the traditional four – the joint practices against New England (and then next week at the New York Jets) give the Eagles more opportunities to evaluate a roster that has to be at 85 players at 4 PM on Tuesday, 80 players at 4 PM on August 24, and at 53 players at 4 PM on August 31.
Time is ticking.
"You always know that every team is watching you," veteran running back Jordan Howard (photo above) said. "This kind of brings that point home. You're competing to make this roster and you know that there are 31 teams out there also putting together their teams. When you practice with another team, you're out there and everybody has eyes on you. I think that raises the intensity of things. I'm looking forward to it. We know New England always has a good defense and they do a lot of things, so this is going to be a good test for our offense."
It sure will. Everything about these joint practices makes sense as the Eagles take this preseason into a new and exciting and very helpful direction. The Patriots are coming! The Patriots are coming! And their arrival is going to make for two days of verrrrrryyyy interesting practices to conduct.
"come" - Google News
August 16, 2021 at 12:52AM
https://ift.tt/2W00ZY7
New faces, new X's and O's: The Patriots come to town for joint practices - PhiladelphiaEagles.com
"come" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2S8UtrZ
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "New faces, new X's and O's: The Patriots come to town for joint practices - PhiladelphiaEagles.com"
Post a Comment