Quinyon Mitchell vs. Devonta Smith – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Quinyon Mitchell vs. Devonta Smith – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Before heading to New England for a joint practice against the Patriots on Tuesday, the Eagles practiced for more than an hour and a half at the NovaCare Complex on Sunday morning.

They were in shorts and T-shirts during practice but will apparently be in full protective gear Tuesday against the New England Patriots. Super Bowl champion Corey Clement was on hand as a spectator.

Here are some notes from Sunday’s session:

1. As always, housekeeping:

• Before practice, the Eagles signed safety Kaden Stearns and waived linebacker Shaquill Quarterman. Stearns was recently released by the Broncos and released by the Panthers, but he failed a physical and was released again. Stearns has yet to practice with the Eagles but was on the sidelines wearing a gray Eagles No. 37 hoodie. Stearns was wearing a compression sleeve on his left leg. Signing a player during camp who can’t practice seems to be a sign that Stearns is more than just a camp player. He played for Vic Fangio and Christian Parker in Denver.

• Did not practice: Oren Burks (knee), Grant Calcaterra (shoulder), Paris Campbell (groin), C.J. Gardner-Johnson (shoulder), Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen)

• Limited: Mehki Garner (hamstring), Patrick Johnson (lower leg contusion), Brandon Smith (concussion)

• Cooper Deegan is still on the NFI list and has not trained yet this summer but he did what looked like a very intense workout on the sidelines on Sunday. It wasn’t just straight running. Deegan has a hamstring injury and was expected to be out for about three weeks. He was placed on the NFI list on July 23. Hamstrings can be fickle but Tuesday marked three weeks from that date. We may see him on the field at the next training session at the NovaCare Complex.

2. Some depth chart notes:

• Mikey Becton continues to get all-first-team reps at right guard while Tyler Steen gets all-second-team reps at that position. It’s clear that this is the job Becton will lose.

• Johnny Wilson and Brittany Coffey got the most WR3 snaps.

• More second-team snaps for Tanner McKee, which has been happening for the past week or so. Kenny Pickett still gets most of them but McKee gets a few, especially on days when threes are limited.

• Devin White and Zach Bowen started the day as the top midfielders, but after a good pre-season, it looked like Nakobes Dean was getting a bigger share of first-team reps. He put them alongside White and Bowen in this training session. The No. 17 may still be in contention.

• Isaiah Rodgers was the starting midfielder on the first team, but Kelee Ringo eventually got some reps there. Quinyon Mitchell was the starting midfielder on the first team. In CJGJ’s absence, Avonte Maddox replaced starting midfielder Reed Blankenship. But James Bradberry also got some reps on the first team and Maddox remained on the field in the dime package.

3. Perhaps the highlight of the day was the battle between Devonta Smith and Quinyon Mitchell in 1-on-1 linebacker-quarterback duels. Earlier in camp, Mitchell was getting those reps against Brown, but he’s been facing Smith lately. That makes more sense since Mitchell plays inside more.

On the first rep, Smith was able to easily break away and catch a pass. But after that, Mitchell really recovered. On the next rep, Mitchell was too tight in end coverage and forced an incomplete pass near the left sideline. On the third rep, Mitchell had tight coverage and forced an incomplete pass again.

These one-on-one matchups certainly lean toward receivers, so seeing Mitchell get two incomplete passes out of three attempts against a 1,000-yard receiver is impressive.

4. Some other highlights from the WR vs. DB 1-on-1 matchup:

• Dallas Goedert made two catches over Reid Blankenship after a pass from Hurts. After Goedert won, Gardner Johnson started shouting obscenities from the other side of the court.

• On the next play, Hurts hit John Ross hard over Josh Jobe. Ross is known for his speed but we haven’t seen many deep balls from him during team practices.

• Johnny Wilson got a diving ball against Kelly Ringo.

• James Bradberry had a great performance against CJ Uzomah, being solid in coverage and successfully distributing passes on a short route.

• AJ Brown bullied Eli Ricks. He used his body to break up the pass and catch it when Ricks was called for a penalty. Brown had a similar run against Isaiah Rodgers, using his body to shield the defender from the ball.

5. The Eagles concluded the training session with a very enjoyable competitive period of individual confrontations that ended in a 2-2 draw between the attack and defense.

A. Thomas Booker faced off against forward Trevor Keegan. The rookie left guard was able to stop him as he rushed. Offense 1, Defense 0

B. LB Ben VanSumeren vs. RB Lew Nichols in a pass protection drill. This was a close game but Nick Sirianni ruled VanSumeren the winner. Nichols dropped to the ground for a pushup. Offense 1, Defense 1

C. WR Ainias Smith vs. S Andre’ Sam in coverage. It looked like Sirianni was giving struggling fifth-round pick Smith a chance to gain some momentum. This was a 1-on-1 matchup in the middle of the field against a safety — it should have been an easy win. It backfired. Smith barely gained any separation and then failed to make a catch after the ball hit him in the hands. The defense went crazy. Offense 1, Defense 2

D. WR Johnny Wilson vs. CB Quinyon Mitchell. This was just a perfect ball for Wilson’s 6th round pick who managed to catch the ball at the expense of a 1st round pick. This time, the offense exploded while some defenders wasted their time calling OPI. It was a fun way to end the day. Offense 2, Defense 2

6. Hurts’ best moment on Sunday came in a game where he had some pressure on his face. Hurts managed to avoid a slump — a defender was on the ground in the backfield — and stepped up to fire a pass while running to Devonta Smith at midfield. The ref threw a flag on the play but I couldn’t figure out what it was; it was probably a catch. But in any case, it was an impressive pocket drive by Hurts.

7. Johnny Wilson made a great tackle from the touchline after Herts had turned to his right. EJ Jenkins also made a great tackle from the touchline over Andre Sam after a pass from Tanner Mackie.

Surprisingly, AJ Brown couldn’t get the lead when Hurts passed the ball into the end zone. It looked like a goal was coming but Brown went off the field and the offense looked frustrated because of it.

8. The Eagles didn’t throw the ball downfield much in this drill. But we saw a lot of horizontal play. Read options, rebound spots, tight ends, and a lot of movement before the rebound. We even saw a little 21-man with two running backs on the field. After the drill, Kellen Moore wouldn’t commit to using this package but acknowledged that it’s something we might see from time to time.

9. Great pass from Tristen McCollum, who kept up the momentum after a great preseason. Zeke McPherson also made a great pass against tight end EJ Jenkins.

10. The Eagles spent a lot of time in special teams drills on Sunday morning. Early in the practice, they had four stations of practice on tackling, open-field situations and block handling. We also saw a rare free kick blocking exercise during today’s practice.

Stupid note for today: Before the day began, Brittany Coffee came out with a pre-made small can, drank it and then exclaimed, “Pickle juice.” It’s a great way to start your day — but better than beet juice, he said.

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