The final day of practices for only the rookies and selected vets takes place this morning at 8:30. Afterward, head coach Doug Pederson will address the media at around 10:30 AM which you can watch online or on our app. This afternoon, Dave Spadaro and I will bring you highlights and more on Inside Training Camp presented by Xfinity. Don't forget, this Sunday is the first Open Practice at Lincoln Financial Field!
1. Veterans Report Today
By 2 PM, the Eagles' veterans who have not taken part in the first few Training Camp practices will arrive at the NovaCare Complex for a series of meetings. The players will undergo conditioning tests Thursday morning ahead of the first full-team practice later in the afternoon. The first padded practice of Training Camp will be on Saturday.
2. Jon Dorenbos: Simply Amazing
Once again, Jon Dorenbos left us all wondering, 'How did he do that?' On the first night of live performances on America's Got Talent, Dorenbos did a trick where he had the celebrity judges draw pictures on a large piece of paper and then guessed who created each masterpiece. He followed that up by presenting a sealed bottle which contained an envelope. Inside the envelope was … well you have to click here to watch the act that resulted in a standing ovation from the audience. Dorenbos finds out tonight if he advances to the semifinal round.
3. Schwartz's Chance To Do Something Special
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spoke to the media on Wednesday. Before I get into the updates from the press conference, Tommy Lawlor wrote a poignant piece on the great history of defensive coaches in Philadelphia. There is a Mount Rushmore so to speak - Marion Campbell, Bud Carson, Jim Johnson and Buddy Ryan. Lawlor laid out the case for Schwartz, who has had a very good career as a defensive coordinator, as to why he can put himself in that discussion with a tremendous 2016 campaign.
The Eagles were ready to go for Day 2 of camp, and they hit the practice field first thing in the morning. View the full gallery here...
4. Schwartz: We Want To Be An Attack Defense
Schwartz could lecture all day long about the overall philosophy of his defense, but at the core it's all about wreaking havoc up front with liberal usage of the blitz.
"In a nutshell, we want to allow (fewer) points than our offense scores," Schwartz said. "Rankings, stats - the only things that matter in this league are wins and losses. I'll take a 42-41 game. I might not sleep well afterwards, but I'll take it. I'd rather that than a 7-3 game that you lose. We want to be an attack defense. We want to put pressure on the quarterback."
Schwartz isn't going to just take what he did at his previous stops in Tennessee, Detroit and Buffalo, and copy it here in Philadelphia. He's going to work with the talent that's in place.
"We've dealt with a little bit of different flavor each stop along the way," said Schwartz. "It looked a little bit different with Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter when I was in Tennessee and it looked a little bit different with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Antwan Odom. When I got to Detroit it looked a little bit different with Cliff Avril, it looked a little bit different with Ziggy Ansah, and in Buffalo it looked a little bit different with Mario Williams and a guy like Jerry Hughes."
5. Who Will Emerge From The CB Group?
The Eagles hit the reset button on the cornerback position this offseason. They traded Byron Maxwell to Miami, signed Ron Brooks and Leodis McKelvin in free agency, and drafted Blake Countess and Jalen Mills. Dave Spadaro caught up with defensive backs coach Cory Undlin to get an update on the state of the position as Training Camp heats up.
"We’re going to have great competition. We're going to play hard, physical football and we're going to play with technique and we're going to play fast," Undlin said. "I like this group a lot. I'm excited to see how it all shakes out when the pads go on and we see what we have. We're at ground zero with the depth chart right now. Everyone is going to get a shot to perform and everyone is going to get a shot to show us what he can do in the preseason games."
For a more detailed look at the storylines to watch at the position, check out Julie Bacanskas' preview here.