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Practice Notes: Alshon Jeffery Makes The Play Of The Day

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Here are our news and notes from the first full-team practice of Training Camp. It was a 10-10-10 session, which means 10 plays that favor the offense, 10 for the defense, and then 10 minutes of special teams.

Number Of The Day: 4

.@Eagles DT Tim Jernigan has produced 4.0 sacks in each of the last three seasons, including a career-high 5.0 in 2016. #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/S9AzyPlwIG — John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) July 27, 2017

Play Of The Day

This is typical of what we might see from the Eagles' offense this season: Four receivers spread across the formation – Nelson Agholor, Trey Burton, Darren Sproles, and Alshon Jeffery. Quarterback Carson Wentz, in the shotgun, took the snap. He looked right and floated a deep pass to the right sideline, where Jeffrey made a beautiful leaping catch. - Dave Spadaro

Practice Observations

1. On the first play of full-team action, Zach Ertz made a slick grab on a pass thrown behind him as he crossed the middle of the field. It was a quick throw from Wentz slightly off the mark, but Ertz adjusted and secured a tough catch. Joe Walker, working with the second-team defense at linebacker, was in tight coverage on the play. - Fran Duffy

2. Soon afterward, the team came out in a three-tight end set, something we saw plenty of in 2016 in the first year under head coach Doug Pederson. With Ertz, Brent Celek, and Trey Burton all lined up to the left, Wentz handed the ball off to running back LeGarrette Blount ... who took off the OPPOSITE direction down the right sideline for a long gain on the ground. - FD

3. One quick depth chart note that I picked up early in practice when the first-team defense took the field - cornerback Ron Brooks worked with the first-team nickel package in the slot, with Jalen Mills (left corner) and Patrick Robinson (right) on the outside. In the spring, with Brooks on the sideline, we saw Mills slide into the slot with rookie Rasul Douglas stepping in outside in those looks. We're all excited to see how the rotation evolves as camp progresses. - FD

4. Mills made a nice pass breakup early on in the session, knocking a pass down on an intended slant route. It was a nice anticipation play by the second-year corner. - FD

5. A few plays later, the backups on offense wanted to go vertical, with wide receiver Mack Hollins running deep against Mills and safety Malcolm Jenkins. The snap was dropped, killing the play, but Hollins exploded downfield regardless, showing his speed in space and finishing the rep. Hollins shot his hands up as if the ball was coming his way, forcing Jenkins to react and try to "break up" the pass. On the surface, it comes off as a "nothing to see here" kind of moment, but it gave me a glimpse into the kind of worker Hollins is on the practice field, providing the defense with the best rep possible. - FD

6. When the first-team offense went back on the field, I focused in on a rep between first-round pick Derek Barnett and left tackle Jason Peters. Barnett beat Peters outside on the first rep I watched, but that was the only time I saw J.P. lose a snap after that. Peters pushed Barnett to the ground on one play soon after, and it was more of the same for a lot of the reps that I watched live. Matching up against Peters on a daily basis is one of the best things for a young pass rusher like Barnett to go through at this stage of his career.* - FD*

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There were smiles all around at the first full-team practice of Training Camp. Check out the photos...

7. Soon afterward, Nick Foles hit Jordan Matthews on a deep pass downfield for a touchdown. J-Matt leaped over rookie defensive back Randall Goforth on the play, coming down with what would've been a score. It was good to see Matthews back on the field after missing most of the spring with a knee injury. *- FD

8. With the first-team defense back on the field, I enjoyed watching reps between Mychal Kendricks and Donnel Pumphrey in the slot. On one play, the veteran linebacker broke up a throw at the catch point, coming away with a clean PBU in coverage. The running backs out in space were once again a theme on Thursday, as second-year running back Wendell Smallwood made one of the plays of the day with a slick catch away from his body out in the flat, jumping up with a defender in his face to bring in the throw. - FD

9. Going back to the first play that Duffy referenced, how many times will we see Ertz and Celek on the field together at the same time in 2017? The Eagles ran 163 plays with two tight ends last season, which was only 22nd in the league. - Chris McPherson

10. Linebacker Jordan Hicks was a limited participant due to the finger injury he suffered while on his honeymoon. He wore a soft cast on his hand. Najee Goode was the first-team middle linebacker in Hicks' absence. Hicks wants fans to know that he'll be fine. - CM

11. Our Alex Smith recorded some of the hangtimes of the punters. After rookie Cameron Johnston put up a strong 4.72 seconds, Donnie Jones answered with one at 4.82 seconds followed by a boomer that hung in the air for 5.11 seconds. Jones showed why he's one of the greatest punters in NFL history. - CM

12. Dillon Gordon will be an X-factor for the Eagles' offense. He lined up as a third tight end. He was a fullback. On short-yardage situations, how will teams handle seeing the Eagles line up in the I-formation with the 322-pound Gordon leading the way for Blount, who is 250 pounds. - CM

13. A player who stood out to me in the spring was safety Terrence Brooks. He had a nice pass breakup on a throw intended for tight end Anthony Denham on Thursday. Brooks was claimed off waivers at the end of the preseason in 2016 and spent the early part of the season learning the playbook. If you recall, he made the game-sealing interception of an Eli Manning offering against the Giants in Week 16. - CM

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