Boyz II Men's hit song End of the Road is apropos for this Tuesday. Below is the final series of Practice Notes for 2019 Training Camp. Fran Duffy, Ben Fennell, and Chris McPherson take you inside the second joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens with 16 key observations.
1. During individual drills, I went over and took a peek at the offensive line to see right guard Brandon Brooks, who was working with the first-team unit and polishing some double-team blocks with Halapoulivaati Vaitai. It's great to see the Pro Bowl guard back in action. – Ben Fennell
2. As team periods get underway, Ben and I split duties. I go to the middle field to watch the Eagles' offense face off with the Ravens' defense, while Ben goes to the near field to watch the Ravens' offense match up with the Eagles' defense. I'm not going to lie. I volunteered for the middle field (which has the worst vantage point for the media) hoping to see the Eagles' defense. It turns out, I drew the short straw on the final day. – Fran Duffy
3. The first session in Tuesday's practice is a 7-on-7 period, and the big play came courtesy of Carson Wentz and Alshon Jeffery. Wentz dropped back and airlifted a touch pass over the shoulder to Jeffery on a fade route in the back of the end zone for a score on the third play. Wentz threw a similar ball to Nelson Agholor on the very first snap, but the ball fell just incomplete. Later, Wentz threw a ball up to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside on a fade to the back pylon, and the rookie nearly reeled in a great one-handed catch, but veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey knocked the ball loose at the last second. – Fran
4. On the defensive side, the Ravens completed a number of passes in this 7-on-7 period, but I wouldn't be too alarmed. The Eagles appeared to be playing a lot of zone coverage in this period, and they weren't overly physical at the line of scrimmage or anything in a practice setting. With the quarterback not facing a pass rush, it's easy for him to drop back and go through progressions while the defensive backs struggle to maintain their zones as the quarterback holds the ball late into each down. There were some nice catches by Ravens players, but I wouldn't panic if you are an Eagles fan after this drill. It was also notable that Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod, and Nigel Bradham were all on the field for the Eagles' defense. I believe that was the first time this summer all of them practiced together with the first string. – Ben
5. On Monday, Ravens safety Earl Thomas helped set the tone for the day with a hard thump at the end of a run. It was an Eagles safety who "laid the wood" early and it was McLeod during the 7-on-7 period. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson connected with wide receiver Miles Boykin over the middle and McLeod introduced himself with a shoulder. – Chris McPherson
6. Run periods start, and Jordan Howard was the guy who I thought stood out most to me in this drill. The young veteran ran really hard, finished carries on contact, and even had a couple of nice runs where he was untouched through the hole. Give a tip of the cap to the offensive line against the Ravens' defensive front, as well, on those plays. – Fran
7. Over on the defensive side, I thought rookie T.J. Edwards looked good in the run game. As a four-year starter at Wisconsin, Edwards was a physical thumper inside. Here on Tuesday, Edwards looked good downhill and was constantly around the action. He jumped a slant route in coverage later in practice and nearly came away with an interception, but the ball bounced off his chest. I thought he had a good day overall. – Ben
8. I watched the Eagles' offense up close on Monday, so I missed the defensive highlights. Checking out the defense on Tuesday, defensive tackle Tim Jernigan stuffed running back Justice Hill early in the first team period. Jernigan yelled and helped bring energy on another hot day where some players might have needed a pick-me-up after Monday's practice. Fran told me was that Jernigan apparently did the same thing to kick off the team period on Monday. Jernigan is always a big ball of intensity bowling in the backfield. The fact that Jernigan was going against his former team that dealt him to the Eagles in 2017 just added more emotion to the fire. – C-Mac
9. The first dust-up of the day fizzles quickly, as running back Josh Adams and Baltimore receiver Michael Floyd (two former Notre Dame players, although their careers did not overlap) have a great rep in a special teams drill, where they both got their licks in on their way down the field. It ended with a couple of pushes and shoves, but that was it. I think the lack of fights at practice really speaks to the maturity and toughness of these two teams, who definitely brought physicality on both days. – Fran
10. I couldn't help but notice Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp as they stood elbow-to-elbow during special teams drills. Harbaugh obviously cut his teeth in this town as a special teams coach, so it was a cool scene to see the two yakking it up during drills. These teams clearly have so much respect for one another. – Ben
11. Josh McCown had another nice day of action in Eagles green, running mostly with the second-team unit. McCown hit tight end Alex Ellis for a diving catch over the middle, with the young veteran getting right up and sprinting down the left side for a "touchdown" with a linebacker in tight pursuit. On the next play, McCown showed off some of that veteran savvy, urgently pointing out defenders pre-snap and appearing to help reset protections. He immediately hit Greg Ward wide open on an out route. On the next play, McCown hit J.J. Arcega-Whiteside on a deep dig route, and then wrapped it up with a very quick completion to Corey Clement wide open in the flat. Overall, it was a really efficient day for McCown. – Fran
12. Cody Kessler jumped in with the second-string unit in the next team session and completed a pair of passes to young wideouts. First, Kessler hit Arcega-Whiteside on a nice out route by the sideline. Next, he hit Mack Hollins on a hitch route in really tight coverage. On Hollins' hip? Anthony Averett, a South Jersey kid whose family was in attendance today. I got a chance to spend some time with them during practice and they were really excited to be able to see him go up against receivers like DeSean Jackson one-on-one. – Fran
13. Afterward, the team came together for a full-squad scrimmage on one field. Intensity heightened with everyone on the sidelines, and it was a long, passionate way to end the pair of joint practices. The Eagles' defense came out hot to get things going. Malcolm Jenkins nearly picked off a pass on the very first play, stepping in front of a Jackson throw as the ball was nearly picked off again by Rasul Douglas. A couple plays later, Brandon Graham chased Jackson from the pocket in what some may have blown dead as a sack. The secondary locked up Baltimore's receivers on the very next play, forcing Jackson to throw the ball 10 feet out of bounds. – Fran
14. DeSean Jackson caught a really impressive pass on the first play for the offense. It appeared to be some kind of comeback route, and Jackson drew a flag on the play, but still came away with the catch. It's been fun to watch DeSean and his ability to gain separation all summer long. I can't wait to see it in the games once the regular season begins. – Fran
15. The Eagles' defense owned the rest of the day with several big-time interceptions from the first- and second-string units. Vinny Curry zone dropped and made a diving interception over the middle, appearing to drop directly into the passing lane for Jackson as he was trying to get the ball out quickly to beat the blitz. Young safety Tre Sullivan came away with a pick, Edwards nearly came away with one, and Jeremiah McKinnon did as well. It was a great finish for Jim Schwartz's unit. – Ben
16. At the end of practice, head coach Doug Pederson praised the players for their performance over the past two days, working hard to improve as a team. He stressed the importance of getting rest ahead of Thursday's preseason game with the Ravens. Coach Pederson had Alshon Jeffery break down the huddle. The wide receiver had the team yell "champions" before heading to the locker room. – C-Mac
