Throughout the week, PhiladelphiaEagles.com is on the scene in St. Petersburg, Florida for three days of practices for the 92nd East-West Shrine Game. Each day, we'll keep a running log of what we're seeing on the field, with help from NFL Draft Insider Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com.
Here are our notes from our third and final day of coverage for the East-West Shrine Game practices ...
8:30 A.M.: Enjoying one final breakfast outside on the beach at our hotel. The day gets off to rocky start and I believe I'm picking up the maple syrup but instead pour hot coffee on my pancakes. Tony gives me a look and I know what I've done wrong. But if we're being honest, it didn't taste bad at all. I might be on to something. – Alex Smith
East Practice
9:40 A.M.: East practice is underway at Shorecrest Prep. It's going to be a shorter version of the notes, by the way. Our flight back to Philly is in the early afternoon, so we're just going to the East practice today. Let's see how it goes. - AS
10:27 A.M.: Vanderbilt tackle William Holden lined up at left tackle during team drills. I noticed him more on the right side earlier in the week, but he's doing a good job on the left side. He's listed at 312 pounds, but with his 6-7 height, he looks very athletic for his position. He's doing a nice job against Florida's Bryan Cox. - AS
10:29 A.M.: Tony and I are keeping an eye on Drake tight end Eric Saubert to see how he does in the blocking game. We saw him line up a lot in the slot away from the line, but today they're keeping him in tight so we're seeing much more of him as a blocker. He just did a nice job against Northern Iowa's Karter Schult during team drills. - AS
10:37 A.M.: I think there's a bald eagle's nest atop one of the light fixtures here. We've seen an eagle flying around and some smaller birds as well. It's been squawking all week. Must be a big fan of these prospects. Makes me think of being back in Philly later tonight. I asked Tony what kind of bird he thought it was. "An annoying bird" was his response. - AS
10:50 A.M.: Alabama wide receiver Gehrig Dieter is 6-3, 207 pounds, but he looks like he could fit as a slot receiver in the NFL. He can go up and catch the ball well which makes up for a lack of quickness. – Tony Pauline
10:59 A.M.: Ole Miss cornerback Tony Bridges is playing well today. He made a nice play in zone coverage to leave the receiver and rush into the backfield on a checkdown pass to a running back. - TP
11:12 A.M.: A local product, Temple cornerback Nate Hairston makes a great play on a red-zone fade. He kept his eyes locked on the receiver and used his hands to knock the ball away at the last second. These red-zone 1-on-1 drills are fun to watch. Michigan running back De'Veon Smith runs a nice shake-move flat route to end the drill with a win for the offense. I'd say he's been one of my favorite players to watch here. He's got good patience as a runner. - AS
11:40 A.M.: That's all she wrote from the East practice. Thanks to Tony Pauline for all his help this week. We'll see him next week in Mobile, Alabama for what should be another great week of coverage. We'll have it all for you right here on PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Until then, be on the lookout for the next Journey to the Draft podcast and Fran Duffy's Saturday Scouting preview of the Shrine Game, which will be posted later this week. - AS
