After a much-needed day off, the Eagles were back on the practice field Wednesday and went through two live hitting periods during their afternoon workout ...
Injury Report: Defensive ends Jason Babin (calf sprain) and Trent Cole (shoulder) did not take part in practice along with tight end Brent Celek (knee) and safety Phillip Thomas (hamstring).
The Eagles incurred two injuries during practice as defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins left with a hamstring injury. He was scheduled to have a MRI on Wednesday evening. Defensive end Monte Taylor suffered a concussion and also did not finish practice.
Team Blitz Drill
The first-team defensive line featured - from left to right - Cullen Jenkins, Fletcher Cox, Derek Landri and Darryl Tapp.
The defense also showed a pre-snap look with only two down linemen (Fletcher Cox at left defensive end and Derek Landri on the right side) and Jenkins and Tapp standing up.
Running back LeSean McCoy had a nice blitz pickup on safety Kurt Coleman as Michael Vick delivered a pass to Jason Avant on a crossing route.
Cornerback Joselio Hanson had a nice pass breakup on a screen pass from Vick intended for wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Hanson followed up with a rush off the edge, and he may have had Vick before he got rid of the ball, as Avant made a nice catch in traffic against cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
The second-team defensive line boasted - from left to right - Brandon Graham, Cedric Thornton, Antonio Dixon and Phillip Hunt.
Linebacker Akeem Jordan came off the edge and beat tight end Brett Brackett's block attempt to get to quarterback Mike Kafka.
Graham and Hunt flew off the edge together and pinned quarterback Mike Kafka for a sack.
Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Drill
One of the best matchups in all of Training Camp has been wide receiver Jeremy Maclin going against cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. On the first rep, Maclin's crisp route and deceptive speed was too much for Rodgers-Cromartie.
Wide receiver Mardy Gilyard turned cornerback Cliff Harris around on his first break and pulled away for a deep reception.
Wide receiver Damaris Johnson struggled to get off the line against physical cornerback Brandon Hughes, but still made the catch on an in route in the middle of the field.
Maclin and wide receiver DeSean Jackson made back-to-back great catches along the sideline.
New wide receiver Andrew Brewer took one rep, as he's not allowed to take part in live hitting drills in practice. Surprisingly enough, he worked with Michael Vick and not his former teammate Mike Kafka. Brewer looked quick off the snap, but he wasn't able to come up with the tough grab.
Brandon Boykin stood out a bit during the one-on-one and seven-on-seven drills, batting down a few passes over the middle in impressive fashion. That work paid off during the final move the ball session, when he broke up a pass intended for Jason Avant.
The play of the drill was Avant breaking cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and leaving him frozen as he streaked down the field for a wide open touchdown.
Special Cat - Short-Yardage and Goal-line
Defensive tackle Antonio Dixon jumped offsides and bowled over center Jason Kelce and knocked down quarterback Michael Vick. When he got up, Vick responded with his best Karate Kid impersonation launching a jump kick in Dixon's direction.
Linebacker Casey Matthews had a nice stuff of LeSean McCoy on a third-and-1. Defensive end Vinny Curry was also in on the play.
Linebacker Greg Lloyd nailed running back Dion Lewis for a stuff on a third-and-1.
Linebacker DeMeco Ryans contributed with a stuff of Lewis on a third-and-2.
The Eagles used at times a three-safety look on defense with Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman and Jaiquawn Jarrett.
Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo was yelling at linebacker Brian Rolle to creep in the B-gap. It worked as he made a hit in the backfield
Wide receiver Chad Hall converted a third-and-2 on a reverse, but credit safety Kurt Coleman on making a nice tackle to keep the gain to a minimum.
When the Eagles moved the ball to the goal line, running back LeSean McCoy got through a Greg Lloyd tackle attempt for the touchdown.
On a play-action bootleg, quarterback Michael Vick found tight end Clay Harbor in the back, left corner of the end zone beating safety Jaiquawn Jarrett.
On the next snap, Jarrett and linebacker Casey Matthews keyed a stop of running back Dion Lewis short of the touchdown.
Tight end Brett Brackett caught a pass from quarterback Mike Kafka in the back, right corner of the end zone.
Defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins and ends Darryl Tapp and Monte Taylor swarmed Bryce Brown to keep him from the end zone.
Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and defensive end Darryl Tapp were still on the field with the third-team defense because of the numbers.
Quarterback Nick Foles rolled out to his right and completed a pass to tight end Emil Igwenagu for the score.
7-on-7 Drill
Dallas Reynolds got all the snaps at center with the second team during the live drills, but it should be noted that Julian Vandervelde took all the shotgun snaps during the seven-on-seven drill.
Tight end Clay Harbor nearly made a great grab over linebacker DeMeco Ryans, but couldn't hold onto the ball. Safety Nate Allen's presence might have contributed.
Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie followed up a pass breakup against wide receiver Jeremy Maclin with an easy interception of a quarterback Michael Vick pass intended for Jason Avant.
Quarterback Nick Foles connected on a deep ball with wide receiver Mardy Gilyard down the left sideline despite good, tight coverage by cornerback Trevard Lindley.
Linebacker Casey Matthews had a nice interception of a Vick pass intended for Maclin.
Move The Ball
On first-and-10 from the offense's own 30-yard line, LeSean McCoy took a screen pass for a gain of 14 yards.
Quarterback Michael Vick connected with tight end Brett Brackett for a gain of 12 to the defense's 28-yard line.
McCoy took a dumpoff pass 14 yards after eluding linebacker Casey Matthews.
Running back Bryce Brown ran off the right tackle for a 12-yard touchdown run.
"It was fun especially getting a chance to go against some of the veteran guys and just to know we had a lot of success," said Brown afterward. "That gives us both a lot of confidence. I root for him. I am so happy because we both came here at the same time. We are both pushing each other and we both help each other out. To see him go in there and do a good job makes me feel good too."
When the second-team offense took the field, quarterback Mike Kafka was sacked on the first play as he bounced around the pocket looking for a receiver to become open.
Running back Chris Polk showed how physical a runner he could be as he broke two tackles and needed three players to push him out of bounds for a 7-yard gain.
Polk added a 13-yard run that was stopped by safeties Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman at the defense's 15-yard line. Three plays later, he broke a Brian Rolle tackle to gain 6 yards to the 1-yard line.
Brackett finished off the drive by beating out linebacker Mychal Kendricks for a touchdown in the back, right corner of the end zone.
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