Inside Training Camp: A New Season

And then on the EVA training camp, the Eagles send cornerback Brandon Boykin, the nickel corner for the past three seasons, to the burg Steelers for a conditional draft pick in two sixteen. The big question now is what does that mean. Obviously long term a great value add for the Eagles, well in the short term, who will take over Boykin's role? To one of the many storylines that we're talking about,

Chip Kelly getting his crew together. Eighty nine players in all, they all passed the conditioning test and we're on the field on Sunday. So let's send you out to the field. It's our three sixty update with Alex Smith. Pack your bags, we're going camping Hi everyone. Alex Smith here with your three sixty update, presented by Sports Authority. It's a beautiful day here in South Philadelphia. As the Eagles reported for

their first training session of twenty fifteen training camp. It was head coached Chip Kelly kicking things off today with his pre practice press conference. Chip Kelly was asked early and often about last night's trade of Brandon Boykin to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional fifth round pick, and Kelly responded to those questions by praising the depth that the Eagles have at cornerback. I wanted talking to him last night. I think he was stunned, he was disappointed.

I think he really liked it here, very close with his teammates, and I told him I thought the timing itself wasn't a real good time. But they actively pursued him. They tried to They wanted to trade for him at the draft, and we turned it down, and they had called last week and turned it down again. And then when we sat down with Corey and Billy and Ed has a group and you know, looked at the offer that they made for us, and kind of, really it's more speaks to what our depth was at the position.

We felt like it was a move to make. So the other big topic heading into this twenty fifteen training camp for the Eagles is the health of quarterback Sam Bradford and Kelly spoke today about Bradford having no limitations on that left knee, saying that his quarterback feels comfortable heading into camp. He's full go, one hundred percent. You know, when you talk to him, he had a great offseason. I think from when we left on June eighteenth to now,

he feels really confident. You know, he's not going to play with a brace, not going to at least in our training session out here. It feels comfortable without it. He's ready to go. So once practice came to a close, Bradford himself spoke about trusting his left knee, playing without a brace, and praising the work that he put in with the Eagles training staff during the last six weeks. Yeah, it was kind of a collective idea, but yeah, I just felt like I got to the point where I

didn't need it. I was doing a lot of things without the brace and I felt fine. And I felt like sometimes during OTAs, de brace restricted me a little bit. And so you know, the doctors. I talked to him yesterday and they were cool with it, so we're gonna go with that one. It was interesting to note today that it was rookie cornerback Jacorey Shepherd who got the first team reps at nickelback, previously held by Brandon Boykin. And after practice it was veteran Malcolm Jenkins praising the

work that he saw in the field from Shepherd. Shepherd today. Last night you figured out he would be with the ones as a nickel today and he stepped in today. It didn't miss a beat, and I think they're hungry to get their opportunity as well and show what they got. So it's gonna be a lot of competition. We got EJ. Biggers, Watkins playing the nickel and myself and Walter Thurman can

drop down into nickel at any time. So we got a lot of depth and a lot of talent, and you know, we're looking forward to what we're gonna do as the secondary. Sticking on the defensive side of the ball, it was veteran linebacker tomko Ryan's talking about his opportunity to get back on the field and playing alongside the newly acquired Keiko Alonzo all it was good. You know, it's saying if I'm in there with Kiko, Michael, whoever,

we do a good job. I think of just helping each other, communicating, helping each other, no matter who's in there. And finally a couple of depth chart notes from this afternoon's practice. It was Alan Barbie and Matt Tobin who got first team reps at the guard position. Meanwhile, outside at wide receiver it was Riley Cooper and Josh Huff with Jordan Matthews playing in the middle. Switching over to

the defensive side of the ball. Walter Thurman lined up and took first team reps opposite of Malcolm Jenkins, and has previously mentioned it was Jacory Shephard getting first team reps at the nickel. And for continuing coverage of Eagles training camp, be sure to keep it right here on Philadelphia Eagles dot com. Well, thank you very much, Alex.

I guess it's not too early, Chris to take a look ahead at the regular season by my calculations, Just forty four days from now until the opener in Atlanta against the Falcons Monday night football, and you had a chance to go behind enemy lines to find out about those new fangled Atlanta Falcons. Yes we're I catch a

wood Orlando Ledbetter from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. After this break, here on inside Training Camp presented bykes Fanity, I scept to Philly, I sept the Philly, the bus, the trolley, regional rail, I scept to Philly, the seventeen to Training Road, street line to my park, Boay Market Fiford line all night. Ain't the pain A hot of the PAINTA hot of the paint. Carps electrolytes thro repletish everything you need to keep sweating. Section five, twelve rows six, seats seven through ten.

Those are our seats at this one time. We can't be there. Please street them right to get there earliest daylight and yellow whole dress, warm gloves, hats, warm boots. Eric sits in the middle. Uncle Paul sits on the aisle. And if you want to sit in my seat. Make sure you get your ticket from the only place a

fan can trust. Buy and sell one percent verified authentic tickets with other true fans only on NFL ticket exchange tickets from one fan to another with extra twenty checking from sant Anderi, you can get paid twenty dollars a month. Just direct deposit fifteen hundred dollars or more and pay two bills a month with the online bill pay feature, then you can get paid twenty dollars a month. That's just the way it works. So what are you waiting for?

The first game of the twenty fifteen regular season is against the Atlanta Falcons. So it's only fitting that we kick off our behind Enemy Line series by looking at that opponent. And to do so, we're bringing the man who covers the Falcons better than anyone. And as d Orlando led better from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, d let let's start off with this. Was it a blessing in disguise that the Falcons did not win the NFC South last season, which went to the Carolina Panthers, which is

a seven eight and one record. Oh yeah, no question about it. They were clearly a team that needed to draft higher. The positions would have changed, It changed drastically if they had had pulled out that division crown. And they clearly need some help to build some more depth and they could go ahead and get started with their rebuilding projects. So that I mean, you never like to say you want to lose a game, but it may

have benefitted the franchise in the long term. Led dan Quinn takes over as a head coach for the winningest coach in Falcon's history and Mike Smith. Now dan Quinn had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator in Seattle, but he certainly doesn't have those same pieces now in Atlanta. What has he done to try to transform that Falcons defense in the image of what he had in Seattle. Well, they went out and made a lot of below the radar moves and picking up linebackers Footbrey, Justin Durant and

O'Brien Schofield. They've bosso picked up guys like Adrian Clayborne who were on the you know grab people over there have been heard a couple of years and haven't been able to stay in a high level of play. Uh, So you know you got guys like that, they come in, You drafted Vic Beasley, and then uh you moved some guys around. They certainly moved a lot of people around in the secondary trying to find the right combination for

this efensive scheme. So, uh, he's trying uh about every you know move in the book from guys off the street to guys who were reserved elsewhere to high draft pick to try to breathe some life into the league's worst defense. See led You mentioned that it was the least worst defense was also the worst defense in terms of the past. Obviously, Seattle is known or is known for the Legion of Boom. Can Dan Quinn have the same success with this a Land defense if he doesn't

have that strong play on the backside of the defense? Yeah, I think they've got They've got a major project going on over there on that side of the ball with the Cardo Allen, a fifth round pick out of Produce who was a ball hawking corner and the big kin and tackled a lot. They're converting him to free stafety. Now, um uh, you know, if that works out, then you gotta you gotta get back there to go love with

William Moore. You have Desmond truefin at corner and then you gotta try to find out what you have and Jalen Kyllis and Robert Alford at the other corner and made the others the Nickels. So there is some palent back there, but they look short short of safety and they're trying to make one, you know, a YadA. They had a lot of success with late draft round picks like Cam Chancellor, he was a fifth Maxwell I believe

it was a fourth. Uh, you know co string of guys that they you know, were even Brandon Browner who they went to Canada to get. So they know what they're looking for and they're searching for guys to come in and pit that seal it. On the offensive side of the football, dan Quinn have some beautiful pieces to work with Matt Ryan at quarterback, Julio Jones or Roddy White at the wide receiver positions. You bring in a new offensive coordinator and Kyle Shanahan certainly familiar with the

MC east. What is Shanahan doing to maximize the talent of Ryan's and those wide receivers, but at the same time trying to keep things status quot since they've had so much success on offense. Yeah. Yeah, they were trying to get this outside outside the zone running schemes moving. You know, the Falcons haven't ran the ball well over the last couple of years. You know, the Stephen Jackson experiment just didn't work out. So they're trying to get

the zone blocking scheams going. They have a couple of kids back there, de Bontay Freeman, the second and guy and the rookie Keevin Coleman from Indiana that they're trying to plug in there and see if they can balance out the offense from Matt Ryan and Julio Joe. Who do you think will be the leading rusher for the Falcons? Obviously it's you know, early on in training camp, so the preseason and you know, some time to look forward to before the start of the regular season here at

d LA. But who do you think will be the feature runner in this offense? I think over the season it'll be Coleman. I think Freeman will start out back there, but they're gonna bring the rookie along and put him on a fast track. I think you know over the loan call that you're running back. Dee Orlando led Better from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Thank you very much retaining us behind enemy lines here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. However you do sports, however you do fun, however you

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Lincoln Financial, You're in charge. We welcome you back, Eagles insider Dave Spidero, joined by Ross Tucker, the host of Inside Training Camp Football one oh one, of course serious satellite radio and let's not forget the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. You've been talking about this football team all offseason. I'd like you to take us through your thoughts on the move, starting March tenth, really before that, when Lashawn McCoy's trade was announced to this point, how you felt about the

Philadelphia Eagles. I think it was as entertaining for me as anybody you know. I work in the media now, So for me, I love the Chip Kelly, you know, keep making these big moves. Fascinating to think that that offense they had a couple of years ago with Foles and Shawn Jackson and Jeremy Macklin and l Shan mccryo Macklin has hurt that year. But it's just hard to believe that those guys are all gone because two years ago, I think most Eagles fan felt pretty good about the

core group they had. Now they're all gone, But I think if you look at each one individually, I think they felt like Bradford a little bit an upgrade from Nick Foles, clearly, as long as Bradford's stays healthy. We've talked about that a million different times. At running back, I think he likes the idea of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews for about the same money that they're paying Shady McCoy. Plus you still have Darren Sproles in the mix. Tight ends are the same. The concerns for me would

the interior offensive line at both guard spots. They've released Evan Mathis and so they've got a bunch of young guys I thought struggled a year ago, really competing and battling for those two spots. But they got some experience under their belts. I think a lot of times offensive line coaches think, now they got some start, they'll improve a lot going in next year. And wide receivers, well,

I'm not overly confined about the wide receivers. I think with Jordan Matthews in year two, Riley Cooper, I think Agla is a guy that everybody loved coming out when they draft him in the first round. I think the wide receivers will be okay. I think really the interior offensive line. Maybe it's because I I don't know an interior offensive lineman is the issue that concerns me the most. Cutting Evan Mathis without replacing that talent was a little

surprising everywhere else. Lose Macklin, bringing Aglar, lose Shady, you're bringing to Marco Maray and Ryan Matthews, lose Foals, bringing Bradford, lose mathis bring in. That's kind of the problem. And then the defense, of course, also has been overhauled by my calculations. Are lost forty four days between today and September fourteenth, play Monday night football in Atlanta. So take

us inside the locker room. What has to happen from a camaraderie standpoint, a chemistry standpoint, to make all these pieces melt together. I actually think that Chip's already handling a lot of that. I mean, that's why Evan Mathis isn't here, That's why Lashaw McCoy is here, It's why

DeShawn Jackson isn't here. You know, Chip firmly believes, and there's definitely some truth to this that if you get everybody going in the same direction, everybody's oars are going in the same direction, you've got the best opportunity to have success in the NFL. Hey, the team that won the Super Bowl last year at the New England Patriots, they were not the most talented team in the NFL.

The Eagles still have talent. We talked earlier, they replaced most of the talent that they lost, but now they've got all guys that have totally bought in to what they're doing. I've been on teams with guys that didn't buy in. You can tell is filters around. It's an issue a lot of times in the NFL. There's a belief that you need to replace talent with talent and that you can't just go with culture. My opinion, the only issue that really is is the interior offensive line. Again,

everybody's like, oh, he's just culture over talent. Well, where are we talking culture over town. We're really only talking about Evan Mathis at this point because he replace the other positions with talent. We watched practice today, No need overreact to first day of practice. Everybody's kind of getting the rust shaken loose, and I want to talk about Sam Bradford and benchmarks that you might have for Bradford moving forward. First preseason game is fifteen days away, the

Falcons six weeks away. So what do you want from Bradford kind of week over week when you look at him, I just want him to make it to the Atlanta game. In all sincerity, you know, number of reps doesn't matter, number of throws preseason playing time, not really, not really. I mean it's such a quarterback friendly offense, Dave. I mean, we've seen everybody, you know, vic and and Falls and Sanchez.

It seems like everybody, maybe with the exception of Matt Barkley when he played a little bit last year, but it seemed like everybody does well on this offense. We know AM's a smart guy. We know Sam has a good arm and he's accurate. I think that Chip will make sure he gets enough reps. If anything, David, it would be more to me about the practice reps. I wouldn't expose him that much in the preseason games. Make sure he's getting all the reps he needs mentally in

these preseason practices. Try to keep him healthy in the preseason games. What do you see on the defense? Malcolm Jenkins the only returning starter in the secondary Eagles investing heavily there the trade that brings Keiko Alonso to Philadelphia. Clearly the Eagles want to cut down that seventy two passing plays of twenty plus yards from a year ago. There's no doubt about it. I think Byron Maxwell will help with that quite a bit. I think there's any question.

You know, you and I are both here. When the Seahawks played the Eagles last year, and I've talked to Jordan Matthews about this. Byron Maxwell did very well against George Matthews, and I think that's a big reason why the Eagles said, we gotta get that guy. They need him to be a shutdown corner, and I think he's better than people think. I think sometimes people think, well they got Richard Sherman. You know he always had help. No, no, no, there were plenty of times when Bayern Maxwell was man

to man. He's versaile. He can play inside, he can play outside. So he's going to be probably the biggest lynchpin on the back end of that defense, along with the rookie of course, and trying to make sure that they're better in that area. As we get through training camp deeper into the summer, I will pin you down and find out if you think the Eagles are a playoff team, but we're not going to do that on day one. Well, let's put it this way. They're definitely

in the mix. And as I watch over the next couple of weeks, I'll have a better form or answer. Ross Tucker mean, thank you so much for joining us in studio here on Philadelphia Eagles dot com. You can't find a great doctor just anywhere. Sure you can specialists, primary care, you bet. Jefferson doctors take a look a bit, excellent doctors. Lots of locations. Cole one eight hundred, Jeff. Now, wow, that's a good number. Eight Jeff, Now sure I meant

a good number of doctors. I'm into good number four doctors. I've got a feeling this could go on for a while. No, I can't. You'll interrupt the announcer. Find a Jefferson doctor cole one eight hundred, Jeff, Now for an appointment. Section five twelve, Row six, Seats seven through ten. Those are our seats at this one time. We can't be there. Please treat them right to get there earliest daylight and yellow whole dress, warm gloves, hats, warm boots. Eric sits

in the middle. Uncle Paul sits on the aisle. And if you want to sit in my seat. Make sure you get your ticket from the only place a fan can trust. Buy and sell one hundred percent verified, authentic tickets with other true fans only on NFL. Take exchange tickets from one fan to another. Experience the power of physical therapy at Novocare Rehabilitation. We know the importance of an active lifestyle. If you're currently injured, let us bring

that active lifestyle back to you. Novacare is the exclusive provider of physical therapy to the Philadelphia Eagles and with more than one hundred convenient locations throughout Philadelphia and South Jersey. Go to novacare dot com today and request an appointment online or call eight hundred seven seven zero six six eight two. The Eagles choose Novacare, so can you Novacare the power of physical therapy. It's always great to hear

from Ross Tucker. His football one o one segment debuts tomorrow right here on Inside Training Camp presented by ex Affinity. You know, we can talk about the cornerbacks, the offensive line, the running backs, but it all comes back to the quarterback position. Good to see Sam Bradford on the field today. Look good from what we could see, and he's certainly the talk of the town. He seraily is the armtown, no question. The big thing with him is how would

the leg hold up? And it was very good to see him be full go for the first aid training camp. But this is a marathon. It's not just about today. The goal is forty three days from now. You want him rady for the Monday and opener against the Atlanta Falcom So it would be very important to see how has he developed, how's he progress over the next couple of days. Yeah, we'll see that every day we debut

this segment. It's called Eagle in Focus, and of course the quarterback position, specifically number seven, Sam Bradford, bo Wolf has the Eagle eye on him. Hello, Eagles fans on bo Wolf and welcome to Eagle in Focus, where we narrow our focus from everything that's going on in training

camp to focus on one individual player. And we will start where else at quarterback with the man who Chip Kelly acquired shocking the NFL world on the first day of the new league year March tenth, chip Kelly and the Eagles sending Nick Foles, a twenty sixteen second round pick and more draft pick considerations to the Saint Louis Rams in order to acquire the former number one overall pick in two ten, the NFL rookie of the Year in two thousand and ten, a Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford.

And now we will find out whether Sam Bradford is the man to lead this Eagles offense and whether he can prove that he can stay healthy after suffering a coren ACL last summer. Back in March, chip Kelly X blained why it was that Bradford was the man for the Eagle. He's a big, strong, physical quarterback. He's over six fours, two hundred and forty pounds. He's smart, he's intelligent. He's one of the most accurate throwers when you see him throw the football. I think he's smart. I think

he's wired, right. I think we had some inside information because Pat Schurmer had an opportunity to coach the kid for a year. So he knows what he's like in the meeting room. He knows what he's like on a daily basis. He knows the consistency that comes with him. He understands his work ethic. He's an unbelievable competitor. You talk to the people that have been around him, whose coaches in the NFL, who was coaches in college. Kevin Wilson is now the head coach at Indiana, was his

offensive coordinator. Talked to Kevin about him. Gona talk to Bob Stoops about him. I mean, the kid's wired, right. He's a competitor as well as Chip Kelly is fond of saying, if Sam Bradford did not have those injury question marks, he simply would not have been available for the Eagles to a choir, and aside from those injury concerns,

he has everything the Eagles want in a quarterback. He has the size, the mobility, the ability to get the ball out quickly, and he's got outstanding downfield accuracy and armstraight. So really the only question now for Bradford is to prove that he can stay healthy and that he can pick up this Eagle's offense and be the man to lead this Eagles team and this outstanding offense to maybe a third straight season where they set a franchise record for points. Story for Eagle and focus on Bobo, thank

you very much. So just to set things up for you, Tomorrow, practice closed again at the Novicare Complex. Tuesday, the first public practice in pads at Lincoln Financial Field. We expect to see all of you over across the street checking out the Eagles for the first time. And then on Wednesday, the players off, so we kind of heat things up after that and get a look ahead at the first preseason game and see where this team stands early in

training camps quickly coming on the rising. Two weeks until the first preseason game. But again Tuesday, that open practice, it's going to be something special to watch. Gates open at ten am, so make sure that you're there. It's free family fun at Lincoln Financial Field. Yeah, well, hope awesome. Tomorrow we're back with Inside Training Camp presented by Exfinity. You'll hear from the offensive coordinator Bill Davis, running back DeMarco Murray, and how about the leader of the defense,

Damiko Ryan's meeting with the media. All that and a whole lot more when we come back tomorrow with Inside Training Camp presented by Extrinity. For christ McPherson, I'm Dave Spidero. We thank you for joining us today on Inside Training Camp. Have yourselves a great Eagles Day.