Inside Training Camp: August 5

get physical, and Olivia Newton John is not here. You go a little bit more more time with that reference there, But nonetheless, Doug Pierson said that he wanted a physical training camp and he has lived up to those expectations thus far. Is really important for the players to get into the mindset, the mentality of getting physical, tackling, practicing it, and for the offensive players getting adjusted to it. So when you get to the first preseason game, it's not

new again. You're not shaking off russ. You can hit the season running, so to speak. And the biggest thing for Doug Peterson is he wants his team to be physically and mentally tough in the fourth quarters of games and in the second half of the season, which is something that we have not seen from this team the last couple of seasons. Coincidence with the way training camp was held before. We'll wait and find out. We'll see what kind of impact it has on this two thousand

and sixteen season. Let's get you caught up with some of the injuries, players coming back, players missing practice, and players leaving practice on this Friday. Okay, back at practice on Friday, running back Ryan Matthews and offensive guard Brandon Brooks. They took part in some individual drills and some group installed drills. Will get to some sound from Brandon Brooks

talking about his return from injury. Leaving practice today, Ertz who is cleared of any concussion problems, Marcus Smith treated and evaluated for a concussion, Jordan Matthews a knee injury that will keep him out for a couple of days, nothing serious though, and Mike Martin, defensive tackle, also leading

practice with a knee injury. Among those players missing practice, Jason Peters continues to miss practice with that quad injury, when Dale Smallwood out with a quad injury, Knowing Carroll out with a maintenance day, and then Malcolm Jenkins out with his hamstring injury. Again because none of these injuries considered serious, and again the Eagles holding as physical to training camp as they have obviously since the Andy Read days. You're gonna bumps and bruises along the way. But again

we mentioned this on yesterday's show. You need to learn about some of the deaf guys, and yes, you want to develop some chemistry along the way, get some continuity at these positions. But when you look at the safety position in particular, you're set with Malcolm Jenkins at Rodney McLeod was out today due to a family excuse absence. But nonetheless, though, you need to find out who are going to be the backup guys at those positions. Jason

Peters out again from practice today. You know Matt Tobin goes into left tackle. You need to learn about those guys who might be called into emergency action. Because players aren't going to all make it through a sixteen game rigorous schedule. You're gonna have to have backups who are going to step into starting roles at one point or another. So learn about those guys now. Put him those situations now so when the time comes during the season, they'll

be fully prepared. So Brandon Brooks, the prize free agent acquisition in pads today important for him to get out there and after practice, he talked about his return from injury and where he feels he is in terms of mental preparation for the preseason game on Thursday. It feels good. Do you get back out here? You know, I never want to not be out here with your teammates when they're grinding. So, I mean, the biggest thing is, you know, when you're sitting in there, you know, watching guys out

here practicing. You know, you're sitting from trying to ride the biker, running on a tread mill or something, wishing you're out there, but at the same time makes you, you know, more hungry when you come out from a mental standpoint, I mean, I know what I'm doing. No, it's not a big deal. It's just you know, conditioning yourself to you know, hitting hitting people every day, you know,

things of that nature. Um, you know. Luckily for me, it's not like I'm necessarily like a young guy more of a middle in the road guys, So you don't know what it takes. So you know, a little bit more time just to keep progressing each and every day. The Eagles have still not had all five projected starters along the offensive line out on the field at the same time in training camp. But having Brooks back really

huge for the Eagles. They want to make sure that he and Lane Johnson and right tackle Jason Kelsey at the center position build some chemistry, some continuity. And we can't overstate Chris how important it is that Brandon Brooks gets into this system and plays dominating football, which the Eagles expect him to do well. They need him to do it. That's why they added him as a Day one free agent acquisition. They want to make the offensive

line a strength for this football team once again. It obviously struggle had its ups and downs in twenty fifteen. For the Eagles offense to run as smoothly as Doug Peerson if Frank Reich want to be, they are going

to need the offensive line to carry the way. You look at Kansas, say last season with Doug Peerson, they lost their best player in Jamal Charles, but thanks to the strong offensive line, they were able to put in rotational backs like Charke, Hendrick West and Spencer were and still have success on the ground and have that key ten game win streak to carry them through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. So Pierson believes in the same Andy Raid mentality that you win

in the trenches. So he wants to get that refined as quickly as possible today. And he also wants to have a training camp that is nasty, that is physical, that is demanding, and he's having that. He's also very pleased on Friday to get Brooks back along with Ryan Matthews,

who reported to training camp with a bum ankle. He's getting better, He's okay, He's going to be ready to go, and Peterson talked about the return of Brooks and Matthews to this Eagles offense that still is searching for its identity. He's good, He's good, you know again, he's another one's day to day. It was good to see him and Ryan both out here get some individual works and group install stuff and and we'll just kind of keep keep

progressing with both of those guys. It's valuable anytime, anytime you missed, especially the first part of camp when when he hasn't had the exposure to pads. He had to get him out here and run around. And it was good too, good to see him put the ball in his hands a little bit, see how he was running around, and and I thought, I thought He did a nice job when he was in there, and and I we'll just keep giving him more and more every every day.

Now as Matthews has been recovering from his injury, Kenyan Barner has stepped up and I think it's had a really fine training camp, running with more quickness, with more power. But clearly Matthews is the feature back here as the Eagles look to rotate things. Give me a realistic expectation, Chris from Matthews average carries per game, average carric per game, that's a good one. I think you're probably looking in the teens, I'm gonna say for this football team in

two and sixteen. I mean, he was very effective with the ball his hands last season, but the Eagles felt they had to give him Marco Murray his touches to try and get him more involved in the game. But it seemed like every time Matthews had the ball in his hands something was happening. Over five yards per carry last season. He did miss a couple of games due to a concussion, and that's the biggest question mark with him, is Kenny remained healthy through the course of the entire season.

He's done it in the past and having that running back by committee approach behind him, having guys like Barner and Darren S browsing and get his touches, and you figure Wendell Smallwood will factor into the mix, hopefully that they'll be able to take some of the burden off of Matthews so that he doesn't have to be a foundation back where you're asking him for twenty to twenty five touches each and every game. Yeah, he's alway been healthy one year in his NFL career, a Pro Bowl

season with the San Diego Chargers. So that is our conversation about the offense. We've got more to get to here. When Inside Training Camp presented by Xfinity returns, we're going to talk about the defense. Connor Barwin a linebacker in the three four, a defensive end now with Jim Schwartz in his four three defense. He's our guest on the other side. Love me, No one's ever fallen fifty percent in love or cared for somebody with only part of

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to prevent, treat, and cure brain and spine disorders. From the nation's first brain tumor removal to the region's first neuroscience hospital, look to us breakthroughs that are light years ahead. Welcome back at the Overcare Complex. Dave Spidarow, Chris McPherson. It's inside Training Camp presented by Axfinity, and in block number one, we talked about the offense and some of the players coming back and kind of the Eagles offense

trying to find itself here early in training camp. Now we want to focus on the defense and one of the players who's really have to make the big transition from the three four to the four three Connor Barwin. He was a stand up linebacker. Chris outstanding coming off the edge of the question is putting his hand in the dirt getting to the quarterback. Does he have that skill set? I definitely think he has a skill set, and he showed it very early on in his career.

He was originally drafted by the Houston Texans as a four three end, so he's actually made the conversion from four to three to three four. He goes back to his roots as a four three defensive end. He's got Gray Athlezism, tremendous length to get off the edge. Is going to be a great fit for Jim Schwartz's scheme. And well, he's so good at Dave. We've seen this

in the last couple of years. Is the ability to get in the quarterback's face to knock down the ball, to make like difficult for quarterbacks, not just from a sack standpoint, but just to get the ball into the possible through the pass lane, so to speak. So if Barwin can kinto do that, I think he's gonna be tremendously a great fit here. The key for him and for the entire defensive end group is the rotation. Make

sure you have the depth there. So Marcus Smith going down with the concussion, he'll be out for a little bit as he goes through the protocol. So it's gonna be interesting for guys like Stephen Means, you know, guys who are trying to fight Alex mccaliser to prove themselves with the extra opportunity because Chris Wilson and Jim Schwartz they need the death there at the end position. Yeah,

So the focus here is Connor Barwin. Alex Smith sits down with Connor Barwin talking defense under Jim Schwartz, our Eagles fans. I'm Alex Smith back here at the Novacare Complex and I'm very pleased to be joined today by Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin. Connor, first of all, thanks for coming on. Fourth training camp for you here with the Eagles already, I'm sure this one feels a little bit different. New coaching, I have new people inside the building.

What's been the biggest difference from your perspective? The biggest difference, Alex, is probably the amount of time in between snaps. Obviously, with Chip it was just about getting as many plays ran during practice as we could. Now with Doug, it's about running as many kind of high quality plays as we can and getting them right defensively and getting them right on offense. And what does that do for you

as a player? Instead of waiting to see when the film comes out, you get to be you know, things get corrected right away. Well, you know, you still go into the film room and correct things. But I think it's it's more it carries over more to what happens in the game. You know, you run a play, and then you get a little bit of a break, then you run a play. Now, obviously if we play San Francisco, it'll be a little bit different, but for right now, the majority of the NFL runs a play, have a break,

and then run your best play. So we're just trying to put our best effort, our best technique forward every single rep we get out here. We're also seeing some of the live tackling periods which we haven't seen around here last couple of years. How much does that make a difference for you to get that in early in camp,

to get that physicality kind of amped up a little bit. Well, I think you know, at this point a lot of us know how to tackle, obviously, but it's fun to sprinkle in some live tackle drills just because it kind of builds up some energy. Obviously, you know, it increases the competition level and kind of gets everybody excited when you kind of throw those in a couple periods during practice, so it's fun. Does the trash talking kind of go up to with those Well, everybody, everybody just gets on

high alert. You know when it's when it's live tackling. That's when when the bullets are flying and you better be ready to play. Let's talk about this defensive scheme for a little bit. Obviously we've talked a lot about the attack mentality of it, but Jim Schwartz also has said that he doesn't like to blitz too much. He likes to rely on the front four to get pressure. What does it mean to have your coach kind of put that faith in the d line to get pressure

on the quarterback? Well, you love it. I mean, you know he he depends on us four to get pressure. Every once in a while. He wants to blitz a little bit, but again, like you said, he wants to get pressure there with the top four guys. He's gonna rotate us up front to make sure we're fresh all game long, and it's on us to help the dbs, you know, and get teams off the field. As you make that transition back to defensive end. You've talked about

how it's more of a natural position for you. But what's one thing that you're maybe working on as you transition back to that spot. Well, I think the one thing is there's some movement coming out of a three point stance that I'm working on. I mean, when I would get into a three point stance last year or the last couple of years, it's usually on nickel and I'm rushing off the rushing off the edge. Now maybe on first second down, I'm on the edge a lot.

But sometimes you gotta slant in, you gotta angle down two gaps. So I think working on that movement in those steps out of a three point stance is something I'm working on right now. And we hear a lot about the wide nine technique for fans who maybe aren't aware of what that means. What does that mean to you to set up as like wide nine. Well, you know, we don't even really talk about it that much. I haven't heard people really say wide nine that much. But

we get in a nine technique. We don't want to get too wide, but we're really our job is to just crush that tight end, you know, and not even really pretend he's there, just kind of run through him and set the edge right through him. My final question here for you, Connor, this defensive line with yourself, Fletcher, Benny, Brandon, Vinnie. I mean, this is a really talented group. What do you think the ceiling is for this defensive line? Well,

I think I think it's a good group. Again, like I said, you know, there's gonna be six to eight of us that are playing in rotating all game long, and that's gonna make all of us better. You know, I don't know where our ceiling is yet, but I know, you know, our goals is to be one of the you know, a disruptive group and be one of the most effective groups in the league. Eagles Defense, Van Connor, Barwin,

thank you very much for your time. Thank you, and thank you all for joining us right here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. Can't stated enough just how important it is for the Eagles to generate the pass rush pressure. We heard from Jim Schwartz yesterday. He wants the four man pass rush to get to the quarterback and not sacrifice coverage with the blitz. As the Eagles continue their

work in progress on the defensive side. More to come as we get through to our third block on inside training camp, presented by ex Affinity Dave and Chris will be right back in just a moment. Growing up, we had a basketball hoop in our driveway and that's all I used to play with. This past August, I happened to notice the bump on my foot, so my parents and I decided that we would go to Rothman at Jefferson. We found out from a biopsy that I had an

osteosarcoma cancer. Scary, but the Rothman doctors felt so confident in what they were going to do, and it couldn't have turned out any better. The Rothman Institute Jefferson was able to get me back on the court and back to where I wanted to be. Love me tender, love me sweet. The stronger the love let me good. The greater the responsibility. But you don't have to do it alone.

My life completely. Lincoln Financial helps you provide for and protect your financial future because this is what you do for people you love. Talk to an advisor Lincoln Financial. You're in charge. Mix and match any two for just two dollars and fifty cents on McDonald's mcpick two menu. Choose from a mcdoubell McChicken sandwich six piece chicken McNuggets or small fries. I'm loving it. We welcome you back, Dave Spidero. Chris McPherson Inside training Camp presented by Exfinity

Beagles hold a ten ten ten practice on Saturday. Chris, We've got a lot to get to as the weekend begins again. Yes, indeed, so we'll go a little throwback from what you just saw a few moments ago. The on demand interview with Alex Smith and defensive end Connor Barwin will be available first thing on Saturday morning. Offensive cordiner Frank Reich will meet the media. We will broadcast that live online here on Philadelphiagles dot Com as well

as our mobile app. He'll give us a state of the offense, let us know how the quarterbacks are progressing, and what is he seeing out the offensive line and the running back positions with Brandon Brooks coming back in Ryan Matthews as well. In terms of our Eagle in Focus, one of the big free agent acquisitions who may have you know, might be a home run threat so to speak for the offense this year. Wide receiver Chris Gibbons, he wants to be known as a thoroughbread said that

on the sidelines are in practice. He said, if you if you gotta take a picture of me out here on the field, if you're gonna caption it, make sure you'll tell everyone. Now, I'm a thoroughbread so but Greg Lewi has been working on making a better underneath and over the middle receiver so that he kind of can throw defenses. Of course, we all know the wide receivers are big in focus and again next Thursday, the Eagles take on Tampa Bay preseason opener at Lincoln Financial Field.

Make sure you tune in seven o'clock. We have our kickoff show here at six thirty on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com and our digital network. So the Eagles get into game action in less than a week. Should be fun. By the way, Frank Reich gave me the great line today talking about the message from Doug Peterson that he continues to tell his players fear nothing and attack everything. That's kind of the mantra for this football team this season.

I'd like it. Let's get after all right for Christma Pherson, Dave Spidero, thanks for joining us, have yourselves a great Eagles Day.