Inside Training Camp: August 7

day if you get my drift. Well, the thing is, there's really just today's practice, and then they practice on Monday, and then it's really game mode for the first preseason game on Thursday. So you'll want to be up the players too much. At this point, the grind of physicdic campus taking a toll on the players, and this is the time when the players are the fight through. But at least they'll have to look at the same teammate

for a couple more days. Finally they can take it to an opponent in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Here. Yeah, I had no doubt that the players are ready to go against different uniforms. For sure. They've been practicing against each other since the spring. It is time for another team to commit, but that's still a couple of days away. The Eagles have practice on Monday. Team is off on Tuesday. Wednesday the mock

game as they prepare for Thursday's preseason opener. Chris mentioned some of the physical toll on this team, so let's get you caught up on the injuries. And the good news, of course, is that nobody is injured for the long term. But let's take a look at the list. Wendelle Smallwood, fifth round draft pick from West Virginia. He's been out for a while here, Chris. He is losing some valuable time with that quad injury. It's gonna be tough for

him to make up for lost time. It was very interesting when I had a chance to ask Doug Peter exactly what a small would have missed during this time. And the thing is, Piers said, we saw enough in the spring that we feel confident where he can be at, but still you wanted to see him run between the tackles, pass, protect while and pad. So from that same point, it's surprising that the Eagles are still showing a lot of confidence at another young player, Jacory Shepherd, who last year

lost his season to the torn ACL. He's out with a hamstring injury, and that's a setback because Shepherd really needs to get on the field in the preseason to win a job. Certainly nothing guaranteed for Shepherd with this roster and making their fifty three man staff now. Marcus Smith's still out with the concussion again, he needs reps a question whether he'll play on Thursday. And then some veterans with Mike Martin, with Jordan Matthews, Jason Peters, Malcolm Jenkins.

We do not know their status for Thursday, but you kind of get the idea that there's no reason to rush them out on the field and take any chances. Typically the first preseason game and you get the stars out there for a series or at the absolute most. So you pretty much figured that if they're not going to be able to participate that much, you're not gonna

want to risk them on the field. You really want to get them ready for those second and third preseason games when you have to extend its time for the players on the field. So we mentioned Jakorey Shepherd. It's a crowded picture at the cornerback position and the Eagles are looking for some young players to step up, and two who have been in focus throughout this camp. Eric Rose, second year man who started last year after Nolan Carroll was injured, and then seventh round draft pick Jalen Mills,

who's really shined during these spring and summer drills. Defensive cordinator Jim Schwartz talked about those two players and about what he wants from the cornerbacks in general. You know, what I like about him is he's very competitive, and he comes back. He doesn't shy away from he doesn't shy away from contact, he doesn't shy away from matchups. You need that in the corner. You know, if you're on the if you're on the edge and you're not and you don't embrace being on that island, you're in

the wrong business. And you know, you go around here. I mean, Philly's had great history of some some corners that we're on islands that um you know that embrace that. And I think Jalen has shown signs that he can that he can do those things. He's still he's still young, he's still inconsistent. He's got his ups and his downs, but he comes, he comes ready to be ready to battle every day. It's going to be about the production of the group. So you know out there there's nothing

set in stone. Um, you know, there's plenty of jobs to be earned. Um. Eric has done a good job. Eric. Eric has some very good strengths. He's tall, he's hard to throw over top of UM, he can be physical. Um. I think we've seen that there was a backed up period. He came up, made a big hit on the on the on the flat route, a tight end to the flat route that might have been a safety. That's what you want to see corners. You don't want to see corners back down from tight ends going to the flat.

And you know Eric flashed those things. You know. And again we give it a little ahead of ourselves with him being a you know, to much of a season player. He's got about a half a year or less and starting thing. There's still a lot of things he's learning. Jalen Mills is a very interesting story. Talented kid from LSU dropped to the seventh round in the draft in May and now he's vying to make this football team. Chris,

he appears to be on track to make an impact. Yes, a heavy player, and Jim Schwartz discussed the mindset, the mentality that Mills has. He wants to be out there

on the aisland. He embraces the challenge and you have to love a player like him because he was a four year starter at LSU, no small feat in and of itself, and he's come into camp fearless, embracing all the challenges ahead of him and ray to make a move up the depth chart, and he's been rewarded throughout the spring and even during times in training camp like today when he saw reps with the first team unit.

Jim Schwartz said not to read too much into it, but nonetheless they definitely wanted to see what Mills can do against the increased competition. And then there's the case of Very Row, who last year started the final month plus of the season big range, covers well, physical, and yet in the spring, in the summer kind of lost Eric Row bouncing around in the second team depth chart as they went out to practice in the spring and the OTAs and then the early part of training camp.

Then they put the pads on and Eric Row has come alive. He's a physical player, must improve at the top of routes. He can run down the field on the goal routes, but when receivers change direction, he has a difficult time sticking with his receivers. But still rangey, good size. Has made some progress here in the last week and interesting to see where he fits into the hierarchy of the cornerbacks. It looks at this point like it's going to be Leotis McKelvin getting a lot of

playing time. It's going to be run Brooks getting a lot of playing time, knowing Carroll's in the mix, and then I think you throw a blanket over everybody and see what happens in the fosseason games. Yeah, I was gonna say those three, I would agree are at the top. You figure in Mills and Row probably four or five at this point. Another name let's throw out there. How about Aaron Grimes YEP, cornerback who played in the CFL, was an All Star, want a CFL championship, the Gray

Cup last season for them. You know, he's been making place each and every day. And he's a guy who came in as a street free agent very early in the offseason, kind of an afterthought, not someone who is expected to challenge for a roster spot. But he makes

place each and every day. And the key for him now is can he do it in the preseason games when all the fans will be watching and all the other teams will be taken notice and make it so difficult for the Eagles to say, we can't let go of this guy, sort of like Denzel Rice a year ago. But I mentioned Denzel Rice. There, you have Randall Evans, you mentioned Jacorey Shepherd who's injured. So there's a lot of young guys in that mix there at the cornerback position.

You have the three veterans there at the top. After that, though, Dave, it looks like their Eagles are waiting for some of these young guys to kind of take that next step and assert themselves into the roster. And that's why the preseason games are important. And the first one comes up on Thursday night when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Lincoln Financial Field. We've got more to get to here on Inside Training Camp presented by X. When we return,

we're talking quarterbacks. Quarterbacks coach John D. Philippo in studio, he's talking Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel d of course Carson Wentz. I got tickets Metro tickets. You need a Metro ticket, talk to me, please, I don't even know he's real tickets if you know, just to touch it. How do I know the leg? This leather legit? I mean, how do we really know? It looks good? Right? No, I'm paying myself. I gotta make Does the baby need a Metro ticket? I'll give her one on me. These tickets,

they're not stealing your soul. You can look at them. May nobody wants to buy tickets from a guy on the street. I don't understand. I enjoyed gardening. I like to plant seeds and watch what grows. Several years ago, I fell, so I went to my local orthopedic doctor, who performed the knee replacement. After a year of a lot of pain, I decided I needed a second opinion, So I went to Rothman at Jefferson. As soon as the doctor operated on me, if I could tell right

away that things were totally different. Now I can garden again, I can kneel, and I'm just very very grateful for Rothman at Jefferson Hospital. Time to talk quarterbacks with John D. Filippo, the quarterbacks coach here with the Philadelphia Eagles. Thanks John for coming in. First of all, thanks for having me so from the outside. You know, you read all these stories that this is a difficult situation. How to the

Eagles manage these quarterbacks? Wondered from your perspective, now that we're into training camp, deep into it, what's it been like for you? Well, I think it's it hasn't been as difficult as everybody says. Very early since in our tenure here, Coach Peterson set the you know, set the tone early and to find everyone's role, and I think everyone works better when they know what role they have.

And it's been a pretty smooth transition here into training camp, and Sam's been good with it and making strides and you're pleased with how he's throwing the ball and running the quarterback room and doing all that. Absolutely, Sam, Sam's a pro. I mean, he's been been around the block, He's done a lot of things. He's played out of football.

I think everyone would agree. Our coaching staff, people are fans that have been out the practice at Sam's playing at very high level and he set the bar high for the rest of the quarterback room and those are the expectations that we expect from our quarterbacks. On a day to day basis. I think twelve months ago he was just now able to participate in eleven on eleven workouts. If you were to take video of him throwing, then coming off the surgeries and now healthy after an off season,

would there be a big difference. Yeah. One. The one difference that I would see is he's getting his feet down a lot quicker. I think he's more comfortable planting off his leg, you know, on both legs. You see him from a physicality standpoint bigger. I think he's weighed more than he's ever weighed since he's been here and in his career. I think he's filled out his bodies. The first time in three years, he's had a chance to train his lower body in an off season. I

think that's huge for any quarterback. And how about from a mental standpoint, John, how's he doing? Assimilating this offense, checking at the line of scream? Is doing all the things you look for. Oh, he's doing a fantastic job. And I say, you know, we were nine practices in, nine padded practices in and you know he had his first turnover today, So I mean, and that's about one

hundred and almost two hundred throws. So I mean he's getting the ball on time, he's delivering it accurately, He's making great decisions and doing what we wanted to do. All Right, We've got Chase Daniel number two quarterback here. He knows the offense. What are seeing from him on a daily basis, Chase has been great. He's been great to having the room. He's been great for a sounding board from for the other two guys, for the other three guys in our room. And he knows exactly what

what Coach Peterson wants. He delivers the football and when Chase plays with himself, he's he's really really good player. What kind of quarterback is he? I mean, we really haven't seen him. I mean, I know he's got the cerebral part down. Is he an athletic guy in the pocket? In and out of the pocket. I think he's much more athletic than people get him credit for it. I mean, he's not afraid to run the football at all, and I think he's shown that in practice. And you know,

Chase has a lot of really good physical attributes. I mean, people you look at Chase and he's not the biggest guy, but he can drive the football to the perimeter. I mean, he's doing a heck of a job and he needs to keep doing a heck of a job. Now he got the number three guy, Carson. Everybody wants to know about Carson on a daily basis. How has he been? He's been awesome, He's been great, He's he's he brings a lot of energy and juice to practice every day.

He's the same guy every day, whether he makes a mistake or has a good day or has a bad day. And that's a that's a big thing that is underrated when you talk about quarterbacks in the National Football League's guys out of the same every day want to get better and learn from their mistakes and continue to try to perform at a high level. What's the ceiling with this guy? I mean, fans watch him and they go, wow, boy,

the wall comes out greating. But he's look at that throw and look how mobile is, look how big he is, And we kind of want to we kind of well, I want to say, what is this guy all about? What could he possibly be? Do you think that way? You know what we're taking it, what we're trying to do. Our approach in the quarterback room is stacking practices back

to back to back to back. And once you stack four or five, six, seven practices together and have good practices, then you become you be able to take the next step. So we're just taking it day by day with Carson, with all our quarterbacks and look and get better each day. Okay, So you talk about you know, and Doug's talked about working with his eyes, working with his feet. So is he the kind of kid who you tell him once and he gets it better than next time. Yes, he

is not what we call a repeat offender. Okay, he makes a mistake very rarely when you will he make that same mistake again. The thing that's been really a pleasant surprise, not a surprise, but very pleasant to see what Carson is and I told him this last night actually in our quarterback meeting is his ability to be able to retain information from the meeting room to the field. That's a very very positive trait that a lot of young quarterbacks don't have. I mean, they need to see

things over and over and over again. In the beauty we have with Carson is he's a very bright person, not only in football, but you know outside the building too, And that helps him take things from information that we're giving him onto the field, and when he doesn't do well, does he hang his head. No. And that's one thing we coach with our quarterbacks. Body language is playing this position is very important. I mean everyone's looking at you,

from fans to coaches to your own teammates. Everybody in the field is always watching you and how you react a certain situation. So when there's a situation that we have a body language fine like we call it, you know, it's pointed out, it's corrected, and that's not how the

Philadelphia quarterbacks are Philadelphia's quarterbacks are gonna act. John There's this assumption under the previus this offense here, that the quarterback had to be very mobile the read option get out of the pocket, and that there wouldn't be as much movement here. When you watch practice, though, you see quarterbacks rolling out, quarterbacks running. How much mobility is required

in this offense. You know, I don't think you need to be a tremendously fast, but I think that you need to be able to change launch points in this offense. And that's the first thing you look for. You never want the quarterback just to be standing eight yards behind the center every time. I mean, the defense is just tee off on you then, so we're going to change the launch points to the quarterback and getting back to

the athleticism part of it. You know, I think the beauty of our offense is we have plenty of bullets in our gun to adjust our offense to the strength of our quarterback, whoever happens to be playing at the game at that certain Sunday. So that being said, I think obviously at the quarterback position you loved as athleticism. I think all four of our guys on our football team right now have enough plenty of athleticism to have success in this offense and to make it run how

we want it run. John, what's it been like for you to be in the situation to coach three players and four but two of them one to number one pick overall in the draft ones and number two pick overall in the draft. I mean, there's a lot of talent, experienced, youth, and kind of got everything in that in that pot of quarterback. It's been great. It's been great because number one, all those all those guys are great people and they

make it great. So it's been It's a joy to come to practice every day to work with our coaching staff and work with our players, and it's it's been an awesome time so far. And for the three quarterbacks, Sam and Chase and Carson, the reps have been pretty evenly spit split start to finish, they've been almost all even. And any sense on Thursday night you have, do we know how much they're gonna play? You know, that's up

to coach. That's up to coach. We've talked about there's nothing set in stone yet, but you know that will get as a week goes on. That will you know that situational iron itself out? And what do you look for next? What's the next challenge here for those guys going against Tampa Bay's defense, something not as familiar with

what they've seen for the last four months. Sure, our goal is for all those guys to move the ball, and that's what we're looking for, is for them to move the football and get us first downs and third down conversions. And I think it's that time in camp where I think everyone's ready to play another team and you know, quit hitting each other and hit somebody else, no doubt about it. But the quarterbacks, hey, I mean, people who watch it, the guys in red are leading

away for the offense. We all can't wait to see it on Thursday night. Me as well, looking forward to it. Thanks, thanks for coming in studio here on Philadelphia Eagles dot com. Hi, I'm Bo Allen from the Philadelphia Eagles and this is the Allen from Bob's Discount furniture. We named it after Ball. Thanks Bob, you're the man. It packs some serious power power recline, powerhead rest and USB ports. Get the sofa, a console love set in dark chocolate or light brown,

and untouchable value at only seven nine nine each. I don't know how you do it, Bob, but man, do I respect it? You know players should respect that for big games. Nope, we swapped jerseys. I got tickets, Metro tickets. You need a Metro ticket. Talk to me, please, I don't even know he's real tickets. If you know a touch it this leather legit. I mean, how do we really know? It looks good? Metro paying you to due? No, I'm paying myself. I gotta make grammer. Does the baby

need a Metro ticket? I'll give her one on me. These tickets they're not stealing your soul. You can look at him. May nobody wants in my tickets from a guy on the street, I don't understand. Dave Spidarow, Chris McPherson back with you Inside Training Camp presented by Exfinity and Chris. We've only got a couple of days left here before we get to the preseason opener. What is in store tomorrow Monday, when the Eagles get back on

the field. Well, if you somehow missed that one on one with John d Philippo, we will have the on demand full interview available first thing tomorrow morning for you on philadelphils dot com and the mobile lap and d Philippo was great in the interview and he's worked some magic with some quarterbacks over years, Carson Palmer, Derek Carr, Josh McCown. Last year even had one of the best year of his Johnny Manzel. You wanted to say it, you wanted to say it. I was got a gloss

over that one right there. So hopefully Eagle works in magic with the guys here in philadelph including quarterback Sam Bradford, who will meet the media for the final time out of Thursday's preseason opener. We will stream that live around eleven am here at Philadelphi Eagles dot com and then our feature the Journey. The first episode was tremendous, following the journeys of Carson Wentz, the first round pick, and

sixth round pick Blake Countess. Tomorrow, it's gonna be linebacker Jordan Hicks, third round pick a year ago who was not expected to make an immediate impact, and we all saw what he did in his rookie season tremendous until it was cut short by injury. And also running back Wendell Smallwood, who in some ways could potentially be this year's Jordan Hicks as long as he can get healthy. We talked about the injury situation earlier in the show.

He's someone who you know, maybe initially you look at the depth chart, not quite a role there, but maybe some way he could push for a spot on this football team, a spot in terms he can make an impact for the Deals in twenty sixteen. And last, but not least, the preseason opener is Thursday nights pm. Are A live coverage here begins at six thirty pm. You'll be able to see this guy on the sidelines on Comcast Sports and Cozy TV. Looking forward to it. It's

gonna be fun. I love the preseason games, but I admit that after about three quarters of the game, it'll be different than show because Carson wentsday playing. I'm ready

for the regular season to start. I just think that on Thursday night, we're gonna get a glimpse, very briefly of the starters for this football team, and then it's all about evaluating some of these backup players who the Eagles have a sense of what they're all about, but now they get to go against a different team, and particularly the secondary, the defensive line, the offensive line, and some of these young running backs. How for real are they?

We'll find out a little bit on Thursday nights, so make sure you tune into that Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We thank you for tuning into Inside Training Camp presented by Xfinity for Chris McPherson. I'm Dave SPIDERO. Have yourselves a great Eagles Day.