Some describe the clash of players in full contact as a “popping” sound…
Others like former player Leo Pizzini liken it to the sounds of being locked inside a metal shop…
Yeah, full contact drills are underway for the Philadelphia Eagles. Back when the helmets and pads were made of leather, you probably heard a whooshing sound combined with the audio experience of a cow-hide baseball hitting a catcher’s mitt. Now that football equipment is mostly space-age polymers, the sound of the clash is closer to what Leo hears.
There were casualties at Saturday’s full-contact drills.
Cornerbacks Nolan Carroll and Ron Brooks were injured.
Carroll, who broke a bone near his ankle last season, experienced soreness in the surgically repaired ankle. He left the field during practice. The severity of the injury was not immediately known.
Brooks left practice after cramping up. So did veteran wide receiver Rueben Randle.
Eric Rowe stepped up at cornerback.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz made a couple references to that Saturday.
“You guys will probably get on me on whomever I forget,” Schwartz said. “Let’s just put it as all the corners.”
Rowe said upon reporting to camp on Wednesday that he had trouble with a specific technique during OTA’s. He was struggling with his footwork when breaking on curl routes and said he spent the six-week break before training camp on correcting the problem.
Schwartz said that Rowe will have every chance to win a job during camp.
“Just like everybody else,” Schwartz said, Rowe “needs to be consistent from practice to practice, needs to make plays on the ball, needs to be physical in the run game. And that’s Eric, that’s Leodis (McKelvin), that’s (Ron) Brooks, that’s Nolan Carroll.
“They’re all going to be judged on the same thing. All of them are in a little different spot, all of them have different strengths, different weaknesses. One of the things for us in training camp is trying to find that best combination of guys and use them in the best way. So he’s no different than anybody there.”
SATURDAY:
Here’s Phil Sheridan’s report from ESPN.com:
“The Eagles wore pads Saturday, although there wasn’t nearly as much hitting as coach Doug Pederson led us to believe there would be. For the first time this summer, fans were admitted to the NovaCare Complex to watch a training camp practice.
“Sam Bradford: Down
“Wow moment: Bradford’s best throw of the day came on a deep pass to wide receiver Xavier Rush. Rush had a step on cornerback Eric Rowe as he streaked down the middle of the field. Bradford’s pass was timed perfectly. Rush dropped it, eliciting groans from the fans along the sideline.
“Whoa moment: The Eagles generally have thrown a lot of short passes. Bradford, especially, seems to take the shorter throw when he has a choice. That’s productive when his accuracy is good. On Saturday, it wasn’t. Bradford was off on throws to Brent Celek, M.J. McFarland and Chris Pantale and overthrew Nelson Agholor on a deep ball.
“Chase Daniel: Up
“Wow moment: Daniel was wearing a small camera on his helmet, the only quarterback to do so. The camera is meant to allow coaches to watch video of practice from a player’s perspective. The coaches will like what they see of Daniel’s intermediate pass to wide receiver Jordan Matthews. The ball was placed between linebacker Jordan Hicks and safety Malcolm Jenkins. Matthews made a nice leaping catch.
“Whoa moment: Daniel threw a short pass to his left that Jenkins saw coming down Broad Street. Jenkins jumped the route for his second interception in about five minutes. Earlier, Jenkins picked off a deep throw by fourth-team QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
“Carson Wentz: Up
“Wow moment: The rookie has been impressive when he’s forced to improvise under pressure. Wentz did so again Saturday. The pocket collapsed around him, but Wentz kept his eyes downfield. He took three steps forward, then fired a pass that was caught by rookie wide receiver Cayleb Jones.
“Whoa moment: Wentz had Chris Givens open on a deep pass. If he’d led the receiver a bit, the play would have gone all the way. But Wentz underthrew it, and Givens dropped the ball after coming back to try to catch it. Not the easiest throw, but Wentz otherwise had a pretty good day.
“Who won the day? Saturday belonged to Wentz. Bradford was inconsistent. Daniel was better but served a steady diet of short passes. Wentz did, too, but he also made some strong intermediate throws. On one play, Wentz was under pressure, ran away from the chasing defender and quickly fired the ball out of bounds beyond the line of scrimmage. It was a veteran decision.”
SUNDAY:
“There was a fairly sparse crowd at the Linc for the Eagles’ first of two open practices this summer. The weather — an early morning rain followed by threatening skies — probably had something to do with that. By midway through the practice, the sun was shining.
“Sam Bradford: Up
“Wow moment: Bradford threw a perfect pass, splitting two defenders to hit Jordan Matthews for a 60-yard touchdown. The throw drew a big cheer from the fans.
“Whoa moment: In a full-team drill, Bradford threw to his left for tight end Zach Ertz. The ball sailed about 10 feet over Ertz’s head, leaving a frustrated Bradford shaking his head as he walked back to where the coaches were standing.
“Chase Daniel: Up
“Wow moment: In a seven-on-seven drill, Daniel threw a perfect pass that traveled 60 yards in the air and caught wide receiver Hunter Sharp in stride. Sharp was covered by safety Chris Maragos and cornerback Jalen Mills.
“Whoa moment: On his last throw of the day, Daniel fired a pass over the middle. There was no one there except cornerback Eric Rowe, who made the easy interception. The play illustrates one concern with the 6-foot Daniel — his ability to see over the line and avoid defenders there.
“Carson Wentz: Up
“Wow moment: In a one-on-one drill, Wentz laid a perfect pass into the hands of David Wotford for a 30-yard touchdown. Wotford was a half-step behind the defensive back. Wentz stood with his arms raised, signaling the touchdown.
“Whoa moment: Wentz’s pass for Ertz was overthrown. Linebacker Jordan Hicks reached up and got a hand on it. Safety Rodney McLeod made a diving catch of the deflected pass for the day’s first interception.
“Who won the day? For being cheered and chanted at during his first visit to Lincoln Financial Field, Wentz had the best day. He didn’t so much beat Bradford and Daniel as he did Donovan McNabb, whose reception as the No. 2 pick of the 1999 draft was a wee bit different.”
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