by Brandyn Campbell
Eagles at work.
(Image via the Philadelphia Eagles’ Facebook page)
The third straight week of Eagles OTAs took place outside in Monday’s rain, and head coach Chip Kelly wasn’t apologetic.
Perhaps it’s not ideal for reporters, he joked, but this is real life. Football is played outside and his players must be prepared to play in any kind of weather.
It’s more of Kelly’s desire to simulate real game experiences for his team.
Kelly unveiled another practice technique new to the NovaCare yesterday — one that a journalist described as using “fly swatters”. Objects that meet that physical description were taped to the shoulders of assistants, a technique the coach used at Oregon. Okay, but what on Earth for?
“It simulates a pass rush. So when you’re in seven on seven, obviously, you’ve got to throw through the lane. We made those at Oregon, and it gives us an opportunity. It’s the exact height of a 6’4″ defensive lineman with his hands up. You can’t throw over everybody, so you have to throw through throwing lanes. It’s the best way we can simulate that.”
Ahh. Rather clever, that.
While continually stating that it’s too early to read anything into what transpires in practices, Kelly did take the opportunity to praise certain players when asked about them. For instance, he is clearly high on second-year linebacker Mychal Kendricks’ abilities.
“I think Mychal’s an athletic, real physical linebacker, but I think his biggest attribute is his athleticism. He’s a three‑down linebacker, he doesn’t have to come off the field on third down. He excels in pass coverage, but he’s physical enough to play on first and second down. He’s one of the more athletic linebackers in this league, so really excited about his future and what he can do. He can do everything we’ve asked him to do.”
As has been the case previously, Kelly said it’s too early to read too much into which players are playing with the first team. He stated that he and his coaching staff were just “rolling guys through” the different practice teams to see how they perform.
Mike Vick was back to taking reps with the first team after Nick Foles had an opportunity to do so last week, but it was Matt Barkley who garnered much of Kelly’s praise at Monday’s press conference.
“Matt’s done a great job. He’s a real student of the game. Had a great background to begin with. Started every game in high school and in college, so his experience that he came in here with. I don’t know if anybody’s done that, having that much experience coming in as a rookie. Real student of the game, does a great job of grasping concepts and understanding what we’re trying to do and not just what the receivers are running for routes. I think that’s kind of sometimes with the rookie, what routes are they running, and I’m going to throw the ball. Matt does a great job understanding the overall concept that’s being run and then being able to kind of change…It’s not just he’s so much more gifted than anybody else. It’s really how hard he works at the game. Lot of fun to be around and lot of fun to coach. “
When asked specifically about Danny Watkins, Kelly revealed his approach to reviewing every player on this Philadelphia squad.
“No, I have no expectations of anybody. When I got here on January 16th, it didn’t matter to me if you were a first round pick or an undrafted free agent. It’s about putting the best team on the field. Where they got picked in the past or those things, it was a clean slate with us coming in.”
No player can rely on his past successes or failures on this team. It’s about how they perform now as they acclimate to a new system.
Other notes from Monday:
-LT Jason Peters was absent from practice for undisclosed reasons but Kelly stated that it was not injury related.
-Safety Kenny Phillips was also absent from Monday’s practice but was at the Complex in the training room.
-Kelly revealed that he’s not one to talk much about injuries, but said what has already been disclosed about TE James Casey: He should be ready for training camp this summer after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
