Takeaways from the Eagles first practices

    The Eagles have completed three full practices including one open practice at the Lincoln Financial Field where United States Armed Forces were honored. Before I discuss how I feel some of the players are progressing I would like to give my props to the Eagles for what they are doing every year for the armed forces. Being in the armed services is something that takes extreme guts, guts that people like me writing this article would only dream of possessing. Chip Kelly has gained the respect of the entire NFL and the nation not only because of his stellar coaching, but because of the kind of leader and example he sets for younger coaches and just people growing up. He is a leader of men and knows how to run a team, he also knows when to put football below something more important like the army.

   Alright lets talk about the practices shall we. Some good things have come out of these early practices. We are learning the defense is on a mission this year to show they aren't one of the most profoundly inconsistent defenses that networks and analysts are proclaiming they are. Billy Davis has this defense playing with tenacity and attitude. They aren't taking any crap from the offense (Pardon my French). The secondary although not recording one interception yet, has been playing great coverage and are making plays on the ball. Nolan Caroll, Malcolm Jenkins, and of course Brandon Boykin have been the standouts with their man on man coverage in drills. Jenkins is finally going to bring some stability to the safety position. Nolan Caroll may start this year Eagles fans, he is a sneaky good signing for the Eagles and is going to push Bradley Fletcher. Caroll is a more athletic corner than Fletcher, and shined in limited plays last year with Miami. For now Fletcher is starting but during the preseason watch out for Caroll to make some really good plays. Fletcher though has also been solid, even getting into a fight with Jeremy Maclin. Showing some emotion and grit is good for Fletcher who I didn't really think was that type of player. Carry Williams likes it that is for sure. Fletcher was great on the ball last year but lacks the physical ability to match up with some of the leagues best receivers. Corner isn't the only player with a position battle, safety next to Jenkins is at full competition with Nate Allen and Earl Wolff. Although right now it seems Kelly is favoring Allen, Wolff is learning this defense and seems to be progressing great after last years injury that sidelined him for most of the second half of the season. I would personally like to see Wolff start, he has come a long way from last year and has shown flashes of greatness. As for the defensive line and line backing core, it is deeper than you expect. Cox-Logan-Thorton make a great potential starting line, but Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, and Taylor Hart make me even more excited. Curry in this third year should make the leap and last year I couldn't stress enough that Curry get more reps, because when he was on the field, he was dominant. At linebacker Demeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks have played great in coverage at practice so far, Demeco Ryans said after practice Monday "We expect big things, and we're pushing ourselves to reach those goals"-PhiladelphiaEagles.com". 

At outside linebacker, I can't really say how Marcus Smith is doing because quite frankly there is no tackling. What I can say is that Billy Davis is using him at the jack linebacker spot behind Barwin, what this says to me is that the Eagles would like to use Smith as a pass rusher on third downs with Trent Cole. Does this mean Barwin will be taken off the field though? Possibly. Barwin of course will be the outside linebacker the Eagles rely on but in specific situations Smith may rotate in. In the end though I still see Marcus Smith rotating with Trent Cole and not Barwin, Connor Barwin is just too good to take off the field. Unless maybe Cole and Smith are playing jack and Barwin switches over.....just thinking out loud here so stay with me. I will do a podcast this week so you can all listen to these thoughts. Now that we are deep into this article how does the offense look? Well a few that standout are for one Darren Sproles and the running backs, they will be catching a lot of passes this year as Kelly has featured the wheel route so far at camp. Ifeanyi Momah has come a long way but is a long shot to make the team. Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff have been solid so far, but what I am most excited about is the progression of Zach Ertz who Nick Foles has gone to a lot so far at Camp. Expect to see a lot of different formations this season with the offense, I've seen Kelly go with two tight ends out wide, two running backs on the field, Matthews in the slot in a basic three man wideout with one tight end. But my favorite formation I have seen is Maclin and Cooper out wide, and Sproles and McCoy in the slot with Ertz at TE. I can't even name all of the possibilities the offense has, and the Eagles are trying all those out at camp so far. Its gonna be exciting so lets get ready Eagles Nation, we are in for one heck of a start of the season.