These practices are seen by coaches as the relative equivalent to preseason games, at least for the starters. For just about an hour and 45 minutes, the teams practiced, finishing with a 20-minute Eagles vs. Browns period in which the starters and the second-team units had a chance to match up against their counterparts. Great tempo, great competition, and, yes, some talking going on.
“Yeah, it kind of got me out of character because I don’t do too much talking out here. I just let my game play,” wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “It was fun going back and forth. Playing somebody else for sure, in practice. I’m a guy who just works, bro. I’m not going to do too much talking, but it was cool, though.”
How much do you read into these practices? They are part of the larger equation and they are significant. And that’s why it meant something for everybody. That’s why the Eagles take these trips so seriously. Quarterbacks are still wearing the red jerseys, which means DO NOT TOUCH. And there were no “live” periods, so tackling was not permitted.
Everything else was pure football and it was great competition.
“It’s great out there,” cornerback Avonte Maddox said. “I think we’re getting better by being out here going against a great group of players. We all understand what’s at stake. So, every day is a chance to compete. It just so happens that today was against another team, and a good one. They will test a team.”
Another day, another step closer to the 53-man roster, and, after that, the regular season. The Eagles brought their A-game to Ohio for these few days and left the practice feeling they had accomplished all they set out to do.
Friday is a new day and a new challenge and then we’ll see how Sirianni wants to play it in preseason game No. 2. This all means so much – day by day adds up to a cumulative evaluation and, ultimately, the roster reduction which narrows to 53 by 4 PM on August 30. Tick, tock. It’s happening so fast, so strap in and get ready for a second day…
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