The Eagles came to Foxborough with a roster full of Super Bowl talent. The Patriots are in their first year under Jerod Mayo’s leadership and are trying to get back to that level. There were moments where that disparity was obvious, but that hardly stopped both sides from competing well all morning.
It was an inconsistent day for the Patriots as the offense struggled, but the competitiveness of the defense was arguably the most encouraging aspect of the day for the hosts, especially when it came to the physicality of the big guys on offense.
Philadelphia boasts a talented offensive line and a deep pool of specialty position players that would be the envy of most teams. But after a rocky start, it was the Patriots’ front seven that controlled the line of scrimmage, consistently stopped the run and put more than enough pressure on Jalen Hurts.
“They’re stout and very strong,” Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ perennial Pro Bowl tackle, said after practice. “(Jabrill) Peppers beat a couple of guys to get things going early. They do a good job of moving guys around and they take advantage of matchups. If you’re not really good with your technique, they’re going to take advantage of that.”
When it came to stopping the run, Davon Godchaux & Co. were in midseason form. Saquan Barkley didn’t get much room to maneuver, especially when the ball was in the red zone.
Things didn’t go so well in the secondary. Hurts was able to find his receivers open most of the time and was able to catch the ball most of the time. AJ Brown was perhaps the best player on either side and made life difficult for whoever was assigned to him by catching a number of slants, outs and deeper routes.
DeVonta Smith was also a promising player and broke free several times on long over routes. He caught a ball for a possible touchdown and would have scored another had Hurts not thrown a ball too short that hit Alex Austin, who was lying behind him, in the back of the helmet.
However, the starting seven have also improved in that regard. After a rough opening sequence, the pass rush got stronger and constantly forced Hurts out of his spot during the next few plays. That helped an undermanned cornerback group that included Christian Gonzalez, Marco Wilson, Austin and a number of rookies, as Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones and Shaun Wade all missed teamwork.
As the offense moved toward the red zone, the Patriots’ front line began to dominate. And as practice ended with a two-minute drill, pressure again prevented Hurts from doing too much damage, although he easily completed a fourth-down pass to Brown, who seemingly had no one close enough to prevent a touchdown, but the play was called anyway.
It wasn’t a perfect day for the defense, as Brown and Smith caught too many passes without much trouble and Barkley easily fended off a blitz and also caught a long touchdown throw from Hurts. But the starting seven withstood the physicality and combativeness they displayed and did quite well.
Defense aside, here are one man’s observations from Day 14 of Patriots training camp, a joint practice session with the Philadelphia Eagles.
*No changes to the Patriots’ roster, as Kendrick Bourne (knee), Sione Takitaki (right leg) and Cole Strange (knee) remain on the PUP list. Christian Barmore (blood clot), Marte Mapu and Hunter Henry were among those who did not participate in joint practice. Mayo said he does not expect Henry’s absence to be permanent. Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Shaun Wade all wore their uniforms but did not participate in competitive drills. Barmore made his first appearance since his diagnosis early in training camp, spending time chatting with his teammates during practice.
*The Patriots made some roster moves prior to Philly’s arrival, signing rookie free agent running back Deshaun Fenwick and releasing defensive end John Morgan. Morgan was released due to injury and will be placed back on the injured list upon clearing the waivers. Fenwick spent the first part of training camp with the Patriots before being released on August 2.
