Sunday afternoon marked the second time in three weeks the Eagles will practice in front of home fans. Next week’s is sure to be the headliner.
But nevertheless, some 25,000 people packed into Lincoln Financial Field for Day 9 of Eagles camp.
As the first preseason game approaches and is just five days away, the Eagles are starting to take a closer look at position battles. One that has been on full display is at cornerback. Nolan Carroll was on the first team with Bradley Fletcher moving to second team on Sunday.
“That's what we are looking at right now so that Nolan has been first dime in there,” Chip Kelly said. “Him and Boykin are that first group right now. That’s the good thing about playing in the preseason games, you get a chance to kind of see what they can do, what they can't do, along with our evaluations in practice.”
Earl Wolff was another member of the secondary getting first-team play on Sunday. In the early going, it seems that Boykin, Carroll and Cary Williams are the top cornerbacks and Wolff will find his place alongside Malcolm Jenkins at safety.
It hasn’t been game tested yet, but it already feels miles above where the Eagles were a season ago.
Here are more highlights and happenings from Day 9 of Eagles camp:
- Mark Sanchez and Jordan Matthews were at it again in their practice routine. Matthews has been a favorite target for Sanchez, who continues to show signs that he will fit into the backup role nicely.
- A pair of highlight-reel plays were the talk of today’s practice. The first play from scrimmage, LeSean McCoy made one of his patented moves on Trent Cole. Later in the practice, receiver B.J. Cunningham hauled in a Matt Barkley pass with a dive into the endzone.
- Seventh-round picks tend to be low profile, but Beau Allen is anything but that. He’s taking first-team reps on a regular basis and did again on Sunday.
- Cary Williams started practice but was noticeably absence for most of it. He cited that as rest while Kelly called it soreness.
- Injury Report: Riley Cooper was out once again but is one step closer to returning. Jeremy Maclin missed Friday’s practice but was back on Sunday. Jeff Maehl and Chris Polk also remained out.
The Eagles practice at the NovaCare Complex on Monday afternoon. Defensive coordinator Billy Davis will address the media prior to practice, which gets underway at 11:45 a.m. Nick Foles and DeMeco Ryans will speak following practice.
The Eagles will have practice at the NovaCare Complex for the remainder of the week until Friday when they head to Chicago for their first preseason game against the Bears. They are also off on Saturday to return from Chicago before holding a special practice on Sunday at Franklin Field.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
