Today, the Philadelphia Eagles practiced in preparation for Saturday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.
Prior to practice, Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur addressed the media during a press conference.
Shurmur is pleased to have Allen Barbre at the starting left guard position. He explained that left-tackle Jason Peters and Barbre are getting more comfortable with each other on a daily basis.
"I think Jason feels good about having Allen next to him," Shurmur said. "There's a lot of communication that goes on between those guys. On that left side, those two guys working together has been terrific."
Throughout the course of Barbre's seven seasons as a pro, he has only started in eight games, including only one start since 2009.
Shurmur didn't have the same vote of confidence for right-guard Andrew Gardner– who has started the first two games of the preseason. He contends that there is still plenty of competition for the starting right-guard spot. Shurmur made clear that all of his lineman are getting the opportunity to start during practice.
Shurmur is delighted about quarterback Sam Bradford's ability to throw the football with accuracy, but he just needs some more reps in order to be more effective with his timing.
"He missed a couple of throws [last Saturday night against Baltimore,]" Shurmur said. "It's just a matter of getting a little bit more work here in training. But in terms of mechanics and the way he threw and the way he handled himself, we feel like he did a good job."
Additionally, there are concerns about Bradford's ability to stay healthy. Shurmur insists that Bradford will have to do a good job of protecting himself if he wants to stick around for the entirety of the regular season.
Shurmur wouldn't clarify if tight end Zach Ertz would ready to go for week 1 of the regular season against the Atlanta Falcons.
"I don't know, I'm assuming so," Shurmur said when asked about if Ertz will be available for week 1 in Atlanta. "Behind the scenes he's taking care of his treatment, obligations, he's in all the meetings and he's doing everything he can physically. He's right there mentally. He's a guy that's been around here a while, he knows what we're doing."
Injury Update
Bryan Braman (shoulder), Jerome Couplin, Josh Huff (personal reasons), Marcus Smith (hamstring) and Ertz (core muscle) all missed today's workout. Defensive end Fletcher Cox (rest) returned to practice today. Inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans was limited.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
