Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson stepped to the podium on Sunday before his team practiced for about two hours in front of their fans. Pederson was asked whether his team would normally train for three hours like they did on Saturday.
"Yeah, today’s a little shorter, today is a little over two [hours]. A normal football game is three hours long, so why not start right now and get them in game-ready shape."
The Eagles coach was questioned about the importance of building a connection with the fans during camp, and whether two open practices are enough to solidify that bond.
"Yeah I do. Obviously two of these days, we’ll see how many fans we get today, but [we] expected a nice crowd, the weather cooperated for us," Pederson said. "That is probably the one thing you do miss on a daily basis is that many fans that we had at Lehigh. Obviously that can be great for the players, but it was a great atmosphere yesterday, great atmosphere over at the NovaCare facility. Not only with the fans but our sponsorships, everybody that was involved, it was exciting, for me it was the first time to really see it and I didn’t know what to expect. I’m excited for today and obviously in a couple of weeks."
Pederson was also asked about the addition of legendary Eagle Brian Dawkins to the team's scouting department.
"Anytime we can bring alumni back to the organization, whether it be on an interim basis, or a full-time basis like we’ve had with Greg Lewis and Duce Staley, I think it’s beneficial," Pederson said. "I think someone like that can also, players see him a former player, particularly on defense, and the type of player that he was and the leadership that he brought to this team and this organization, they can see that. They can see how he handled this city, how people really supported him and rallied around him. I’m excited to see where it takes us, and to see what role he can have, even with me, hopefully down the road with the team. Whether he’s speaking to the team, or doing some things like that, I think it can be very beneficial for everybody."
With one week of practice in the books, the Eagles play-caller went into detail about the type of mechanics the coaches are working on with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.
"Specifically, trying to keep his feet tighter to the ground. He can get a little jumpy, a little hoppy, he can also be a little upright in his frames," Pederson said. "We’ll try to keep him in a bent posture a little bit. And then just his knowledge and understanding of the offense, being able to anticipate, become a little more accurate passer, he can work on those things with drill work, and just the more reps he gets he’ll get a little more comfortable, but those are just a couple of things that were doing with him."
Pederson would also mention that they have only altered Wentz’s mechanics below his waist, and that his "throwing mechanics" haven’t been modified.
Patrick Del Gaone is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Del_Gaone.
