Ten Observations from Day 1 of Eagles-Browns Joint Practices
BEREA, Ohio – The Eagles filed off the bus at the Browns’ training facility in suburban Cleveland and got down to business quickly on Thursday afternoon.
The leadership councils from both teams met to lay down the ground rules on day one of the joint practices between the two teams.
“We’re here to practice,” said DT Fletcher Cox, one of the members of Philly’s leadership council. “We’re not here to fight. If we wanted to fight we’d put gloves on and get in a ring. … nobody’s here to fight.”
There wasn’t any fighting but there was some pushing and shoving during a pair of punt drills.
The first one saw newcomer Ugo Amadi get into some post-whistle pushing and shoving with a Browns’ gunner.
Then there was Devon Allen, who, working as a gunner, knocked a player down and then hurdled him. One of the Browns then laid a shoulder – not terribly hard but forceful enough - into Allen after the whistle.
A.J. Brown was asked if he saw the play.
The WR’s response: “Nah. Did he? You guys have video of that? Why get mad at an Olympian? That’s what he does.”
Here are 10 observations from Day 1:
TRASH TALKING
There aren’t supposed to be any fights, but you after wonder what Friday has in store.
Even Nick Sirianni got into it a bit when Browns safety Richard LeCounte, who played at Georgia and was a fifth-round pick in 2021, the same year Smith was taken 10th overall. LeCounte and Smith got into some back and forth after LeCounte had nice coverage in a throw down the sideline to break up a pass during 11-on-11.
Sirianni went to Smith and yelled, “Don’t worry about it Smitty. Last time you saw him, you won the Heisman.”
On the next series of 11-on-11, Smith turned a slant into a huge gain.
SPEAKING OF SMITH
He was a handful for the Browns all day, and he and Jalen Hurts did a nice job working some back-shoulder throws.
“It’s crazy to see people press him,” said tight end Dallas Goedert. “He gives them a little shimmy and man it’s like they’re guarding Casper the Ghost. They’re just nowhere to be found. He’s a special player and I’m glad he’s on our team."
DICKERSON PANCAKE
The Eagles left guard pancaked linebacker Jacob Phillips on one play. The hit reverberated through the Browns’ training facility.
The Eagles’ sidelined erupted in oohs and then started whooping. Dickerson faced his teammates from on the field, did a little squat, and threw his arms out to the side in a celebratory fashion.
"I was down blocking but I heard it,” said right tackle Lane Johnson. “I have to go back and watch it. I heard it was good.”
Added Cox: “They met in the hole and Landon is 330, 340, and you have a guy probably 250 (actually Phillips is listed at 228), meet a guy in the hole like that full speed you have a collision like that.”
HEAVY DOSE OF RUN
The Eagles' defense hasn’t seen much running from their offense during camp, but the Browns gave them plenty of that, especially with their quarterbacks under center.
Cleveland had some nice gains on the ground, but they have a terrific stable of runners led by Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and Demetric Felton.
“We don’t see a whole, whole lot of running from under center and they have two really, really good running backs and we have really good running backs, so it’s good to see the style they use to run the ball, the way they run the ball, the pace they have when they run the ball, it’s unique,” said Cox.
“It gives us a chance to go back and look at things to get better and be ready (for Friday).”
HURTS’ DAY
The Eagles quarterback threw one of his best passes of any practice day this summer, but also had an interception.
The pick came during 7-on-7 when linebacker Parnell Motley stepped in front of tight end Richard Rodgers and returned the pick to the end zone. The Browns' defense converged there and celebrated like they won the Super Bowl.
The QB’s best pass came when he had to step to his left a little bit before unleashing a throw about 25 yards down the field to Brown, who made the catch in stride along the sideline.
“I was already heading that way,” said Brown when asked about the completion. “He just rode that way and we always practice scramble drills. He found me and threw a good ball and completed it.”
PHOTO GALLERY
Javon Hargrave and Jordan Davis
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
Tight ends drill
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
Kyzir White (left) and T.J. Edwards
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
Ugo Amadi (32) and Jaquiski Tartt (right)
Miles Sanders and Kenny Gainwell
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
In totality, Hurts' day was above average.
He made some nice back-shoulder passes and worked a lot of underneath stuff, especially to Smith and Quez Watkins, throwing inside slants on three straight plays, with the third one probably going for big yards since there was a lot of space there.
The QB also hit Brown with a quick-out pattern that went for about 10 yards. It’s a play that has become a practice staple for them.
“We work it all the time,” said Brown. “We try to focus on the little details of that route and he tries to do a good job of throwing the ball on time and I try to do a good job of showing no tells. We’ve been keeping everything strict.”
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS
Here’s what I noticed:
Josh Sweat ran down Deshaun Watson from the backside for a sack.
Patrick Johnson notched a sack.
Mac McCain stood out in one-on-ones vs. receivers, breaking up one pass deep down the sideline and then playing solid coverage to force a receiver to make a catch but out of bounds.
ONE-ON-ONES
Marlon Tuipulotu was dominant with his bull rush
Sua Opeta had his way with Cleveland UDFA Alex Taylor twice
Lane Johnson got the better of Jadeveon Clowney, but those two battled all day in team drills.
“Having guys like that makes you better for the season, so going against him, I feel he’s very similar to Josh Sweat, good get-off, long, strong, so it was a good matchup.”
INJURIES
Browns DE Myles Garrett wasn’t hurt but missed his fourth day for personal reasons. Defensive back Denzel Ward also did not practice in team drills for Cleveland.
For the Eagles, Miles Sanders (hamstring), James Bradberry (groin), Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), Christian Elliss (hamstring, Javon Hargrave (toe), Jason Kelce (elbow), and Greg Ward (toe) sat out.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Just run around. That simple, run around. I can’t give too many details, but mostly you just run around, run right to a spot” – Brown on how the team practices scramble drills.
WINNER OR LOSER?
If you’re looking for me to predict who won the practice, you won’t get it here.
I thought both teams’ offense and defense made their share of plays.
Nick Sirianni will talk to reporters prior to Friday’s practice. Perhaps he will declare a winner.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
