Ten Observations from Day 2 of Eagles-Browns Practice

BEREA, Ohio – Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni may have poo-pooed the notion of naming a winner for Thursday’s joint practice against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, but Friday was a different story.

This one could be termed an Eagles win, especially after they captured the final series of team drills.

It was more than that, though. It was a slow build throughout the practice which ran about five minutes longer – at an hour, 45 minutes – than Thursday.

Jalen Hurts looked sharper on Day 2.

Jordan Mailata went against the Browns’ stud pass rusher, Myles Garrett, who missed Thursday due to personal reasons, and said he believes he did well.

DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown once again gave Cleveland’s secondary fits, and Dallas Goedert made some big-time snags. Jalen Reagor even showed well.

“I don't think you look at it like who won an intrasquad practice like that,” said Sirianni, prior to Friday's practice “It's, did we get work done and did we get better at what we wanted to get better at that day? I think we did. When you're going against a team like the Browns have, it poses challenges and different schemes for our defenses, different schemes our offense has to go against.

“It was good for us to be able to go against different guys. They have a lot of good players over there and to be able to go against different guys at different skill positions and interior linemen and all different guys that they have, it was good work. I think we both got - I won't speak for (Browns) coach (Kevin) Stefanski but I feel like we got better Thursday.”

Here are 10 observations from Friday’s Battle of Berea, Day 2:

GAINWELL AND SANDERS

Kenny Gainwell has five dropped passes since returning to practice last Sunday. He had another in the final team drill of the day and dropped a pass at the 3, drawing the ire of Sirianni.

“Two mental errors in the two-minute? Get out,” the coach yelled, referencing another play where maybe Gainwell ran the wrong route and led to Hurts having to scramble.

The running back position is a concern, especially if Miles Sanders cannot stay healthy. He said he worked harder than ever in the offseason, yet he missed both of the joint practices with a hamstring injury.

“We are just being precautious with him,” said Sirianni. “He had some tightness and soreness in it. Just being precautious with him and we’ll see how it goes.”

Prior to practice, the coach sang Gainwell’s praises from Thursday’s session.

“I'm really, really excited about him,” said the coach. “He's a guy that in these joint practices when it’s a physical practice and the pads are on, you notice him and you feel him.”

Sirianni highlighted Gainwell’s pass protection, especially against some of the blitz packages Cleveland showed on Thursday.

TARRON JACKSON

Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick had two sacks on the day, but so did the second-year defensive end from Coastal Carolina.

Jackson was a force in both these practices. Patrick Johnson, who will be Reddick’s backup, also shined both days.

“Pat has been having an awesome camp, an amazing camp,” said Reddick. “Rushing, dropping in coverage. He’s playing the same position (as me), rushing, dropping, he’s showing knowledge. He’s making plays. He’s one of the guys I’m very, very excited about.”

PHOTO GALLERY

Haason Reddick

The Eagles pass rusher enjoyed a solid two days of work against the Browns, and he he picked up a par of sacks on Friday

Landon Dickerson and Wyatt Teller

The two offensive linemen spent a good amount of time talking after practice was over. This photo was taken about a half hour after the session concluded.

DeVonta Smith

The Eagles second-year WR was unguardable on Thursday and the Browns still had trouble stopping him a day later.

Nick Siranni

The Eagles coach rocked Lane Johnson's brand on his T-shirt at Friday's practice.

Grant Calcaterra

The rookie tight end returned to practice in limited fashion on Friday. He had been out since July 30 with a hamstring injury.

Jordan Mailata

The Eagles LT hams it up as he waits to enter the media tent after Day 2 of Eagles-Browns joint practices.

OFFENSE FIRING EARLY

Like Thursday, when Hurts completed his first seven throws during receiver one-on-one drills vs. defensive backs, he started off hot again. He opened with a back-shoulder completion to DeVonta Smith.

Hurts and his receivers have been working plenty on those throws and having success with them.

JALEN REAGOR

The forgotten pass-catcher had a second straight practice doing just that, catching passes, including a big second-down grab inside the 10 during the final team drill of the day, a two-minute simulation where the ball was placed at the 25. He had several other grabs, too.

The thinking here, though, is he will be traded before the month ends.

For what? Well, my top two positions that probably should be addressed are safety or running back, where more depth is needed.

SAFETIES RISE UP

It was a great day for Marcus Epps, just his second practice since returning from a back issue that cost him a practice on Tuesday. He had two pass breaks ups and was always around the ball.

Perhaps more importantly, K’Von Wallace also made some plays, and it's getting more difficult to see the Eagles cutting the fourth-round pick from 2020.

JOSH JOBE

The undrafted free agent could be working his way onto the roster. On Friday, he was on the first-team kickoff team, and he has maybe shown enough to be the fourth CB behind Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Zech McPhearson, who did not stand out these past two days.

SATURDAY PLANS

Sirianni said he may pay a visit to his alma mater, Mount Union College, on Saturday. The coach said he hasn’t set foot on the campus in about 15 years, but the Purple Raiders are having joint practices with Washington & Jefferson, which is coached by Sirianni’s brother, Mike.

He would also like to see his former coach Larry Kehres, his former coach at Mount Union and now an administrator.

Mount Union is about 60 miles from Cleveland.

“If I have some time I might drive up with my mom and my dad,” he said. “…Coach [Larry] Kehres is a guy that I keep contact with because I've learned so many valuable things. He's done so much for my career, so I look forward to, if I do get the time (Saturday), getting up there and seeing him.”

CAM RIGHT AT HOME

Cam Jurgens hasn’t missed a beat since a sturdy debut against the Jets in last week’s preseason opener.

The second-round rookie paved the way for a Dallas Goedert touchdown on an 11-yard throwback screen from Hurts. Jurens blazed the trail for the score.

“That a way, Jurgens,” OL coach Jeff Stoutland could be heard yelling.

OFFENSIVE PLAY OF DAY

There were several candidates, but it has to be Hurts’ TD to A.J. Brown from 25 yards out. Brown and CB Greedy Williams went up for the ball, but Brown snatched it away from Williams, who then fell to the ground. Brown stood over him for a brief second and stared down at him.

Other candidates:

Hurts’ 25-yard TD throw to Goedert, who went up over safety D’Anthony Bell to high point the ball. Goedert was just too big and strong for Bell.

On the very next play, with the ball moved up to the 11, Hurts threaded an out pattern to Brown in the end zone for another score.

GRANT CALCATERRA

The rookie tight end finally returned to practice, though he was limited. Still, it was a step in the right direction after he had been out with a hamstring injury since July 30.

“You have to ease him back into it, and he was on a good trajectory before he got hurt and so again, we're excited to have him back and get working,” said Sirianni.

“I'd be crazy to say that it didn't put him behind. Of course, it put him behind. He's missed a lot of time, but that's why we are out here today to get him back up to speed. It's not going to all happen in one day. It's going to be a little bit each day.”

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.