Eagles Practice Observations

Given the rain and the shortened practice, we didn’t have enough to fill a running diary today, but here are observations from the Eagles’ last session of the spring.

* Coaches around the league like Bill Belichick and Bill O’Brien canceled the final day of minicamp practices to reward their players. That was not the case with the Eagles. It’s just not in Chip Kelly’s DNA, although the coaches did end the session a little early.

* The wet ball caused some drops throughout the day. Ed Marynowitz once again QB’d the drills with the defensive backs. Byron Maxwell and Brandon Boykin dropped consecutive passes. Boykin got down and did his 10 pushups to atone for the miscue.

* Matt Tobin was the starter at right guard today. It would be a surprise at this point if Allen Barbre didn’t start the season at left guard. The other spot is up for grabs. Tobin is probably the favorite. Andrew Gardner has a shot. And Dennis Kelly has rotated in.

* During 11-on-11s, Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso lined up with the first team. Nothing has been resolved with the inside linebackers. DeMeco Ryans rotated in with them throughout the spring. It’s looking like all three could be on the team once the regular season starts. How exactly will that rotation work? We probably won’t get answers until Week 1 against the Falcons, but it’ll be a situation to monitor in August.

* A lot is riding on Walter Thurmond to be able to transition from cornerback to safety. If the season started tomorrow, he’d likely be the guy setting up next to Malcolm Jenkins. During a 7-on-7 drill, Sam Bradford looked for Nelson Agholor on the post in the end zone, but Thurmond jumped in front for the interception, causing the defensive sideline to erupt. Thurmond later made another good play, sticking with Zach Ertz in the end zone to force a Mark Sanchez incompletion.

* During 7-on-7s in the red zone, Sanchez hit Brent Celek down the seam for a beautiful touchdown. Trey Burton then made a sliding grab in the end zone from Matt Barkley.

Nolan Carroll broke up a Bradford pass intended for Riley Cooper. If the season started tomorrow, I think Carroll would be the starter opposite Maxwell. But I’m not counting Eric Rowe out to make a move in August. The physical traits are there, and the coaches have raved about him from a mental standpoint.

* Agholor made a pair of grabs from Barkley, flashing good hands on a high pass near the sideline. Agholor was as advertised this spring – a shifty athlete with good hands who plays hard.

* The last play of the spring is Tim Tebow finding rookie WR Rasheed Bailey in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

The next time the Eagles are on the practice field together will be Aug. 2. That’s the start of training camp, which will lead into the preseason and then Week 1 against the Falcons on Sept. 14.