Chip Kelly has not run a particularly physical training camp. And while there has been some occasional tackling to the ground during individual drills,  typically the players are asked to thud — or simulate tackling without bringing the ball carrier down.

Is it tough to just flip the switch?

“It’s a totally different mindset,” said Kurt Coleman. “We’ve gone wrap-up and it is what it is, it gives you good form but when you go live and it’s a totally different beast. And you saw guys — I remember Mychal [Kendricks] came down and smacked the running back [Blount] and kind of bounced off him, that’s the kind of stuff you can’t prepare for when you just thud it up.”

Chip Kelly has described the preseason as a “final exam” for Michael Vick and Nick Foles.

But the truth is, that’s overstating it. Vick played nine snaps Friday night; Foles played 12. Hardly a large enough sample size to draw any real conclusions.

Just like last year’s tape and this summer’s practice performance, the preseason is another piece of the puzzle. And Kelly was pleased with what he saw from both signal-callers in the first preseason game.

“I think they both played pretty well,” he said. “It gave me confidence in both those guys. And that’s what you’re hoping happens. I think both those guys rose to the occasion. I was excited about how both those guys played.”

Here are some instant observations from the Eagles’ first preseason game against the New England Patriots.

Michael Vick opened the quarterback competition by landing a haymaker, but Nick Foles responded.

Use our open game thread to chime in on tonight’s Eagles-Patriots game. Tim and Sheil will offer some thoughts and updates throughout.

We did the offense on Thursday. Now here’s the D.

Below is a position-by-position primer on what to look for tonight as the Eagles get ready to host the Patriots in their first preseason game.

Chip Kelly suggested at the beginning of training camp that Matt Barkley would have an opportunity to win the starting job. To this point, though, it sure has looked like a two-man race, with all of the first-team reps going to Nick Foles and Michael Vick.

“Camp’s not over,” Kelly said. “You’ll see a lot of him on Friday night [against the Patriots].  Camp is not over.”

The carrot, then, still dangles in front of the rookie signal-caller.

Vick and Foles will alternate series in the first quarter. The plan is to then hand it over to Barkley for the second and third quarters. He’ll have more snaps on tape than any of his competitors by the end of the night.

Which players have exceeded expectations? How is Vinny Curry doing? And which receivers will make the team? We explore in the latest mailbag.

The Eagles begin preseason play Friday night against the Patriots, so now is as good a time as any to get a handle on the state of the roster.

This post can serve as a primer on what to watch for on offense. We’ll roll out the defense on Friday.

The answer is in: Michael Vick will start Friday night in the preseason opener against the Patriots.

It’s probably best not to read too much into Chip Kelly‘s decision. Vick and Nick Foles will split the first-team reps, and Foles will start next week against the Panthers.

Vick and Foles will rotate by series in the first quarter. Matt Barkley will play in the second and third quarter, and Dennis Dixon and G.J. Kinne are likely to see action in the fourth.

“It was Mike’s day in the rotation, that was the easiest way to do it,” said Kelly. “We’ll make sure the rotation works out that Nick will get the start next week. We met with those guys this morning, they were great with it, so that’s kind of our plan going in.”

The Eagles will have a walk-through today with the Patriots, but for all intents and purposes, the first wave of training camp is over.

Eleven full-squad practices, each running a little more than two hours. That means plenty of film for the coaches to evaluate as they prepare for Friday night’s preseason game.

Keeping that in mind, here are three things we’ve learned so far on the practice fields.

Here is a running diary of practice observations from today’s Eagles-Patriots session.

Another day, another practice without Cary Williams.

The veteran corner took the field with his teammates at the start of the session, and even provided a mini-highlight early on when he broke up a Tom Brady pass in the corner of the end zone during one-on-one drills. But moments later his pads were off and he was working off to the side once again, as the hamstring that he tweaked on the first day of camp flared up on him.

On Tuesday, it was not the injury but rather his behavior that forced him to the sidelines. Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick agreed that any extra-curriculars during these joint practices would result in ejection. Williams promptly got into it with rookie receiver Aaron Dobson and was tossed.

Between that, the injury, and his decision to miss a good chunk of the OTAs, you’re talking about a lot of missed time.

Is he doing everything in his power to get onto the field?

Here’s your weekly roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles.

The Eagles are getting thin at wide receiver.

First, Jeremy Maclin goes down for the season with a torn ACL, then on Tuesday Arrelious Benn suffers the exact same fate.

A look at the top 10 receivers on the free agent market and the possible “issues” that the Eagles are working through with them.