Eagles players asked for it, and they got it. And they liked it.
After the team’s leadership council lobbied coach Doug Pederson for more physical practices this week, the results seemed positive.
“That was a very intense practice,” veteran center Jason Kelce said, via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “We haven’t had one like that since training camp. On the verge of too intense.
“No fights, but whenever you go really, really hard, guys fall down, and you never want guys on the ground because you can get guys hurt, but I think we got a lot of really, really good work in.”
The Eagles went through lighter workouts in shells last week, as Pederson eased up on the intensity of practice in order to keep guys fresh. But the results weren’t there (or maybe losing quarterback Carson Wentz had something to do with it), so he was willing to listen.
In addition to going in full pads, the starters worked against the starters, which led to some trash talking as well as they tried to regain their edge. They’ll practice again today before taking three days off.
“We’ve had a little bit of time to rest,” tackle Lane Johnson said (while breaking his media embargo). “Even last week, we had a few walkthroughs compared to what we normally do in a regular week, and I think it was time to get a good practice in the bank, and that’s what we need, man. Get the physicality back so when the game comes, it’s not foreign to us.
“This is the second wave. This is what the whole season boils down to, so we want to be ready. We weren’t happy with our performances and, believe you me, we’re working hard to fix it. Just try to simulate a game and make it as hard as we can on ourselves.”
Again, the change they need most would be effective quarterback play, but Wentz isn’t walking through that door, so they’re pushing whatever buttons they can.