Eagles begin Week 3 of spring practice
CHESTNUT HILL – Six down, nine to go.
BC entered Tuesday’s seventh spring practice with nine remaining, and it appears to be a productive one so far.
The Eagles are becoming more in-tune with each other daily, particularly on defense where communication has been strong. Given how many new faces are on the team (especially on offense), that’s to be expected.
On Tuesday, the defense got the better of the offense in what felt like a bit of a lethargic day for the skill guys and QBs. That’s not to say there weren’t a few plays here and there, but the defense certainly one-upped them.
Let’s roll…
Early observations
It’s impressive how involved and active Kenyatta Watson is during practices. Not coaching or anything like that, but whether he’s constantly doing laps around the field on the phone or going one-on-one with a recruit and genuinely showing investment in the conversation, he’s a clear presence at all times for this program.
Run game work
I know I said it a lot last year and for whatever reasons it didn’t work out, but the depth of this running back room might be one of the biggest strengths of the team this season. Bo MacCormack III, Mekhi Dodd, Nolan Ray, Evan Dickens and even Sedric Addison (more on him in a bit) are all going to get legitimate time based on the hot hand on a given Saturday. Different styles, but they’re all explosive once they get into the open field.
Field goals
Quick live reps, I’m always terrible at figuring out the yardage (hate math) and we were down the other end, but I’m pretty sure these were somewhere between 40-45 yards…
Luca Lombardo – Good, Good, Good, Miss (Wide right), Good
Sam Stone – Good, Good, Miss (Wide right, near block for TJ Green)
Lombardo is clearly still the guy. Got my vote for the Lou Groza Award last season. Ball booms off his foot while Stone is a low line drive guy. Last week, I asked O’Brien how nice it is to have a kicker heading into training camp rather than finding out during it, and he couldn’t have overstated it more how valuable that is.
Team
Mason McKenzie – QB run. Sack by Onye Nwosisi. Back-to-back QB runs (on the second run, Nolan Ray had a sick little fake out on a DB along the sideline while blocking downfield to help Mckenzie shoot back up field).
Grayson Wilson – Run by Evan Dickens. Comeback to Jonathan Montague Jr. on the sideline. Short run by Mekhi Dodd. PBU for Anthony Coellener on a ball over the middle.
Femi Babalola – Scramble. Misses RB Anthony Ferrucci in the seam (but, he was flushed out). (I missed the next two snaps chatting about the men’s bball coaching search).
7-on-7
After a special teams period mostly working on coverage, it was 7-on-7 time…
McKenzie – Incompletion to the sideline (overthrow). Short completion to Reed Swanson. Completion to Nedrick Boldin Jr. Complete crosser to Jackson Wade.
Wilson – Completion over the middle to Montague Jr. Short completion to Ray. Comeback to VJ Wilkins. Swing pass to Dodd.
Babalola – Dart to Michael Landolfi. Completion underneath to Landolfi. Checkdown to DJ Johnson. (Missed the last snap).
Team
Mckenzie – QB run. Combo sack for Kris Jones and Nwosisi. Short completion to Brady Clough. Incompletion on the sideline (miscommunication with receiver it looked like). High incompletion to Cameron Kossmann. Short run by Dickens.
Babalola – Dump off to Dodd. Run Dodd. Scramble.
Wilson – Underneath completion to Wilkins. Incompletion to Wilkins (Wilkins may have stopped running). Run stuff by Bodie Kahoun.
Team (coming out from own end zone)
We’re starting to see more and more situational work as practices stack up here. I believe this is the first time the Eagles had worked on this in a live setting yet.
McKenzie – False start (OL I think). Incompletion deep for Swanson. Combo run stuff by 3-4 guys. (Missed last snap).
Wilson – Run by MacCormack III. Incompletion high. Kameron Howard dropped diving pick on an intermediate throw over the middle.
Team (Tempo, driving downfield from own 25)
McKenzie – Roll out and completion to Clough. Run by Ray. Dump off to Ray. QB run. Incompletion in the end zone to Nedrick Boldin Jr. with tight coverage from Njita Sinkala. Short completion to Danny Edgehill.
Wilson – Completion to Montague Jr. Short run by Dodd. Offside. Catch and run over the middle by Wilkins (would have been long TD but for practice purposes whistle blown). Run stuff by Griffin Collins. Sack by Micah Amedee. Completion over the middle to Montague Jr.
Babalola – Dump off (didn’t see which back). Big run down the right sideline by Addison (looked like he was gone until DB Chandler Jordan chased him down and pushed him out at about the five). Short run by Ray. Scramble. Scramble. Sack by Bryce Lewis (technically a TD in the seam for Zach Snorrbusch).
Red Zone
Mckenzie – TD pass to Ray. Little-to-no gain on a WR screen. TD run by Dickens (sick cut at the LOS). Scramble TD.
Wilson – Short completion to Edgehill. Great tackle by Howard on a pass to MacCormack III. TD run by Dodd (sick cut at the LOS). Offside. TD pass to Montague Jr over the middle.
Babalola – Sack by Lewis. PBU in the end zone by Rae Sykes Jr. vs. DJ Johnson. Completion to Landolfi (took a bit of a shot from Kemori Dixon but held on at the goal line). Sack by E’Lla Boykin.
Down by 2, 1:10 left, 1 timeout…
McKenzie – KJ Sampson blows up a screen. Incompletion to the sideline. Combo sack for Kahoun and Anthony Palano. Incompletion deep to Swanson.
-Reset, 3rd down at the opponent’s 40…
McKenzie – Completion to Dickens. Field goal unit sprints on. Lombardo misses a 53-yard FG as time expires.
Wilson – Sack by Ballard (technically a completion to Montague Jr. over the middle I think). Batted ball by Ballard. Sack by Ballard (play still ran, PBU for Howard). Deep incompletion. Field goal unit races on, Lombardo drills game-winning 53-yard FG as time expires.
Onto Saturday
We won’t be at practice Thursday, which means the next time we see the Eagles will be Saturday for scrimmage No. 2 set for 10:30ish a.m.
