Out With A Bang

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles and Browns wrapped up their final joint practice at the NovaCare Complex, which had a lighter feel compared to that of Wednesday’s practice. Thursday’s session featured a heavy dose of 11-on-11s, with a couple special teams periods wedged in. The two teams will reconvene at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the Week 2 of preseason play.

As for Thursday’s status report: WR A.J. Brown (hamstring), S Lewis Cine (groin), G Landon Dickerson (knee), Kenyon Green (shoulder) and T Lane Johnson (rest) didn’t practice.

Note: Dickerson, who had surgery Wednesday on his injured right meniscus, was spotted after practice sporting a sleeve on his right leg.

Limited for the Eagles were RB Saquon Barkley (rest), LB Zack Baun (back) and WR Elijah Cooks (shoulder). Baun was withheld from team drills.

Cooks, injured in the preseason opener, returned after missing four practices. Following an impressive start to camp, Cooks now has an uphill climb toward a roster spot, but his return was timely.

The session, brief albeit efficient, covered 66 minutes. Head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the media prior to practice.

Note: On Thursday, after spending the initial joint practice honing in on the Eagles’ offense, I focused exclusively on the defense.

ITB PHOTO/GEOFF MOSHER: Jalen Hurts warms up on the practice field before an Eagles joint practice against the Browns.

We’ll get to the practice observations, but first, some depth chart notes.

* On Wednesday, third-year CB Kelee Ringo opened with the 1s opposite Quinyon Mitchell for 11-on-11s. Today, was veteran Adoree’ Jackson‘s turn. It’s worth noting that the newly acquired Jakorian Bennett also worked in with the first unit later in the session, at one point flipping sides with Mitchell. The second team largely featured Ringo and rookie Mac McWilliams – who for the past three practices has repped outside – and Eli Ricks also mixed in. Undrafted rookie Brandon Johnson, who has made the notebook more than a few times of late, backed up Cooper DeJean at nickelback.

Jackson, providing sticky coverage, somehow allowed a completion to WR Jerry Jeudy along the left sideline. The coverage couldn’t have been better, but credit to Browns QB Joe Flacco on putting the ball where only Jeudy could make a play on it.

* The first-unit safety tandem was comprised of Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown, though rookie Drew Mukuba also logged some first-team reps. Mukuba will have an opportunity for more, as he’s in line to make his preseason debut Saturday.

* At linebacker, the Eagles deployed Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and rookie Jihaad Campbell with the first team. Rookies Smael Mondon Jr. and Lance Dixon, as well as holdover Dallas Gant, saw plenty of work with the second unit.

* Eagles DC Vic Fangio, on multiple occasions, didn’t mince words when assessing the depth behind starting OLBs Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. In an effort to presumably better evaluate the depth, Fangio rotated Josh Uche, Azeez Ojulari and Ogbo Okoronkwo with the 1s. Okoronkwo isn’t often discussed, but I thought he had a quality set of practices against his former team. During an 11-on-11 period, Uche picked up a “sack” of Browns QB Dillon Gabriel, who held onto the ball for far too long.

* The Eagles’ run defense was swarming and physical, bottling up various Browns ball-carriers on interior runs. Trotter Jr., from my perspective, was the Eagles’ defensive player of the day. The second-year linebacker, showcasing his hallmark instincts and play recognition, attacked the line of scrimmage with urgency. At one point, the Clemson product cleaned up on consecutive run fits. Trotter Jr. also showed some range when covering the flat, closing on Browns RB Dylan Sampson on a high pass that was rendered incomplete. He also teamed with Campbell in converging on Browns RB Jerome Ford along the sideline to limit excessive damage.

* Breaking: S Sydney Brown is a tone-setter. And Thursday’s practice offered a glimpse of Brown at his best when in his natural element of beelining and attacking the line of scrimmage. The third-year safety was involved in several downhill collisions with Browns running backs, a refreshing reminder of how quickly he throttles down and triggers. A few of his notable highlights included multiple downhill blasts on RB Dylan Sampson to impede progress. On one of the encounters, Brown accented the play with a late strip. He also did well to get over in time to strike Browns TE Harold Fannin Jr. inside the 5-yard line, preventing a touchdown on a short completion in the flat. It’s evident that Brown craves contact.

* Fellow S Tristin McCollum also got in on the action, surging forward like a heat-seeking missile to meet RB Pierre Strong Jr. in the hole. Noticeably fired up after the play, McCollum tapped his own helmet.

* Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wasn’t the only Eagles linebacker sifting through traffic and making plays in the run game. Jihaad Campbell, who collected a “sack” of Browns QB Joe Flacco as he attempted to step up in the pocket, also had his share of positive moments. He provided tight coverage on a Flacco pass to TE Harold Fannin Jr. that was ultimately bobbled and dropped at the goal line and even aligned some as an overhang defender over the left tackle.

* DB Cooper DeJean also made his presence felt on more than a handful of run fits, showcasing his physicality. There was also a play in which RB Jerome Ford weaved through a host of Eagles defenders along the sideline, but DeJean eventually ended his progress, greeting the running back with a quality lick for good measure. DeJean did let up a touchdown, however, as Browns WR Jamari Thrash beat the second-year pro with a nifty outside-inside release, snaring the Flacco slant en route to the end zone. DeJean also came up with an interception, with Flacco flustered with pressure bearing down from EDGE Nolan Smith. While it didn’t help Flacco that his receiver slipped during the route, DeJean was there to pounce on the opportunity.

* The Browns’ passing game was anything but crisp, relying on some trickery – more on that later – on multiple occasions. There was some miscommunication plaguing their flow, like Dillon Gabriel with a misfire over the middle to WR Jerry Jeudy and another on an ensuing play, with WR DeAndre Carter failing to look for the ball. There were also some drops, like the one by Fannin Jr. at the goal line and a costly one by WR Diontae Johnson that ended the session.

* It’s so rare to see CB Quinyon Mitchell give up much of anything in coverage, which almost makes one do a double-take when he does. Well, Mitchell, providing tight coverage (may have even grazed a bit of jersey) allowed an intermediate completion to Jerry Jeudy, who eluded a tag and continued his traverse to the end zone. The sequence, in a sense, enabled Joe Flacco to get into a brief rhythm. He later tossed a teardrop to TE David Njoku – who had a step on Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship – into the left corner of the end zone. Njoku capped the play with a celebratory dance. Flacco also hit Fannin Jr., with Drew Mukuba trailing, on a perfectly placed corner route for a touchdown from 25-30 yards out.

Mukuba, however, would get his revenge on the final play of practice – a two-point conversion – when Flacco rifled a pass to Diontae Johnson at the goal line. The veteran wideout bobbled the ball into the air – and Mukuba was there to retrieve the gift.

* With regard to the tricks plays referenced, the first occurred earlier in the session, with Joe Flacco hitting Harold Fannin Jr. on a screen to the right. Fannin Jr. then tossed it across the field to Ford, who galloped down the left sideline for a chunk play. The other transpired in the red zone on a hook-and-ladder, with Fannin Jr. pitching the ball to Dylan Sampson, who scooted into the end zone. After practice, I asked Sampson about that play:

“That’s just a team collaborating,” Sampson said, bearing a wide grin. “We work on that a few times at practice. But just a timing, instinct play. Just tried to catch them off-guard a little bit.”

How effective was the play?

“It worked a little bit better than it did on our defense,” he offered, with a chuckle.

* There were a couple special teams periods, with each team having an opportunity to practice both kick coverage and kick return.

Notable names on the first team kick coverage unit: Kelee Ringo, Sydney Brown,  Josh Uche, Jakorian Bennett, Will Shipley, Andre’ Sam, Kylen Granson, Patrick Johnson, Darius Cooper and Ben VanSumeren.

Note: VanSumeren is a madman on special teams, collecting stops on multiple reps. On the first, special teams coordinator Michael Clay slapped his hand.

The first-team kick return unit included: E.J. Jenkins and Kylen Granson, Tristin McCollum, Ben VanSumeren, Smael Mondon Jr., Johnny Wilson and Patrick Johnson.

First up at kick return for the Eagles were Shipley and fellow RB A.J. Dillon, followed by Cooper and Avery Williams.

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.