Real Camp “Battles”: Q&A With Quintin Mikell, Jason Avant

The pads came out for the first time earlier this week at Eagles training camp.

So far, the extra contact hasn’t led to any scuffles, certainly nothing like what happened with the Giants at their camp.

But extra-curricular activities are a staple of every training camp, as former Eagles Quintin Mikell and Jason Avant discussed on the latest “Q&A” on Inside The Birds.

Most fights are settled quickly. But Mikell, a former Pro Bowl safety, recalled a skirmish between right tackle Jon Runyan and defensive end Juqua Parker that wasn’t for the weak stomachs.

“I don’t even know what started it,” Mikell said. “I don’t even remember what year it was. All I remember was at some point they were both exhausted. Now, Jon is 6-6, 6-7. Juqua’s a big boy, but he’s not a as big as Jon was. And so they’re both holding each other’s helmets, and all I see is Jon just kneeing Juqua in the rib cage over and over and over and over.

“I’ll never forget the sound it. It was like, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!’ He ended up breaking Juqua’s ribs. That was a brutal fight, man. All I know is, I was like, man, I don’t want none of that.”

Mikell and Avant also talked about the pressure to perform daily at camp, with evaluations done by the coaches after every practice.

Avant, an assistant wide receivers coach under Doug Pederson in 2020, discussed the process of grading tape.

“You get graded as a player from the coaches on every single play,” Avant said. “Did he execute his assignment, yes or no? Did he do it a high level, yes or no? Did he make a critical mistake, a mental error? Did he make his block? Did he catch the football? Could he score a touchdown?

“All these things are being evaluated each and every day, so at the end of each night you know what every player in your position group has done … because everybody has talked about it and seen the film and you have to rate your guys each and every day.”

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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