Takeaways From Patriots-Eagles Practice: Brady Impressed By Dobson, Secondary Struggles
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There was plenty of good stuff to take away from Tuesday's joint practice between the Patriots and Eagles in Philadelphia.
Both teams started on their own then mixed in for drills before going at each other in a scripted 11-on-11 scrimmage. Each team would run eight plays or so, offense vs. defense, and then switch.
Here are a handful of observations from the 11-on-11 work:
-- Aqib Talib nearly picked off a Nick Foles pass on the first play of the scrimmage. Foles is battling with Michael Vick for the Eagles starting QB job under new head coach Chip Kelly. From one day of observation, I thought Foles looked better and more comfortable. But, that's just my humble opinion.
--The Eagles did not go to their high-tempo offense until near the end of the scrimmage work. Chip Kelly had that system at Oregon and will install it here. New Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount played for Kelly at Oregon and said after practice that Kelly was great to play for and he liked the offense.
--Rookie corner Logan Ryan and safety Tavon Wilson got beat on a long, 45-50 yards, completion to DeSean Jackson.
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--Pats defensive end Justin Francis pushed Michael Vick late as Vick was running out of bounds. It should come as no surprise that Vick was not pleased.
--Alfonzo Dennard had an up-and-down day. He had some real good coverage early when the Eagles went up-tempo, but got beat on a Riley Cooper TD reception.
--Brady is simply amazing to watch. He's looking as good as ever at 36 years old. On one drive, the Pats went run, run, complete to Daniel Fells, complete to Josh Boyce, complete to Kenbrell Thompkins, complete to Fells, complete to Kamar Aiken, Julian Edelman reverse run, complete to Edelman, complete to Edelman, run, complete to Danny Amendola for a TD.
-- Dobson had one of the catches of the day, hauling in a long pass from Brady with one hand. A few plays later though he was off the field after getting into a scrum with Eagles corner Cary Williams.
But in the time he was out there, Dobson impressed his new quarterback.
"He's done great," Brady said of Dobson. "I'm proud of all those young players; we've thrown a lot of stuff on them. I said the other day it's not like we're backing off, because that's not the way our offense is. We have to keep putting the pressure on everybody, whether it's Aaron, Josh (Boyce), KT (Kenbrell Thompkins) or Zach Sudfeld. Everyone who is out there is expected to execute at a high level."
--Amendola did drop a pass on a play that he was wide open in the end zone, and afterwards let out a loud expletive that everyone in attendance could clearly hear. Despite the drop, Amendola has been impressive; good hands, runs well, and plays with a passion.
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-- Brady certainly seems to have a sense of urgency in trying to get familiar with all of his new targets.
"I'm probably a pain in the butt at this point. I'm always harping on something," he said.
It's nice to see he still has an incredible passion for the game.
-- I'm looking to forward to practice number two here on Wednesday. Fun to watch as we get ready for the Pats preseason opener Friday night.
Tune in to Friday's Patriots-Eagles preseason game on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on 98.5 FM at 4:30 p.m. and on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m..
