The Eagles were at The Linc on Monday, but weren’t in pads.

Here is Jimmy Bama’s take on things. He liked what he saw from the QBs.

• Let’s start with the QBs. Michael Vick and Nick Foles both had good days. Vick had a really good day, especially if you’re looking at results. In his first 7-on-7 session, Vick took the offense right down the field. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. 5 plays. TD. Oohs and ahhs around the Linc.

Buuuuut… It could probably be just as accurately stated that the defense didn’t cover anybody today. On one of Vick’s throws, Brent Celek was standing near the sidelines without a defender within 10 yards of him. Celek caught the pass, and ran 20 yards down the field before anyone got anywhere near him. On the TD on that drive, Vick hit a wide open Jason Avant over the middle, who walked in for the score. Credit Vick for identifying the player who didn’t have a defender in the same zip code as him. But that’s not really what impresses me.

Here’s what impressed me:

– Vick threw a pass with absolutely perfect touch down the sideline to DeSean Jackson for about 30 yards. DeSean had half a step and Vick layed it out in front of him on a platter. Gorgeous throw.

– Vick’s quick release. – Vick’s speed, which looks better than it did at times last year.

– Nick Foles threw in between two defenders to Arrelious Benn. Benn did a nice job splitting the defenders and coming back toward the ball. Nice job by both QB and WR. Foles saw Benn working back toward him, trusted that Benn would continue to come back for the ball, and he did. Really well done.

– Foles had nothing open on 3rd and G from around the 5, and instead of forcing something, he threw it out the back of the end zone. It’s pretty easy to force something in on 7-on-7’s on 3rd and G during practice. There are no REAL repercussions, and it’s tempting to not give up on a play like that in front of the fans, but he did the prudent thing and took 3 instead of possibly turning it over.

– Foles made an “anticipation throw” to DeSean in the back of the end zone for a TD. DeSean hadn’t yet come open, but Foles saw the play unfolding ahead of the action, and “threw him open.”

In other words, how each player looks is more important to me than results… for now. Both QBs had good days. If we’re picking the winner for the day, I’m going Vick. In fact, I’d probably give Vick the edge over the last 3 practices, but by small margins. Practices are important, but the preseason games will decide this competition.

Jimmy is exactly right to focus on style rather than results. That’s what the coaches and scouts will do. Results can lead to a false-positive. If a player makes a play because of a defensive mistake, that is very different than a player who makes a play because he used skill/talent/athleticism. You can’t count on the defense making mistakes in real games. You must focus on players and their specific skill sets.

And please don’t tell Jimmy I said he was right.

Make sure to go read his write-up to find out why Bill Bergey was yelling at him.

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Next up is Sheil Kapadia. He made note of the Eagles using a 3-Safety look.

On my to-do list for tomorrow: Ask Patrick Chung about the Eagles’ three-safety look. This is the second time I’ve seen them show it with Chung up covering the slot receiver.

Davis did this in Arizona, with Matt Ware, Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle. Both Rolle and Ware were former CBs that lacked the athleticism to be great in man coverage. They did have good size. Having 3 Safeties on the field gave Davis flexibility. He could blitz more effectively. The extra Safety was going to be a better run defender than a CB, in case the offense tried a run from the spread set. If you played zone coverage, you’d rather have 3 Safeties on the field for tackling purposes than 3 CBs.

There is logic to this grouping. However, it somewhat goes against Chip Kelly’s belief in building around your personnel. It certainly appears that the Eagles are stronger at CB than Safety right now. We might feel different after the preseason games, but right now it doesn’t seem like there are 3 Safeties you’d really want on the field at once. I’m sure there are a couple of fans who might point out there might not be 2 Safeties you want on the field.

A good humorous note from the great Mr. Kapadia.

Good question by (Tim) McManus as he takes a look at two Eagles near the training table chatting it up: “I wonder what Shady and Ed Wang are talking about.”

Me too.

My guess…they were arguing whether Iron Maiden’s greatest song is Phantom of the Opera or Hallowed Be Thy Name. Put me down for Hallowed.

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Good stuff in the PE.com notes as well.

Damaris Johnson also provided the best move of the day, when he caught a quick, 10-yard pass while running toward the middle of the field before stopping on a dime and reversing field, leaving safety Kurt Coleman in his wake. It was a preview of just the kind of explosive plays that Johnson should be able to make in the Chip Kelly offense.

Wide receiver Russell Shepard took first-team reps with the offense, while Kenny Phillips and David Sims saw first-team reps at safety.

Wide receiver Arrelious Benn flashed strong hands to snag a high throw from quarterback Matt Barkley out of the air during individual drills.

Tight end Zach Ertz made a tough, contested catch in traffic with a linebacker in his hip pocket on a bullet pass from Foles. Later, in the 7-on-7 drill, he dropped what looked like a sure touchdown from Foles inside the 5-yard line while running a slant.

I hate reading that Ertz dropped a pass in the Red Zone, but I’m excited to hear the Eagles are running slants with big guys down there. I’ve been calling for this for a while. Let the big receiver/TE get to the inside of the DB and use body to shield away the defender. If the OL perform their blocks, the QB should have a passing lane to get the ball to the big target.

We need Benn to practice well. He could be a big help at WR.

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MISC NOTES

* Chris Polk had another long run and continues to impress, as a runner and receiver. Love hearing this.

* Eddie Whitley continues to get mixed in with the 1’s in some sets. He is in the slot in those sets. Whitley would be a good fit for a hybrid role, similar to how Davis used Rolle and Ware in Arizona.

* Allen Barbre got some reps at LT today with Jason Peters sitting out. The Eagles want to cross-train Lane Johnson to play both RT and LT. He’s played a lot of LT in recent days, but with a game coming up this week, it is wise to get him more time at RT.

* Jason Kelce missed time with an ankle injury and Julian Vandervelde got some reps with the 1’s. Last year Howard Mudd tried to turn him into a Center. Now Jeff Stoutland is doing it. Those are 2 very smart OL coaches. They must see something there. Vandy struggled at C last summer. I curious to see if he’s made any progress.

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Vince Young signed with the Packers today. He’ll be competing for their backup QB spot.

Wow.

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The Eagles released their depth chart today. They did this because the NFL made them in preparation for Friday’s game. I’ll look it over and write a post on it, but it really is meaningless. Vick and Foles were listed as co-QBs. No hint there.

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