Two years ago, the Eagles invaded Foxborough for a joint practice with the Patriots and the results set the stage for what would become a dismal 4-13 season. A lot has changed since then, and it's almost all related to the Patriots.
Philadelphia remains one of the most talented teams in the league, but fresh off an appearance in the Super Bowl, the same could now be said of Mike Vrabel's club. That was evident during a spirited two-hour session between the teams, and both sides likely felt pretty good about much of what took place – especially the offenses.
The competitive level on display was exactly what Vrabel was hoping for heading into the two days of work.
"I think [the joint practices] will be a good way to gauge that," Vrabel said when asked if the Eagles represented a measuring stick.
"Yes, I think that this is intentional. This is a very good football team. It has been for quite some time. They're really good at the line of scrimmage. Certainly, an excellent quarterback. They're well-coached, good defensive scheme, so I think this'll be a really good measuring stick just to see where we're at this point in camp, and how we can respond."
Drake Maye and the offense were particularly up to the challenge. Working behind solid pass protection for most of the day, no small feat given Philly's bevy of talent up front, Maye worked the ball downfield consistently to A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. DeMario Douglas continues to be his steady self on various crossing routes, and he was effective in mid-range areas as well.
But it was Brown who stood out working against his old team. He had big plays from Maye off a play-action deep crosser, and later on a deep sideline throw that came in perfectly over his outside shoulder. He was productive, and his former teammates took notice.
"He looked a little better. He looked a little better, a little faster," cornerback Quinyon Mitchell said. "Like I said, he's a great receiver. You know, he's going to keep getting better. I'm going to keep getting better. We're going to keep working.
"Just good on good, I enjoy those battles. I feel like we both know each other well. Obviously, he's working on some things. Obviously, I'm working on things. We're both getting better."
Brown downplayed the reunion, and his success, saying it was basically just another day at the office.
"It was just work. It was just work, man. Same old meetings that we've been having, same attention to detail," Brown said. "I'm preparing, getting ready for practice, and just coming out here and just focusing on myself, each and every rep.
"Oh man, it was love, man. It was love, man. I know I'm on the opposing team right now, but you know I still felt some love."
While the connections to Brown were noteworthy, the pass protection also was up to speed. The one drawback to that was the absence of standout Eagles pass rusher Jonathan Greenard, who is on PUP, but the offensive line consistently gave Maye the time to survey the field, read coverages and push the ball downfield for big plays.
Things weren't as productive for the running game, however. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson did not find a ton of space, and when they did the officials on hand dropped a couple of flags for holding. But overall,the offense moved the ball effectively during the periods when the team worked on first-, second- and third-down plays.
It wasn't quite as efficient in the two-minute drill, which began at the New England 20 with 1:05 on the clock. Maye tried to hit Doubs on an in-breaking route, but the throw was behind the receiver and fell incomplete off Doubs' hands. It's possible that Maye was trying to prevent Doubs from breaking into the safety and that's why the throw was behind him, but it was still a clunky start to the drive.
The next snap saw Maye throw low to Douglas on a crossing route, which caused the streaking receiver to lose his footing rather than picking up extra yards. The practice setting called for the ball to be moved forward for the first down, though, and the drive had life. Maye failed to connect with Stevenson on a deep wheel route, and suddenly pressure started to become an issue for the quarterback.
Maye found Mack Hollins while dealing with some traffic around him but threw incomplete to Douglas and was forced to scramble a play later to set up what would have been a third down with :09 left. But again the ball was advanced, and time was added to the clock to give the Patriots 18 seconds. A quick out to Hunter Henry that didn't seem to be run at full speed preceded Andy Borregales' 53-yard field goal to end the day for the first group. Borregales also ended Tommy DeVito's drive with a 57-yard field goal, giving the kicker some momentum after a rough stretch.
Overall, a very solid day for Maye and the offense. Beyond that, here are one man's observations from Day 19 of training camp.
-- Still no sign of Christian Gonzalez as the cornerback remains out of uniform since Aug. 10. This marks the second set of joint practices Gonzalez missed as he was out for the Colts session as well. Earlier in the week, Vrabel indicated Gonzalez was in "return to play" mode but he remains out. In addition to Gonzalez, Ben Brown and Xavier Holmes remain out. Christian Barmore was back in uniform and took some reps on third down and during the two-minute drill. He likely had a sack on Jalen Hurts to disrupt the Eagles hurry-up drive at the end of practice. Christian Elliss was also limited in his return. Linebacker Chad Muma and wide receiver Riley Dixon were also back in uniform after missing recent practices.
-- While the offense started strong and wasn't quite as sharp to finish, the opposite was true of the defense. The Eagles created plenty of holes for Saquan Barkley in the running game, and Hurts found some easy connections with DeVonta Smith and especially Dontayvion Wicks. Wicks grabbed a deep ball behind the defense moving toward the left sideline during the down-and-distance work. Running back Will Shipley also slipped out of the backfield to beat a blitz on a play that would have gone for 50-plus yards. But the two-minute defense was excellent, both in coverage and with some well-executed blitzes. Hurts didn't have much time to find any open targets, and Kevin Byard came up with a nice pass breakup before Barmore's sack. Philly wasn't even able to move close enough to attempt a field goal. Craig Woodson was around the ball a lot and recorded a pair of interceptions, one coming during 7-on-7s.
-- There was a brief scrum following a Borregales field goal attempt midway through practice. The teams mixed it up a bit with Vrabel in the middle of the action, but cooler heads prevailed and the remainder of the workout took place without incident.
-- Barkley had some success running between the tackles initially, but the defense improved later in practice. He was stuffed on the first play of Philly's last series before the two-minute work, and two plays later K.J. Britt filled a hole to stop him off right tackle. So, the was some improvement in that area after a rough start.
-- Former Eagles Brown, Byard and Milton Williams as well as Gabe Jacas and Barmore were among those who spent time chatting with the media after practice.
-- The final practice that will be open to fans will take place Thursday with the second day of joint workouts with the Eagles set to run from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Gates will open at 9:15 a.m. As always, please check with Patriots.com for the latest schedule changes during training camp.
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