The Eagles were originally supposed to practice at the Linc on Saturday morning, but the threat of bad weather postponed the open practice until Sunday.
Instead, the team practiced at the NovaCare Complex on Saturday afternoon.
And the pads came out!
Players wore shoulder pads and leg pads for the first time this training camp, so it's beginning to look a lot like football in South Philly.
"It felt great," Zach Ertz said about being back in pads. "Obviously, it's been a long time coming. It feels like forever since we played the Cowboys back in January."
Let's hop into today's observations:
1. We'll start with injures (an homage to Andy Reid). Nick Foles was on the field but didn't practice. He has some soreness in his elbow and is expected to miss at least a couple practices.
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Randall Goforth (knee) and Alex McCalister (hamstring) missed Saturday's practice. McCalister said he expects to be back on the field Sunday.
Alshon Jeffery went down during the 1-on-1 portion of practice and had his shoulder looked at but he returned a little later and seemed fine.
Elijah Qualls went down in pain during offensive line vs. defensive line drills and then got berated by defensive line coach Chris Wilson. Qualls left practice early. Later in the afternoon, he was walking around the locker room with a noticeable limp, but said he was just sore.
2. Carson Wentz was extremely sharp today, so it's no surprise the offense as a whole looked great in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s.
"Today was a very good day for the whole offense," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. "We had a few snafus here and there, but it was a good day. I thought in the pass game in particular we executed really well. It's only one practice so I'm not getting too excited, but that's probably as well as we've executed in the past year since I've been here."
Ertz was heavily involved during the team portion of practice and 7-on-7s. He made a lot of catches. Jordan Matthews had a big day too. He and Wentz connected on several nice plays.
3. It's a little thing, but Wentz's hard count was impressive on Saturday, getting a few guys to come across the line of scrimmage throughout the day.
4. One of Wentz's best plays came when he avoided pressure from Destiny Vaeao, rolled to his right and found a crossing Matthews. Wentz just always looks so comfortable when he starts rolling and throwing on the run. It seems like it helps him get into rhythm. That's not just an observation about today; that's an observation about Wentz from the time he arrived in Philadelphia.
5. Saturday was the first time we got to watch 1-on-1 drills with offensive linemen vs. defensive linemen in pads. Those battles are my favorite to watch at training camp.
Brandon Brooks vs. Fletcher Cox was a pretty good one. I'll give a slight edge to Brooks, but it was a great battle between two of the strongest players on the team. Back when I briefly covered the Houston Texans, I'd watch Brooks battle similarly against J.J. Watt.
6. In those same drills, Tim Jernigan showed that pass-rush prowess we've heard so much about. He got up under Isaac Seumalo and beat him for a would-be sack. Jim Schwartz praised Jernigan earlier in the week and it's clear that Jernigan is a pretty good rusher.
Meanwhile, Derek Barnett didn't look great in the 1-on-1s. He was stood up by Matt Tobin and Dillon Gordon on his consecutive plays.
7. Patrick Robinson had a bounce-back day after getting burned by David Watford on Friday. He was involved in the defense and broke up several passes. That's encouraging.
8. Terrence Brooks has been everywhere over the first week of camp. The reserve safety just seems to have a knack for being around the ball and he looked at home when the pads went on Saturday. He looked ready to pop someone.
9. Marcus Johnson, the second-year player from Texas, might end up becoming the true darling of training camp this year. He's been making plays every day and even got some run with the ones on Saturday. He's improved a lot from last training camp.
10. Sunday morning's practice at Lincoln Financial Field is open to the public. Practice starts at 10 a.m. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. Parking will be free in lots A, D, G, K, M and N until 10:30 a.m. No ticket is required and seats are first-come, first-serve.
"We're excited for tomorrow," Ertz said. "It's going to be a great atmosphere. The fans are going to be excited, we're going to be excited playing in front of them for the first time. I think now we're just really looking forward to it."
Stupid Observation of the Day: Lane Johnson wore the blonde wig for the entire practice on Saturday. I give him credit for really committing to a joke.