group spent a lot of the day working on red zone activities, so the tight end group got a lot of praise from assembled reporters
After training, Doug Pederson, Carson Wentz, and Nick Foles spoke to media.
Notes from Doug’s availability:
very encouraged with where Carson is at. “where’s he at last week is enough to ease my mind,” those couple of days were “very exciting and very encouraging to me” (sounds like he’s pretty confident in a week one appearance)
RE: Wentz doing less work in recent days – everything from the last couple of practices has all been part of the plan
felt like Wentz moved well last week, had some opportunities to move around in the pocket, encouraged by what they saw and want to get him ready
on paper, he does think it’s the best receiving corps he’s had since taking over for Chip Kelly
feels like team is embracing the training camp and not settling into a post Super Bowl lull
Jay Ajayi has been working on route running, hands, ready to take a bigger role in the offense now that he has a full offseason with the team
“lower body” injury for Matt Jones, nothing serious, would expect him “back tomorrow, hopefully”
Dallas Goedert did some nice things today, smart guy who understands what they’re doing
Carson Wentz:
good to be out there and running around, just need to listen to doctors and coaches and trust the plan
feels great from a physical standpoint
no concern having bodies around his feet the other day, hasn’t been cleared for contact yet, needs to stay in controlled environments going forward
level of optimism has stayed the same as far as hopes for playing in week one
no knee swelling that he’s working through
remarkable to see what Sproles is doing at age 35, “looks like himself again” and is one of the hardest workers on the team
tight end group is tough to defend, big targets with great hands who know how to use their bodies well
hasn’t been thinking about the knee at all, just about getting cleared and sticking with the plan
(4,000 more questions about his timetable for recovery, with 4,000 non-answers)
Nick Foles:
competition level in camp is high, players pushing each other and learning more about other, more reps the better, “haven’t wasted any reps”
Dallas Goedert really coming along as a rookie, it’s a talented tight end group with guys who know how to use their bodies
Zach Ertz is a leader in the tight end room, but he’s always been that way, not necessarily stepping up now to replace Brent Celek in that regard. “I can see ya’ll’s articles are going to be about tight ends. That’s the theme today.”
Offensive line doesn’t get enough credit. Fortunate to have Jason Peters back. “He’ll be in the hall of fame”
Jeff Stoutland is one of the most impressive coaches he’s ever been around
RE: book, “I have no idea” how well it’s doing. This is training camp, miss my wife, daughter, dog, not sure how the book is doing
says he’ll get his hall of fame gear back at some point for his kids, but it’s a great honor to have his jersey and items on display there