We Shouldn’t Be Worried About A Lighter Eagles Training Camp
Yesterday, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s own Jeff McLane joined Andrew Salciunas on our midday show to preview the upcoming Eagles training camp. (You can listen to the full interview here) The birds will report to camp on July 26th, and there are a lot of big questions about how all of the new pieces that Howie Roseman and company have acquired this offseason will fit together. There is one thing, though, that seems set in stone, and McLane broke down exactly what he’s hearing about the intensity of training camp for Philly.
“They’re not going to push these guys with physical practices. They’re only going to wear pads here or there, they’re not going to play their starters in preseason games. It’s not the training camp and preseasons of old. It may be even less than we saw last season.” – Jeff McLane
Did you hear that? That’s the sound of everyone over the age of 60 in the greater Philadelphia area groaning about how athletes are softer in this era and how Chuck Bednarik used to work 20 hours at a factory and then spend the other 4 at the hardest training camp in football history. Now, is it true that training camps today are easier than they were 5 to 10 years ago? Absolutely, and McLane says as much in the above quote. However, he ends by saying that this year’s camp could be even less strenuous than last year’s, and Head Coach Nick Sirianni was already questioned about 2021’s camp being too easy. While some might question the strategy, I personally think it’s the perfect way to handle camp, especially in today’s NFL.
Let’s not forget that last year was the first year teams were placed at the mercy of a 17 game season. It’s important with the extra week that organizations do all that they can to keep their players healthy, and that includes a more cautious approach at training camp. But does that approach actually pay off? Well, the early data seems to say yes. According to data from mangameslost.com, a website that tracks which teams are the most and least injured over the course of a season, the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens were the most injured teams in the NFL in 2021-22, while the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles were the least. Do you remember all of the issues with now-former Giants Head Coach Joe Judge and how tough of a training camp he ran? Well, that resulted in the team falling apart injury-wise. On the other hand, the Eagles one of the lowest intensity camps, and had very few injuries relative to other NFL teams. It’s only a 1 year sample size, but if it ain’t broke, don’t go fixing it. Hopefully another year of easier training camp work will lead to similar benefits for the Eagles in 2022-23.
