The Eagles moved their practice venue across the street yesterday, and for the first time fans got a chance to see just what makes Doug Pederson different than his predecessor.
Earlier start times and longer practices highlight the major differences between Pederson's training camp and one run by Chip Kelly, but the current coach's biggest change is the simplest one: he respects his players.
Not that Kelly was blatantly disrespectful toward his players, but Pederson has used his experience as a former player to connect with his squad and so far, the results are good. In fact, last week Jason Peters made headlines when he sounded off on his preference for Pederson's way of doing things, expressing how much he appreciates how the new coach gives him extra time off to recover. Yesterday, Pederson explained his thinking behind the move.
"There will be some other guys, guys on defense, because we do such a high tempo, fast pace, we want to get in and out of the huddle and do some things," Pederson said. "There will be some other guys that we'll, as we go, take some time off. I don't want to say time off. I mean rest them. Keep them healthy, keep them fresh. Got to get them ready for Sept. 11."
Other than Peters and some of the older veterans, Pederson also went on to name a few different players on the roster who could see a lighter workload during training camp, including a few players with extensive injury histories.
"Well, you're looking at your corner positions," Pederson explained. "Leodis [McKelvin] is a guy that he doesn't need a ton of reps over there. You've got to monitor guys like — I think the guys that [are] coming off injury, you know, maybe a Jordan Hicks, you take a look at him and you can say, 'Hey, let's rest him, back him down and get him ready for the regular season.'
"Obviously now Ryan Mathews with his situation, he'd be another one because of his nature, his style of running, which is very physical, being able to pull him back just a little bit. We did the same thing with Jamaal Charles in Kansas City, and when we had Brandon Albert there a couple years ago, and you get some of these guys, these veteran guys, a Justin Houston that we had in Kansas City, the ability to just shut them down for a day and keep them fresh for the season."
These thoughts represent the fundamental difference between Kelly and Pederson. While the former coach viewed each player as a cog in his grand machine, the latter understands that each player is different and the team needs to take a personalized approach to each player's practice habits. And while Kelly's quick practices were meant to maximize the short time he held the team on the field, Pederson's longer, slower practices emphasize teaching and learning on the field so players can fix mistakes as quickly as possible.
"For me personally, as a kinesthetic learner, someone who has to go through the motions, [making corrections during practice] is the best way that I learn," Bryan Braman told Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. "As a fit, I enjoyed the way [Kelly] did things and the way he ran things, but I enjoy the extra little bit of time you get on the field [now], being able to talk with the coach, breaking it down while it's still fresh in your head. Being able to go through it, understand what happened, he'll correct you a little bit, and then you're able to go back at it."
While, from afar, it seems that Pederson is turning into the second incarnation of Andy Reid, it sure looks like the rookie head coach has acquired his mentor's ability to connect with every player on his roster. Something that will certainly come in handy when he needs them all fighting together on Sept. 11.
Tucker Bagley is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @tbagley515.
