The Eagles completed another OTA on Wednesday. They will have one more on Thursday to wrap up the OTA session of their spring program. Next week, the team will hold a mandatory mini-camp before taking a six-week break. For players like rookie defensive end Shareef Miller, the OTAs have become a valuable learning tool with training camp now less than two months away.
"I'm a lot more comfortable," said Miller. "There is still a lot of room to get better, but it's definitely different. The O-line is stronger than in college and the speed is a little faster."
The OTAs can mean different things to different players. Rookies such as Miller are getting a head start on the playbook and getting their first taste of NFL workouts. Other players are adjusting to different positions. One of those players is offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who is making the switch from tackle to guard this spring. Vaitai says he can already see the difference between the two positions.
"I know the inside is more agressive," Vaitai said. "You've just got to punch faster, where at tackle you have to get off the ball and be patient. It's good. It helps me with skills that I can use. I just have to make the switch in my mind that I'm not a tackle anymore."
There are also injured players in attendance who are doing most of their work from the sidelines. Cornerback Ronald Darby saw his season come to an end last fall when he tore his ACL in Week 10. Now, Darby is hoping to be ready by Week 1 in 2019 and possibly be on the field for training camp drills.
"I feel real good," said Darby. "Of course, I don't feel 100%, but I feel good. You can take time to learn and study more and look at formations differently. You can study more when you're not out there."
One rookie wide receiver had the advantage of getting more throws from Carson Wentz on Wednesday. With DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor all absent from the voluntary session, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside was getting more snaps from the first team. Arcega-Whiteside says there is a clear difference in his understanding of the playbook from when OTAs first got underway.
"We ran the two-minute drill," Arcega-Whiteside said. "We had a couple of unscripted periods. I wasn't nervous at all. I was just trying to remember the plays and execute at a high level."
All of the Eagles are hoping to execute at a high level when the season gets underway. It will feature another intreguing schedule which includes the usual pair of games against the division foes. Miller is from Philadelphia and made his feelings clear about the Eagles' biggest rival.
"My family doesn't like the Cowboys," said Miller. "We don't like the Cowboys at all."