Eagles practice: Offense not sharp in the heat; Darius Slay limped off; Haason Reddick a headache for Dolphins

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Eagles held their 15th open practice of the 2022 training camp on Wednesday and it was a joint workout with the Dolphins at their practice facility. Here were my 10 observations from Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Let’s get to the action from Day 15:

It was hot. How hot? It felt like the training grounds for down below, as they like to say in the South. The Dolphins, of course, are used to the heat and humidity here. Baptist Health Training Complex is beautiful, but most important, it’s set up for the conditions. The indoor facility is adjacent to two outdoor fields, and as the Eagles warmed up, the Dolphins did some stretching in the air conditioning. And when they finally ran out onto the field, the Eagles had already been in the sun for 15 minutes.

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I have to think that played to Miami’s advantage. The Eagles were also coming off a tougher schedule, having had joint practices at the Browns last week, a preseason game on Sunday in Cleveland — as opposed to the Dolphins home game on Saturday — and all the travel that involved.

It’s no surprise why the Eagles seemed to struggle, particularly the first unit offense. Of course, the starters didn’t play on Sunday. And the Eagles will face similar challenges when the season starts, so the above qualifiers only hold so much water. But it was clear the South Florida August climate got to the Birds as the workout progressed into the second hour.

“I think everybody felt it,” Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis said.

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On defense, there were some standouts up front for the Eagles, but Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was very accurate and completed a variety of throws, mostly vs. defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s zone coverages.

“Their defense did good,” Tagovailoa said. “Obviously, it’s a little different with climate change. And I do understand they just got done with a game in Cleveland, they just went back to Philly, and they had to come here to Miami and practice already.

“But I know they don’t want anyone feeling bad for them.”

The first one-on-one between an Eagles cornerback and a Dolphins wide receiver pitted Darius Slay vs. Tyreek Hill in a marquee matchup. “Cheetah” accelerated past Slay on a go route and easily pulled in a Tua rainbow for the score. Slay pulled up lame trying to keep pace and limped off. He returned and stayed with Hill until his third move. A gentle reminder: One-on-ones typically favor receivers vs. outside corners, especially on in-breaking routes.

That said, corner Zech McPhearson did well after jamming a Dolphins receiver at the line and disrupting his route. If there was an Eagles corner that would like to forget the entire set, it would have to be Tay Gowan, who got toasted in multiple matchups.

One-on-ones between Eagles receivers and Dolphins defensive backs were held on the far field from where the media sat, but receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were able to get separation for grabs -- Brown reached up with one hand and tipped the ball to himself -- on their first reps.

Later, Slay participated in team drills for a period before pulling himself out. He stood and watched the rest of practice, so it’s unlikely he suffered a significant injury. But it may make sense to hold the Pro Bowler out for Thursday’s session with the regular-season opener only 2 1/2 weeks away.

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One-on-ones between linemen seemed to favor the Eagles’ starters, but their reserves struggled. The first unit offensive line almost had a clean sweep, but center Cam Jurgens had trouble with a Raekwon Davis slip move. Left guard Landon Dickerson tossed defensive tackle Zach Sieler to the ground in his first go-around.

On defense, Fletcher Cox gave Dolphins guard Robert Hunt one of his patented stiff arm moves. Defensive end Brandon Graham destroyed tackle Larnel Coleman. Milton Williams has been filling in for the injured Javon Hargrave (toe), but has been relatively quiet. He had a double whammy on one rep: he jumped offside and then, after resetting and starting over, slipped to the ground. Dolphins starting center Connor Wiliams was able to fend off two Jordan Davis bullrushes. And Davis was stuck in neutral when he faced rookie guard Blaise Andries from the three-technique spot.

As noted, the Eagles’ first unit offense wasn’t sharp. In summary, its first set went: Jalen Hurts throwaway, Jordan Mailata false start, Smith offensive pass interference on a Kenneth Gainwell screen, Dallas Goedert dropped pass, Hurts sacked by Dolphins linebacker Melvin Ingram, and back-to-back checkdown passes to Gainwell and Smith.

On the first play of the next set, Dickerson blocked linebacker Jaelan Phillips to the ground. Phillips bounced up, went back at the guard and drove him off his heels. Dickerson seemingly expected retaliation and offered no resistance. There were a few more pushes and a few coaches interceded before the brief brouhaha ended.

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Neither team wants to see altercations, and depending upon the coach, rewards or punishments are often handed out if a player engages in a fight.

“We’re just competing, man,” Phillips said afterward. “It was hot out here. We’re having a great time competing. There’s no animosity.”

Phillips was wearing an orange jersey, the lone one, for his exemplary performance in the Dolphins’ previous practice.

Smith got behind the Dolphins secondary on the next play, but Hurts’ throw was short. When Smith came back for the ball, though, there was contact and the deep safety was flagged for pass interference. That was pretty much the quarterback’s lone deep or intermediate attempt in team drills. Most of Hurts’ passes were of the checkdown variety.

Goedert had a screen that picked up chunk yards. Brown caught a short crosser in space that was bound for more yards after the catch. But a number of Eagles plays were either blown up by the Dolphins or Hurts had pressure. Raekwon Davis forced him to kill a pass into the ground. Safety Brandon Jones read an option pitch to running back Boston Scott. Three straight short completions to Brown, Smith, and tight end Jack Stoll followed. But a blitz forced Hurts to throw deep to Smith, who couldn’t shake corner Nik Needham.

A set later, Gainwell bobbled a low Hurts shortie, but hung on for the catch. Another dump to Smith was nearly intercepted. Hurts did find Brown again for another hook up that could have netted plus yards after contact.

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The Dolphins weren’t likely game planning for the Eagles, but it was almost as if they knew how to defend Hurts, at least this version. Nick Sirianni didn’t have many zone read plays or runs designed for the quarterback, so that element was missing from the offense. But after weeks of trending upward, Hurts probably had one of his lesser days. Nothing to be too concerned about at this point.

It was a reunion of sorts for Hurts and Tagovailoa. The former, of course, famously lost his spot to the latter at Alabama. Tagovailoa had nothing but positive things to say about his former teammate.

“When I went to Alabama, he was a hard worker, in the weight room, in the classroom, and on the field,” he said. “[He] had to be the first in the weight room, he had to be the first out on the field. Sprints – he had to be first. So it really tells you how he goes about his life. … Obviously, he’s a competitor. He never wants to be last.”

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Hasson Reddick has shined in joint practices the last two weeks after probably seeing too much of teammate Lane Johnson at right tackle. He had a couple of pressures off the edge, but as we’ve seen throughout camp, Gannon is going to move him around like a chess piece to create mismatches or confusion.

He had multiple strong rushes as a stand-up Joker. His best moment came when he lined up over the A-gap, and with a running start, timed the snap and steamrolled running back Salvon Ahmed.

Rookie tight end Grant Calcaterra, who missed most of camp with a hamstring strain, was a full participant in practice for the first time in almost a month. He had a solid return and caught consecutive passes from Gardner Minshew at one point.

The backup quarterback, it should be noted, had maybe his best showing this summer. Minshew has been solid in the first two preseason games, but practices have been another story. Of course, he’d much rather be the first than the second. But after opening with an ill-advised deep pass to receiver Zach Pascal in double coverage, Minshew completed his next 11 passes.

The best was the last. The Dolphins sent a zero blitz and Minshew found a wide open Pascal on a deep corner.

Linebacker Shaun Bradley (illness), offensive lineman Jack Anderson (ribs), and cornerbacks Josiah Scott (hamstring) and Josh Jobe (elbow) were the latest players to be added. Cornerback James Bradberry (groin) was upgraded to a limited participant.

The following were also held out: linebacker Christian Elliss (hamstring), center Jason Kelce (elbow), running back Miles Sanders (hamstring), receiver Greg Ward (toe), and Hargrave.

Quez Watkins continued to be the first kick returner ahead of Britain Covey, Jalen Reagor, and Jason Huntley. Watkins has done his share of returning in his football career, but his attempts at the NFL level haven’t been stellar. … The Dolphins’ facility is one of the best in the NFL. Stands that hold about 10,000 border the fields on one side. They were about 20% full on Wednesday. … The second of two joint practices is scheduled for another 10:15 a.m. start on Thursday.