Philly Leader

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – At the top of Head Coach Nick Sirianni's Core Values list is CONNECT. In every way. On the field and off the field. Most of the time, those two intersect, and Sirianni has spent much of his three-plus seasons with the Eagles developing ways to have his team build a bond to last through February.

What the Eagles are doing now, spending three nights in the middle of Massachusetts ahead of Thursday's preseason game against the New England Patriots, goes a long way toward cementing those relationships. Back in the 2022 season, the Eagles had preseason joint practices in Miami and Cleveland, spending nearly two weeks away – together – from the NovaCare Complex and they were off to a Super Bowl appearance that year.

Here they are now, a 91-man roster (including international player, offensive tackle Laekin Vakalahi) finished their joint work with New England and fully engaged on Thursday's game. There is a heavy meeting schedule at the team hotel, meals in the hotel restaurant, and a lot of free time for the players to get into their playbooks and to, well, play.

Not out on the town because there is no town here. They are playing Pop-A-Shot and table tennis and hanging in team-only areas learning more about each other and furthering their connections.

And building trust.

How much all of this will pay off remains to be seen. The Eagles are very much focused on reviewing their performance against the Patriots and moving on to the second of three preseason games. In just 10 days, it's all over. The preseason melts into the opener in Brazil against Green Bay with a roster of 70 men between the active roster and practice squad. There is a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking.

"We competed at a high level. Going against another team, you want to see how you measure up," wide receiver A.J. Brown said. "I think we did well. There are always things to clean up and get better at, but I think we're moving in the right direction."

Everything was organized at practice – there were four scrimmage areas on two full practice fields. The stands were packed with an overflow crowd including many Eagles fans. The tempo was great as both teams kept it simple in terms of scheme.

This is all about putting together the best roster for September and beyond.

"The job is still to execute and to do really well regardless of who we're playing and who we are practicing against," Brown said. "I think we did that pretty well."

Defensive end Brandon Graham added: "Defensively, we tried to bring energy. Today was a good day with everybody. Good energy both sides of the ball."

There were plenty of memorable moments – a connection from quarterback Jalen Hurts to running back Saquon Barkley running a wheel route that finished in an end zone touchdown; some well-timed sacks from Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.; physical play from the front seven against the run; extensive work on kickoffs understanding there is still much new material to master.

When it was over, players hustled off to shower before heading back to their hotel for lunch, rest, meetings, bonding time, sleep with walkthroughs planned for Wednesday along with game preparations.

"You learn that everything we're doing means something," rookie running back Will Shipley said. "Everyone is helpful and everyone is competing. I love our culture."

It is an intangible benefit spending time together but it pays off as evidenced by 2022 when similar efforts led them towards success during critical times later that season—perhaps this week will have similar impact going forward.

On-field efforts focus heavily around Competing alongside Accountability Football IQ Fundamentals—all emphasized daily under Sirianni’s leadership—a large piece being CONNECT which gets reinforced during these extended interactions creating pathways leading towards potential success ahead.