Shane Steichen

Q. Just your thoughts on former Eagles TE J.J. Arcega-Whiteside not being here now? (Ed Kracz)

SHANE STEICHEN: You know what, I’ll say this about [former Eagles TE] J.J. [Arcega-Whiteside], J.J. is a great person, had a great work ethic. He did some good things here for us, but I’m really excited about his new chapter in Seattle and wish him nothing but the best.

Q. Why is that transition so tough to go from wide receiver to tight end? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think you’re outside wide and now you go inside to start blocking defensive ends. It’s a whole new world in there. He battled, he did a nice job while he was at it but like I said, wish him nothing but the best in Seattle.

Q. With those numbers down at tight end, TE Noah Togiai has made some plays, what’s been the difference for him going into this year? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think going into year two here with [Tight Ends] Coach [Jason] Michael, and he’s had some experience with Jason in Indianapolis, he knows the system well and then just keep improving every day. That’s what we are all about is getting better every day and he’s been doing a nice job.

Q. What has TE Noah Togiai gotten better at doing since he got here? (Ed Kracz)

SHANE STEICHEN: The pass game he’s gotten really good [at]. His routes are looking crisper and obviously in the run game in line. Blocking defensive ends is a tough challenge in this league and it’s all about leverage on those big guys and he’s been doing a nice job.

Q. It’s our first time talking to you since the game. What stood out to you about QB Jalen Hurts’ performance? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: He was flawless in the game, six for six. He was great moving in the pocket on the first play, he got out and made the explosive play on that one. And he came back and checked the ball down to the back and got another 11 yards there. Then we hit the pivot over the ball to [TE] Jack [Stoll]. Then we hit the chip screen. Then he scrambled and scored a touchdown and we got called for holding. Then we come right back and he throws a beautiful pass to [TE] Dallas [Goedert]. Dallas is just so strong and his finish to go get in the end zone was impressive. It was a really good start.

Q. How was the play calling operation? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: It was great. Obviously, we didn’t run it there, we threw it six times on that drive. That’s just kind of how it played out. We hit the big one and then we hit another one and then we hit another one, I was like, well shoot, we are throwing it pretty good, let’s keep throwing it. That’s what we did, and it worked out.

Q. Were any of those plays RPOs? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: No, it was straight pass game.

Q. With the 28-yarder to start the game, we saw QB Jalen Hurts throw on the run, how do you go about improving accuracy throwing on the run? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think those are things you work out in practice and individual. You have to rep it. With anything, you have to rep it over and over again, and he’s been doing a nice job. [Quarterbacks] Coach [Brian] Johnson has done a nice job in individual with him and getting him out of the pocket and working those throws, and it’s starting to show up big time.

Q. QB Jalen Hurts’ completion percentage when he threw the ball down the field last year was towards the bottom of quarterbacks. Are there any tangible teaching points you’ve worked on? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: That’s a great question. We looked at a lot of things. We looked at something yesterday for a while with the wide receivers and quarterbacks and some balls down the field and how we want to throw them and when we want to throw them.

I think a lot goes into that. When you catch the right coverage on certain deep balls, because when you throw it deep, obviously the percentages of throwing the deep ball sometimes are lower anyways, but if you can catch them in the right coverage with the scheme you’re running, you can create those explosive plays. Sometimes they are wide open, and sometimes you have to make contested catches. But those are things we have to work on.

Q. Do you feel like QB Jalen Hurts has been better at that in this camp than he was last year? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah absolutely. I mean you see it in practice, he hit a big one the other day to [WR] Quez [Watkins] right down the sideline. He hit another one to [WR Jalen] Reagor on that post, so it’s showing up.

Q. What did the running backs Jason Huntley and Kennedy Brooks show you Friday night? (Martin Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: Jason is an explosive player, and some of that explosiveness showed up. There are some things we need to clean up from a detail standpoint that we talked to him about. The explosiveness, the speed he shows, he had some good plays. Then Kennedy is a big powerful runner. He is that type of guy that can get in there and get you those tough yards through the tackles, so excited about both those guys.

Q. What are you looking to establish in these joint practices against the Cleveland Browns, and specifically from QB Jalen Hurts, what are you looking for? (Les Bowen)

SHANE STEICHEN: I love the joint practices, to be honest. It breaks up camp. Gives our guys another opponent, and it’s really all about competing and going out. You get two practices and obviously they are in a controlled environment, but you know, you get that true competition, the situations you can set up with them, script it, and then sometimes you have the call-it periods.

But it’s just good to go against another opponent. You go against our defense for however long it’s been, two and a half weeks, just to see new faces out there in practice will be good for those guys.

For [QB] Jalen [Hurts], same thing, just treat it like a game-like atmosphere, just like we do at practice here. Same thing when we go into Cleveland, and we are looking forward to it.

Q. What is a position battle that has got your attention as we are winding down camp? (Tim McManus)

SHANE STEICHEN: I can’t say specifically one position. I think we are always competing at all positions. Guys are doing a hell of a job right now. I like where the team’s at, I like the mindset of all the guys and iron sharpens iron, and that’s what we always say. Every day we come out here and we’re competing and we’re competing today.

Q. Those six throws QB Jalen Hurts had Friday night, how many of those were progression throws where he had to go away for maybe his first read? (Ed Kracz)

SHANE STEICHEN: There are a couple where he got like one, he hit [WR] Quez [Watkins] on a shallow route that next one. He was third in the progression there, which was nice to see on that. It’s awesome, it’s good to see. They take away the first read, and that’s what’s going to happen. They’re going to take away the first read and he’s going to go to the second read.

The great dilemma we have is, we have great skill positions, the wide outs, the tight ends. Then you have the offensive line who I believe is the best offensive line in football, and we have a great running game. Each week it could look different, whether we’re running it or throwing it. It’s going to look different every week.

Q. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said something the other day about how QB Jalen Hurts sometimes gets criticized for leaving the pocket when it’s clean but the receivers are all covered and it makes sense. Can you expand on that and what that means? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: If guys are covered, you’re going to hit — that’s one of his superpowers is that he can get out on the move and create plays, and we don’t want to take that away from him. So, when guys are covered, let’s go create the big play on the move.

He did a heck of a job of that on the first play. We don’t want to take that away. Like I said, sometimes guys are going to be covered. Don’t stand there; he’s a great runner, we’ve all seen that, and he’s going to make big plays that way.

Q. What’s the benefit of getting out of the pocket, does it create different angles for throws? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: Well, that too. But also, it puts the defense a little bit in a bind too. Because scrambles are hard to defend. They have to plaster on defense and find guys and then if we work to scramble or that’s how we are and we get to our spots, that stuff is hard to defend. Because when the play breaks down, their coverages from a defensive standpoint, they change. They’re like, ‘We’re playing this coverage — here is four, we’re in three and all of a sudden it’s scramble, boom.’ Now it’s like, ‘I’ve got to go find my guy and get on him’ because there’s going to be big voids in there when you scramble.

Q. Is the downside there that it cuts the field in half? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: It does. I guess that would be the downside, but again, guys are going to get to their spots to where they need to get to.

Q. What happened with T Andre Dillard in practice yesterday? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: Sometimes guys get heated up and there’s just a little scuffle there, and we’re over it now and he’s over it and we’re good.

Q. There were a couple of scuffles. (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: It happens in training camp. Training camp, they are long days, you go against the same guys. It happens. It’s not a big deal.

Q. We haven’t seen many reps for QB Carson Strong out here, what can he do to improve while he’s not getting practice reps? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s the mental side, too. When we’re out here, and he’s doing a hell of a job in the meetings. And then we do these walk-throughs, he’s getting those reps, and then continually, as we go, we’ll see how it continues to go with him. But he’s doing a good job.

Q. In Sunday’s practice, was there a concerted effort to get WR DeVonta Smith more involved in his first day back? (Zach Berman)  

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, obviously. When a guy has been out — and [WR] DeVonta [Smith] is a heck of a player. We want to get those guys touches. And that’s the beauty, we’ve got three, really four, five, six really good skill guys on the outside. And if we can get those guys the ball, it’s going to help us all be better.

Q. From an evaluation standpoint, we haven’t seen too much of TE Grant Calcaterra. Did you see enough of him in the first two or three practices? (Jimmy Kempski)

SHANE STEICHEN: [TE] Grant [Calcaterra] has done a nice job. From a pass standpoint, he runs really good routes. That first couple days, he ran that bender down the middle, I think it was the first, second day of practice. But you can just show he’s a savvy route runner, really savvy, and he knows how to find the dead spots and get open in the zones. So it’ll be good to get him back here soon.

Q. There are a lot of new guys on defense, obviously you’re going up against them every day in practice; is there a guy that’s really stood out while you’ve been out here? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: There are a lot of guys that stand out. We’ve got a really good defense. The DBs: [CB Darius] Slay, [CB James] Bradberry has been a nice addition; he’s a really smart, veteran player. And it’s tough. You go against these guys Slay and Bradberry every day in practice, and the wide-outs, they know our demeanor and they know the receivers’ demeanor. It helps us. And those guys are talking day-in and day-out. [DT] Jordan Davis, you can see him improving every single day what he’s doing defensively. He’s a huge human being and he’s been really good inside on defense. He stood out.