Miles Sanders is still the guy – Morning Call

Shaken by reports downplaying his role, Eagles running back Miles Sanders wasn’t in the mood for an extended dialogue with reporters on Saturday.

Sanders apparently didn’t appreciate the inference that he was demoted because he took snaps exclusively from the second team on Friday. Head coach Nick Siriani allowed Sanders and running backs Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott to return to the first team Friday, and that Sanders also got his turn and was still the No. 1 quarterback on offense. That didn’t exactly make Sanders’ day. He wanted to know who was paying attention and who was throwing Rita’s free ice.

“Who made this article?” Sanders asked. “It is what it is. If you really watch, you’ll see that everyone is spinning.”

Sanders is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he rushed for 754 yards in a dozen games. Last season, Jalen Hurts led the Eagles with 784 yards and 10 touchdowns, the latter of which tied for eighth in the league. Sanders didn’t see the end zone. Sanders made more significant plays in the running game backing up Saquon Barkley at Penn State.

Healthy again, Sanders certainly looked like a leader in Saturday’s practice, both running and shooting the ball.

“Miles is our guy,” Siriani said. “There is no secret. Miles is our guy. We like to turn our backs, but he’s the guy.”

It’s also worth noting that Gainwell and Scott looked good in camp as well. Same with Jason Huntley, who is having a sensational camp. However, none of those players have Sanders’ cachet.

Through it all, Sanders autographed Eagles gear with his teammates and applauded the Soldiers and Sailors who attended Saturday’s Military Thanksgiving practice.

“Obviously they came here because they like what we’re doing, but we like what they’re doing for this country,” Sanders said. “We’re not able to do a lot of the things we can do without them, so I love having them at camp watching practice. It’s a great honor.”

Speaking of Military Appreciation Day, the Eagles’ guests included Havertown resident Chris Robison, executive director of Naval Recruiting, which works in the Northeast.

“The opportunity to meet the players is there, and just the camaraderie of the other services, the Army and a lot of the Coast Guard, makes it great,” Robison said. “And then everyone loves free food.”

Army Sergeant 1st Class Mike Pickard, who lives in Quakertown, attended the practice with his wife, Jess, and son, Tanner.

“I’m a big Eagles fan, but I wanted to take my son here today,” Pickard said. “It’s something new for him.”

Jess Pickard, also an avid Eagles fan, said: “It’s so cool.”

Eagles safety Andre Shachere has been eye-opening in camp.

Two days ago, he deflected a Hurts pass that was intercepted by Davion Taylor.

On Saturday, Chachere picked off Hurts, who threw a cross body during a scramble.

The flip side is that it was another sloppy offense practice, except AJ Brown threw Hurts and threw Darius Slay aside for a big gain and DeVonta Smith made a nice catch.

Hurts made four consecutive misses at one point.

Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew had a tougher day. Carson Strong was too painful to look at. And you can file Reid Sinnett’s work somewhere between Minshe and Strong.

Jalen Reagor, a first-round pick in 2020, plays almost exclusively on the bench.

After Brown, Smith and Quez Watkins, Reagor, Greg Ward, Britton Covey, John Hightower, Deion Cain and Devon Allen share the snaps.

Siriani tiptoed around questions about Rheagor’s role.

“We have a lot of depth at the wide receiver position,” Siriani said. “He is fighting. He is fighting for a place and is currently working with twos. He got a lot of balls in the last two days here, so he did a good job and he’s fighting for a place, he’s fighting for his place back.”

Covey, Hightower, Allen and Huntley were the last group to drop punts on Saturday, so stay tuned.

Late in practice, rookie sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra (SMU) injured his left leg after catching a ball thrown by Minshew. The tight end was able to leave the field on his own … receiver Zach Pascal (illness) was ruled out for the second day, as was Carrick Whitfall (COVID protocol). Defensive lineman Milton Williams (elbow) joined the injured list.. Center Jason Kelce and defensive end Fletcher Cox were cleared to practice after the COVID protocol period.