The rain didn't stop the Eagles from practicing for two hours outside on Tuesday morning to start their second round of OTAs.
There were noticeably more players missing on Tuesday than last week -- we'll get to them to start things off.
Here are 10 observations from Tuesday's practice:
1. Fletcher Cox was at the voluntary practice after missing last week, but Jason Peters, Donnie Jones and Marcus Smith were all still out. And there were several other players who joined them on the absentee list:
Tim Jernigan (birth of his child), Vinny Curry (sick), Ron Brooks (personal), Alex McCalister (personal), LeGarrette Blount (family reason), Darren Sproles (family reason) all missed. So did Jordan Matthews, who has knee tendinitis. The team said he used Tuesday as a rest day. Blount is expected back Wednesday.
Mychal Kendricks was at practice, but was limited because of a hamstring injury.
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2. With Jernigan not there, Destiny Vaeao took his spot at right defensive tackle. And with Curry not there, Chris Long took his position at right defensive end.
Because Matthews was missing, Nelson Agholor got most of the work in the slot, while Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith worked outside.
3. The offense was about as sloppy as the weather on Tuesday. And it rained all morning. Missed assignments, bad play, errant throws. It was pretty much an overall mess aside from a few good plays.
Carson Wentz had an up-and-down day. It wasn't his best. He made a couple great throws, but was really inconsistent and sailed several throws, which could have been partially the result of a wet football.
4. Remember all that talk last week about how great Agholor looked? He had a more normal Agholor day this week. While he had some nice plays, he also dropped a couple balls he should have had. Dorial Green-Beckham had a couple of drops too.
5. The most entertaining moment of practice was when Alshon Jeffery lined up 1-on-1 against rookie Rasul Douglas. At rookie camp a few weeks ago, Douglas said he was excited to get the chance to face Jeffery.
On this play in the red zone, Wentz lofted up a 50-50 ball and Jeffery came down with it. While Douglas was still on the ground, Jeffery got up, stared at him and spiked the ball with authority in Douglas' direction. Welcome to the NFL, rookie.
6. But Douglas bounced back strong the rest of the practice. He beat Agholor to tip away a jump ball and picked off a short interception a little while later. He always seems to be around that ball. It looks like that part of his game might translate from college. Still looking forward to seeing him with pads on, bumping more at the line, in training camp.
7. The best defensive play of the day came from cornerback Mitchell White, the former CFL All-Star who joined the Eagles this offseason. He broke up a pass intended for Torrey Smith as he dove backwards near the end zone. The Eagles went to the CFL last year and found Aaron Grymes. Maybe they found another decent corner from north of the border.
8. With Sproles away from the team, Donnel Pumphrey and Torrey Smith returned punts. Pumphrey, as many mentioned last week, looks extremely comfortable in this role. It could potentially be his after this season, once Sproles retires.
The other interesting thing with Pumphrey was the way Doug Pederson was using him in the offense on Tuesday. The Eagles were stacking Pumphrey in bunch formations, almost like they were hiding him (not quite Riley Cooper in the end zone) and getting him the ball quickly. Something to keep an eye on.
9. The best offensive play of the day was either a deep ball from Wentz to Agholor over Jalen Mills on a salvaged play or this one: Matt McGloin was the QB and found tight end Anthony Denham across the middle. It was a perfect throw from McGloin and Denham high-pointed the ball in traffic.
10. Rookie receiver Mack Hollins has been more impressive thus far than fellow rookie Shelton Gibson, which is less of a knock on Gibson than it is praise to Hollins. Hollins' combo of size and speed is standing out consistently and he certainly looks like more than a special teamer. So we've established that Hollins is a pretty good football player in shorts, but let's not crown him yet. The pads go on in August.
Stupid observation of the day: I checked the weather forecast before leaving my house on Tuesday morning ... clouds, no rain. Nope. It rained all practice. My socks are wet. Anytime you can practice in the rain in May ... gotta do it.
