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Hitting returns to Eagles' training camp

THERE WERE two things most observers took away from Wednesday's Eagles training camp practice: a couple of live, full-contact red-zone periods produced enthusiastic popping and chirping, and if you hadn't known better, you'd have thought Trey Burton was Rob Gronkowski.

THERE WERE two things most observers took away from Wednesday's Eagles training camp practice: a couple of live, full-contact red-zone periods produced enthusiastic popping and chirping, and if you hadn't known better, you'd have thought Trey Burton was Rob Gronkowski.

The hitting got a lot of attention because the Eagles didn't do that in camp during the three years of Chip Kelly. It seemed more unusual than it perhaps should have.

Seeing Burton catch and run and twist away from tackles seemed less odd - he's put in two seasons here, played in 31 games, mostly as a special-teams ace - but it was still interesting. For an offense in search of weapons, the tight end stuck behind Brent Celek and Zach Ertz on the depth chart might actually be able to contribute something beyond last season's three catches for 54 yards.

"I want to play this year on offense. I know I have to earn a role on the offense," said Burton (6-3, 235), who months back was the early leader in the new regime's fullback quest but seems to have fallen behind a bigger tight end, Chris Pantale (6-5, 254), in that competition.

"He's a guy that we're going to have to rely on a little bit," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday, after praising Burton's offseason work. "I love the fact that we have depth at the tight end position and (can) move him around a little bit and create some matchups. That's what you want out of guys like that. He's a versatile role player in that situation, and he's done a nice job."

Burton made a strong end zone catch over Mychal Kendricks during the red-zone period, shook free on a long bomb, and scored again during red-zone work on a Carson Wentz swing pass where he had to elude diving safety Chris Maragos to cross the line.

Maragos and Burton, special-teams leaders, are close friends.

"He was going to try to go low, on the 1-yard line, so I just slipped him and put the ball in the end zone," Burton said.

Burton's children, Ariella and Jaxon, are training camp playmates of Maragos' sons, Micah and Mason.

"I told his kids to tell their dad to stop trying to hit me," Burton said.

Contact high

The first live hitting in an Eagles camp since 2012 was greeted with enthusiasm by the invited fans on hand, by the players, and most especially by Doug Pederson.

"It's tackle football and it's a physical game," said Pederson, who told reporters that going live is always the best way to do short-yardage, red-zone work. "The other thing about it, too, is it's that competition. It's just knowing that we're actually going to put the pads on and go to the ground today. Because most of our periods are a fast-tempo thud where everybody's kind of staying up. But this is the first time . . . being able to tackle and really drive through guys, I think it's so important to be able to do that and be in the right position and the right place defensively.

"Offensively, you know, hat placement and where they're going to be, it just makes a difference. The tempo of that practice intensifies during those live periods."

The reason Chip Kelly didn't go live in camp, and a number of NFL coaches don't, is that guys get hurt.

"Listen, I've been around this business a long time, to know that this is a contact sport and injuries are part of the game," Pederson said. "I'm not going to shy away from the tackling or shy away from the hitting just to try not to get anybody hurt. Do you want anybody hurt? No, you don't want anybody to get hurt. But at the same time, if we learn how to practice in pads and then take care of each other when we're in those situations, it's just going to make us a better football team down the stretch. The guys will learn how to practice and play fast, and that's what you want."

Jim Schwartz's first-team defense really swarmed the second-team offensive line, slamming running backs down for losses several times. Both units celebrated successes with gusto.

"As an offense, you've got to go into a season ready to be tackled," tight end Zach Ertz said. Teams seem to play starters less and less in preseason games.

Catch of the day, served with Rice

Cayleb Jones is an undrafted wideout from Arizona, more big (6-2, 209) than fast, a body type the Eagles already have in Jordan Matthews (6-3, 215) and Rueben Randle (6-2, 208). But Jones put himself on the map Wednesday with what might have been the catch of camp so far.

Running full-tilt, Jones turned and leaped, skying over Denzel Rice in the end zone, catching the ball and holding onto it as he slid past the end line on his back.

"It was a normal go route. Trying to make a play," said Jones, who is the son of former NFL linebacker Robert Jones and the nephew of ex-Eagles QB Jeff Blake. "I like to model my game after Jordan and Rueben . . . physical, can go up and get the ball."

Jones was a notable recruit for Texas who played in 11 games as a freshman, but left school after breaking the jaw of a Longhorns tennis player at a nightclub in February 2013. A felony charge ultimately was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Jones got probation.

"I had a rough freshman year there and decided to leave Texas," Jones said. He sat out a year, then played two seasons at Arizona, catching 129 passes for 1,926 yards and 14 touchdowns.

@LesBowen

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