Eagles focusing on bulking up offensive line

A LL ACROSS the field at the Eagles' indoor facility Friday, small groups of players congregated around position coaches. This was rookie camp, with just 55 participants, including tryouts, so some of the clumps contained only a few guys, some as many as half a dozen or so.

Then there was the mob at the far end, presided over by offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. A total of 10 beefy gentlemen pivoted and twirled under Stoutland's command. At one point he had to shift the entire bunch several yards to the right because the guy on the end closest to the sideline couldn't perform the pulling maneuver asked of him without going out of bounds into a cluster of reporters.

The Eagles, you might have heard, struggled on the o-line last season. Much was made of the fact that they had neglected to draft anyone to bolster that unit in 2014 or 2015. So, this year, as soon as they got to their first selection after quarterback Carson Wentz, they grabbed guard Isaac Seumalo, in the third round.

Then, after addressing another urgent need with fifth-round running back Wendell Smallwood, they took a second o-lineman, tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

The Eagles added two more in free-agent signings after the draft, guard Darrell Green and center Bruce Johnson. Malcolm Bunche and Brett Boyko, rookies on last year's practice squad, were eligible for this camp, and just for good measure, the Eagles brought in tryouts Angelo Mangiro, Ben Curtis, David Bowen and Eric Lofton - all players with area ties.

Even if none of the four tryouts is signed, when the full team convenes Tuesday for organized activities, the roster will list 17 players under the command of Stoutland and assistant Eugene Chung, the largest position grouping on the 90-man squad.

On the days this spring and summer when we aren't all writing about Wentz and/or Sam Bradford, the progress of the guys protecting the quarterback figures to be a prime topic.

Seumalo, right now, seems to be the rookie with the best chance of winning a starting job, at left guard, where Allen Barbre was not what the Eagles hoped he would be last season. One obstacle there would be that Seumalo's alma mater, Oregon State, is on the quarter system, meaning his class doesn't graduate until June, meaning rookie camp was the only work Seumalo can do with the team until training camp.

"It sucks, but I want to make it a positive and just work my butt off," Seumalo said Friday. "Whatever playbook access I have, obsess over it."

Seumalo said he didn't know the Eagles' neediness at guard when he was drafted, but he figured if they took him in the third round, they must have a plan for him. He said he can play either side, but he worked at left guard in rookie camp.

"It's the NFL, so everything's faster, but it's football," Seumalo said.

Vaitai stands out, at an agile, smooth 6-6, 315. You don't often find guys with those attributes in the fifth round. At TCU, Vaitai showed promise, particularly as a pass protector, but the Eagles said after the draft that he needs to establish consistency.

"Everyone needs to work on their hands and footwork," Vaitai said. "Of course, I've got to be consistent, and that's one of the things I'm working on now. The veterans are telling me how to set and all that stuff. It's a little different from TCU, TCU ran the spread offense."

Vaitai said he can play either side, but he was practicing at right tackle Friday.

Meanwhile, though the guys the Eagles started at guard last season didn't fare that well - Barbre, Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner - they're still around, along with some projects the Chip Kelly regime liked, such as Bunche, Boyko, and center-guard Josh Andrews, who played in 13 games last season, mostly blocking for field goals and extra points.

"It's a new offense. Really just starting from the beginning and building myself back up," said Andrews, who was not part of the rookie camp, but happened to be in the locker room Friday. "A lot of the playcalling is different. We're not doing no-huddle anymore. Getting back into traditional football."

Andrews said the fact that new coach Doug Pederson retained Stoutland from Kelly's staff is helping with the transition, but "we're using more tight ends, fullbacks now. It's a different scheme."

Does he worry that the new regime might be more invested in its newer acquisitions, that holdovers might get short shrift?

"Competition brings out the best in everybody," Andrews said. "I'm looking forward to it, I'm embracing it. It's going to be good."

Andrews played with Seumalo at Oregon State before making the Eagles' 2014 practice squad as an undrafted free agent.

"He can play all five positions, he's a good ballplayer. I feel like 32 teams wanted him," Andrews said of the rookie. Andrews also missed spring work his rookie year because of the quarter system problem. "He's going to get the basic scheme. He's going to go back and do the drills, by the time he comes back, he'll be all right."

Bunche, 6-6, 320, made an impression in last year's training camp, though he never made the active roster during the season.

"I can't worry about who they bring in, who they cut. All I can do is worry about myself," Bunche said, as players do in these situations.

Bunche said he was a left tackle in rookie camp but expects to be at left guard this week, contending for that starting spot, the only one that might be open, with everyone healthy.

"I know I'm not going to mess with JP (left tackle Jason Peters) and (center Jason) Kelce. They brought in Brandon (Brooks to start at right guard)," Bunche said. "I see left guard - I've been there the last couple weeks and I feel comfortable there. I like it there. I'm doing a lot better since last year, just developing and growing."

What did the coaches want him to do better, to get on the field?

"Basically, my football IQ," Bunche said. "Another year of gaining information, as far as reading (defenses). A good guy to talk to about that is Kelce - he's one of the smartest offensive linemen I've ever been around. Just stayin' in the playbook, in the film room with 'Stout,' because my coach tells me all the time, I'm gifted. I'm strong, I can move my feet. That's there, that's God-given. But the game is a lot mental."

And about making yourself stand out in a crowd.

@LesBowen

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