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Eagles in the a.m.: LeSean McCoy says 'sky's the limit' for Jordan Matthews

**LeSean McCoy is not trying to slow down the Jordan Matthews hype. The Eagles running back only added to it when he praised the rookie wide receiver on Thursday.

"The young kid that nobody even knows about except in Philadelphia, Jordan, he's making plays," McCoy said.

McCoy admitted he was surprised by how impressive Matthews has looked, and he ordinarily withholds judgment on rookies until the season.

"You don't really get into it with the rookies until you watch them play," McCoy said. "He's shown it. Just his work ethic. He works like a veteran, like a five, six-year veteran. Sky's the limit for that kid, for sure. He's raised right. He's got good manners. I'm very optimistic about his career."

**Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur did not want to confirm that Mark Sanchez has become the Eagles' backup quarterback after taking all the second-team snaps throughout camp, but Shurmur went out of his way to praise Sanchez.

"Mark has picked up our stuff," Shurmur said.  I'm really, really glad he's here. The guy is a winner. He was playing in two AFC Championship games, and he's really taken advantage of this opportunity to be here.  He gets better every day.  He understands the game situation of football, and he's kind of one of those guys that just gets better every single day."

Shurmur complimented the shape that Matt Barkley returned in for training camp. However, it appears Barkley is trying to hold off GJ Kinne for the No. 3 spot instead of supplanting Sanchez for the No. 2 spot.

**Josh Huff might have arrived in Philadelphia thinking he knew the Eagles' offense. Shurmur said Huff quickly realized that the offense is different from what Huff ran at Oregon. Huff is learning both the inside and outside.

"He'll be the first one to tell you there are a lot of things that have changed and been added from what he did at Oregon, which he just really had to do," Shurmur said. "We see a lot more defenses. We see a lot more man coverage in the NFL than they did in college. So we've got a lot of the traditional things in the passing game that you would run at this level.

"So, that kind of shocked him I think initially that this isn't exactly what we did at Oregon, but he settled in. He's done extremely well. He competes every day.  He's very good against bump and run.  He's a strong, physical body.  He almost looks like a running back because he's kind of a powerful type guy. And he's doing a good job."

In the Inqurer...

- LeSean McCoy stopped eating Doritos at midnight, part of changes to his nutrition. The result is a lighter, quicker McCoy. 

- Zach Ertz's emergence could increase the amount of two-tight end sets the Eagles play, Jeff McLane explores.

- Keelan Johnson returns to the Eagles, and more in this notebook.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm