The Philadelphia Eagles have hosted a school camp at the NovaCare Complex (the team’s school facility) for more than seven years. In all likelihood, the franchise would not move from the school camp at his South Philadelphia home at any time, but head coach Doug Pederson admitted that the Eagles would reposition a few things.
Pederson wants to exploit Lincoln Financial Field as a means to practice social estrangement, making it easier to enforce the strict rules that the NFL has placed the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re going to do it and use the best resources of the event, the best friend of The NovaCare’s facilities, in all likelihood with our stadium to make the most of everything we can,” Pederson said on a conference call tuesday. “And the most important thing here is that our players, our coaches and all our staff are safe. That’s our greatest critical side of everything right now.”
“But we’re looking for alternative scenarios of the big apple. Again, as I mentioned, use the stadium, eventually, or use the stadium and use the NovaCare facilities, focus on the numbers you have given us at the school camp from the player’s point of view.
“It’s going to be different. It will feel different, but at the same time, we will adopt it and make the most of it, and our task as coaches is to organize our football team for the normal season.”
The Eagles are expected to get NFL approval before making a change, but the stadium may be vacant this summer. The NovaCare complex is crowded, making it difficult to highlight the six feet of social distance needed for 90 players. Lincoln Financial Field is more spaced and has the amenities to make an effective social distance for players.
“Don’t get me wrong; we’re going to bring everyone together, but we may have to blow up the stadium and move on from time to time,” Pederson said. “And those are all the things we look at. But we’ll get everyone together. We’ll distance ourselves from our best friend when we inspect the buildings. We’re going to wear masks. We’re going to do all the protocols we have they were asked to do and make it work.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is thinking of keeping a quarterback out of the crowd as a precaution, which Pederson can also use with his staff groups.
“If you do it with the quarterback position, do it with a receiver, do it with a defensive back, something like that,” Pederson said. “But those are all the things that right now, between now and when we’re playing, we’re a great friend, or I deserve to say that today we move back to school camp, are the scenarios that we’re looking for to give a concept as personal and possibilities
“But it’s really anything to give concept once you move to the quarterback position, but at the same time, you also have to give the concept the full list. Many alternate scenarios and many possibilities we’re going through to think about” here in The Next Weeks. “
The Eagles are looking to make lemonade from lemons right now, like the other 31 NFL group stations. This does not condition the face of the group station with the “humanly impossible” rules (as John Harbaugh calls it) that will have to comply this summer.
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