NFL Training Camp Tour: Cox on Eagles’ shift to old-school camp: ‘I love the whole hitting part’

Chip Kelly and practices that placed more emphasis on quick movement than hard hitting are gone.

Under new coach Doug Pederson, the Philadelphia Eagles take much more of an old-school approach. Or at least as old-school as NFL rules that put limits on contact will permit.

Which style do the players prefer? Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, for one, is thrilled with bodies colliding more frequently than they did in the three previous training camps under Kelly.

“I love it, I love it,” Cox told Bruce Murray and Ross Tucker at Eagles camp Friday. “I love the whole hitting part in practice. I mean, it’s football, we’re going to get hit. And I think it just gives a chance for everybody to go out and be physical and get used to hitting without being in that first preseason game where you’re going in and it’s the first time really live-tackling somebody.”

That isn’t all that Cox loves about the coaching change. He’s also thrilled that new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has taken him out of the two-gapping he did with previous DC Bill Davis and into simply having to tear through the B gap. That’s a much more comfortable for Cox, and should allow him to thrive even more than he did in establishing himself as one of the NFL’s best players at his position.

“Man, it’s awesome, I’ll tell you,” Cox said. “Just going back to what I did in college and my first year here, it’s really awesome for them to bring that back. It’s a lot of guys here that have played that type of defense — me, Bennie (Logan), Vinny (Curry), Brandon Graham, and we know what he feels like.”

It’s hard to catch passes when: 1. the quarterback position is in a state of flux and: 2. you aren’t getting many passes thrown your way.

Those were the conditions that contributed to Smith making only 33 receptions. The total put him second on a team — behind the 69 of now former 49er Anquan Boldin — that didn’t have another receiver or tight end with more than 30 catches.

“It was definitely difficult,” Smith told Alex Marvez and Kirk Morrison at the 49ers’ training camp in Santa Clara, Calif. “A lot of things led to my performance last year, starting with myself. I’m not going to place blame. I didn’t play my best and, obviously, I didn’t get the ball too much, either. I’m just excited about having a fresh start and those guys having a fresh start as well.

“So for me, right now, my focus obviously is it’s going to be a while before they name a starting quarterback, and the reps are even(ly) shifted. So I just want to make sure I’m dependable, make sure I’m where they expect me to be, because at the end of the day, my job doesn’t change because at the end of the day, my job doesn’t change regardless of who’s throwing the ball. When they throw the ball, it’s my job to go get it.”

The competition has been friendly. Fierce, but friendly.

Blaine Gabbert believes it has to stay that way between himself and Colin Kaepernick as they battle to see who becomes the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback.

“It’s got to continue,” Gabbert told Alex Marvez and Kirk Morrison at the 49ers’ training camp in Santa Clara, Calif.. “Regardless of who the quarterback is, the quarterbacks should stick together. It’s the toughest position on the football field and you need that group to bounce ideas off of.

“And just the way this league is, all quarterbacks got to be ready to play. Week in and week out, things can change, people get hurt. You’ve just got to have a tight-knit group in there.”

Gabbert is looking to build upon what he did last season, when he took over as the Niners’ starter for the final eight games of the season and threw for 2,013 yards and 10 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. It marked a strong rebound from his days with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who made him the 10th overall pick in 2011.

“There were a lot of downs in Jacksonville, but I never lost faith,” Gabbert said. “I knew I can play. I’ve always known I can play. I just needed another opportunity, so I wanted to go out there last year and just have fun, provide a little spark to this team, give the offense some juice and show those guys that we can win football games.”