PHILADELPHIA -- How are the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterbacks faring during training camp? Here's an evaluation from Saturday's practice:
The Eagles wore pads Saturday, although there wasn't nearly as much hitting as coach Doug Pederson led us to believe there would be. For the first time this summer, fans were admitted to the NovaCare Complex to watch a training camp practice. On Sunday, more fans will be on hand when the team practices at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sam Bradford: Down
Wow moment: Bradford's best throw of the day came on a deep pass to wide receiver Xavier Rush. Rush had a step on cornerback Eric Rowe as he streaked down the middle of the field. Bradford's pass was timed perfectly. Rush dropped it, eliciting groans from the fans along the sideline.
Whoa moment: The Eagles generally have thrown a lot of short passes. Bradford, especially, seems to take the shorter throw when he has a choice. That's productive when his accuracy is good. On Saturday, it wasn't. Bradford was off on throws to Brent Celek, M.J. McFarland and Chris Pantale and overthrew Nelson Agholor on a deep ball.
Chase Daniel: Up
Wow moment: Daniel was wearing a small camera on his helmet, the only quarterback to do so. The camera is meant to allow coaches to watch video of practice from a player's perspective. The coaches will like what they see of Daniel's intermediate pass to wide receiver Jordan Matthews. The ball was placed between linebacker Jordan Hicks and safety Malcolm Jenkins. Matthews made a nice leaping catch.
Whoa moment: Daniel threw a short pass to his left that Jenkins saw coming down Broad Street. Jenkins jumped the route for his second interception in about five minutes. Earlier, Jenkins picked off a deep throw by fourth-team QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
Carson Wentz: Up
Wow moment: The rookie has been impressive when he's forced to improvise under pressure. Wentz did so again Saturday. The pocket collapsed around him, but Wentz kept his eyes downfield. He took three steps forward, then fired a pass that was caught by rookie wide receiver Cayleb Jones.
Whoa moment: Wentz had Chris Givens open on a deep pass. If he'd led the receiver a bit, the play would have gone all the way. But Wentz underthrew it, and Givens dropped the ball after coming back to try to catch it. Not the easiest throw, but Wentz otherwise had a pretty good day.
Who won the day? Saturday belonged to Wentz. Bradford was inconsistent. Daniel was better but served a steady diet of short passes. Wentz did, too, but he also made some strong intermediate throws. On one play, Wentz was under pressure, ran away from the chasing defender and quickly fired the ball out of bounds beyond the line of scrimmage. It was a veteran decision.
