July 30, 2017

Eagles 2017 training camp practice notes, Day 7

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Matt Mullin/PhillyVoice

Pederson has to like what he's seen from Wentz so far this summer.

The first of the two Philadelphia Eagles open practices was originally scheduled for Saturday morning, but inclement weather forced a change to an absolutely perfect day on Sunday. We have notes.

• Carson Wentz just looks really good seven days into camp. He has yet to throw any interceptions (that I can recall anyway), and has been on the money with his throws. The overthrows seem to have subsided quite a bit as well.

• For the first time this camp, the Eagles ran some WR-DB 1-on-1 drills. Here were the highlights from that session:

Jordan Matthews had a nice one handed grab vs Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins thought Matthews pushed off and let the official know it. On a side note, Jenkins is super competitive in training cap, especially for a player with little to prove to the coaching staff.
2016 tryout guy David Watford roasted Rasul Douglas deep. Ugly. Douglas was beaten by a good three or four yards.
Nelson Agholor ran good routes all day. His best route during the 1-on-1 session was a sluggo (slant and go) vs. Ron Brooks. Every time Agholor touched the ball the fans gave him a nice ovation, recognizing that he needs encouragement. Philly fan awareness is very impressive at times.
Alshon Jeffery sold a go route on Jalen Mills (I think), then turned back to the quarterback for an easy throw on a comeback. Later in practice, Wentz got a defensive lineman to jump, so he took a shot downfield to Jeffery, because, why not? The pass fell incomplete, but Wentz had the right idea. If you get a free play, Jeffery can be an incredible weapon to just throw it up and hope for the best.
Mack Hollins picked a ball a few inches off the ground. That takes strong hands. He had an up and down day otherwise.
Torrey Smith toasted Patrick Robinson deep. Great ball from Wentz on the rep. Robinson has not looked impressive, and he got picked on a lot today.

• Rodney McLeod laid a big pop on LeGarrette Blount during a running drill that knocked Blount on his butt. Later McLeod popped Zach Ertz over the middle. Blount and Ertz both have at least 50 pounds on McLeod.

• Torrey Smith had some more good moments after a good practice on Saturday, and some bad ones as well. We noted the deep ball in 1-on-1's above. Later in practice, he ran a quick slant and then quickly spun outside, leaving Robinson in the dust. Then later still, Smith got open deep again, and Wentz dropped an absolutely gorgeous ball into the bucket for him. Drop.

• On a good ball from Matt McGloin on a corner route, Paul Turner was simply too slow to track it down. I think Turner is a long shot to make the roster this year after cracking the roster in 2016. He's simply too small and slow to compete with a much better group of receivers than a year ago.

• McGloin had a head-scratcher throw later in practice. He tried to go to a double-covered Bryce Treggs deep down the sideline. The play had no chance and was easily picked by Terrence Brooks.

• Rookie UDFA CB Jomal Wiltz had a pick today too. He jumped an out route, made a diving grab, sprung to his feet, and returned it for a score. Wiltz has stood out numerous times in camp, and is an early dark horse of mine to make the 53-man roster.

• My favorite moment of camp happened today. Jeffery thought Jim Schwartz was the ball boy after a reception, so he threw the ball to Schwartz, who was not looking. The ball hit the unsuspecting Schwartz in the face, knocking his sunglasses off his face.

• Here's our daily Periscope: