He threw an interception after the Eagles had invaded the Tampa red zone late in the third quarter.
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The main duty of a backup quarterback is filling in when the starter goes down with an injury.
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, a holdover from Chip Kelly’s coaching staff, moved left guard Allen Barbre out to Johnson’s right tackle spot at practice Saturday and replaced him at left guard with rookie third-round pick Isaac Seumalo. Still, the Eagles and their fans did need to see numerous things that Wentz would put on display in just over a quarter of second-half work. If he comes back before the regular season, it’s a good sign that he’s fully healed.
Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft, played for about a half’s worth of the preseason opener and absorbed several crushing hits. He also showed why it’s still the future by forcing a ball near the end zone that was intercepted, and throwing too high on a few others. Wentz chased it down, scooped it up, avoided a pass rusher while running left, then threw the ball away.
Perhaps his best drive of the night was also his worst. “Dan Marino, Scott Secules and Scott Mitchell were the three” quarterbacks ahead of Pederson on the depth chart that 1991 training camp, he said. “We’ve got the bodies that can fill the hole”. The last thing anyone in Philadelphia, from the front office to the fans, wants to see are headlines popping up that read “Carson Wentz injured again”.
“He’s a very athletic quarterback”, Ertz said. But, his familiarity with the west coast offense should allow him to run the offense efficiently, if the occasion arrises where he has to lead the offense.
The fans watching at Lincoln Financial Field erupted when Wentz trotted out on the field, but they’ll have to wait for him to play meaningful snaps. Wentz got right up and was fine.
Tampa Bay had four sacks of Daniel, who rarely had time to look downfield before he had to scramble or went down.
“Some of those [runs] were nakeds, designed plays and some were just improvising”, Wentz said. “I think we are all pretty motivated to get a touchdown on that first drive”. With that, it was over, with McLeod Bethel-Thompson asked both to play a little fourth-string quarterback and do no more damage to the moment.
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His mobility is what initially stood out, as he consistently escaped pressure and displayed the ability to throw accurate darts on the run. “And then completed the ball where it needed to be”. But that was just about all they would see of him. Sturgis hit the 42-yard field goal to punctuate Wentz’s first National Football League scoring drive. And his coach liked how he responded. “I love his toughness; you saw some of the shots he took tonight, and he stayed in the pocket and bounced back up”.
