Pederson in no rush to name Eagles’ QB
PHILADELPHIA – Eagles coach Doug Pederson said he’ll decide on whether Carson Wentz or Nick Foles will be his starting quarterback by Friday.
Pederson, however, might not make that decision public until the last possible minute. And when would that deadline for the announcement be?
“Deadline? 90 minutes before the kickoff, I think,” Pederson said about the season opener next Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. “Probably Friday, privately,” Pederson added. “Otherwise, 90 minutes (before the game).”
Pederson might already know. After all, there isn’t much that will change between now and Friday for both Wentz and Foles. The Eagles are having a light practice Tuesday and have a walkthrough practice Wednesday in preparation for the preseason finale against the Jets on Thursday night.
It’s likely that Pederson is keeping that decision private for a minor competitive advantage with the Falcons.
Neither Wentz nor Foles will play Thursday. The players are also off Friday. But that is when Pederson will start game-planning in earnest for the Falcons. So Wentz has already had a full week, plus Sunday and Monday, of practice in 11-on-11 team drills to show that his knee has recovered enough to start the season. Wentz tore two ligaments in his knee last December. After starting training camp in the team 11-on-11 drills, the Eagles scaled Wentz back for three weeks before bringing him back in for those drills on Aug. 19.
Pederson said that Wentz’s reps haven’t increased this week, saying that he still considers this the preseason, so all the quarterbacks are still getting reps. Once he names the starter, that player will get almost all of the first-team reps.
But Pederson did say that he has noticed a difference in Wentz from when he was doing the 11-on-11 drills from July 2628.
“He was always involved in 7-on-7s, and I’ve made the comment that his arm was live, and throwing some really nice throws,” Pederson said about Wentz’s time not doing 11-on-11s. “Then when he came back into the 11-on-11, one of the noticeable changes, or differences, was the lower-body strength, and how well he’s progressed through his rehab and conditioning.”