Carson Wentz’s first day of training camp was exactly what you would expect.
The rookie quarterback threw passes to plenty of no-name wide receivers, most of whom went undrafted. They dropped a handful of them, and caught plenty of them.
Wentz looked good for the majority of the afternoon. Occasionally, a pass would wobble off target, and Doug Pederson would advise his young charge thusly.
There aren’t many observations to be taken from the opening day of training camp, especially when it’s a rookie camp like this one. Very few players, if any, Wentz was lining up with today would line up with him were he pressed into a regular season game because of injuries.
The most "important" part of these first few days will be watching the way Wentz’s passes look, because his throwing motion and mechanics are entirely independent of anyone else. We can continue to track his development as a pro-level quarterback; for now, he looks capable, if not great. His passes still wobble a bit much for my liking.
His footwork needs work; both he and Pederson acknowledged as much today. Sometimes he throws off his back foot, and sometimes he simply has an awkward time getting into his throws. In any case, footwork can make or break an otherwise promising quarterback. With strong, fast defensive linemen and linebackers ramping up a whole new level of pressure, Wentz’s footwork will be something to watch as he continues his training camp.
Another, more interesting thing — at least, to me — to watch is the way Pederson interacts with Wentz. That relationship is the one which, above absolutely everything else, will dictate the direction of this franchise for the next handful of years. The team invested in Wentz at least in part because of Pederson’s history of turning out efficient, productive quarterbacks.
On Monday, Pederson stayed near his young quarterback for the majority of the drills, never more than one group away from the quarterback group. When Wentz made a bad throw, he made sure to follow up with the quarterback and try to teach him something from the miscue. Typical coaching stuff.
Pederson has acknowledged that Jim Schwartz is in charge of the entire defense, so Pederson’s hands are wholly in the offense, which means the time-tested fan practice of blaming the head coach for offensive miscues will carry more weight this season.
There probably won’t be much game tape to see how Pederson impacts Wentz’s development this season, but watching the two interact in practices will be fun.
And, in case you put stock into a quarterback’s footwear, you might be a little concerned by what Wentz wore after practice today.
Carson Wentz with the post-practice Birkenstocks. pic.twitter.com/3Q9UvXUctm
— Adam Hermann (@adamwhermann) July 25, 2016
In fact, forget everything I’ve written about Wentz. Burn it all down. The franchise is doomed.