Quarterback competition
Cam Newton had his best practice in a week, and he completed 13 of 15 passes (one drop) in team drills (11-on-11s, seven-on-sevens). Newton opened with 13 consecutive completions before
Kristian Wilkerson’s drop ended the streak. Newton broke a streak of three consecutive practices (excluding walk-throughs) with an interception.
Newton’s targets:
Brandon Bolden (1 of 1),
Devin Ross (1 of 1),
Jakobi Meyers (3 of 3),
James White (1 of 1),
Sony Michel (3 of 3),
Nelson Agholor (1 of 2),
Kendrick Bourne (1 of 1),
Gunner Olszewski (1 of 1),
Rhamondre Stevenson (1 of 1), Kristian Wilkerson (0 of 1, drop).
Mac Jones was also sharp with the exception of his one interception — just his fourth of camp and his first since Aug. 8. Jones was 13-for-14 in team drills, and he completed his final 11 throws.
More importantly, he got a mixture of reps with the starters after dominating the backups Monday. The Monday usage was odd, as Jones has consistently gotten a mixture of reps with the starters in Foxboro, so this was a return to normalcy in that sense.
Jones’ targets: Nelson Agholor (1 of 1), James White (2 of 2),
Devin Asiasi (2 of 3, interception), Jakobi Meyers (2 of 2),
N’Keal Harry (2 of 2), Kendrick Bourne (2 of 2), Brandon Bolden (2 of 2).
Oddly enough, Newton’s day got off to a rough start in the one-on-one period when he only completed 3 of 11 passes (two drops). The drops were even more frustrating because Ross and Agholor ran outstanding double-move routes to get open. Agholor’s route was so good that the crowd audibly gasped as No. 1 cornerback
Darius Slay got left behind.
Jones was 7-for-11 in the one-on-one period, highlighted by a great throw to a blanketed
Isaiah Zuber over the middle.
Every joint period took place in the red zone. In the first 11-on-11 period, Newton opened with a screen to Michel and then got lucky when a bad throw got deflected by a linebacker before Bourne scooped it up for a short gain over the middle.
Jones opened by hitting Agholor on a left out route then made a really good read to deliver a 20-yard touchdown pass to White on a corner route to the left side of the end zone. Jones made the throw as White worked through traffic at the hash marks and broke free for the easy catch.
Interestingly, Newton then took over for one rep and ran an option play with Bolden. Jones then came back and finished the period with hand-offs. The hypothetical scenario has been raised that Jones could win the job and Newton could be used for the occasional change-of-pace quick play, and this sequence brought that to mind.
Next in seven-on-sevens, Newton made a nice throw to hit Bolden on a right out route then completed passes to Ross on a hitch and Meyers on a slant. Newton then did a good job on a completion to White on a hitch, delivering the ball to White’s outside shoulder and away from the converging linebacker. Newton closed the period with another nice throw to a well-covered Michel on a hitch and a touchdown pass to Agholor, who got free in the right corner of the end zone with a nifty double move.
Jones opened his period with an ugly interception that was nearly identical to Newton’s the day before. He stared down Asiasi’s post route but didn’t aim high enough, and linebacker T.J. Edwards easily picked it. Jones bounced back, though — a camp theme for the rookie — and hit Meyers twice in a row, first on a hitch then on a slant. Then Jones found Harry, who stopped in the middle of the zone coverage and made a tough touchdown catch with a couple Eagles defenders on his back. Jones closed the period with a touchdown pass to Asiasi on a drag route.
In another seven-on-seven period, Newton hit Meyers and Olszewski on slants before a touchdown pass to Meyers on another slant route.
Jones took over and hit White on a slant for a touchdown, Harry for a 5-yard touchdown pass on a hitch in another tight window and Bolden for a short touchdown pass on a left out route after scrambling to let someone get open.
Then came another interesting sequence as Newton subbed in for Jones while the rookie was in the huddle. It was either a way for Bill Belichick to keep the quarterbacks ready for any scenario or some type of miscommunication with who should have been on the field. Anyway, Newton then made a good read to hit Michel for a touchdown on a dig route, found Stevenson on a left out route and then did another nice job to put it on Wilkerson’s hands as he crossed through the back of the end zone, but Wilkerson dropped his team-worst sixth pass of camp.
Jones returned for two more throws, hitting Bolden for a touchdown on a hitch route and then cycling to his last read to find Bourne in the back of the end zone as he crossed away from coverage.
Newton was 26-for-36 (two drops) with an interception in the two practices with the Eagles. He is now 129-for-201 (64.2 percent) with eight interceptions in team drills during 12 competitive training camp practices, excluding three walk-throughs. With nine drops, he’s got an adjusted accuracy rate of 68.7 percent.
Jones was 30-for-39 (two drops) with an interception in the two joint practices, though he spent more time with the backups Monday. He is now 154-for-225 (68.4 percent) with four interceptions in training camp. With 13 dropped balls, Jones’ adjusted accuracy rate is 74.2 percent.
It was nice to see inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo mixing it up with his group during a positional period. Mayo was in the action in the middle of a rep and hand-checking the linebackers.
Agholor’s double moves have been standing out, as his footwork and explosion have helped him make corners look silly. The quarterbacks are still working on their chemistry with Agholor, largely due to longer throws with higher degrees of difficulty. Newton is 8 of 17 when targeting him, and Jones is 11 of 18. But with the way Agholor is able to get open with that footwork, he should be effective in short-area situations, too.
Mac Jones was 4-for-4 when targeting N’Keal Harry in the two joint practices, but Newton never targeted Harry either day.
There’s a big gap in Harry’s production from quarterback to quarterback, at least as it relates to team periods. Newton is 4-for-11 when looking his way in camp and Jones is 14-for-18. If the Harry-Wilkerson battle is close and Newton is the starting quarterback, how much would his lack of production with Newton factor into the coaches’ decision?
Christian Barmore has worked his way into the starting rotation in Lawrence Guy’s absence, and the rookie absolutely looks the part.
