Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley were the main attractions of the Eagles' first preseason tilt vs. the Colts, and both players continued to be flawed projects. Tebow was reportedly inching ahead of Barkley in camp to be the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart, but for one week at least, Barkley got the bigger chunk of snaps.
Against Indianapolis' backups Barkley was 12-of-20 for 192 yards. He didn't throw any touchdown passes, but did get picked off once. Barkley hasn't played much in the NFL, but when he has been thrown into the fire he's shown a tendency to throw interceptions. In four games, Barkley's been picked off four times and thrown no touchdown passes.
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Tebow completed just 50 percent of his passes (6-of-12), and looked jittery. He was sacked three times and only picked up 69 yards through the air; he averaged just 5.8 yards per completion to Barkley's 9.6. Neither figure is particularly impressive, but Tebow's was anemic.
Tebow did manage to bring fans out of their seats with a seven-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. Ahead of the game, Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said the preseason would be a proving ground for Tebow to use his athleticism to force his way onto the roster.
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"[In practice] I can see Tim zone reading something, pulling it, and then the whistle sort of gets blown here and he might run a guy over [if the whistle wasn't blown], so you never know," Shurmur said, according to CSNPhilly.com.
"So that kind of uncontrolled-type stuff. We could run a naked [boot] and [see him] get out on the perimeter [with] a guy hanging off him and making a throw. You know, all that type of stuff that you say, 'Wow, that was really a terrific, athletic play.' That kind of stuff."
Tebow's touchdown run showcased that. He had the speed to get around the edge, and the power to run through a tackler. If the passing doesn't improve though, Tebow's running will not be enough to justify him taking up a spot on the roster come Week 1.
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