Tuesday was the eighth day of 2015 Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice. The Birds returned to action after having a day off on Monday. There's a lot to talk about, so let's not waste any time.

• The pads were on for today's session.

• Quick injury update: Kiko Alonso (concussion) still hasn't been cleared to return to practice. Safety Jerome Couplin (appendicitis) is scheduled to return after the Colts game on Sunday. Everyone else was at practice. Zach Ertz and Mychal Kendricks collided at one point and Ertz got up slow but both players continued to practice.

• Practice notes disclaimer: the Eagles practiced on the field farthest away from the bleachers today so it was hard to get a perfect read on the action. I assure you I did my best.

• Special teams drills kicked off practice. Donnie Jones is usually money but he shanked a punt so bad today that it went over the fence around the team's practice facility. The ball was impacted by some wind, but it still wasn't pretty. A rare mistake by the savvy veteran. Or maybe he just really didn't like the tree he kicked it at.

• The Eagles announced the signing of a new cornerback during practice: Marc Anthony. Not the singer. Anthony was out on the field wearing No. 22.

• Malcolm Jenkins did a great job of breaking up a short Bradford pass over the middle to DeMarco Murray. Just a reminder that Jenkins is pretty good in coverage.



• Some interesting lineup observations: Jaylen Watkins got the first team reps at nickel cornerback. Nelson Agholor saw action at first team wide receiver on the outside instead of Josh Huff. John Moffitt was at first team right guard for the second time in training camp.

• DAILY SAM BRADFORD UPDATE: Yet another great day for the Eagles quarterback. Bradford threw an absolute bullet to Agholor along the sideline about 15 yards down the field. I've already talked about it a lot, but the guy's arm strength is legit. He puts such great zip on his passes.

Bradford connected with Brent Celek in the back of the end zone on a back shoulder throw. Defender didn't have a chance.

Bradford put great touch on a ball to Jordan Matthews in the end zone from about 25 yards out. Watkins was playing Matthews in tight coverage, but the wide receiver made a great play on the ball.

During practice, someone on Twitter (@MichaelCruseee) asked me how big of a difference it is watching Bradford versus Nick Foles. My answer: night and day. Foles just didn't flash the way Bradford does. Bradford is clearly the superior talent.

It’s getting to the point where I see Bradford make a difficult throw down the field and I’m fully expecting it to be a great play. And it usually is. Now he just needs to prove himself in game action.

• DeMarco Murray runs ANGRY. The Eagles running back ran up the gut and completely bowled over Walter Thurmond head on. Violent. It was reminiscent of the way Murray once destroyed Damion Square.

• Speaking of running backs, it was another day where Ryan Mathews looked pretty good as well. The Eagles' backfield is stacked.

• Mark Sanchez overthrew Miles Austin on a deep attempt where the wide receiver was never open. Despite that play, Austin had a solid practice. It's been a quiet summer for him.

• MARCUS SMITH! Holy crap! Marcus Smith actually did something. The second year outside linebacker destroyed Dennis Kelly in a one-on-one blocking drill. Smith knocked the 6-8, 320 pound Kelly on his butt. Completely embarrassed him. He celebrated the play and so did other linebackers and defensive linemen nearby. Brandon Graham was screaming and jumping around like a mad man. He loved it. The Eagles really need Smith to step up as the team's third outside linebacker. This minor moment seems like a step in the right direction.

• Randall Evans broke up a deep Sanchez pass intended for Seyi Ajirotutu. The sixth round rookie has had a rough camp so this was a nice play for him.

• Tim Tebow was up and down once again, as always, but there was more good than bad. He had a series where he threw a great pass to Josh Reece along the sideline before then proceeding to throw back-to-back passes way out of bounds. Then Tebow made up his mistakes by hitting UDFA tight end Eric Tomlinson in the end zone with a great strike for a touchdown. Tebow definitely looks more encouraging than Matt Barkley, in my opinion.

• Speaking of Barkley, I think he committed intentional grounding at one point.

• Misc plays: Riley Cooper made a good contested catch in traffic. Ertz made a few good catches. Vinny Curry exploded into the backfield to stop Kenjon Barner.

• Sanchez had a good series to end practice. He moved the chains effectively and hit Ajirotutu over the middle for a touchdown pass. Sanchez is who he is: solid but unspectacular. As predicted all along, there isn't a real quarterback competition. Bradford is clearly ahead.

Up next: Practice again tomorrow on Wednesday starting around 11:40 AM ET.