Matt-Barkley.jpg

Rookie Matt Barkley fits right in with the other Eagles quarterbacks at practice.

(Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports)

The numbers indicate Matt Barkley had a rather mediocre practice on Monday afternoon at the NovaCare Complex. It doesn't mean he wasn't impressive. The rookie quarterback seems to fit right in with his competition for the starting quarterback job.

Keeping my eyes on Barkley throughout the entire training camp workout was very telling. I saw a player that belongs, wants to work and is serious about his job.

See for yourself.

12:27 pm - The Eagles are going through warmups. Barkley is busting it as they hop, skip and stretch down the field. No slacking from the former USC star.

12:35 pm - Barkley is standing near the tight ends. He seems to be chatting with Brent Celek and James Casey. Not sure what this means aside from maybe that is who he has latched onto in his first training camp. Or maybe not. Maybe he just happened to be standing next to them.

12:38 pm - Eagles are working on getting lined up correctly and running pass routes. Barkley just so happens to be working in a formation with Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Felix Jones and Damaris Johnson. Pretty random mix.

12:42 pm - I notice Barkley stands in the front row when he's off to the side waiting for his reps. Always towards the front of the pack. He definitely looks egaged during practice.

12:45 pm - The Eagles are in their individual periods. The quarterbacks are working on handoffs. The read-option included. Barkley seems to be accentuating his ball fake. He runs OK. Not super-fast, not super-slow.

12:50 pm - The QBs are now throwing some short passes. It's been pretty obvious the first four days of practice that Barkley has the weakest arm of the five quarterbacks, GJ Kinne included. But in this particular drill, throwing the ball about 10 yards to his right, Barkley seems to be throwing with zip. It's not something I've seen often from him in camp.

12:54 pm - The drill they are running now is to practice fades to the corner of the end zone. The quarterbacks are throwing the ball 20 yards and trying to get it to high, soft and to the back corner of the end zone. It's refreshing to see considering Andy Reid rarely used fades to the corner of the end zone in his offense. Barkley, meanwhile, throws a nice fade. Considering it's a touch pass and that is something he's good at, it's not a surprise.

1:00 pm - They're now doing a 3-on-3, offense vs. defense drill. Three defensive backs covering two receivers with a quarterback delivering the ball.

1:03 pm - Barkley goes third in this drill. It seems to be the natural order — Vick or Foles, then Barkley, Dixon and Kinne. Each quarterback gets two plays in this drill then rotates out.

1:04 pm - Barkley starts strong. He hits Jason Avant on a perfectly-timed out pattern for about 10 yards. He then looks off the wideout and nails tight end Will Shaw down the middle for a big play. Both passes hit the receivers in the hands.

1:06 pm - Second time up. Barkley slips a pass between two defenders to Clay Harbor. He then hits LeSean McCoy in stride in the flat.

1:08 pm - Third and final time up in this drill. Running Chris Polk is well covered. So Barkley puts the ball low and away in a perfect spot. Polk makes the catch on the ground. It was the only spot where the ball could be completed. On his last play of the drill, Barkley hits Emil Igwenagu down the middle. The Eagles were keeping a cumulative offense vs. defense score on the drill. Barkley earned points for the offense on all six of his reps.

1:15 pm - Quarterbacks are again on their own. Running back LeSean McCoy, legend Howard Carmichael and an assistant or ballboy serve as the targets for QBs in a rapid fire drill. It's all short passes. Barkley is accurate, his footwork solid. After his turn he's seen stretching his arm. No worries. Just looks like something to keep busy.

1:26 pm - More work on the running game. Again the read-option. After Barkley runs a rep, coach Chip Kelly comes over and hands out instructions specifically to Barkley. Chippah is pointing and gesturing. He taps Barkley on the shoulder twice before he goes back to watching the drill.

1:28 pm - Barkley talks with quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor not long after his encounter with Kelly. This is something I've noticed a lot. Barkley talks with Lazor probably more than any other player during practice.

1:32 pm - The Eagles are working on their running game in the second live period. Barkley make one throw, a 2-yard pass to McCoy near the right sideline. It's very high. Not a good throw.

1:42 pm - No worries. He makes up for it with perfect throws a few minutes later in a 1-on-1 drill between the receivers and DBs. If not for a blatant drop by fellow rookie Russell Shepard, Barkley would have gone 4-for-4 in the drill.

1:45 pm - They're having fun at practice. Barkley's imitating a low catch by Riley Cooper near the sidelines. Kurt Coleman is part of the conversation. Lots of friendly yapping going on at this time.

1:48 pm - The quarterbacks are all standing next to each other. Barkley's next to Vick. Barkley's easily two inches or so taller. It makes sense. Vick is listed at 6-foot-0, and Barkley at 6-foot-2.

1:50 pm - The Eagles are in a live period. Barkley looks pretty good in completing 3 of 4 passes. His release on all three passes is less than 3 seconds. Impressive.

1:04 pm - Barkley is talking to Cooper during a drill. Again, not sure if this means anything. Just observing who guys associate with during practice.

2:06 pm - Barkley is now chatting with Lazor. Like I said, I've seen this a ton early in camp, and it's probably a good sign for a rookie. Better to be inquisitive than indifferent.

2:10 pm - The Eagles are in another live period. This time, for the first time in camp, they're working in the red zone. Barkley's up third with the third team as usual. He hasn't worked with anything but the third team in training camp.

2:13 pm - The third team takes the field. They run on the first play. The second snap is botched. Defense recovers. The Eagles are a good 80 yards away from us. It's impossible to see whose fault it was (Barkley or center Matt Tennant). Still, it's a miscue in the red zone. That's a stain on any quarterback's practice resume. After another run, Barkley gets to make a throw. He completes a pass in the flat for a short gain and his unit walks off the field without a touchdown. They do not get another crack at this drill as time runs out just as the second team finishes their second go-around.

2:20 pm - The Eagles are done with the live period. They're working on formations and plays now. While Barkley waits his turn he throws to the Eagles employee who is dressed as a referee.

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2:26 pm - The final live period of practice. Barkley's third team gets three snaps. Two are runs and the other is a 5-yard pass to tight end Derek Carrier near the right hash. The coverage is good and the pass is either knocked down or dropped. It's too hard to tell. It was a bang-bang play and Carrier created little separation.

2:28 pm - Random observation that has nothing to do with Barkley but the Eagles are actually huddling. You don't see a lot of huddling in Kelly's offense.

2:30 pm - Practice is over. Barkley jogs off the field with his teammates. Another solid practice in the books. Lots to like from the rookie quarterback.