I'm interested to watch EJ today as well. By and large, we haven't seen this guy play a game in two years. I am hopeful to see some progress (remembering the days before the era of instant gratification re QBs).
No reason for him to think otherwise...until the situation changes. Those two are in practice together every day and know each other's capabilities. If TT is nervous, that can only mean good things for the team overall.
I think it's more than just Whaley. Rex did say that he wanted to develop EJ and from what we saw in preseason, that appeared to be exactly what they were doing. [no tea leaves were harmed in making this assessment]