Carson Wentz scrambling to right struggling offense
McCaffery: Clock running on Wentz, who’s not making strides to being an elite QB »
The teleconference began ominously, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz telling the host Wednesday there was no audio.
Seconds later Wentz made himself heard on several topics, including the one he rarely talks about – his scrambling.
Wentz burst out of the pocket for a career-high nine runs worth 65 yards and the game-tying touchdown Sunday against a quick Cincinnati Bengals defense. He was at his best on the team’s last drive in regulation, running nine yards for a first down and with 21 seconds left, seven yards for a score.
Wentz dove head-first and stretched the ball over the goal line with two hands. And so, what if he looked like a tractortrailer lumbering through traffic on the way to the end zone?
Don’t look for another career rushing day by Wentz when the Eagles oppose the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.
For Wentz, there’s a lot of thought that goes into the decision to lift off. He’s no Desahun Watson or Josh Allen, who makes those decisions effortlessly. He’s trying to keep it simple right now.
“Sometimes it’s knowing the down and distance,” Wentz said. “Sometimes it’s knowing it’s third down, feel free to be aggressive and try to make the play. And sometimes it’s just knowing it’s first-and-10, live to fight another down. It’s knowing the play call. It’s knowing the down and distance, if you’re in the low red zone, the high red zone, all of those things. There’s all those things to think about. But at some point, it comes down to instincts and playing fast and making plays.”
Playing fast with rookie John Hightower as one of your featured receivers in overtime against the Bengals is a nowin situation. Wentz made the most of it. There was a point in the game where Wentz used his guile to draw two significant interference penalties from the Bengals simply by throwing the ball in the same area as Hightower who, by the way, still has three receptions for 17 yards, with a big gain of 11 in three games.
Knowing the stakes, Wentz rushed for a first down on third-and-short late in the extra session and later faced second-and-nine at the 43 of the opposition. That’s when the instincts faded.
Carlos Dunlap dropped Wentz after a two-yard gain and on third-and-seven with 23 seconds left, Wentz dumped the ball off incomplete instead of taking off for yardage to move kicker Jake Elliott a few more yards closer to the goal posts.
Subsequently Elliott lined up for a 59-yarder that never happened because Matt Pryor false-started, and the five-yard add-on would have turned it into an historic kick.
“As far as the 64-yarder, one guy has hit one in the history of the NFL, so, is it a common thing, are the odds great?” special teams coach Dave Fipp said. “Probably not great. What are they? I couldn’t really tell you. … At the end of the day, we really messed the whole thing up when we had the five-yard penalty and ruined it.”
For Wentz, there’s no running away from the slump he’s in. He leads the league with seven turnovers, including six interceptions. The winless Ea
gles (0-2-1) are a league-worst minus-7 in turnover ratio. His first priority is reducing that number, part of which is doing a better job of communicating with his teammates.
Head coach Doug Pederson believes Wentz is thinking too much, and to minimize that he’s likely to use the hurryup offense to simplify the play calls and get his quarterback in a rhythm. Deep down inside, Pederson believes Wentz will turn it around.
“I just know who Carson is,” Wentz said. “I know the type of worker he is. I know how he approaches the game, prepares each week. Listen, he and I are in this thing together, right? My confidence level is, hey, I want to put the ball in his hands. It’s a great opportunity for us when the ball is in Carson Wentz’s hands because anything and everything can happen. I can’t speak for the outside world. I can see the, I guess I can sort of visualize, ‘OK, your quarterback doesn’t play well, so let’s speculate that the confidence has got to be low.’ I mean, that’s fine. That’s a visual thing and
it might be right, probably is right. But I just know who Carson is. I just know the guys around him. I know this team. They’re excited about this week and to get back out on the practice field and prepare for San Francisco.”
Until then, Wentz will intensify his bonding with his newer playmakers, watch tape of what made him successful and spend more time with the coaches.
“Just talk about what’s going on and everything,” Wentz said. “For me it’s just trust myself and not try to overthink and do too much. The turnovers, the interceptions have never been a huge story line in my career, so I don’t want to over analyze that either. I want to not shy away from letting it rip and playing fast.
“Sometimes it’s just going back and talking to myself in that way and continue to be myself and not overdoing things.”
Wentz always has had the ability to extend plays. But right now, he’s just not as good on his feet as Watson or Allen.