Wentz: ‘We want to be sharp’ vs. Dolphins
The Eagles are 1-1 in a preseason where neither they nor their opponents have placed their starters at much risk. That will change Thursday, with the starters expected until halftime … and beyond.
PHILADELPHIA » Sometime late Thursday night, after their final home preseason game, after the last 30-some minutes of football the Eagles’ No. 1 units will play together before the regular-season opener, Carson Wentz will do the accounting.
When the 7 o’clock game is over, the Birds’ quarterback will reflect on the one goal of his, and the one goal of his teammates in a game that matters some, but not much.
“We want to be sharp,” Wentz said. “Be sharp. We’ve been kind of all over the place offensively in the first two preseason games. Now, we’ve had a chance to work and actually gameplan for these guys. We’ve seen them in practice.
“Now, the plan is to just go out there and be sharp.”
The Birds and Dolphins practiced together this week at the Nova-Care Complex, wearing pads and playing at full speed, although with no tackling. So they have gained a familiarity with one another that could be heightened when full contact is finally permitted.
The Eagles are 1-1 in a preseason where neither they nor their opponents have placed their starters at much risk. That will change Thursday, with the first-string units expected to sweat until halftime … and perhaps beyond.
“We got a lot of good work the last couple of days,” Doug Pederson said. “I want to see where they’re at health-wise. Typically in this game, as you know, it’s usually two quarters and a little bit into the third. But I haven’t made that decision yet. I’m going to wait and see.”
By the time the Birds complete their preseason next Thursday against the New York Jets in the Meadowlands, their starters will have been bubble-wrapped, maintaining their health for their regular-season opener Sept. 10 in Washington.
That means the Eagles are down to a few remaining preseason series for their offensive line to solidify, for Wentz to gain peak comfort with new receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and for the defense to show that it has improved since last year.
“I think the starters will go a bit longer,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “We want to protect the football. We want to execute. We want to be good in situational football, good on third down, good in the red zone, and, obviously, score points.”
Like the Eagles, the Dolphins are 1-1 in the preseason, defeating Atlanta and losing to Baltimore. They were competitive with the Birds in the dual workouts this week, with both teams thriving more on offense than defense.
“I’ve always thought the chemistry was there,” said Wentz, of the Eagles’ newer offense. “It’s continually growing. But going against different faces out there, it even furthered that chemistry.”
The Eagles effectively closed camp Tuesday. Wednesday, they were to hold a mock-game walkthrough closed to the press and the fans. By next week, their practices will be on a more typically regular-season schedule.
That gives the Birds roughly three quarters Thursday to answer some questions. Among them: Can Smith, who has yet to catch a preseason pass, be the long-ball threat they’d hoped? Is first-round draft choice Derek Barnett closer to entering the starting lineup? Will the first-unit offensive line, which will play together as a unit in a game for the first time, be able to match its impressive pedigree? And is Wentz substantially better than he was last year, when the Eagles were 7-9?
“With the first unit, overall, we’re just looking for a little bit better execution,” Pederson said. “We need to start a little bit better, start the game a little bit better. You’d love to see points, obviously, and score maybe a couple of times. But we just need to clean up. We had too many penalties last week.
“With the execution, the turnovers and the penalties, we need to come out and play a clean football game.”
Brandon Graham (arm) and Jordan Hicks (quad) missed practice time this week and are considered “day to day” according to Pederson. Other than that, the Eagles are healthy … and would like to stay that way for one more night.
“The big thing will be how effective we are on offense,” Wentz said. “Are we staying ahead of the chains? Are we converting third downs? Situational football is such a big part of this game, and that’s what we’re always critical of. How are we doing in the red zone? How are we doing on third down? Discipline. Penalties; we’ve got to avoid those.
“Judging success is always an interesting thing in a preseason game. You want to win the game. But it brings out a different element in the preseason. So we just want to be sharp in situational football.”