Is Carson show almost over?
How much longer can Birds stick with struggling Wentz?
After handing quarterback Carson Wentz a $128 million contract extension in the 2019 offseason, the Eagles are desperately hoping they won’t be faced with the prospect of having to give up on him so soon.
Yet that’s an area they’re fast approaching, if not there already.
Wentz has fallen so far from the form that made him the favorite to become the 2017 NFL MVP before wrecking a knee that he’s not merely mediocre, but downright bad.
In his fifth season, at an age (27) when he should be at his athletic peak, Wentz is struggling through his worst year as a pro and one not fit for a starting quarterback in the NFL in this era. His 58.2 completion percentage, 6.1 yards per attempt and 73.1 passer rating are career lows and rank 35th, 42nd and 33rd in the league among quarterbacks, respectively.
His 12 interceptions, nine fumbles and 35 sacks absorbed lead the league.
Whenever any of those alarming measurements are brought up, coach Doug Pederson immediately points to all the new and inexperienced pieces they’ve been forced to use this season due to another extraordinary rash of injuries.
He’ll tell you that all of their starting offensive linemen except center Jason Kelce have missed games. Two of them — left tackle Andre Dillard and All-Pro right guard Brandon Brooks — were lost for the season before it began.
He’ll remind you veteran wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery have combined to play just five games, with 13 receptions for 155 yards.
He’ll mention Zach Ertz, who is Wentz’s best friend on the team and less than two seasonsremovedfromcatchingmorepasses (116)thananytightendinNFLhistory,who was sidelined with an ankle injury in Week 6(aftercatchingjust24passesfor178yards). Ertz hasn’t played since.
He’ll also point to tight end Dallas Goedert, who broke an ankle in Week 2 and missed four games, and running back Miles Sanders, who has missed three games (though two of them were wins).
All of this has come after an important offseason work schedule following a radical restructuring of their offensive coaching staff wasn’t allowed to happen because of the coronavirus pandemic.
New senior assistant Rich Scangarello, wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead, senior consultant Marty Mornhinweg and pass game analyst Andrew Breiner couldn’t get the players on the field until training camp.
But while all of these factors have undoubtedly conspired to keep Wentz and the offense from hitting full stride, the fact is that Wentz hasn’t handled the changes well.
He misses as many throws from a clean pocket as he does while scrambling. His decisions on run-pass option plays have mostly been wrong.
Throughout the first half of the season, Wentz’s most egregious shortcoming was holding the ball too long and scrambling his way into sacks and/or fumbles.
In his most recent game, he stayed in the pocket, did not try to be a hero and did a better job of throwing the ball away when nothing was there, living to fight another down. For only the second time this season, he did not throw an interception.
Yet that approach didn’t work, either. In fact, it produced a season-low 17 points in a loss to the New York Giants.
Despite it all, Wentz and the Eagles incredibly remain on top of the NFC East with a 3-5-1 record.
Perhaps that’s whyPederson has shown no inclination to turn the reins over to rookie second-round draft pick Jalen Hurts, a more dynamic athlete who more closely resembles whatis fast becomingthe prototype for today’s NFL. In Hurts, they have a little bit of Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson and even some Daniel Jones. In other words, someonewho canmoreregularly makeplayswithhis legs, whichissomethingWentzcannolongerdo without paying a prohibitive tariff of interceptions, fumbles and sacks.
Making a quarterback switch at this stage could be devastating to Wentz’s perceived fragile psyche and could come with fallout if Hurts doesn’t have instant success.
What’s more, given the way power is structured within this organization, it might not even be Pederson’s call to make.
Wentz has received a lot of unfair criticism recently. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre sounded like someone who played his career without a helmet when he said the Eagles should have kept Nick Foles and traded Wentz. NFL Network’s Michael Silver, without having watched any practices, reported that Wentz has picked up “sloppy” practice habits,
But at some point, if Wentz continues to play poorly and the Eagles keep losing games, the powers that be have to at least consider a change, even if only temporary.
Because they can’t win with Wentz playing this way, with or without a full complement of weapons.
“It’s not hitting or clicking on all cylinders,” Wentz said last week. “But I’m really confident that we’re going to get it all turned around.”
He’s running out of time, though, in a fast-paced league. The Eagles are approaching the point where there would be nothing to lose by seeing what Hurts can do.
This is their grim reality.