Wentz and Birds still searching for right mix
PHILADELPHIA >> The way the Eagles are configured, tracking the pass attempts of quarterback Carson Wentz could be a pretty good predictor of how they do against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
When Wentz throws 45 or more passes, the Eagles lose. That’s happened six times in his career, including last week, when he aired it out 50 times in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Keep an eye on those numbers because the pass is evolving again in the NFL, teams collectively shattering records for completion percentage, passing yards and touchdown passes over the first four weeks of the season. And the Eagles need to adapt to it.
Wentz has one of 11 outings of 50 or more pass attempts leaguewide in the first month of the NFL season. Last year there were only 17 such games. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and his staff of coordinator Mike Groh and quarterbacks coach Press Taylor are trying to determine how the Eagles (2-2) fit into this craze.
“We’re a month in and still trying to figure out 100 percent who we are,” Wentz said Wednesday. “But at the same time, we know the guys we have and we know what we’re capable of doing. We realize it’s just a couple things here and there. Now those little things have magnified themselves in some of those losses. But no, there’s no panic in here. There’s no panic on the offensive side, the defensive side, special teams.”
The Eagles need to figure it out quickly if they want to avert panic. No quarterback has thrown more passes or completed more than Kirk Cousins, who has 10 touchdown passes, only two interceptions and a 103.6 rating.
The Vikings are 1-2-1, having lost a road shootout, 38-31, to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams.
With Wentz still easing back into the lineup physically, at least by Pederson’s observations, it’s probably not a good idea to have him throwing the ball as much as he did last weekend. Then again, you do what you have to do, which meant four sacks and double-digit hits on Wentz.
Eagles center Jason Kelce thinks attempts are proportional to the flow of the game, and that they generally throw more when they’re behind, and run more when they’re ahead. That’s why he doesn’t buy the 45-attempt stat.
“That’s like saying 98 percent of shark attacks happen in five feet of water,” Kelce said. “They happen in five feet of water because 90 percent of people swim in five feet of water.”
Sharp shark logic aside, the Eagles can avoid putting Wentz in a situation where he has to crank out 50 passes if they get going earlier. Tight end Zach Ertz, who ranks among the league leaders with 31 receptions, pointed to the 2017 season in which the Eagles averaged almost a TD in the first quarter. This year they have seven total points in four first quarters.
“I think we need to start fast early in games,” Ertz said. “Last year we were probably the fastest starting team in the league. We’ve just got to go out there, start fast, score more touchdowns in the first quarter and allow our defense to become pass rushers and focus on getting to the quarterback. … Because when those guys are able to pin their ears back, they’re a different beast.”
Wentz insists the knee that required surgery isn’t limiting him. Ditto the knee brace. But the way he was run down last week by Harold Landry, of whom Wentz had a clear lead on heading toward the sideline, suggests otherwise. Then again, Wentz isn’t the kind of guy to admit as much directly. Which brings us to indirectly.
He conceded in so many words that the offensive line has struggled, but so has he.
“It’s not just them,” Wentz said. “Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes I didn’t see the right protection call and we had an unblocked guy. Sometimes it’s the back miscommunicating.”
While not using injuries at wide receiver as a direct excuse, Wentz said that losing deep threat Mike Wallace to a broken leg “just kind of shuffles things around a little bit.
“We’ve just got to be smart with how we use guys,” he added. “We want to be an explosive offense. We want to be great. Kind of the same things we were last year, that I preached last year. (In) the red zone, we want to be great. Third-down efficiency, we want to be one of the tops in the league. We want to be able to bring back some big plays and we want to be able to score fast and use our uptempo stuff when it’s there.”
Pederson, after reviewing the Eagles’ issues, didn’t sound as concerned as he was earlier in the week. Maybe he was daydreaming about Wentz taking on a Vikings pass defense that was gashed to epic proportion in the month of September.
“Obviously when you sit back and you look, and you get time these last couple days to evaluate kind of where we are, the sky is not falling,” Pederson said. “The sun came up today. We’re 2-2. We’re still in good position, control our own destiny. A lot of football ahead of us and there is no panic.”
There should be uneasiness, however, if Wentz approaches 45 pass attempts Sunday night.