Pederson will remain patient with Wentz
Through two games, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has been indecisive, turnover-prone, immobile and unsuccessful. Why?
“That’s a good question,” Doug Pederson said.
So that’s where it was Monday, after the Eagles’ coach had his requested time for film study, a night to prepare a response and a mandate to explain whatever has happened to his quarterback: Pederson, in many ways, was stumped.
After four-plus years?
“For us, it’s a matter of continuing to work,” the coach said during his regular Monday morning look-back. “I think as coaches and players, we continue to strive to get better every single day. I just don’t want Carson to feel like he has to make all the plays every single time. I want him to just be Carson. You know his demeanor: He wants to do everything right. And we’ve given him control to do that, but we just have to continue to work to get better.”
In the Eagles’ 0-2 start, Wentz has been sacked eight times, has thrown four interceptions and has a miniscule 64.4 quarterback
rating. For that, there has been a minor push for Pederson to turn to his bullpen, and in particular to secondround draft choice Jalen Hurts.
That Hurts was activated Sunday as the No. 2 quarterback after a Week 1 scratch did nothing to muffle that talk. But after Pederson used Hurts only as a decoy in a gimmick play, he reiterated Monday that he has not been encouraged by the frontoffice to make a quarterback change.
“No and no,” he said, when asked if he’d felt any urgency or pressure to turn to the rookie.
So Wentz it will be, at least for another week, with the Cincinnati Bengals arriving at the Linc Sunday. And while Pederson remains committed to Wentz, he was not above dropping some criticism on his quarterback. Of particular irritation to the head coach was Wentz’s interception in the end zone while the Eagles, down 21-16, and appearing to be marching toward what would have been their first lead.
“On that particular play, that one’s unacceptable,” Pederson said. “That one is not part of the play. It’s a back-side progression, obviously, and it’s unfortunate. I’ve got to do a better job. Offensively we have to do a better job with plays of that nature, that we coach those a little bit better, the details of that particular route.
“It was a little bit of a new concept for us in the game plan this week and we’ve got to do a better job. But that one is unacceptable. Carson would say the same thing, and we’ve got to own that one.”
As for the other ones, Pederson was quick to wrap them in excuses. For a second consecutive week, oddly ignoring that the virus restrictions and protocols have been league-wide, the Eagles’ coach was willing to use an unusual NFL season as rationalization for disappointment. Specifically, he used the situation to half-absolve Wentz. That was odd, as the Eagles were said to be in better shape than most NFL teams because their coach and quarterback were anything but new to each other.
“We had a set of rules and protocols,” Pederson said. “We had guidelines to go by, so many hours on the field, so many hours in the building. And quite frankly, with a lot of new pieces, particularly in the skill positions, with Jalen (Reagor) and John Hightower, even getting J.J. (Arcega-Whiteside) back out there, and Greg Ward, relatively new guys, you’re talking about two and a half to three weeks of actual, full-speed timing throws.
“I don’t care who you are throwing to. I don’t care who the receivers are. Two and a half weeks to prepare for your first real game is not enough time. It’s not enough time. It’s a constant work-in-progress and we continue to work.”
In a more thorough search for explanations for his team’s rugged start, Pederson could have gained some popular support by mentioning the Eagles’ offensive-line troubles. Though Lane Johnson returned Sunday after missing the opener in Washington, the Eagles were without left guard Isaac Seumalo for most of the game due to a knee injury.
“He’s going to miss some time,” Pederson said. “So it will be the short-term IR, the couple weeks here for him. But he’s going to miss some time.”
That would leave the Birds without projected offensive line contributors Brandon Brooks, Andre Dillard and Seumalo, theoretically complicating a return to normalcy for Wentz and the offense.
“Look, when you put the film on and you watch these last couple of weeks, the mistakes we’re making, yeah, they are devastating mistakes,” Pederson said. “I understand that. But there’s a lot of good out there, too, and there’s a lot of positive that we can build on. And we’re not far off.