As Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was under constant pressure in the pocket this past Sunday vs. Washington, many watching the game wondered why Doug Pederson wasn't calling more plays to move his franchise quarterback around.
Was Washington doing something to stop Wentz from moving around? Was it not part of the game plan?
Was Wentz, who dealt with a preseason lower-body injury, not able to move around?
"No", Doug Pederson said flat out on Wednesday.
So what was the reason?
Pederson went into a little more detail.
"I'd love to be able to sit down and kind of maybe show you guys game film and study the tape and talk about scheme and all that kind of stuff. And there's opportunity, Carson is great out of the pocket thrower, we understand that. But when we have 13 snaps that are 2nd-and-7-plus, we didn't do a very good job on 1st down. Whether we were running or passing the football. And so utilizing an out of the pocket throw, a movement type of throw when it's 2nd-and-13…you know, I don't know. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. But I think you have to push the ball differently down the field, drop back, play action, whatever it might be. Screen," Pederson said, "Everything we do, obviously it started with first down. And if you're not positive on 1st down, now it effects what you do on 2nd down. And obviously then it affects you on 3rd or 4th down. So, I would love to have Carson out of the pocket more. He is dynamic outside the pocket. Great vision and all that. But, again, we've got to do a better job on first down for a lot of those plays to take place."
Pederson is right — the Eagles' did struggle on first down. And as he noted, the result was plenty of 2nd-and-long situations, which in turn, resulted in plenty of 3rd-and-longs. The Eagles finished the day just 5-of-14 on third down.
Still, despite the struggles on first down, there is no question Wentz was under fire on Sunday when dropping back. According to Pro Football Focus, Wentz was under pressure on nearly half — 20 out of 50 — of his drop backs against Washington. Obviously, Pederson felt that moving Wentz around on either 1st-or-2nd down, especially when in 2nd-and-long situations, was not the best idea.
The question is whether that was the correct strategy.
Wentz graded out as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL last season when outside of the pocket. That isn't surprising — Wentz has a strong arm, keeps his eyes down the field on the move and is pretty mobile for a quarterback his size. Still, Pederson and his new coaching staff elected to keep him in the pocket and not call designed roll out plays.
It will be interesting to see if that strategy continues against Los Angeles. The Rams have elite pass rusher Aaron Donald, and unless the offensive line plays much better, chances are he will be coming right up the middle, collapsing the pocket right infront of Wentz.
Moving Wentz around at the snap, allowing him to get out of the pocket, would seem like a wise move.
We will find out this Sunday if Pederson agrees.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
