Eagles news: Pete Carroll was impressed by Carson Wentz

Pete Carroll raves about Carson Wentz: ‘No question’ he’ll be great - Philly.com

That inconsistency didn’t stop Seahawks coach Pete Carroll from praising Wentz a day after the Eagles lost a tough game in Seattle, 26-15.

“He’s going to be really good,” Carroll told Mike Salk and Brock Huard on his 710 ESPN radio show on Monday, noting that Wentz seemed like a veteran at times in the way he looked Seattle’s defenders off.

“He was looking off on the curl routes, moving the linebackers. That’s fantastic stuff for a guy to do,” Carroll said. “He did it on the touchdown play. … That’s really advanced stuff.”

Carroll was impressed that Wentz showed so much poise, especially considering how few games the former North Dakota quarterback played in college.

“He’s going to be a great player; there is no question,” Carroll said. “He’s got everything you need. He’s got great poise, he’s tough, he’s fast, he’s strong, and he’s got some sense already. … He did a great job. He really did.”

Grading the NFL’s top rookie quarterbacks - Fox Sports

On the season, his 11 touchdown passes and seven picks still look decent, but his 84.2 passer rating (25th in the NFL) leaves plenty to be desired, as does his 6.57 yards per attempt (28th). Given the Eagles’ struggles at wide receiver and their inability to catch even the easiest passes (looking at you, Nelson Agholor), Wentz has become reliant on checkdown passes. Running backs have caught more than 22 percent of his completions, including 34 to Darren Sproles (third on the team).

If the Eagles’ receivers were more consistent and didn’t have some of the worst hands in football, Wentz’s numbers would be far better. And because of that, Wentz gets a B, which is a solid grade all things considered.

Nelson Agholor's devastating line-up gaffe wasn't a first time mistake - Philly Voice

With under two minutes to go in the first half against the Washington Redskins last season, the Philadelphia Eagles were driving, when Sam Bradford found Zach Ertz for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Except, in the words of referee Jerome Boger, "Illegal formation, offense, number 17 covered up the tight end on the formation. Five-yard penalty, re-play first down."

On that play, Nelson Agholor needed to be off of the line of scrimmage, but he was too far up and didn't check with the side judge until the ball was being snapped, shown below. In fact, he's late in running his route because he's checking with the official as the ball is being snapped.

The night 'all hell broke loose' may haunt Packers' Dom Capers - ESPN

While much of the heat fell on the Packers' struggling fill-in cornerbacks, McCarthy attributed the season-long defensive woes to a lack of takeaways. Capers' unit, which has thrived on turnovers over the years, has just seven interceptions in nine games -- and only one from a cornerback (Damarious Randall, who has missed six of the last seven games). From 2009 through last season, the Packers led the league in interceptions (148) and ranked fifth in total takeaways (204). This season, they rank tied for 17th in interceptions and tied for 23rd in takeaways.

Maybe there isn't a defensive coordinator in the NFL who could win with Quinten Rollins, LaDarius Gunter and Demetri Goodson as their top three cornerbacks, but it's clear that that position has hampered the defense as much as the lack of a legitimate running back as hindered the offense.

"There's no reinventing the wheel," McCarthy said. "We've talked about this since the day I arrived here. We have a system of football -- offense, defense and special teams -- that accommodates any football player on our roster. If we've got to reinvent the wheel in Week 11 or Week 12, we haven't set our plan the right way for the season."