Eagles News: Time to stop making excuses for Carson Wentz

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Enough with making excuses for Eagles’ Carson Wentz - ESPN
To suggest Wentz’s decline is tied to the coaching he’s getting is largely disingenuous. Are we to believe that Pederson, who helped make Nick Foles look like Joe Montana for consecutive seasons, suddenly forgot how to coach quarterbacks or scheme up an offense? Are we now going to rewrite history and say that was only Reich and DeFilippo’s doing? Please. And what other quarterbacks get such benefit of the doubt? Do we grade the play of Detroit’s Matthew Stafford or Atlanta’s Matt Ryan or Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger based on the coaching triumvirate around them, or is there a baseline expectation regardless of extenuating circumstances? Yes, there are other reasons why the Eagles are stumbling, ranging from injuries to coaching to porous defensive play to an ever-rotating supporting cast around Wentz. But top-end quarterbacks are the balm for such maladies. That is precisely why they get paid so handsomely.

4 winners and 3 losers from Week 10 in the NFL - SB Nation
The biggest single reason Philadelphia is struggling isn’t attributable wholly to Ertz being out. It’s that Wentz has suffered out of the most pronounced performance declines in recent memory. The cruel twist of all this is that running back Miles Sanders is playing much better than he did in 2019, improving his yards-per-carry up to 6.1 on the season, second in the league among running backs only to Nick Chubb. This is something the Eagles should have been able to capitalize on, but they haven’t been able to put a solid offense together — ranking in the bottom third in yards per game, and points per game. In short: The Eagles had so much promise this season, and instead are basically Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes.

Week 10 Quick Reads - Football Outsiders
QB27 — Wentz loses 48 DYAR due to opponent adjustments. He was the week’s worst passer on third downs, going 2-of-9 for 21 yards, plus a 14-yard DPI, with as many conversions (two) as sacks.

6 final thoughts from the Eagles’ pathetic loss to the Giants - BGN
The Eagles deserve your indifference more than your anger. Look, I’m not incentivized to say this since I only stand to suffer from you tuning out of our coverage ... but I honestly feel like this team isn’t worth your emotional investment right now. I can’t possibly blame anyone for checking out. The Eagles are predictably bad each week. They’re not fun or enjoyable in any capacity. And, worst of all, it doesn’t feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. This season feels like a big waste of time in that regard. There will obviously be some changes in the offseason if things continue to go poorly but I just don’t have confidence they’ll be serious enough. Howie Roseman doesn’t appear to be in any danger. Doug Pederson probably gets at least one more year after giving up play-calling duties. Carson Wentz’s contract has him locked in through at least 2021. The health of this franchise just isn’t good. This isn’t just “one down year.” We’ve been talking about how things have been trending poorly downwards for some time now.

At the Podium: Post-Giants Loss w/Doug & Carson - BGN Radio
Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz fielded questions from the media on Sunday after the Eagles 27-17 loss to the New York Giants, listen to them here!

Troubling Times - Iggles Blitz
Watching the Eagles every week is painful. This isn’t a fun team. They lack talent, discipline and there’s nothing compelling about them. The Giants are just 3-7, but you come away impressed with how hard they play and the way they compete. They have major roster holes, but that group feels well-coached and they seem to be a team on the rise. You can argue that some of that is due to having the new coaching staff. That brings a different energy to the team. Look at the Patriots. They have plenty of holes and they are 4-5. But they still battle each week and have some impressive games this year. They just upset the Ravens on Sunday night. Their problem is purely talent. They lost too many good players in the offseason and then had the most guys in the league opt out due to Covid.

It’s time for Eagles coach Doug Pederson to stop babying Carson Wentz - Inquirer
Doug Pederson’s biggest problem is Carson Wentz; specifically, his handling of the quarterback. The Eagles coach manages Wentz like he’s won Super Bowls, when in fact he’s yet to even win a playoff game. He coaches him like he’s the 2017 version of himself, who went 11-2 as a starter, and not the one who’s gone 17-18-1 since. Pederson’s staff decisions, his offensive scheming and play-calling, his use of Jalen Hurts, and his messaging are too often in deference to Wentz. The 27-year-old quarterback’s preferences should be considered, but not at the expense of the team, and not to the point where there has been significant individual regression. Wentz, of course, must shoulder his share of culpability for his and the Eagles’ woeful play through nine games this season. This isn’t a chicken-or-egg argument. Both the coach and quarterback are responsible for the 3-5-1 record, as are the front office, assistants, and other players. But of all the problems plaguing the Eagles — from personnel to injuries, from coaching to execution — the most troubling is Wentz. He has yet to have what could be described as a good outing, and even when he finally avoided turning the ball over, as he did in Sunday’s 27-17 loss at the New York Giants, he was merely adequate.

Eagles stuck between being division leaders and a youth movement - NBCSP
Jason Peters is 38. He has no future here. Alshon Jeffery is 30. He has no future here. But if you thought that maybe the Eagles would prioritize a youth movement over playing their aging veterans, then Doug Pederson crushed your dreams within the span of 15 minutes during his Monday afternoon press conference. Because Peters is staying at left tackle. And Jeffery’s snaps are going to increase. The Eagles, at 3-5-1, are in a position no team this bad has ever been in: In first place after 10 games. And that’s creating some natural strain. Because on one hand, the Eagles are a bad football team and they should prioritize getting their younger players more experience. On the other, Pederson is trying to win the division and he’s playing the guys he thinks give them the best shot. Let’s start with Jeffery. The Eagles were stuck with the veteran receiver in 2020 after Howie Roseman foolishly decided to guarantee his contract. They wanted to trade him but — shocker! — there were no takers. Jeffery was a waste of a roster spot for the first eight weeks of the season but finally made his debut on Sunday.

Doug Pederson’s disconnect: Discussing his play calling, coaching, job security - The Athletic
I think you’re right that the changes to the offensive coaching staff this past offseason tell us what we need to know about how Lurie adjudicated the problems with the offense, and I would imagine he’s pretty unimpressed with the early returns. As for who’s most responsible for the state of the team, all three are definitely culpable. Take Wentz’s regression. He should be blamed for backsliding, but it’s hard from where we sit to determine how much of that could have been avoided by better coaching or by having a competent supporting cast. In the end, the buck should stop with the person molding the roster. We’ve talked ad nauseam about the Eagles having an old, mediocre, expensive roster, and the blame for that falls on Roseman.

Doug Pederson: ‘I do want the guys to feel that emotion’ - PE.com
First things first: Pederson wants a particular environment this week. He knows the locker room expressed its frustration in the postgame scene on Sunday. He knows how the players reacted. And Pederson wants that emotion to carry forward to this week when the players report back to the NovaCare Complex and prepare for Cleveland. It’s going to take great emotion and focus and execution to beat the Browns, a team with a punishing running game offensively and a defensive front to be reckoned with. The Browns are for real. They’ve won by outscoring teams (like Dallas) and by outslugging teams (like Houston on Sunday, a 10-7 victory). “It’s going to be a mood where, I don’t want it to be a panic mood by any stretch of the imagination,” Pederson said. “I don’t want any of that, but I do want the guys to feel that emotion they felt after the game and feel that sort of anger, that ‘mad’ feeling they had and channel that for good, channel that for their week of preparation. I talk to the team a lot about preparation and hard work and you can’t substitute for that. The way you practice is the way you’re going to play and we’ve got to focus on that and take care of the details during the week.”

Playoffs? Yes, the New York Giants really do have a chance - Big Blue View
Can the New York Giants really go from 0-5 to division champions in the NFC East, the league’s weakest division? It’s still not likely after the Giants’ victory Sunday over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles still have the lead in the division, they have one more game to play than the Giants do, and their tie with the Cincinnati Bengals might end up being a difference-maker. Winning the division, though, is within the Giants’ reach. Football Outsiders gives the Giants a 26.5 percent chance of winning the division, with the Eagles still at 48.5 percent.

With a great draft spot, a new quarterback is tempting, but the right move is to pay Dak Prescott - Blogging The Boys
If the Cowboys intended to use their first-round pick on a quarterback, then they would need to find a way to trade Prescott to avoid just flat out losing him after the 2021 season. The optimal scenario would be deal him away to another team that really wants Dak as their quarterback. There would be a lot of behind the scenes negotiations as well as financial finagling going on to swing such a deal, but if they pulled it off, here is what the Cowboys would gain: Future draft capital, including at least one first-round pick. Estimated cap savings of $31 million per year over the next four seasons.

Washington Vs. Detroit - Studs and Duds - Hogs Haven
Alex Smith - I mean, I guess I kinda have to do this. Despite the MULTIPLE checkdowns, and the fact he now leads the league in percentage of passes thrown as checkdowns, Alex did get a bit looser in the second half and started to take some shots down the field. I think it’s TERRIBLE that we had to throw the ball 55 times, but despite that(and all the checkdowns) he did complete 38 of those passes(69% completion percentage) for 390 yards. He threw for zero touchdowns, but didn’t turn the ball over, and if it wasn’t for a bone-headed penalty at the end of the game, we would have gone into overtime with a shot at winning.

Bears QB Nick Foles carted off in final moments of ‘MNF’ loss vs. Vikings - NFL.com
In a matter of seconds, the Bears went from a team hellbent on avoiding another crushing loss to one hoping it didn’t lose its starting quarterback. Chicago (5-5) dropped its fourth straight game on Monday night, falling to the division rival Vikings (4-5), 19-13. A potentially serious injury to Nick Foles, who was carted off in the game’s closing moments, made this latest defeat an even tougher pill to swallow as the club heads into its much-needed bye week.

Dolphins waive veteran RB Jordan Howard - The Phinsider
After all, the Dolphins saw Myles Gaskin breakout early in the season, and his Huskies’ teammate Salvin Ahmed has stepped up in his absence. Eric Studesville and the Dolphins front office have to be happy with the production they continue to get from their RB room. A room in which should get stronger in the near future with the return of veteran RB Matt Breida. We can also expect to see an increase in reps from De’Andre Washington moving forward. Miami might not have a splashy name in their backfield, but they’re playing complimentary football. And most importantly, players are making the most out of each and every opportunity.

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