Do the Eagles Have a Carson Wentz Problem?

 

    Last season, Carson Wentz became the first Eagles quarterback to have a 4,000-yard season in terms of the passing game. And he has accomplished this without his two best wide receivers: Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson. He got the chance to pull off an upset win over the Seahawks. Unfortunately, the injury troubles kept up to him and he was injured in the Eagles' second offensive drive of the game. Fast forward to today, and Wentz is off to his worst statistical start of his career. In 9 games this season, he has thrown 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and has completed 58.2% of his passes, where he ranks 32nd in the league among qualified passers - quarterbacks who have played at least 4 games this season. He has also fumbled 54 times in 65 games played, more than any other quarterback in the NFL since he entered the league. Statistically, if you look at his yards per attempt or passer rating, where he both ranks 31st in the league among qualified passers, his play has been disastrous.

But is Wentz Really Playing That Badly?

    The Eagles' offensive line has been mostly made of third-stringers and players with limited experience this season, and the starting lineups up front has been different in eight of nine weeks. Besides, the Eagles' offensive line hasn't been able to create lanes for the running backs to break free as they have used to do so. Pass protection has also been dreadful, as Wentz has been sacked 35 times in just 9 games this season. To put this in comparison, he has been sacked 37 times in 16 games last season, 31 times in 11 games in 2018, 28 times in 13 games in 2017, and 33 times in 16 games in 2016. At the current rate where the Eagles have been going this season, Wentz is on pace to be sacked 62 times this season.

Eagles' Starting Lineups: Offensive Line, By the Weeks

    In Week 1, the Eagles' starters on the offensive line were Jason Peters at left tackle, Isaac Seumalo at left guard, Jason Kelce at center, Nate Herbig at right guard, and Jack Driscoll at right tackle. Star right guard Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles in June and was ruled out for the season. In Week 2, starting right tackle Lane Johnson was inserted into the lineup as he came back from injury. Isaac Seumalo went down with an injury, and Matt Pryor was inserted into the starting lineup in Week 3 at right guard. Peters went down with an injury during the tie against the Bengals, and then the Eagles inserted Jordan Mailata at left tackle for his first career start in Week 4. They would keep the same lineup of Mailata, Pryor, Kelce, Herbig, and Johnson in Week 5, but Johnson went down with an injury during the loss to the Steelers as Driscoll was thrown back into the lineup. Pryor was injured as well, and the Eagles started Jamon Brown in Week 6, who was signed off the practice squad as an injury replacement to Pryor. Following the struggles of Brown during the Week 6 loss to the Ravens, Brown was released, but was re-signed to the practice squad. He would be elevated to the active roster for Week 7, but was benched in favor of Sua Opeta, who started at left guard, as Herbig reverted back to the right guard. Johnson would come back from injury, but would be re-injured. Peters and Pryor would return in Week 8, as Mailata would transition over to right tackle for the game, Pryor would start at right guard, and Herbig at left guard. Coming off their bye week, the Eagles made another change at the offensive line heading into Week 10. Herbig, who started all eight games before the bye week, was not on the active roster. Opeta would start at left guard during the loss to the Giants. After the game, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson revealed that Herbig sustained a "little hand issue" during the Eagles' practice heading up to the game.

So, Is the Fault Entirely on Wentz?

    No. The blame is not entirely on Wentz. But there is something that should be noted. During the offseason, the Eagles brought in Rich Scangarello, who helped implement a lot of play action on the Broncos offense that helped Drew Lock thrive. They also brought in Marty Mornhinweg, who was last employed by the Ravens, and helped with the breakout with Lamar Jackson during his rookie season. Therefore, the Eagles were going to face lots of play action passes to try and get Wentz outside of the pocket, giving him more opportunities to make plays on the run.

    It may still be the case, especially with all the injuries the offensive line had to deal with. Wentz is on the move more often because of the intense pressure he is facing when he stays in the pocket. But even if he had an offensive line full of starters to reduce the exposure to pressure, Wentz would still have issues with accuracy and decision-making. The Eagles still pass the ball 63.7% of the time, only behind the Jaguars (64.79%) and the Bears (66.3%), per TeamRankings.com. Given Wentz's struggles and recklessness with the ball, this draws concerns. Accuracy issues have been bothering him this season. He's missing passes, whether it be on the deep ball or on short passes, and even on screen passes. And it's not because of injuries or the lack of high-end talent, it's more to do with weight transfer.

    Some are even saying that he hasn't had a true #1 wide receiver in his career, but from what we have seen this season, there is one that has the potential to do so this season: Travis Fulgham, who spent the majority of the 2019 season on the Lions' practice squad. Ever since Week 4 of this season, Fulgham has become Wentz's go-to guy, but it's not enough for Wentz to hide his flaws.

Similar Scenarios...

    So far this season, Wentz has been sacked on 9.23% of his dropbacks, according to TeamRankings.com. That is an average of almost one sack per drive. But he is not alone here, he's got company on the list of quarterbacks who have been constantly under relentless pressure.

Randall Cunningham (1990)

    Cunningham was sacked 49 times during the 1990 season, but still led the Eagles to a 10-6 record. Despite losing 461 yards due to sacks, he still threw for 30 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That season's Eagles started out 1-3. This season's Eagles are currently 3-5-1. But the problem with this season's Eagles is that five of their last seven opponents they will face in their upcoming schedule have winning records.

Aaron Rodgers (2009)

    Rodgers was sacked on 8.5% of his dropbacks in the 2009 season. He still threw for 4,434 yards with a passer rating of 103.2, and 30 touchdowns and 7 picks. He also led all quarterbacks in rushing yards that season. After a 4-4 start, he led the Packers to an 11-5 record, winning 7 of their final 8 games on their way to the playoffs.

Russell Wilson (2013 and 2015)

    Despite throwing for 3,475 yards, 20 touchdowns and 7 picks in his Super Bowl-winning season, Wilson was sacked 42 times in that season. Two seasons after that, not much has changed in the terms of the sack department: He was sacked 45 times. But he would still pass for 34 touchdowns and 8 picks while leading the Seahawks to a 10-6 record, winning 8 of the last 10 games after a 2-4 start. That season, he had Doug Baldwin, who caught 80.4% of Wilson's passes when he was targeted. In comparison, Travis Fulgham caught 82.9% of Wentz's passes this season so far when he was targeted.

Andrew Luck (2016)

    Wentz draws a lot of comparison to Andrew Luck. And those comparisons could be true. If you look back at Luck's 2016 season, he was sacked 41 times and faced relentless pressure all season long to where he missed the entire 2017 season. Even if he eclipsed the 4,000-passing yard barrier and threw for 31 touchdowns and 13 picks while leading the Colts to an 8-7 record in the 15 games he played in, the one thing that Luck in 2016 and Wentz in 2020 have in common is that they have had no help from their offensive line.

Should the Eagles Move On from Wentz?

    Football fans and analysts have been criticizing Wentz for his poor play on the field this season. Even former players - including Brett Favre, who said that the team should have went with Nick Foles as their starting quarterback over Wentz following the Eagles' win in Super Bowl LII - have joined in on the criticism. But the Eagles cannot, and should not, move on from Wentz. After being questioned about Favre's criticism multiple times, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson backed up his stance on keeping Wentz, telling the media, "Carson's our guy. Carson was our draft pick. Carson's the guy that is going to carry us and lead this football team.

    Former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook agreed with Pederson, pointing out that Wentz is the Eagles' best option to lead the Eagles not only in this season, but in their future. That is true. Outside of no help from the offensive line, Westbrook also pointed out that another reason for the Eagles' struggles this season is the lack of consistency. The Eagles have been plagued with injuries this season, and the NFL not having a preseason, along with the limited offseason practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have contributed to that.

    In addition, Jalen Hurts hasn't proven himself as a starter yet. The only times he has been thrust into action is when he was used in "trick" packages. He is not being utilized as a traditional backup. He hasn't led an NFL drive, let alone a series, yet. Benching Wentz would be a panic move made by Pederson and would take him off the hook for having his team practically being unprepared for their games, especially in the first halves. It would also hold Wentz back from his development, too. If the Eagles were to start Hurts, it would throw the rookie quarterback right into a trap: He would be playing with one of the worst offensive lines in the league, skill players constantly rotating in and out of games, and a defense that has been playing bad football.

    In the end, do the Eagles have a Carson Wentz problem? Yes and no. Wentz may be trying to do too much with the football, but at the same time, does not have the help from his offensive line like he once had.