Deploying Wentz in short yardage a sign of health
PHILADELPHIA » Any internal doubts the Eagles may have had about Carson Wentz’s health were dispelled in the regular season opener.
And not because Wentz completed 71.8 percent of his pass attempts for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Washington.
Three successful quarterback sneaks on third- or fourth-andshort said it all. The Eagles didn’t let Wentz run even one last year as he came back from a knee injury and then suffered a hairline fracture in his back.
Add the conversions to the career numbers and Wentz is 21-for23 on short-yardage quarterback sneaks. Wentz applauded center Jason Kelce, right guard Brandon Brooks and left guard Isaac Seumalo for the push.
“The key is the big guys up front,” Wentz said. “Especially the three interior guys — Kelce and Brooks and Isaac. Those three and the surge from really everybody, that makes my job easy. Coach trusts me with that, coach trusts the O-line to get the surge no matter what the front is. And we’re able to stay on the field for a lot of those.”
Make no mistake, Wentz plays a significant role in the sneaks, much like Tom Brady does with deadly efficiency for Patriots. Being 6-5 is an obvious advantage. It also helps being 237 pounds. Imagine trying to bring him down while Brooks, listed at 335 pounds, is bulldozing you.
“It’s been a great play for us,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “We try to run behind Brandon, the right guard, the right side. He’s powerful and the way he gets low, that’s a key in those situations. There’s just such a great surge. Kelce gets low, Isaac gets low. If we can get underneath their pad level and move them off their spots … And then Carson, big strong and powerful and long himself to be able to stretch the ball. It’s a simple play conceptually but sometimes it can be a very difficult thing form the standpoint of how they want to defend it. I just think our guys, it’s a mindset.”
Varying the cadence also can be a factor, and Wentz is getting comfortable in that department as well. He hasn’t reached the level of Aaron Rodgers, who draws an average of close to one offside penalty per game. But Wentz is adept at mixing the cadence, and that also can give the Eagles the edge on the short-yardage sneaks.
“I try not to overthink it because to some extent we believe our guys are going to be able to win this surge,” Wentz said. “I try not to overcomplicate it.”
Brooks appreciates the simplicity of the sneaks, and the will to win them. Sneaks may be a misnomer.
“I feel the defense knows when a quarterback sneak is coming,” Brooks said. “You’re breaking the huddle fast, you have half a foot splits, there’s a certain type of cadence. So I would think guys kind of know. But at the same time, there’s nothing you can really do. What I mean by that is you can slant the front but that’s not what you want to do because we’re coming in straight. You can try to get down in there, but I think we do a good job as far as getting that surge, staying low and keeping our feet driving. And Carson is a bigger and longer guy and that obviously helps to have that back there. He can keep his legs driving and kind of go over the top for a first down.
“Some of it’s on us but he does a great job as far as finding the gap and getting in there.”
The bottom line for the Eagles is if you want to know if Wentz is healthy, watch what the team does in short yardage.
••• Nick Foles sustained a fractured clavicle throwing a touchdown pass in his debut with Jacksonville.
Who would have believed the cat who bailed the Eagles out the last two seasons would go down so soon?
It’s safe to say Wentz said a prayer for Foles.
“I did reach out to Nick,” Wentz said. “I love Nick to death, the competitor that he is. That’s really a bummer unfortunately. But you know that’s what we sign up for. There’s so many things you can’t control. And I know he believes that. He believes that God is using that for a reason. To be able to just go through it from a faith standpoint for him, I know it’s tough but I know he’ll handle it well.”
••• Newly signed defensive tackle Akeem Spence, 27, is a veteran of six seasons with some not real good teams.
But with Malik Jackson likely to miss the season with a Lisfranc injury, the Eagles have an immediate need for Spence, who has five sacks the past two seasons.
“Akeem Spence will be activated,” Pederson said. “He’s a big guy. Physical. He can be disruptive. He definitely fills the need that we have there at that open spot. He’ll give us some real good minutes.”
Jackson, cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc and tight end Richard Rodgers, who was released after an injury settlement, all are victims of the Lisfranc foot injury over the last month and change.
“This is kind of like the injury that’s popped up on our team this year,” Pederson said. “It seems like every year it’s a different one. But we’re looking into that. We’re getting a lot of data from league sources that we’ve dealt with in the past. We try to educate our players on the field surface issues, all kinds of stuff.”