The Chip Wagon

Brains and Brawn- Why Carson Wentz is the Real Deal

When Carson Wentz was drafted #2 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles, there was little to question about his physical attributes and skillset. It seems the biggest question was whether he could transition from FCS to the NFL, adjust to the speed of the game and eventually handle the mental adjustments that are required of top NFL QBs. From the Senior Bowl, to the Combine to private workouts; news started to leak about how impressed organizations were with Wentz's football IQ. For all the positive endorsements Pederson, Reich and DeFillipo have given Wentz since he joined the Eagles, I don't think anyone was anticipating the kind of results we've seen on the field through the first 2 weeks. Before we get to that, let's start with a quick note on the physical attributes. Folks like the irreplaceable Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) have done an amazing job of highlighting some of the jaw-dropping throws Carson has made through weeks 1 & 2. Below is just another example of why Carson Wentz belongs on NFL turf on Sundays. Not every NFL QB can make a throw like this:

Generally when a QB gets picked in the top 5, he has off the charts physical attributes. However the phrase "how does he project" often gets thrown around and is ultimately what makes or breaks a lot of GM and coaches tenures. As we've all witnessed over and over again, there is so much more to a star NFL QB than physical attributes (see Vick, Russell, Griffin III, etc.) As fun as it is to have a QB who makes throws like the one above, by far the most promising thing about Carson Wentz's game is how well he's handled the mental responsibilities of the position. Let's have a look at a few plays.  

The Eagles Ground Game: From Hot Mess to Work in Progress

Needless to say, the Eagles really needed to get the ground game working if we were to expect to see any improvements on the offensive side of the ball. Fortunately, we saw that on Sunday against a tough New York Jets front. Fran Duffy over at Philadelphiaeagles.com did a great job outlining how the Eagles game-planned against that Jets defensive front with a heavy dose of outside running to avoid the interior of the Jets DL. Certainly, after reviewing the All-22 we saw some major improvements in the execution of the run game, but Chip also did an excellent job of moving away from the inside zone and sweep play and introduced a bit more diversity in the run game. In this post, we'll talk a little bit about how Chip mixed up formations and used a heavy dose of outside zone to attack the Jets with some decent success. That said, the Eagles only averaged 3.2 yards per carry on Sunday, and even against a strong Jets front, that is a number that needs to improve moving forward. As you'll see in this post, this group is still a work in progress who now faces another challenge in dealing with Andrew Gardner's season-ending injury. 

A Momentary Sigh of Relief but QB Struggles Continue

Let me first start by saying that it's great to get the first win. Especially combined with a Cowboys loss. The defensive play was very encouraging and Darren Sproles gave us another instant classic on STs. All I can say is thank the Pope that the defense and STs unit showed up. We'll have more on the running game a bit later once the All-22 comes out. Lots of interesting stuff mixed in and it was great to see so much outside zone eventhough the execution remains a hair off. But let's get right down to it. I'm generally not the guy who dumps on the team after a much needed win, I'll generally take wins anytime I can get it. But I have bigger aspirations for this team than simply a title in a crappy NFC East and a playoff appearance. It was widely acknowledged that the biggest thing Chip Kelly needed to get this team over the hump was a franchise QB. Unfortunately, Sam Bradford continues to NOT look the part. 

The Eagles Passing Game is a Hot Mess

Yesterday I broke down just how bad the Eagles ground game was on Sunday. Problems amongst almost every member of the offensive line. Still, it isn’t the first time an NFL team has had to overcome a poor ground game performance. Unfortunately, the Eagles passing offense might be even worse right now with erratic QB play front and center. When Chip Kelly traded Nick Foles and a 2^nd round pick for Sam Bradford all the concern was surrounding Bradford’s health. People thought it was a terrible move considering he was coming off back to back ACL injuries. That said, the optimists among us said if, just if, Sam could stay healthy he’s the exact QB Chip Kelly is looking for. Great arm, intelligent, quick decision maker with repetitive pinpoint accuracy. Despite Sam’s lackluster QB stats and win-loss record, of which most blamed coaching and supporting cast, people believed that Bradford could still be what everyone thought he would be as the #1 overall pick many years ago. 

The Eagles Run Game is a Hot Mess

Another week, another unexpected disappointment from the Eagles offense. I did not expect that. It was certainly one of the poorest offensive performances I've seen from an Eagles offense in a long, long time. Very little encouragement to take out of this one. 

We all know Chip Kelly's Eagles as a run-first team. That's the way it's been since he's been here. So it shouldn't be surprising that when the Eagles can't get the running game going, it bogs the whole offense down. As I suggested on the weekend, I expected Chip to mix things up in the running game a bit more, but unfortunately, we did not see that on Sunday. Once again, it was a ground game based mostly on inside zone and sweep. He did run a bit more from under center this week presumably to try disguise the direction of the run play. It didn't work against the Cowboys but it was mostly because of poor run blocking up front. Now this doesn't excuse the play of Sam Bradford and the WRs, more on that later, but for now the Eagles have a ton of issues along the offensive line with the run game and they must get it sorted out. I wish I could just lay the blame on the two biggest question marks of the offseason like I did last week, but Andrew Gardner and Allen Barbre were hardly the biggest culprits on Sunday. I'm afraid this game is going to look even uglier when the All-22 comes out, but a number of blocking issues could be seen miles away on the TV feed.