The most important relationship
The bond between a quarterback and his offensive coordinator is arguably one of the most important on an NFL team. For Carson Wentz, that link was weakened in 2018. Frank Reich departed for Indianapolis and Mike Groh was promoted to take over. This would be fine, if the offense was still built around Wentz, but it wasn't.
From week 15 of 2017 through to week 3 of 2018, the offense was reshaped around Nick Foles. Carson Wentz was unable to practice with the team due to rehabbing his torn ACL, meaning that receivers got used to the timing, placement, and rhythm of the offense with Foles at the helm.
This may explain some of the stutters along the way last season, stutters that somehow didn't stop Wentz putting up exceptional numbers despite still clearly not being 100%.
But now, Nick Foles is in Jacksonville, Wentz is fully healthy and will have a full offseason to re-mold the offense to his strengths, add new levels of complexion and ensure that he and Groh are on the same page going into 2019. It's subtle, but the impact that a lost offseason had on this team last year cannot be overstated.
A balanced run game
The Eagles offense has seemingly followed the same patterns since Pederson's arrival. To begin with, the run-game is virtually nonexistent before one blistering breakout balances the offense. Just as things begin to really pick up, injuries destroy any hopes of sustenance and depth is sorely tested. Whether it’s Ryan Mathews or Jay Ajayi, it’s not as if the Eagles have lacked productive backs, it’s been keeping them on the field that’s the problem.
Now, enter Jordan Howard. I could sit here all day and talk about the former Chicago running back's 74% conversion rate last year in short-yardage situations or the fact that despite a career-low in yards per carry, he actually averaged 4.3 when rushing out of the shotgun. We could discuss Howard’s physical style of play, his home-run potential and his success in pass-protection…or we could simply state that the insertion of a bowling-ball back who has 250+ carries in all three of his NFL seasons and one that has missed just one game in that time, should bring a sense of reliability to the backfield.
Then we factor in the drafting of Miles Sanders. Selected with the 53rd overall pick, the Eagles haven't selected a back that high since LeSean McCoy was drafted with the exact same pick. It's a substantial investment and one that should ultimately see a renewed focus on finding creative ways to run the ball.
Regardless of how the backfield battles shake out, the focus given to the position this offseason, combined with the accomplishment of retaining all of the offensive linemen who were on the team during that iconic 2017 season, should take the weight off the shoulders of Carson Wentz.
Wentz shouldn't be put in a situation where he's expected to throw 40+ times per game all that often, which
A) Reduces the injury risk B) Keeps defense honest since they have to respect the running game. C) As a result, opens up the offense for Wentz to really thrive as opposed to being forced into giving what the defense wants.
Continued on the page below.
The need for speed
If there's been one thing missing from the Eagles offense since the drafting of Carson Wentz, it's a reliable WR2 who can take the top off a defense. Dorial Green-Beckham was, well, the less said about that, the better. Torrey Smith was inconsistent and Mike Wallace had his season ripped from under his feet.
The team went out of their way to bring DeSean Jackson home this offseason, giving Wentz the lightning rod needed to allow him to let it rip with confidence. The 32-year old still averaged over 18 yards per reception last year, adding a further 774 to his tally along with 4 touchdowns.
According to PFF, Carson Wentz landed a 91.1 passer grade on hitch routes last year, while DeSean Jackson averages a receiving grade of 91.3 on that exact same route.
When diving into Jackson's 2018 tape, playing for a team who led the NFL in passing offense, it's hard not to get excited about what Jackson's route-tree, that is far more refined and a lot deeper than it was during his first stint with the team, and how that links with Carson Wentz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eN6sLL6a6M
Jackson isn't just a threat to take the top off a defense that has to be respected, but he can wreak havoc underneath if given too much respect. It's this kind of ability to manipulate a secondary that the Eagles loved in Alshon Jeffery (although a different way) and having both on the field at the same time is just a terrifying prospect for a quarterback who ranked seventh in deep-ball accuracy last season.
Maturity
Even when battling the setbacks mentioned in the first section, Wentz developed. His mobility (as shown below) was sorely hampered in 2018, not just from a scrambling and Houdini perspective, but simple maneuverability inside the pocket almost completely disappeared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_0-9mBX8WY
But that somehow didn't stop Carson Wentz from realizing his own limitations and completing a career-high 69.6% of passes. Not only that, but per SIS, Wentz completed 81% of passes vs base defenses, leading the NFL in that category.
His development as a passer not only helped facilitate a historical season for Zach Ertz, but also shed the skin of 'not being clutch'. With several game winning drives to his name last year, Wentz was able to get that hump off his back and prove that he can lead the offense when it counts, even if severely hampered.
Off the field...
But Wentz hasn't just had to develop on the field. After 'that' article came out at the beginning of the offseason, calling his character into question using anonymous sources, Wentz had to set the record straight, one way or another, and did so in the most eloquent and level-headed way possible.
"I know who I am, first of all. I know how I carry myself. I know I'm not perfect. I know I have flaws," he said during a sit-down interview with a small group of reporters at the Eagles' practice facility recently. "So I'm not going to sit here and say it was inaccurate and completely made up. I'm not going to do that. But at the end of the day, I will say our locker room is really close. If there were guys that had issues, in hindsight, I wish we could have just talked about them. But, again, I don't know how that all happened and everything with that."
"You go through the injury, and you're just 100 percent determined to get back, that's, like, what my mind is on. And looking back, were there things that maybe I neglected as a teammate and as a friend because I was just so determined and that's all that mattered?" Wentz said.
Whether the article that ripped Wentz to shreds held weight or not, the Eagles QB responded with a level of humility that not many would've expected. I for one wouldn't have been so calm about an article that claimed how selfish I was at times.
Wentz has come a long way since being drafted out of North Dakota State in 2016. Now a $128M man, he's gone from an FCS standout to a would-be MVP in 2017, before having to battle adversity one year later. Now, he's a leading MVP candidate who is in the perfect situation to dominate in a way that should put him at the forefront of the MVP conversation if all goes to plan.
