To Bench Or Not To Bench

Carson Wentz is an incredibly talented quarterback. He’s also human. That means that he’s not always going to be at his best. There are times when he is going to struggle. We’re seeing far too much of that in 2020.

Some have brought up the idea of Doug Pederson benching his star QB. When a player is struggling, sometimes the smart move is to sit them down.

Doug Pederson said he won’t bench Wentz. He wants Wentz to work through his problems. Getting back key players around him should take pressure off Wentz and help him to play better. At least that’s the theory.

So let’s talk about whether Pederson should bench Wentz. Would that be a good idea?

Quarterback is the most important position in football. You have to treat it and the men who play it differently than everything else. This isn’t like benching your left guard or running back or safety.

When you bench a QB, that can affect the player for the rest of his career. It can permanently change the relationship between the QB and the coach. This isn’t a decision you make lightly. You only make this move when things are desperate.

It is one thing to pull a QB out of a blowout loss. You might see your guy taking a pounding and decide enough is enough. QB’s don’t like that, but it is very different from pulling them out of a close game or sitting them from a start. That’s when you can really affect a player’s confidence.

Are you really going to pull Wentz out when the team is down 9-7 at halftime? You go in make adjustments and see what happens in the second half. Wentz led the team on a TD drive in the mid-third that gave the Eagles the lead for good. There wasn’t a clear-cut time in that game that made any sense.

You could sit Wentz for the upcoming game with the Giants. Let him see how Jalen Hurts does running the team. But what if Hurts plays like a rookie and struggles? What if he turns the ball over multiple times? Did you really change anything with Wentz?

Wentz is struggling. The Eagles are having a down season, in part because of Wentz. But this is an anomaly. Wentz played some of his best football to close out the 2019 season. 2020 is just a weird year, for a variety of reasons. Wentz is still one of the most talented QBs in the league. You need to let him play his way through this.

Even though the Eagles are in first place, I consider this a lost season. This is the year you leave Wentz in and let him work through his issues. The number one priority for the rest of this season and the offseason is getting Wentz fixed.

If I thought this team had a chance to make some noise in the playoffs, I might feel differently. The Eagles struggled to beat a bad Dallas team with a rookie QB on Sunday night. The Eagles should improve as some players return, but this is a flawed team and will be all season long.

The only real reason to sit Wentz would be if you thought playing behind a makeshift OL and with marginal skill players would create bad habits that might set in permanently. My guess is that Pederson sees things differently, with players starting to return. He wants Wentz to get experience playing with Travis Fulgham, Jalen Reagor, John Hightower and other young skill players.

This is the year to learn on the job. Hopefully that will pay off with better results in the future, whether that is late this season or in future seasons.

*****

The trade deadline came and went. No moves for the Eagles.

That was the smart thing to do. This wasn’t the year to try and bring in a player. The Eagles need all their picks for the next couple of drafts.

As far as trading vets, injuries to Zach Ertz and DeSean Jackson killed that. Both might have been shopped if they were healthy.

I don’t think any team was going to overpay for veteran help this year with all the uncertainty out there. Best just to keep your veterans and let things play out this season.

*****

The Eagles did lose one player. Houston signed QB Josh McCown. Good for Josh.

No idea if the Eagles will look to add a QB to the practice squad. They signed TE Jason Croom for now, but might want another insurance QB once they’ve had a chance to look around and see what’s out there.

_

Doug’s Case

Doug Pederson is the coach of a first place team. His Eagles won the NFC East last year. They won the Super Bowl two years before that. Since coming to Philly, Doug’s teams have won in the regular season and postseason.

It drives Doug crazy that all anyone wants to talk about is the losing record and the lack of style points. Fans and media saw Sunday night’s performance as more flawed than gritty. Doug saw a team of rookies and backups coming together to win a key game and keep them atop the division.

I totally get where he’s coming from. I also think you have to talk about the fact you were facing Ben DiNucci and a bad Dallas team. The Cowboys did show more heart than in recent weeks, but they still were very clearly a mess. The fact the Eagles trailed 9-7 at almost the end of the third quarter should be a real problem for anyone making an honest evaluation of the team.

Let’s set that aside for a minute and look at things from Doug’s point of view.

His team is 3-4-1 and in first place. They are in the middle of the bye week, getting much needed rest. The next game is still more than 10 days away and his team will be as healthy as they’ve been all season.Think about the difference that Miles Sanders and Lane Johnson might have made on Sunday night.

We have yet to see this group play together:

Carson Wentz
Miles Sanders
Zach Ertz – Dallas Goedert
Travis Fulgham – Jalen Reagor
An OL with Jason Peters and Lane Johnson starting and backup OTs Jordan Mailata and Jack Driscoll ready to go if needed.

That isn’t counting role players like Boston Scott, Greg Ward, John Hightower and Jalen Hurts. The offense could actually have some real firepower. I left off Isaac Seumalo because I don’t know when or if to expect him back.

What about Alshon Jeffery? Doug and the team keep talking him up. I know some think that was purely an attempt to work out a trade, which didn’t happen. We’re in wait and see mode. Will he play at all? Is he still any good? I will remind you that he was 9-137-1 in his last full game (vs Miami). Of course, that seems like a lifetime ago.

You can see where Doug is thinking “Just get me this group of players and let’s see what we can do.”

Obviously it doesn’t matter who is on the field if Wentz continues to struggle and turn the ball over. Doug is hoping that the OL can stabilize and having better skill players will make a huge difference. Wentz would no longer feel the pressure to carry the offense. He could just distribute the ball and make plays when the chance is there. Wentz did that brilliantly back in 2017.

What about the defense?

The D-line has been excellent this year. Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox continue to give offenses fits. Josh Sweat and Malik Jackson are having breakout seasons. Javon Hargrave showed signs of coming alive last week.

The linebackers showed real signs of life. Alex Singleton and T.J. Edwards each played 62 snaps vs Dallas. They combined for 19 tackles, a sack and a FF. Maybe the Eagles have found something in them. Duke Riley is highly inconsistent. Shaun Bradley and Davion Taylor remain athletic projects.

The secondary has been a turnstile all year, with guys coming and going from the injured list. The Eagles have a chance to have their top seven defensive backs healthy for the Giants game. Doug sees that and thinks that maybe they can come together down the stretch.

Doug sees the potential of this team. A handful of plays could have turned a tight SNF game into the expected blowout. His team is still finding a way to win despite the injuries and sloppy play. If they can get healthy and in sync, the Eagles could put together another strong finish.

2017 – 6-2
2018 – 5-3
2019 – 5-3

I don’t blame Doug for seeing the glass as half full. I just hope he knows the opposite could also be true. Optimistic is fine. Delusional is not.

Even if this team does finish well, there are serious problems that need to be addressed in the offseason.

For now, let Doug enjoy his ice cream and the team’s potential. We’ll discuss the problems in another post.

_