EAGLEMANIACAL.com

LAST season QB Carson Wentz (hopefully) learned a valuable lesson: While he may have been considered athletic in college, he does not possess the speed to routinely beat NFL players (even some DE’s) to the edge on bootlegs. This sounds like a knock at first, but really it isn’t. The idea isn’t to tell Wentz not to run. That would be insane. The idea is to tell him to run for cheap yards.

For example, we’ve all seen plays where a QB drops back to pass, the pocket splits in front of him, and the MLB isn’t there. On 1^st or 2^nd and 10, or on 3^rd and 5 and similar, those are perfect downs for a Wentz to run 4 yards, dive for the last 1, and be tagged down where he won’t take any punishment. First down! Or he does take a shot while on the ground, it’s an extra 15 for a hit that 99.97% of the time won’t result in an injury. Running for cheap yards is can’t miss.

Since Wentz isn’t seen as a dangerous “running QB” he should be coached to look for that run. Not just reminded of it, but encouraged to take it if he sees it. Yeah, it’s less exciting than throwing a 20 yard strike, but if he can steal a guaranteed 1^st down with a quick 5 yard run, then screw the 20 yard pass and run the damned ball!

For almost three decades now, I have always wondered why my team seems obsessed with doing everything the hard way. For once, I’d like to be one of those teams that figures out a cheap and easy way to make life horrible, just absolutely horrible, week in and week out for our opponents.