quarterback

All posts tagged quarterback

CARSON’S BACK!

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/19
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Inside The Helmet, Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LET’S have a conversation that no one is having right now. Just how bad is QB Carson Wentz’s back? It occurs to me that the Eagles concerns may be more physical than mental. Which would also explain why the team drafted QB Jalen Hurts as high as they did, before there was even a whisper of Wentz struggling.

Let’s run the clock back to December 2018. Wentz was diagnosed with a stress fracture of his vertebrae, and though he could have played and wanted to, the Eagles elected to shelve him and let the fracture heal without surgery.

In 2019 Wentz started all 16 games, posted a 9 – 7 mark, threw for 4,000 yards, 27 TD, just 7 picks, while leading an injury decimated team to a division win. Given what he had to work with, or more accurately, what he didn’t have to work with, it could be argued that 2019 may have been Wentz’s best football so far. No one ever mentioned his back.

In a corner, on his knees, between his numbers. I cannot BEGIN to describe the level of difficulty on this throw. Then there’s the balls to even attempt it, and the rare ability to actually complete it.

Still, despite Wentz’s 2019 season, the Eagles took a QB in the second round of 2020’s Draft. Fans hated the pick when it happened. Entering Training Camp, we saw a beefier Carson Wentz. While there was a little bit of “Dad” in his middle, his shoulders and chest looked like he’d been really putting in time with the weights.

Unlike other positions, quarterbacks and aggressive weightlifting usually don’t mix well. Increasing shoulder and bicep density, has a way of altering throwing mechanics. Often unpredictably. This subject came up at the very beginning of camp, but none of us held onto it, nor even revisited it when Wentz struggled this year.

Adding up everything, the 2018 back injury, the career full of short yardage scrums, the more aggressive running in 2020, the 87 sacks over the last 2 seasons, not to mention the contortions that he goes through whenever he escapes a sack… You have to wonder if there is anything to know about Wentz’s back.

As a subject that no one is discussing, it’s of course going to generate zero questions, and zero articles. (Unless you’re smart enough to read here.) That gives the Eagles a chance to sell possibly damaged goods, (or goods predicted to have a shorter shelf-life), to a team that doesn’t do enough due diligence.

I have no inside information on this, and I’m not looking to start a rumor. I however AM still trying to understand the drafting of Hurts. Wentz didn’t struggle last year. So why the urgency in drafting a QB? Some point to his injury history and say, “Insurance Policy”. Truthfully, I said the same thing. At first.

If you just need a guy to fill in for a few games, a free agent veteran will do. Hell, just keeping QB Nate Sudfeld would’ve done! But to draft a QB in the second round? After your Franchise guy just showed the world why he’s the Franchise guy? Like I said, that trigger was pulled BEFORE Wentz struggled. They didn’t get him a tool, they got him competition.

Quarterback factory. Factory. That means that the Eagles intend to produce something they can sell. Merch they can move. So are the Eagles about to be in the business of selling lemons? Or are we about to start churning out MVP capable QB’s, and then shipping them to opponents? It’ll be interesting to see Howie do this. (See what I did there?)

STABILITY AT QUARTERBACK

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/06/18
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

nick_foles_carson_wentz_nate_sudfeld_1.jpg

CARSON Wentz has missed 8 of a possible 48 regular season games, and all 5 of the Eagles postseason games in the last two years. Still with the amount of talk about him being injured, you’d think he’d missed whole seasons, and didn’t contribute heavily to BOTH of the Eagles playoff runs.

The perception is that he’s always hurt, but let’s step back and look at the facts:

1) In 2017 he suffered a common football injury, when he tore up his knee whilst diving for a touchdown in a game where we were down 24 – 28. The touchdown was called back, but he got up on that torn up knee and threw a touchdown on the subsequent play. The victory would go a long way towards our playoff seeding, helping us secure our fourth championship via our first Super Bowl win

2) The first two games he missed in 2018 were the team holding him out, until they got medical clearance to allow him to play. This was done despite Carson’s insistence that he could practice and play.

3) The last three games he missed in 2018 were due to the team shutting him down when damage was found to his vertebrae. This was also despite Carson’s insistence that he could play.

4) Only three of Wentz’s missed regular season games were directly the result of his injury. Five of his misses were the Eagles organization being cautious with their Franchise QB, and shutting him down over his public objections. That’s not fragility. That’s a smart organization thinking of the big picture.

Offense

Yes, Wentz has missed 8 starts in two years, 13 counting playoffs. Those are facts, and indisputable as such. However, facts without context leads to poor perception, which leads to poor understanding. Garnering facts without understanding them, is in many ways worse than not having the facts at all, as it leads people to assume that they get what’s happening, when nothing could be further.

Now with a mega-deal in place. Wentz will be expected/allowed to play through things the team used to shut him down over. That’s not to say he’ll never miss time. He has a history of injuries and the body doesn’t age in reverse. What it means is, it will likely take a catastrophe to get him off the field, going forward. Expect to see him out there.

That said, this article is called STABILITY AT QUARTERBACK. That means the whole position not just at Starter. So let’s look a little deeper in the bag and see what we have in here.

Nate Sudfeld.jpg

Many fans are wishing QB Nick Foles was still an Eagle and they might get that wish granted. In a roundabout way. QB Nate Sudfeld has a similar build, a sneaky sort of athleticism, and also plays within himself, while trusting the system he plays in. Nothing about him screams Pro Bowler, but he’s been nothing but solid when asked to step in.

He hasn’t been as bold as Foles, but then again he hasn’t had the benefit of ever being a team’s starter. He’s going into his third season with the same system and core players. He’s on a 1-year deal, but with the plethora of young QB’s all over the league, even if he left after this season, he’s walking into another back-up job. With a brand new system to learn. So expect him to be here in 2020.2019 Clayton Thorson .jpg

Rookie QB Clayton Thorson reminds me a lot of Carson, back when he came out of college. Word has it that Clayton didn’t look great in mini-camp, so he’ll have a steep hill to climb to challenge for that #2 spot in Training Camp. Which is almost certainly for the best. A year wearing a baseball cap, carrying a clipboard, and asking Nate questions is probably the best thing for him.

It’s hard to tell if QB Cody Kessler is just a camp body, or the Eagles hedging to have depth already on the roster, just in case of injury during Training Camp. Word is, he’s looked good in mini-camp, but what else would you expect from a 4 year vet, with starts on his resume?

So lets re-cap. Carson doesn’t miss with injuries that often, Nate is experienced within the system, with the players, and even with the weather we get late in the year. Cody is the second most experienced QB, and Clayton is all up-side. Of all of them, Carson and Cody are the oldest at 26. It would take very little to sign a couple of these guys to long-term deals. So yeah. The Eagles are stocked and stable at QB.

Mack Hollins.gif

THERE IS NO PLAN.

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/09
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Crazy Talk, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, Super Bowl, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Wentz or Foles.jpg

MY position a couple weeks ago, had QB Carson Wentz starting, and QB Nick Foles returning to the bench, if the Eagles made these 2018-2019 NFL playoffs. It was the only thing that made sense out of not putting Wentz on Injured Reserve after he was found to have fractures in his back. After all, you keep an athlete active to play him. If he isn’t going to play at all, you shut him down for the year, and put him on IR. That’s how this game works. It’s no-brainer kind of stuff.

Wentz playing in these playoffs seemed like a given, due to several (still pertinent) factors:

1) The Eagles need to evaluate how much money they’re going to pay Wentz on his extension.

2) Wentz’s contract will likely set the new market.

3) Raiders QB Derek Carr missed one game with this injury in 2017, and Lions QB Matt Stafford missed zero games with this injury in 2018. (Wentz missing these last FOUR games indicates that he’s not as tough or as hungry to compete.)

All those things can be thrown out the window, if the Eagles have already decided that Wentz’s next contract isn’t their problem. In which case, you shut him down to avoid any distraction, and chart a clear course with Foles. Again, this is all no-brainer stuff.

Unless of course, the Front Office expectation was that Foles was going to flop against Chicago’s #1 ranked defense. Had that happened, it could be stated that there is no “Foles magic”, that there’s nothing to see, and we can move on.

nothing to see here.gif

If that’s what the FO wanted, it completely blew up in their faces with a clutch touchdown drive, followed by a miraculous, unheard of, tipped and double doinked field goal miss.

NOW the problem is, with every playoff win, the notion of Foles magic grows exponentially. The farther we go, the harder it will be to get this fan base to accept Wentz again as the starter, with out half of the base calling it a step backwards.

Should Foles win another Super Bowl this year, shipping him out, or (finding a way to afford him and) sitting him behind Wentz again, sets Wentz up as a sham QB. In fact, if we repeat, anything short of Wentz winning one next year, says that the Eagles are where we were before we drafted Wentz. Searching for a QB who can deliver.

The only way out of this, is for Wentz to play and win in these playoffs. That’s it. At that point Foles isn’t magic, and Wentz isn’t magic, the Eagles are magic. Nothing short of that gets the whole fan base all on one bus, and allows Foles to leave here and Wentz to stay here smoothly.

Short of a Wentz  won SB in 2019 or 2020, Head Coach Doug Pederson can look forward to the remainder of his tenure being marred by questions about whether Wentz is over-paid, and if his bosses goofed when they took away the only magic this franchise has ever laid claim to.

Not a good look.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/23
Posted in: Crazy Talk, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Eagletransparent

 

BEEN a crazy couple a days, so I’m in the mood to go out on a limb, and do something crazy. I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a player that most fans love to hate. Again, I’m going out on a limb here, so calling me crazy only means that you stopped understanding what you were reading, before you got to the second sentence.

Sam Bradford in 2016. Can you see him throwing for 3,800 yards, 30 TD’s and 9 interceptions? If he plays 14 games or more, I’d say that it’s a lock for him. In fact, I’m looking at drafting him in fantasy football this year. You may want to know why I seem so sold on Bradford all of a sudden. There are two reasons, and unlike most things in Life, they are absurdly easy to explain.

Reason numero uno: Our ferocious Defense will cause teams to make dumb mistakes and create short fields for our Offense. That means cheap TD’s and field goals. As the game goes on, giving up cheap points only means teams press harder to make up ground they lost early. This means even more dumb mistakes by opponents, and quick TD’s scored over opponents who just want the blowout to be over.

Reason the second: The Eagles seem to have stopped dicking around with the QB situation. Last year the Eagles were saying that Bradford was the guy. However, with his injury history, whenever you looked at Bradford, there were the eyes of Mark Sanchez peeking over his shoulder. And it’s been that way here for years now. Every year “it’s a competition” at the QB position, as opposed to just letting everyone know who the big dog is. But this year they’re acting like an NFL franchise.

So there you go. My first Devil’s Advocate case for 2016. There may be more.

WHERE I STAND ON CARSON WENTZ

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/05/21
Posted in: Conversations, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 11 Comments

carson wentz

LOTS of Eagles fans already love rookie Quarterback Carson Wentz because he gives a good interview, and because he’s not Sam Bradford. Well, actor Patrick Stewart meets those qualifications as well, but you wouldn’t want him as the Eagles starting QB, would you? Of course not, because he lacks the merits to be one.

Before we get started, let me put my cards on the table. I wasn’t a fan of moving up to get him, but this isn’t a case of a guy with an ax to grind. Wentz is here. Even if he’s a bust he’ll be here for at least 4 years. If he’s any good he’ll be here for a decade of so. I’ll be 41 soon, so that means Wentz could be here into my 50’s (should I live that long). I’m not looking to spend a decade booing a man who’s just looking to do his best for our team. However, what you respect about me (even if you can’t stand me) is that I’ll tell it to you straight. So here it is.

Michael Vick‘s speed, Joe Flacco‘s cannon, Carson Palmer‘s ability to see passing lanes before they open, Andrew Luck having every tool in the box…people made big deal of those special talents when these guys were drafted. So what are fans and media saying sets Wentz apart?

Well that’s the thing. We haven’t much discussed the actual merits of Carson Wentz as an athlete, have we? Our Front Office spent a lot of capital to move up to get this guy, but I have yet to hear fans gushing over why he is so special. The reason that fans aren’t doing that, is because he isn’t special. I’m not saying that he can’t become a decent to good pro player. What I am saying is that there is nothing about this guy that makes you say “WOW!”

Even though the “Bottom Line” on his Draft Profile gave him a Round One projection, it also described him as “developmental”. On that same profile, while an AFC Scout did say that he possesses intangibles, that scout did not go as far as to say what a single one of those intangible qualities (for example: leadership, toughness, the ability to inspire or keep teammates levelheaded, etc.) were. When Wentz was asked what sets him apart, he said it’s the mental aspect of his game. At which point he defaulted to giving boilerplate answers that any QB (ranking from arm chair to NFL) could give. (Seriously check the link out). It’s all so deliciously vague.

With so much positive but vague talk surrounding the guy, I decided that the truest evidence would lay in how he plays. I wanted to see recent video of him, so I downloaded and watched a few videos of Wentz 2015 games. (Games, not just highlights, mind you.) I repeatedly went over and dissected five of them (Jacksonville, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, Montana and Weber State).

While those teams hardly represent high quality competition, at no point did I feel like I was looking at a man among boys when I saw Wentz play. I saw nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, special about him. He by no means looked bad out there, but he never looked “WOW!” either.

But don’t take my word for it. Watch THE VIDEOS and look at his ball placement. Look at how often he checks it down, or goes to a first-read pass to the flat. Look at the percentage of overthrows on deep balls from a clean/mostly clean pocket. These things happen to all QB’s, but they happen more often to average QB’s. Oh, and when you watch him run with that gangling style of his, don’t pretend you can’t already see the type of shots he’s going to take at the pro level. Watch the films. I’ll wait….

I’m not saying he’s without any potential. If he’s coached up, he has as much chance as any other athlete to be a decent to good pro. To be clear, what I’m saying is that this guy has no obvious tool in his arsenal that indicates a minimum career .625 win percentage. He lacks an x-factor; but since he’s going to be here for at least the next 4 to 10, 12 years, let’s hope he doesn’t need one.

QB SAM BRADFORD RETURNS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/05/09
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Today's Discussion (Erostile 16 Bold)

EAGLES QB Sam Bradford has returned to the fold and I for one am glad he has. Not because he’s got an arm that can make all the throws, (though he does). Not because he can read a defense, (though he can). I’m glad because now the circus can come to an end.

If I can step outside of football for second, right now it seems like everything is a circus. The state of the country, the political system that drives it, how true love seems now to matter and show less and less… So much has become such a joke that the laughing has long since stopped. It has given way to morbid fascination with seeing how bad these train wrecks can ultimately become.

Seeing a coddled underachiever bellyache over his future, after signing a contract he didn’t deserve, (in defiance of all logic), only added to the air of ridiculousness. It filled fans with impotent anger and robbed us of any enthusiasm we were holding onto heading into the Draft on 4-28. You and I had such hopes for that day. Instead we hit a bump. Then ridiculousness flooded in.

And we sat mired in it. It seemed there would be no way out of the morass. There would be no ending which satisfied all involved. We were heading for a cliff and there was nothing to be done about it. But then a flicker of reason. Both sides looked at what they truly valued and wanted. They came back together. Yes, first it will be touchy as there is still lingering anger and frustration over what has happened.

However, today offers a chance to put that behind us. I don’t want to stay angry. I don’t want to hold onto poison. I want to get past the ridiculousness. I started this year with high hopes and I want them back. So I have to do my part to make that happen. And the same holds true for you. We have to let go of the anger.

Today Sam Bradford comes back, and with him comes a return to the plan. We are looking ahead again. This is not to say that we have forgotten what he has done. This is to say that we cannot move forward the way we want to, (and need to) so long as we drag around old baggage, and pick at old scabs.

Dear fans the circus is closed now. So let’s let go of our anger and look to the future. Because what is coming is greater than what is past.

THE 25 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/01/25
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

sam.jpg

WITH his rookie deal expiring at the end of the 2015 season, QB Sam Bradford will officially become a Free Agent. He will now be able to peddle his wares to the highest bidder. The going rate (from what I keep reading) is 25 million dollars per year, and much ballyhoo has been made about how his play improved down the stretch of this last season. Based on that improvement many people are asking the 25 million dollar question: Should the Eagles be the highest bidder for Bradford’s services?

For two very important reasons, the answer to that question is “No”.

First, team owner Jeff Lurie keeps talking about needing to have a franchise QB. This raises the question of whether Bradford qualifies. I can’t think of one reputable source willing to go out on a limb and use that term and Bradford’s name in the same sentence. That term being, franchise QB. Some people are willing to debate with you over if Bradford is one, and right there they lose. If a guy is franchise QB (even if they hate him) people acknowledge that he is, they don’t debate it.

Secondly, Bradford improved in a system that A) is no longer here, and B) will replaced with a system he was less than stellar in, back in St. Louis under Pat Shurmur.

So there you have it. Sam Bradford is clearly not worth the goddamned money. Now let us all brace for the 6 year, 32 million per year deal he’ll get, because this is the Eagles, and our Front Office specializes in giving Eagles fans ulcers and nosebleeds.