Despite a rocky start to the season, the Eagles are not thinking about benching Carson Wentz, head coach Doug Pederson says. In an interview on 94 WIP, Pederson shot down the notion of giving Wentz the hook in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts. 
“You don’t go there,” Pederson said (via NJ.com’s Chris Franklin). “That’s a knee-jerk reaction. That’s a reaction to things that sometimes are the aura that’s out there. That’s not what we believe internally. We are going to continue to get better. Carson is our quarterback. We are going to get it fixed. Listen, we are only half a game out of first place. The whole division is not playing good football. We’re not that far off.”
Wentz hasn’t been all that and a bag of chips through three games, lobbing two interceptions in each contest against the Washington Football Team, the Rams, and the Bengals. After dropping the first two games, the Eagles came out of this week’s game with a tie, leaving them at 0-2-1 heading into Week 4 against the 49ers. On the plus side, the rest of the NFC East hasn’t gotten off to a rollocking start either, as Pederson indicated. Currently, Washington (1-2) and Dallas (1-2) share the divisional lead with the Giants (0-3) in the cellar.
If Wentz’s struggles continue, so will the questions about Hurts. During his lone season at Oklahoma, Hurts ran for 1,298 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 233 carries. Wentz, meanwhile, has several years and zeroes to go on his four-year, $128MM extension.
Eagles next 3…SF, Pitt, B-More. It’s looking like it’s going to get worst before it gets better.
yup…sell now and get under the cap and start again
Well I think Ertz will be the first traded. Think Cox could go soon as well.
No and no. The 2nd TE is hurt and Fletcher Cox is hurt as well.
Cowboys schedule starts to ease up. I believe we play the Eagles after they Baltimore. There’s no question the Cowboys have had the toughest schedule and have been in all the games late.
The Texans would like to know your location…
They draft a Qb in the 2nd and yet can’t discuss him or Wentz at 0-2-1? Going to be a LONG year in Philly.
Ho hum. Another lost season in philly
They’re coming off three straight playoff appearances. I know last year was hard and this year looks even harder, but please show some respect for those of us who would kill to complain about a team that makes the playoffs more than once or twice a decade.
This is the same fanbase that villainized Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid despite going to four straight NFC title games…same old same old
That’s 100% not true. Villainized? You might wanna recheck your dictionary.
To be fair, the supporting cast of Wentz is less than ideal. I am by no means suggesting Carson has even performed adequately, but the offensive line is badly missing Brooks and may be without Peters. The receiving corps, already minus Jeffrey, is now missing Jackson and Goedert. Meanwhile, Whiteside has not shown any signs of positive development. In essence, I’m not sure Hurts will enjoy any more success without legitimate weapons beyond Ertz and Sanders
Perhaps the biggest problem may be Pederson himself. I have always believed him to be overrated due to that Superbowl run, and his lack of preparation and in-game adjustment is visible. The division is still wide-open, but the Cowboys will run circles around the Eagles at this rate. Washington’s pass-rush was already too much to handle, and Philadelphia’s secondary got manhandled against the Rams
Counting on Jackson to be healthy is crazy. It’s like counting on Jim McMahon to be healthy used to be. You have to factor in that he is going to miss games. It’s just the way it is. Anything he gives you is gravy.
problem is they wolnt even use him. he’s on a snap count.
Wentz has been playing badly, but would you really want to give a rookie his first NFL starts with this line and this receiver group? It’s not exactly a fair way to evaluate Hurts or put him in a position to succeed, even if you want to give him a shot.
He’s backing Wentz and that’s really cool of him but uhhh is anyone backing Doug? Numerous head scratching moves over these first three games, gotta wonder how long that super bowl extends his leash.
Look at how much mileage Gruden has got with his SB ring.
He also made the playoffs the last two years after that, despite some pretty drastic injuries and neglected position groups.
Then why do you draft a QB in the 2nd round on a win now team? Philly has fallen off a cliff since 2017 and become incompetent.
Fallen off a cliff? Really?
0-2-1 and tying the Bengals is a contender?
Hey genius, you’re the one who said they fell off the cliff after winning the Super Bowl 3 years ago. It’s been a steady decline since winning the SB.
Fallen off a cliff isn’t a steady decline. Your words, not mine.
Because even in their win-now moments, they’ve needed their backup QB a lot? Because their starter has a significant injury history? Because if they think Hurts is a good starter, that’s great value?
Five win-now teams took running backs in the first two rounds, even though the best and most productive running backs–including rookie ones–frequently turn out to be from later rounds or even undrafted. One of them isn’t even the RB2 on his team. I’m not sure how a team with a risky QB situation taking a shot on a 2nd round QB is incompetence just because they’re not throwing him into action after three weeks.
dysfunction
Pederson is that guy who sells you a broken watch but raves that it provides accurate time twice a day.
It may well be time for the Eagles to move on from Pederson, but boy oh boy do Eagles fans seem spoiled when it comes to him. It reminds me of when Philly fan were sick of Reid. Not that Pederson is the schemer Reid is or anything, but think how many teams can’t find a coach who’s good at in-game management OR talent evaluation OR managing a group of human beings. Maybe he’d do better starting from scratch somewhere, but man are there some teams that would leap at the chance to have him running the show.
Well the Eagles Offensive like sucks! It is Offensive to say the least.
It’s not all Wentz’s fault
I also think that Doug Pederson is a Balloon Head
we’re so far over the cap for next season if it stays exactly what it is now but it’s going to go down our cap situation is so bad The season’s already looking like a trash pile I think it’s time to start hoping for a very high draft pick in Philadelphia you know maybe people some people come on and take Zach from us, a couple other players for draft picks. but then again Haley roseman and the Eagles have messed up the last four drafts and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in right now do we really want Haley and Doug to be in control of another draft class and in draft class important as this next one that will start our rebuild?
Who’s Haley Roseman?
oops that’s my fault I’m doing the voice to text I guess I didn’t say it clearly my bad
I know what you meant. No harm.
I wonder how much lack of a preseason, proper OTAs, etc. play into this.
Everything when you consider they were the only team lacking a preseason, proper OTAs, etc…SMH
Some teams need those things more than others. Sometimes the chemistry is more organic. Sometimes it has to be cultivated.
It’s a bunch of converging issues:
1. Wentz’s poor play, namely his inaccuracy throwing the ball. Much of it you can chalk up to mechanics (high throws).
2. Young receivers who get no separation from defenders, and who run poor patterns
3. Lack of commitment to running the ball and staying with the run. The issue is compounded by the fact the team runs 2 TE sets. It automatically pulls the safeties into the box. They’re fooling no one.
4. Terrible draft picks. How many times can you screw up the draft in the second round?
5. Head coaching arrogance. Doug coaches like he invented the game. It’s great when it’s going well, but he sounds like an imbecile now that it’s going bad.
6. Lack of talent on defensive side of ball. Jalen Mills and Nate Gerry start. ‘Nuff said.
Did you want them to commit to the run and stay with the run in the game where they didn’t have their lead back and the other team’s defensive line was destroying their battered offensive line? Did you want them to commit to the run and stay with the run when they were down by two scores starting in the first quarter after their lead back lost a fumble on the first drive?
You sure about that? Yesterday they had Sanders back and he ran well, and then they got away from the run game. First game they ran well, got a lead and should’ve continued to run but passed and watched the lead fade. Even the 2nd game when they didn’t have Sanders the played well enough.
Exactly. They ran the ball, they moved Wentz out of the pocket early. And again, Doug abandoned everything.
I’d rather see Duce call the plays from now on. He can’t do any worse.
The way to get an offensive line into a game is to get them run blocking. The very, VERY last thing you want to do for an inexperienced line is put them into pass protection, especially the direct drop kind. You’re playing right into the strength of the DL.
I don’t have enough time to explain the game of football for you.
When you can’t defend the pass, you’re not going to come back or even keep up by running, but I don’t have time to explain football to you.
Thanks Swami, your knowledge is impressive…
Not true, especially when it’s early in the first half. What you can do by running the ball is to move the chains, control the clock and field position, keep your defense off the field.
And again, you’re glossing over the issues along the OL. By dropping the QB back time and time again, it exposes the weaknesses, especially to a defense that has Aaron Donald.
Listening isn’t a strong suit of yours.
Eagles should mix in Hurts to keep opposing defenses honest. Just like the Saints do with Hill. Mix it up!
Gimmicks are great once you get the offense going, but they need to figure out the offense before they get cute. Also, he got a couple of plays yesterday and fumbled.
The problem isn’t Wentz. It’s Peters the LT. Play after play the guy is getting beat. QB sacked or rushed. Looks whose standing there with his hands on his hips. Not moving the ball is putting pressure on when defense. The experiment is over.
He’s been an absolute liability, gave up several sacks, was penalized and came up limp on the final drive when they could least afford it out of TOs and the clock winding down.
bears are off to the superbowl…Nick’s gonna work his magic in chi town