Donovan McNabb Sees Carson Wentz Pressing
PHILADELPHIA - A prior administration is critiquing the current one.
No, this isn't another polarizing election piece, this is about the Philadelphia Eagles and franchise legend Donovan McNabb sounding the alarm bells over the team's current quarterback Carson Wentz.
It's well documented that Wentz had a difficult first half of the 2020 season, turning into a bit of a turnover machine although the Eagles persevered to finish 3-4-1 before their bye week, good for first place in the NFL's worst division, the moribund NFC East.
A perfect storm of injuries at receiver, tight end, and the offensive line often had Wentz pressing, resulting in more than a baker's dozen of turnovers (15 to be exact) through eight games for the star signal-caller. McNabb, like a lot of outside observers, sees a QB pressing too much.
"I am concerned, because to me when I watch it seems he's trying to do too much and he's trying to put really too much pressure on his shoulders because of the situation around him," McNabb told Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio this week. "If you watched the games, a couple of times holding the football too long. If you're gonna run and scramble, pick up yards, go. Don't sit and fade and try to wait for people to get open.
"No. You don't have the weapons on the outside to create that much time."
A long-time AFC personnel executive told SI's EagleMaven that drifting and/or flushing from the pocket instead of climbing it is the first sign of trouble when evaluating quarterback play.
In Wentz's case, the constant shuffling on the offensive line has resulted in uncertainty each week although that figures to stabilize somewhat in the second half of the season if right tackle Lane Johnson can calm down the issues with his ankle and knee.
McNabb believes Wentz is also trying to be a little too precise with his throws.
"To me, he's trying to force balls into tight (spaces) and trying to place it in places where he feels his receiver can get it and the DB obviously jumps into the lane," said McNabb. "I'd like to see him protect the football more, get back to the on-schedule plays, get back to three- and five-step drops and letting the ball go and trusting his receivers."
The Eagles receivers - with the exception of the surprising Travis Fulgham - have generally struggled this season while the team's two star tight ends, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, have had injury issues and in the case of Ertz, a contract impasse that seems to have affected his play.
McNabb, however, did not advocate for a move to rookie Jalen Hurts even for a short stint.
"I know (Wentz is) their franchise quarterback and he's their guy," said McNabb, "and so, they're gonna kind of stick with him and they don't want to make that move. They've got two years on his contract and they've gotta pay money. So you better get at least one more year out of it.
"Would it be a move that if Jalen Hurts got in there, would they lose anything? At this particular point, I don't know if they lose anything, but I don't know if they gain much."
McNabb is arguably the best QB in franchise history and had many ups and downs in Philadelphia so he understands the dynamics of playing in America's toughest sports city better than just about anyone.
"(Wentz is) not looking over his shoulder by any means of Doug (Pederson) making a quarterback change," McNabb said. "I think this bye week will definitely help him if he can come back, kind of refocus and recharge and ready to make a push for the playoffs.
"If he's able to protect the football a little more and convert on third downs and move the chains, then yeah we'll start to see a lot change with this offense and really with this football team. But if he continues to play the way he's been playing, it's going to be maybe a six-game winning season and that's not acceptable in Philadelphia."
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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