Can Nick Sirianni Fix Carson Wentz? (Tim McManus, ESPN)

[VeeMak]

https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/313937/can-philadelphia-eagles-coach-nick-sirianni-fix-carson-wentz

PHILADELPHIA -- Nick Sirianni's first head-coaching job is a doozy.

Sirianni, the former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator turned lead man for the Philadelphia Eagles, is inheriting a team that went 4-11-1 last season and was wrought with dysfunction.

He's taking over for Doug Pederson, the only coach to deliver Philadelphia a Super Bowl title. No pressure.

And he's walking into a thorny mess at quarterback. The Eagles' $128 million quarterback, Carson Wentz, finished 34th in completion percentage (57.4) and ranked first in interceptions (15) and sacks (50) last season despite being benched for the final four games in favor of rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts.

 

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Wentz was so put off by how things went down he planned to ask for a trade this offseason because of a broken relationship with Pederson, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Pederson was fired on Jan. 11 after he and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie failed to get on the same page about the future. Wentz has not spoken publicly since the season ended, and has yet to signal whether he sees a path forward in Philadelphia.

Management hopes there is one. Following Pederson's firing, Lurie said it "behooves us as a team with a new coach, a new coaching staff, to be able to really get him back to that elite progression." The quarterback situation was a central focus of the interview process with prospective head coaches, sources said. Lurie set the tone for those sessions by saying beforehand he sees Wentz as "very fixable" -- a stance they reportedly emphasized to candidates.

But, is Wentz fixable? And is Sirianni, 39, the man who can fix him?

What is Sirianni up against?

Wentz, the Eagles' 2016 first-round pick, has developed a reputation of being a challenge to coach.

He's a Type-A personality who has strong convictions and a stubborn streak to match. Early in Wentz's tenure, when he was ripping up the league and making a hard charge toward an MVP award in 2017, the positives of those traits were naturally emphasized.

"I remember going [to North Dakota State] and [Wentz] saying that his coaches used to say he had a lot of arguments with his offensive coordinator," former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said in 2017. "For me, I took that as a good thing, because he knew what he wanted, he knew what was good, and we welcomed that and that's a good dynamic."

 

Nick Sirianni, 39, spent the past three seasons as offensive coordinator with the Colts and had previous stints with the Chiefs and Chargers. AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Given Wentz's high football IQ, Pederson gave him more and more influence over the offense. He built in a "take it" system he compared to the one quarterback Peyton Manning used to run, where Wentz would get to the line of scrimmage and call out a play based off what he saw pre-snap. Wentz noted at the time he would go into Pederson's office upwards of three times a day during the week to talk game planning, asking him, "What do you think about this idea?" and "How do you feel about this?"

While that cognitive ability and sense of ownership is what teams look for in a franchise quarterback, it has been taken to the extreme at times. Coaches have had difficulty convincing Wentz he doesn't have all the answers. He is often reluctant to play within the system, according to sources. That task of harnessing him became more difficult when Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, who played the good cop/bad cop roles with great effectiveness, were poached from the staff following the team's 2017 championship run, leaving fewer voices that could keep Wentz in check.

A confluence of circumstances brought the situation to a head this past season. Wentz became irritated, a source said, when the freedom he is accustomed to having over the offense was largely stripped from him as injuries and inefficiency forced the coaches to simplify the approach. When he lost control, his faith in Pederson's playcalling was believed to be lost with it.

Some of Wentz's doubts were warranted. There was no discernable offensive identity to anchor into in 2020, sources said, partly as the result of a thrown-together coaching staff whose ideas and teachings didn't connect with one another. The issues on offense were compounded by a rash of injuries, including to the offensive line, which used a record 13 different starting combinations over the first 14 weeks.

Wentz was running an offense he didn't fully buy into, behind a battered front, without safety net tight end Zach Ertz, while throwing to a group of young wide receivers who had yet to develop chemistry with him. Bad combination. His confidence eroded as the hits mounted and was further affected, some believe, by the presence of Hurts, who was playing increasingly well with the scout team and continued to gain ground in Wentz's rearview mirror before eventually passing him.

A new chapter begins.#FlyEaglesFlypic.twitter.com/AFWghGm1au

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 25, 2021

Just how broken is Wentz?

Greg Cosell, senior producer at NFL Films and executive producer/analyst for the NFL Matchup show, believes Wentz's mechanics have become so out of whack coaches "need to start from scratch."

"They need to start literally with taking the snap, his drop, his plant, how he delivers a football," Cosell said.

Wentz is what Cosell describes as a "long strider." He has a wide base when he throws, something that became more pronounced during his down 2020 season. When you over stride and don't have a compact delivery, Cosell explained, you have to rush your arm to catch up, leading to inaccuracy, typically in the form of sailing balls. Wentz had the highest off-target percentage in the NFL last season at 23.6%, according to ESPN Stats & Information. In other words, almost a quarter of his throws were off the mark.

"That's one of his main fundamental issues that needs to be cleaned up. That is fixable. Anything from the waist down is fixable," Cosell said. "You're not going to change his delivery. He's never going to throw it like [Green Bay's] Aaron Rodgers or [Kansas City's] Patrick Mahomes in terms of just snapping it off. That's not the way he throws a ball. But that's OK, we've seen him have great success throwing the ball the way he throws it. But the lower half needs to be really fixed and worked on every single day."

Then there's the hesitancy issues. Wentz was often reluctant to "turn the ball loose to receivers who were open within the structure of the play design," as Cosell put it. "He was not seeing the field particularly well."

That can be traced back to Wentz's lack of confidence in the system, and eventually, himself.

How can Sirianni's system help Wentz?

We still have to see what the new coach's offense looks like, but we can take some clues from his days with the Colts.

NFL Ranks on Offense in 2020

Comparing where the offenses of the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles ranked in three key categories last season:

	COLTS	EAGLES
Time to throw	3rd	30th
Sacks	T-2nd	Last
Turnovers	3rd	30th

Pederson's offense felt basic and repetitive last season, particularly when Wentz was under center. One of the more head-scratching factoids from a bizarre 2020 season is the Eagles ran more vertical routes than any team in the NFL according to ESPN Metrics/NFL Next Gen Stats, even with the offensive line severely banged up and the wide receivers unable to separate with great consistency. The Colts, meanwhile, ranked 24th in vertical routes run. The results were rather predictable: The Eagles allowed the most sacks (65) and had the third-most turnovers (29). The Colts finished in the top three in sacks allowed (21) and turnovers (15).

Of course, getting the ball out is in large part on the quarterback. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers has long been one of the best at it, and ranked fifth this past season in average time before throwing a pass (2.52 seconds), while Wentz ranked 31st (2.91 seconds).

The Colts finished 11th, 18th and 12th in offensive efficiency the past three seasons under Reich and Sirianni while working with three different primary quarterbacks: Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett and Rivers. There has been a level of consistency even with a rotating cast at the top position, which has to be encouraging from Philadelphia's perspective.

What's the bottom line?

It comes down to trust.

Wentz's lack of trust in Pederson and his offense, and Pederson's lack of confidence in Wentz to heed his teachings and paint within the lines when necessary, led to the split. And, it can be argued that if Wentz is paired with a coach/coaches he greatly respects, as was the case with Reich once upon a time, Wentz will be more malleable, open-minded and self-critical.

It's possible Sirianni, Reich's former right-hand man, and Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who worked with Los Angeles Chargersrookie Justin Herbert last season, will hit the right notes and find that balance between coaching Wentz hard and empowering him.

 

play

2:09

Orlovsky: Pressure on Wentz after Pederson firing

Dan Orlovsky says the pressure is on Carson Wentz now that the Eagles have fired Doug Pederson.

It's more than fair to wonder, though, why Wentz would grant Sirianni -- a first-time head coach -- a greater degree of trust than he allotted to Pederson, who played QB in the league for a decade, helped the Eagles to three straight playoff appearances and has been a part of three Super Bowl teams as a coach and player.

Wentz has to not only buy into Sirianni and his assistant coaches, but needs to reestablish trust with the organization as well. With Hurts still on the roster, and split allegiances already forming in the locker room, can he convince himself 2021 will be anything other than a repeat of 2020 even with a new coach?

Wentz was once on a trajectory to become a top-five quarterback in the league. A host of things, from injuries to questionable management and personnel decisions to spotty coaching, factored into him getting off track. So, too, did an issue with coachability.

The ability is largely still there. Wentz might be fixable but he has to want to be fixed, and has to allow others to help fix him. That will be the key, whether it's with Sirianni in Philly or elsewhere.

[EricAllenPick6]

I was literally just about to post this.  Interesting article, talks about bad playcalling, mistrust between Pederson and Wentz, stubbornness in Wentz, sloppiness leading to bad mechanics. 

Reading this, I get the sense that: (1) yes, Carson Wentz can be fixed, but that is going to be a process that involves a lot of work and consistency; (2) Siri is the kind of guy that will be happy to put in the hard work and consistency necessary to fix Carson's mechanics; (3) Our offensive playcalling was mind-bogglingly bad last year and Siri will fix that.

 

[VeeMak]

34 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

I was literally just about to post this.  Interesting article, talks about bad playcalling, mistrust between Pederson and Wentz, stubbornness in Wentz, sloppiness leading to bad mechanics. 

Reading this, I get the sense that: (1) yes, Carson Wentz can be fixed, but that is going to be a process that involves a lot of work and consistency; (2) Siri is the kind of guy that will be happy to put in the hard work and consistency necessary to fix Carson's mechanics; (3) Our offensive playcalling was mind-bogglingly bad last year and Siri will fix that.

 

I also got the sense that Wentz is a horse’s ass to work with going back to ND State, and the Eagles were well aware of this when they drafted him.  Reich was the only guy he respected.  I don’t think this will end well.  Cosell paints this picture that lower half mechanics are an easy fix, but they are not.  Especially if the guy you’re trying to fix doesn’t think he needs fixing.  

[Procus]

On 1/27/2021 at 1:17 PM, EricAllenPick6 said:

I was literally just about to post this.  Interesting article, talks about bad playcalling, mistrust between Pederson and Wentz, stubbornness in Wentz, sloppiness leading to bad mechanics. 

Reading this, I get the sense that: (1) yes, Carson Wentz can be fixed, but that is going to be a process that involves a lot of work and consistency; (2) Siri is the kind of guy that will be happy to put in the hard work and consistency necessary to fix Carson's mechanics; (3) Our offensive playcalling was mind-bogglingly bad last year and Siri will fix that.

Let the Hey Siri jokes begin

[time2rock]

Will Wentz be amenable to "being fixed"?  Hopefully his animosity is no longer a thing IF the reports of tension between him and Doug were real and that he'll be more willing to working with a new coaching staff.  But he absolutely needs to be receptive to being held accountable and have a much different attitude / approach than he has had (again if there is truth in the numerous reports, which were recently confirmed by Jenkins, so I'm believe they are).  

[EricAllenPick6]

On 1/31/2021 at 6:50 AM, Procus said:

Let the Hey Siri jokes begin

HEY SIRI who will our starting QB be?  

(When I told Siri that, she responded by starting a timer.... stupid Siri.). 

[EricAllenPick6]

On 1/31/2021 at 9:14 AM, time2rock said:

Will Wentz be amenable to "being fixed"?  

My take-away from reading this is that part of fixing him is to run better plays.

I find this stat to be absolutely mind-boggling (emphasis is mine):

On 1/27/2021 at 7:31 AM, VeeMak said:

Pederson's offense felt basic and repetitive last season, particularly when Wentz was under center. One of the more head-scratching factoids from a bizarre 2020 season is the Eagles ran more vertical routes than any team in the NFL according to ESPN Metrics/NFL Next Gen Stats, even with the offensive line severely banged up and the wide receivers unable to separate with great consistency.

Can you imagine?  With the garbage we had playing offensive line, and the mediocre talent at WR, Doug dials up go routes non-stop?  That's Madden stuff.  All you had to do was to call plays that were slightly more realistic given the talent we had and it would have helped.   Classic WCO style offense.  Get the ball into the receivers hands and let him make plays.  

Bigger thought is how did this style of play calling affect the relationship?  Be Carson.  Every time Dougie dials up the bomb you're expected to sit in the pocket and get drilled by some defender while waiting for somebody (anybody) to get open.  Most of the time, you just get annihilated because we had neither the line nor the receivers for that style of play.  How do you feel about Doug? 

[VeeMak]

29 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

My take-away from reading this is that part of fixing him is to run better plays.

I find this stat to be absolutely mind-boggling (emphasis is mine):

Can you imagine?  With the garbage we had playing offensive line, and the mediocre talent at WR, Doug dials up go routes non-stop?  That's Madden stuff.  All you had to do was to call plays that were slightly more realistic given the talent we had and it would have helped.   Classic WCO style offense.  Get the ball into the receivers hands and let him make plays.  

Bigger thought is how did this style of play calling affect the relationship?  Be Carson.  Every time Dougie dials up the bomb you're expected to sit in the pocket and get drilled by some defender while waiting for somebody (anybody) to get open.  Most of the time, you just get annihilated because we had neither the line nor the receivers for that style of play.  How do you feel about Doug? 

That’s a part of the issue.  The other part of the issue was that the 9 routes were clearing space where a check down valve was available that Carson either didn’t see or didn’t want to throw it to.  It was apparently a very dysfunctional co-existence.  And the fan base is left to pick a side in all of this and I can’t help but think Carson Wentz shoulders a lot of the blame here.  There have been multiple reports about how aloof he can be with teammates that aren’t in his Sunday school class (Josina Anderson via Alshon most likely) then there were this season’s reports of him being outright obstinate and refusing to throw to the receiver the plays were designed for.  
 

Is he un-coachable?  Or is he just not coachable by anyone named Doug Pederson?  

[time2rock]

6 hours ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

My take-away from reading this is that part of fixing him is to run better plays.

I find this stat to be absolutely mind-boggling (emphasis is mine):

Can you imagine?  With the garbage we had playing offensive line, and the mediocre talent at WR, Doug dials up go routes non-stop?  That's Madden stuff.  All you had to do was to call plays that were slightly more realistic given the talent we had and it would have helped.   Classic WCO style offense.  Get the ball into the receivers hands and let him make plays.  

Bigger thought is how did this style of play calling affect the relationship?  Be Carson.  Every time Dougie dials up the bomb you're expected to sit in the pocket and get drilled by some defender while waiting for somebody (anybody) to get open.  Most of the time, you just get annihilated because we had neither the line nor the receivers for that style of play.  How do you feel about Doug? 

Bizarre indeed.  But also have to wonder how much of that is on Doug (for calling those plays) and how much was on Carson (since it was also reported he continually checked out of plays Doug would call)... was he changing out of the called plays into those??.  

[nipples]

None of this matters if Wentz ego won’t allow him to even take to the coaching. I’m still not even convinced he will be here next season. The team may WANT to try to "fix” him, but they certainly don’t seem to be stroking his ego anymore so I think there’s a lot of truth to him wanting out, even after the coaching change. 

[eglz1]

4 hours ago, nipples said:

None of this matters if Wentz ego won’t allow him to even take to the coaching. I’m still not even convinced he will be here next season. The team may WANT to try to "fix” him, but they certainly don’t seem to be stroking his ego anymore so I think there’s a lot of truth to him wanting out, even after the coaching change. 

Stroking his ego has been said to be a factor in this mess. It's not hard to see where some players would be irritated by that, especially when the strokee's performance didn't warrant it. I also thought the 70/30 pass run ratio was someone's exaggeration until I read that the 2020 season was indeed 70/30. That's nuts and let's hope Sirianni knows better than that.

[PoconoDon]

I don't know if he can fix Wentz or not with his systemszzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!11!1!!!11!

[nipples]

The real question is can he develop Hurts. 

[time2rock]

On 2/3/2021 at 7:48 AM, nipples said:

None of this matters if Wentz ego won’t allow him to even take to the coaching. I’m still not even convinced he will be here next season. The team may WANT to try to "fix” him, but they certainly don’t seem to be stroking his ego anymore so I think there’s a lot of truth to him wanting out, even after the coaching change. 

He probably does want out still because his widdle feewings are hurt because mean ole Howie took a player that could possible replace him in round 2 instead of one who could help him.  

[Perforator]

On 2/12/2021 at 7:39 AM, nipples said:

The real question is can he develop Hurts. 

I doubt it. Another wasted second round pick by the fantasy football GM.

[EagleJoe8]

I’m gonna go ahead and say no.