An illustrated look at Eagles QB Carson Wentz's feet
Let me start by saying this: We've got a unique opportunity in this town to follow the development of a potential franchise quarterback from Day 1 until whenever the parade ends. In addition to watching the Eagles develop as a team around him, I'm fascinated to watch his development as a passer.
Each game will be an opportunity to watch how his strengths express themselves on the field, as well as how his weaknesses improve. So none of what you are about to read should be construed as an attempt to knock Wentz Mania down a notch. It's just an exercise that we have the good fortune of being able to engage as we follow along on the ride.
Quarterback is the most fascinating position in sports because of all that goes into it. Wentz has the physical tools to be a great one. But there's a hell of a lot that goes into it.
Wentz's strengths were on full display in his debut against the Browns. He has elite arm strength, and an ability to use that strength to shorten the football field and put constant pressure on all three levels of a defense. But the part of Wentz's game that I will be watching closest is everything that happens before the throw.
Specifically, inside of the pocket. Wentz's ceiling is so high because of that arm strength, and because of his ability to make plays on the run. But some teams shied away from him because of how raw he is in some of the foundational skills required of the position. We saw glimpses of the ceiling against the Browns. But we also saw plenty of examples of the work he still must do.
The biggest thing I'll be watching from game to game is Wentz's footwork and his mobility inside the pocket. At North Dakota State, he simply did not need to play inside of a pocket the way a quarterback does in the NFL. That program was vastly more talented than most of the opponents it faced at the Division I-FCS level. You saw an indicaiton of this over the weekend, when the Bison knocked off Iowa.
People talk a lot about Wentz's college offense being a pro-style of offense, but that misses the point. Regardless of the overall scheme of an offense, every play is designed to work in a certain manner, with a primary read. At North Dakota State, most of those plays worked in that manner. Receiver X was supposed to beat Defender Y in coverage Z, and usually that happened. It's not that Wentz is a "one-read quarterback." It's that he more often than not didn't need to hold onto the ball and locate his best option. His team was better than the other team.
To a certain extent, this was also true in Wentz's first NFL game. He made the right reads and some great throws, but many of them were in man situations where his guy won a 1-on-1 match-up. The bomb to Nelson Agholor, the fade to Jordan Matthews, the come-back route to Agholor. We know Wentz can make all the throws, and he made them.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we didn't see much of Wentz dropping back, sliding in the pocket, waiting for the play to develop, and then hitting a receiver as he became open within the framework of the play. That's not Wentz's fault. He didn't have to do much of that.
But when you look at the Lucks and the Winstons, the thing that separates them from other young QBs is their ability to do what Wentz did not have to do. The longer a quarterback stays in the pocket with his eyes downfield before making his throw, the longer his receivers have to make breaks, settle into zones, clear defenders. Doing that requires great mechanics, great awareness, great focus, and then, finally, split-second decision making. All of that starts with great footwork and great feel for the pocket.
Watch the play below. It's a first quarter throw to Josh Huff that resulted in a five-yard holding penalty. Here is Wentz in the pocket from snap to throw:
Forget about the decision for a moment and focus on the pocket. Here's a screen shot of Wentz at the top of his drop:
And here's one of him as he begins his throwing motion:
Huff is double covered. Nelson Agholor was guarded with over-the-top help on a go route (he's the guy at the 50-yard line). Underneath Agholor is Jordan Matthews, who had just made his break when Wentz threw the ball. It appeared as if Matthews was running a deep cross, and once Agholor cleared his level, Matthews had inside position and a step on his man.
Go back to the pictures of the pocket. The optimal outcome in that situation would have seen Wentz use the pocket his line provided him, which might have given him time to let Matthews make his break and clear underneath Agholor. Instead of looking back to the backside of the play, he airmails a throw over a guy who is double covered.
That's not to suggest that this was a glaring mistake. It's just an example of what I mean when I say it is going to be fun to watch how Wentz develops on a micro level. The Wentz who has reached his potential is a guy whose internal clock adjusts to the amount of pocket he has, who slides forward and looks back toward Matthews, his lower half in a position to step into that throw if he decides to make it. If he decides not to make it, he either takes off running, or makes the throw he eventually made over Huff and out of harm's way.
For an example of what I mean, check out how Andrew Luck navigates the pocket on this 13-yard completion to T.Y. Hilton.
Note how the field looks at the top of Luck's drop. It's clearly a zone. He has two short receivers he could hit for a minimal gain. Hilton is in the red circle.
A quarterback with less feel for how much time he has might settle for a short gain. But Luck has a good feel for his pocket, and he keeps his feet moving and slides forward, which both attracts the defenders' attention and gives Hilton time to clear the zone and settle into a pocket:
This isn't revolutionary stuff, but it is an example of the difference between a first down throw and a check down for a minimal gain. The protection was good, which is where it all begins.
But Luck makes the most of the pocket that the protection creates, and he maximizes the yardage that is available on the play. Luck has a strong arm, but it is his footwork, awareness and intellect that puts him in a position to put the arm to optimal use.
Wentz has the strong arm, and the Eagles say he has the intellect to understand how a specific route combination will express itself against a specific defense. As his reps increase, I'll be watching most for how his footwork and awareness improve. Those are the two parts that are most susceptible to the speed of the NFL game.