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Domo: Running plays? Eagles' Wentz will pass

THREE GAMES into the season, the Eagles have yet to call a single designed run for their athletic rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz.

Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.
Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.Read more(Clem Murray/Staff Photographer)

THREE GAMES into the season, the Eagles have yet to call a single designed run for their athletic rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz.

I'm not suggesting that's a bad thing. It's just the way it is right now.

He has just nine rushing attempts, three of which were end-of-the-game kneel-downs and a fourth that was a fumbled handoff. He has one rushing first down.

Seventeen quarterbacks in the league have more rushing attempts than Wentz. Twenty-two have more rushing yards (21), and 23 have more rushing first downs.

But it's Wentz who is the talk of the NFL. And it's Wentz whose team is 3-0.

The Eagles have decided that, for now, keeping the kid on the field and in one piece so that he can continue his development as a pro quarterback is considerably more important than the handful of rushing first downs he might be able to pick up on a zone read or quarterback draw. For now.

"When you've got a guy like Carson, who is a dynamic athlete, the threat of him running is as much a weapon for us as anything else," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Thursday.

Reich used Darren Sproles' 73-yard touchdown catch-and- run against the Steelers as a perfect example of how Wentz the running threat can impact a play without actually running.

He broke containment and forced Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier to make a decision between staying with Sproles or coming up and trying to prevent him from running for a first down. As soon as Shazier committed to him, he tossed the ball to Sproles, who took it down the field for a score.

"I think as time goes on, he'll make more and more plays like that," Reich said. "Guys will start hanging back and he'll run and gain 10 and we'll have some read-options. When you have a guy like that, it causes defenses problems.

"But the main thing is, he's still our quarterback. For us to go where we want to go, he has to be able to play winning football from the pocket. Be able to make good decisions in the pass game. Continue to be disciplined in his progressions, and continue to protect the football like he's been doing.

"(Running) is an added bonus."

Head coach Doug Pederson said earlier in the week that he and his staff have to be "extremely smart" about how often they use the 6-5, 237-pound Wentz as a runner.

Before they give him more run opportunities, he needs to convince them that he will make smart decisions with respect to protecting himself, which essentially means sliding and getting out of bounds.

"Probably the deeper you go into the regular season, if you're in a position to make the postseason, you might increase that a little bit," Pederson said.

Pederson said that when he was Andy Reid's offensive coordinator in Kansas City, they would "dial up" a few more run plays for Alex Smith later in the season when the games became more critical.

Like Wentz, Smith currently has just one rushing first down this season. But last year, he finished third among quarterbacks, with 30, behind only the Panthers' Cam Newton (56) and the Seahawks' Russell Wilson (31).

"It kind of is what it is," said Wentz, who had 201 rushing attempts in 23 starts at North Dakota State. "So far, I can't complain about the play-calling. It's been tremendous. (Pederson) has done a really good job of putting us in good situations to make plays. I trust he will the rest of the year as well."

Pressure with four

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has sent more than four rushers after the quarterback just 22 times on 109 pass plays (20.2 percent). And 12 of those 22 blitzes came in Week 2 against the Bears.

Nine of the Eagles' 10 sacks have come with a four-man rush.

A breakdown of the Eagles' pass rush in the first three games:

Rush No. Cp.-At. Yds. TD/I.... Sk. Rat.

3. . . 1............. 0-1..... 0...... 0/0........ 0..... 39.6

4. . . 86......... 42-77... 497... 0/3....... 9..... 58.2

5. . . 20........ 13-19.... 174... 0/0....... 1..... 97.3

6. . . 2........... 2-2......... 11..... 0/0..... 0..... 89.6

Third-down blues

The Eagles are 3-0 and second in the league in scoring despite the fact that they are 29th in the league in third-down offense.

They have converted just 30.0 percent of their third-down opportunities. Miami (26.7), Cincinnati (27.8) and Jacksonville (28.3) are the only three teams with lower third-down success rates.

The Eagles' biggest third-down problem: too few third-and-manageable situations. Just three of their 40 third-downs have been 3 yards or less. No other team in the league has fewer than nine.

"We're not in third-and-short very much because of penalties, and because of some negative plays," Frank Reich said. "We have to do a better job of being disciplined, because, to me, discipline is a big thing with penalties.

"And then, we've got to do a better job, when we get into a second-and-long, we've got to be efficient on second-and-long. Whether it's a run or a pass, we have to get half of it back and try to get in a third-and-manageable. Those are the keys."

The Eagles haven't run the ball very well on first down, which has put them into a lot of those second-and-longs. They have averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on first down.

A breakdown of the Eagles' 40 third-down situations:

3rd &M-A

1. . . 2-2

2. . . 0-0

3. . . 0-1

4. . . 1-8

5. . . 2-3

6. . . 0-1

7. . . 2-3

8. . . 1-2

9. . . 2-4

10. . . 2-16

From the lip

* "I haven't thought about Josh on our defense since the minute he left. That's just how you have to do it."

- Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, whose unit gave up a franchise-record 503 passing yards to the Falcons Sunday, on whether his unit misses All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman

* "We're 2-2. It's not the end of the world, even though it feels that way. That's how things are in the National Football League. We've got a week to step back, analyze and fix some of these issues."

- Chiefs coach Andy Reid after his team's 43-14 loss to the Steelers

* "Sam's a baller. You can see him getting more and more comfortable now. Not only at the line of scrimmage, but in the huddle as a leader of this offense and of this team. Guys kind of gravitate towards his energy now."

- Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph on QB Sam Bradford

* "I'm not really looking to reflect at this point. I put that in the rearview mirror. I am looking forward to playing and doing what I love to do and being out there with my teammates, who have done such a great job, and I want to do a great job for them. I'm just focused on the present."

- Tom Brady on his four-game suspension

By the numbers

* Seahawks QB Russell Wilson already has 25 games in which he's thrown at least two touchdown passes and no interceptions. That's the most by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history.

* Through the first four weeks, there have been five games won by teams that trailed by 10 or more points in the fourth quarter. That's the fourth most in NFL history. The most: seven in 1999 and 2011. There were six in '89.

* Raiders PK Sebastian Janikowski has 53 career field goals of 50-plus yards. That's the most in league history and one more than the previous recordholder, Jason Hanson.

* Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has no interceptions in 131 pass attempts. That's the most attempts ever by a rookie without an interception in his first four games. The Eagles' Carson Wentz has 102 attempts and counting without a pick.

* Jaguars WR Allen Robinson has 17 touchdown catches since the start of the 2015 season. That's the most in the league during that span.

Figuring the Eagles

* The Eagles have used "11" personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) on 120 of their 202 offensive plays (59.4 percent). Seventy-eight of those 120 plays have been pass plays. Forty-two have been runs. Last season under Chip Kelly, the Eagles used "11" personnel on 69.7 percent of their plays. A formation breakdown through three games:

Personnel........ Total Plays........ Run Plays............ Pass Plays

11 (1RB, 1TE)........120............................... 42 ............................78

12 (1RB, 2TE)........ 41................................. 23............................ 18

13 (1RB, 3TE)........26................................ 22 ..............................4

20 (2RB, 0TE)....... 7 ...................................4............................... 3

21 (2RB, 1TE)....... 4.................................... 3............................... 1

23 (2RB, 3TE).......2.................................... 2............................... 0

10 (1RB, 0TE).......2................................... 0 ................................2

* Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner have combined for eight runs of 10 yards or more on just 34 carries. The rest of the offense has three on 62 carries.

* Nelson Agholor already has five receptions for first downs in the first three games. Last year, he had 11 the entire season.

* The Eagles have scored points on their first possession in seven straight games dating back to last season. Their opponents have scored on their first possession just once in the last 10 games.

* The Eagles have given up just 15 first-quarter rushing yards on 11 carries. The Eagles' run defense in the first three games by quarter and by down:

By Quarter

Quarter...............Att............. Yds................... Avg.

1Q..............................11................... 15................................ 1.4

2Q..............................17....................58............................... 3.4

3Q.............................13.................... 74................................ 5.7

4Q..............................8..................... 67................................ 8.4

By Down

Down....................... Att.................. Yds............................. Avg.

1D..................................... 30...................... 159....................................... 5.3

2D......................................11....................... 19......................................... 1.7

3D...................................... 7........................ 42........................................ 6.0

4D.......................................1......................... -6........................................ -6.0

* Six of the defense's 10 sacks have come on first down, three others on second down. They've had just one third-down sack. That was by Fletcher Cox in the second quarter against the Steelers.

* The Eagles' defense has done a very good job so far covering opposing tight ends and running backs. They have 21 receptions for 137 yards (just 6.5 yards per catch) and no touchdowns.

* Carson Wentz has completed five of his 12 attempts of 20 yards or more for 181 yards. Three of his five touchdown passes have come on 20-plus-yard throws. Last season, Sam Bradford was 17-for-53 for 634 yards, five TDs and two INTs on 20-plus-yard throws. A breakdown of Wentz's passes in the first three games by distance:

Distance....... Cmp..... Att...... Yds...... TD...... Int.

20+ yards........... 5........... 12.......... 181.......... 3............ 0

11-19 yards.........11......... 17........... 188......... 0............ 0

0-10 yards........ 33.......... 45........... 271........ 1.............. 0

Behind LOS........17.......... 21.......... 129......... 1.............. 0

* Just one of their opponents' 34 possessions has started at the 40-yard line or better. That was the Bears in Week 2, whose fourth drive started at the Philadelphia 48. Ten of the Eagles' 34 possessions have started at their 40 or better.

DGB'S role

It will be interesting to see what kind of role Dorial Green-Beckham will have in the Eagles' offense as the season goes along.

Will he just be a 20- to 30-snap-a-game guy who catches an occasional pass here and there and has little impact on the offense?

Or will the 6-5, 237-pound wide receiver develop into a playmaker who can team with Carson Wentz on back-shoulder fades and become a difference-maker in the red zone?

It's still not totally clear why Tennessee was so willing to cut the cord with the 2015 second-rounder. Particularly when you consider that all they got in return for him was backup offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, who has played a total of five snaps so far this season.

Green-Beckham averaged an impressive 17.2 yards per catch as a rookie and finished second on the team in red-zone receptions (four) and red-zone touchdown catches (three). But the Titans clearly wanted him gone this summer.

He's still learning Doug Pederson's offense, but has played 30-plus snaps in each of the last two games and had three catches for 33 yards in the Eagles' 34-3 win over Pittsburgh.

He dropped a second-and-12 pass from Wentz late in the first quarter. But Wentz went right back to him on the very next play, hitting him for a 19-yard completion and a first down on a 12-play, 82-yard touchdown drive.

"He keeps getting better every day," Wentz said. "Obviously, he was a little behind when he came in. But he's done a great job picking things up. He's a guy we keep getting more and more involved (in the offense)."

Green-Beckham still is relatively raw. He played in just 25 games at Missouri, but did have 17 touchdown catches. He's an incredible physical specimen with sub-4.5 speed.

"His package continues to grow," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. "It doesn't always translate to catches right away because sometimes you set something up against the main coverage you're expecting and you get something different and the ball goes somewhere else.

"But I think what you're going to see is, over the course of time, as that continues to build and you're really trying to target DGB on some things, I think that will continue to show up."

Green-Beckham said he is getting more comfortable with the offense every day.

"I'm getting more and more reps every week, and am getting more and more comfortable with everything," he said. "The coaches see that I'm putting in the extra work and competing and going out there and knowing my assignment, knowing what I'm supposed to do. That's what builds my reps up higher and higher."

Green-Beckham said he wasn't surprised that Wentz went right back to him after the drop in the Pittsburgh game.

"He knows I can make plays," he said. "He knows I'm a playmaker. My mindset is always going to be competing. He knows that. He sees that I have a great work ethic.

"I come in every day and I do the right things. I do the little things right. They all see that. It's all about building up confidence and building that relationship."

@Pdomo

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog