Eagles' Wentz appears to be avoiding the big hits

Carson Wentz unofficially took 15 hits in the first two games of the season. Although the Eagles quarterback didn't get injured, some were severe. Some of the blows were unavoidable or weren't his fault, but many were a result of the rookie's not protecting himself.

Wentz either held the ball too long in the pocket, or he failed to make the proper "hot" read against the blitz, or he scrambled into harm's way rather than slide or run out of bounds.

"When you're playing quarterback in the NFL you're going to get hit, but you want the hits that are unavoidable - hits in the pocket, knockdowns in the pocket, a sack every now and then," Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo said. "But when you're out of the pocket . . . you cannot put the team in harm's way. And putting the team in harm's way is exposing yourself."

DeFilippo, offensive coordinator Frank Reich, and head coach Doug Pederson have hammered this message home to Wentz. They have spent the last five months reprogramming the athlete who ran about nine times a game at North Dakota State, but they amped up the delivery after Wentz took on defenders on two scrambles against the Bears in Week 2.

"When you're watching the tape with him you explain to him this is where you need to get out of bounds, this is where you need to take a slide," DeFilipoo said Thursday. "And you coach him that, 'Hey, when you are taking a slide [the officials] are marking it from where your butt hits, and not where you start."

Wentz seemingly got the message in Week 3. He was near flawless in the pocket, in part because the protection was sound, but on the two occasions in which he was flushed outside, he ran out of bounds after he picked up a first down and he held the ball and flipped a pass to Darren Sproles.

"I want to get out of bounds," Wentz said. "I'm not a runner first, but if it's there, I'm going to take off. . . . It's something I'm always working on, learning how to protect myself."

Wentz was previously conditioned to get as many yards as he possibly could, and in college that often meant taking on linebackers and defensive backs. And the 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback often won those battles, either with contact or an athletic move.

While he avoided unnecessary hits against the Steelers, it was still a small sample. Wentz has yet to encounter a situation in which he needs to slide. He slid for the first time in his career during his only preseason game, but sliding isn't something the Eagles practice.

The team could never get former quarterback Michael Vick to slide. Pederson said that one of the reasons Vick never gave himself up was because he was looking to draw a 15-yard penalty. But more times than not, he wasn't given that quarterback benefit.

Even Cam Newton, the reigning NFL MVP, hasn't often been afforded extra protection when he takes off. But some of the blame lies on his shoulders because he occasionally refuses to give himself up.

Asked for similarly styled quarterbacks whom he has analyzed and thought did a good job of protecting themselves, Wentz mentioned the Seahawks' Russell Wilson and Newton.

"Cam Newton takes some shots here and there," Wentz said, "but I thought last year he was a guy that . . . did a good job with designed quarterback runs."

The Eagles have yet to call a run for Wentz. Those calls are in the playbook, and Pederson said they could be forthcoming, but the powers that be clearly need to see more than just one game before they start trusting Wentz to always protect himself.

"You've got to be right on those decisions 100 percent of the time," Reich said. "Being right on eight out of 10 of those isn't good enough. You've got to be right all the time. Hopefully, we keep going down that road."

A winning wide-nine

The Eagles' first go-round with the wide-nine defensive front didn't go so well. They racked up sacks by the boatload in 2011, but couldn't stop the run and were terrible in the red zone. The following year, it all blew up and the Eagles were deficient both on the ground and in the air.

But what most fans remember about the scheme were the Roosevelt Boulevard-size gaps that Eagles linebackers and safeties had trouble filling against the rush. Former defensive line coach Jim Washburn took a chunk of the blame because he cared little about stopping the run.

Some who endured those years were initially concerned when the Eagles hired coordinator Jim Schwartz and brought back a similar scheme. He had success at multiple stops, but the question remained: Would the defense sacrifice the run at the expense of pressuring the quarterback?

So far, that hasn't been the case. The Eagles are third in the NFL in rushing defense (71 yards per game), although they are much worse — 23rd — in yards per rush allowed (4.35).

The problem then had as much to do with personnel. The Eagles were lacking at linebacker and safety. But Washburn failed to compensate, and that was ultimately one of the reasons Andy Reid fired him.

The Eagles simply are better equipped now — with linebackers Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham and safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod — to handle the additional stress that an attacking front places on the second and third levels.

Schwartz's wide-nine is seemingly different from Washburn's. His ends don't often run around tackles and tight ends as much as they try to run through them.

"It's nothing near the wide-nine you've seen in NFL history," Jenkins said. "He's got guys that are playing outside, but they're crashing down, they're aggressive, they're not running around blocks, they're running through people."

Less of Huff

Josh Huff made a late charge in the preseason that seemingly saved his roster spot, but he has yet to take advantage of the plays designed to capitalize on his ability to run with the ball in his hands.

The Eagles wide receiver has five catches, but for a total of only 19 yards (3.8 average). He also has a carry that netted zero yards. The rush came on a jet sweep, and almost all of the passes were screens.

"Obviously, I would like balls down the field, but that's not how they want to use me now and I'm totally fine with that," Huff said. "These underneath plays I'm getting — sooner or later they're going to bust, and when they bust it's going to be something big."

Huff, who is in his third season, has also had his role as a kick returner curtailed. He has been splitting time with rookie Wendell Smallwood, who had a 30-yard return in the third preseason game against the Colts that he said caught the coaches' eyes.

"I got some extra yards and they were like, 'Hey, you're just as capable as Huff,' " Smallwood said. "So they split us. I'm happy to be back there."

Huff has played 32 percent of the snaps on offense behind fellow receivers Jordan Matthews (92 pct.), Nelson Agholor (82 pct.), and Dorial Green-Beckham (42 pct.). Fifth receiver Bryce Treggs was signed just before the season and has been inactive.

Huff said that his time would come.

"It's just a waiting game for me," he said.

Five questions for Connor Barwin

A: Kyle Lowry, when we played Villanova in college. [Barwin played basketball at Cincinnati.] I had no chance covering him. They ran the pick-and-roll and I had to switch — bad news.

Q: What's the first position you ever played in football?

A: Center.

Q: Who is the best teammate you ever had?

A: Vinny Curry [who was sitting next to Barwin at the time] or former Texans nose tackle Shaun Cody.

Q: What is your best football memory?

A: When we beat the Bengals on the road to send the Texans to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history or when [Cincinnati] beat Syracuse at home my senior year to go the Orange Bowl.

Q: What is your least favorite piece of equipment that you have to wear?

A: Thigh pads and knee pads, because when I came in the league you didn't have to wear them.

Inside the game

Halapoulivaati Vaitai has entered the conversation to start at right tackle if and when Lane Johnson has to serve a 10-game suspension. But he admitted that wouldn't have likely been the case had Johnson been lost a month ago.

Vaitai was still making the adjustment after playing in a spread offense in college. The biggest challenge for the 6-foot-6, 320-pound rookie — as it is for many spread offense tackles — is always lining up in a three-point stance.

"Now that we're at the pro level a lot of defensive ends will pick up that if you're in a two-point, most likely you'll pass," Vaitai said. "So you're trying to create an illusion."

The Eagles could still go with their original plan — moving left guard Allen Barbre to right tackle and inserting either Stefen Wisniewski or rookie Isaac Seumalo at left guard — but coach Doug Pederson said that making one move rather than two would be preferable.

"I'm a big believer of playing the best five players that you have," center Jason Kelce said, "especially if someone is going to be out for a significant amount of time."

Meanwhile, cornerback Jalen Mills is likely back to the bench with Leodis McKelvin healthy after missing two games with a hamstring strain. The rookie had his struggles, but he said he also proved something to the coaches by continually bouncing back.

"I'm a grinder," Mills said. "I know these [coaches] are putting it on the line for me, so I have to put it on the line for them."

Inside the locker room

Malcolm Jenkins was asked if a recent Bleacher Report story, which anonymously polled 43 NFL players and had 20 of 22 black players voting for Hillary Clinton and 21 of 21 white players voting for Donald Trump, was reflective of the Eagles' locker room.

"It's pretty accurate," the safety said. "Donald Trump is a divisive name in the locker room. So a lot of guys will talk politics but usually not about Trump. Those might get a little heated depending upon who you're talking to."

The Inquirer didn't ask all 15 white Eagles whom they were voting for, but two said they wouldn't vote for Trump.

"If it's not 100 [percent]," Jenkins said of the Eagles' white players, "it's probably 90 percent in this locker room."

By the numbers

25 - The number of sacks both Fletcher Cox and former Eagles defensive tackle Jerome Brown had through the first 66 games of their careers.

4.9 & 483 - Yards per carry and career catches for Darren Sproles, who is one of only two players in NFL history with at least those numbers. The other is Bobby Mitchell (5.3 and 521), formerly of the Browns and Redskins (1958-68).

3 - Number of rookie quarterbacks since 1999 to have a passer rating over 100 in their first three starts (Marcus Mariota, 110.3; Carson Wentz, 103.8; and Robert Griffin III, 103.5).

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane