McLane: Carson Wentz looks forward to recharging after taxing year

When Carson Wentz met with reporters the day after the Eagles' season finale he did so in the new media house at the NovaCare Complex, near the exit and far from the main building of the practice facility. Eight months earlier, the rookie quarterback sat in the same room after he was formally introduced to Philadelphia following the draft.

On both occasions, Wentz was clearly exhausted - in April, after the two-day whirlwind of the draft, and two weeks ago, after the four-month grind of his first NFL season. But there was also apparent relief. Both instances marked the end of a cycle, and Wentz lowered his guard - if ever so slightly.

"I definitely need to take some time to reflect," Wentz said Jan. 2, "kind of sit back and look back at all the crazy things that happened in my life."

Wentz was short on details as it related to his offseason plans. He would give his body time to rest, particularly his overused arm. He would fill the void with other activities, particularly hunting. He would train with his receivers before the start of April workouts.

And he would eventually work on his throwing mechanics. But not any time soon.

"For starters, I don't want to think about that right now. Once I start thinking about that then I'm going to have to really fight the urge to pick up a ball," Wentz said. "You got to continually refine your mechanics. I don't think there's one, big glaring thing, but just got to be consistent."

While Wentz was arguably playing his finest football in the last four games, his mechanics had slowly eroded to that point. It happens to many quarterbacks over the course of a season. The Eagles had made minor alterations starting in the spring.

But Wentz didn't have a full offseason to work on the changes and they never completely took. The Eagles also didn't seem able to consistently condense his throwing motion. Wentz's delivery isn't obscenely long, and he can often compensate when it is with his mind and arm strength, but he will likely look to quicken his release.

Wentz trained with former NFL quarterback Ryan Lindley last offseason in preparation for his predraft workouts, but he may narrow his sights on a "swing doctor" this year. Tom House has become the most popular of quarterback whisperers. The former major-league pitcher who has a near-1.000 batting average in improving his clients has worked with Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and many more.

"It's definitely in consideration," Wentz said of working with a House-like guru. "We're working through some of those things. Again, I don't have a lot of answers for my offseason yet because I haven't had a ton of time to think about it, but I could see that happening."

Wentz's agents, Bruce and Ryan Tollner, have had two of their other quarterbacks - Marcus Mariota and Blake Bortles - train with House, who is based in Southern California. The sessions with House and his team, who use biomechanics to refine deliveries, usually take place before NFL spring workouts and in the summer before training camp.

But rest will take precedence. Wentz didn't have much of a break last year. His career at North Dakota State ended with a championship on Jan. 9. He was in Mobile, Ala., a few weeks later for the Senior Bowl. He spent most of February and March preparing for the combine and private workouts. He was drafted in late April, started practicing with the Eagles in May, and went non-stop from late July until New Year's Day.

"It's been a lot of fun, learned a lot," Wentz said, "but [it's] definitely been physically and mentally taxing."

Wentz nearly matched the number of throws he made over his collegiate career (612) during his rookie season (607). There was also one preseason game and approximately 150 practices since he was drafted.

"Every offseason I don't touch a ball until we get back in April," Eagles backup quarterback Chase Daniel said. "We throw it seven months straight, and if you look at pitchers, they're on a five-day rotation and a pitch count. We're the ones throwing every single day. . . . But I know quarterbacks that take only two weeks off."

Wentz said that he planned to rest his arm for three or four weeks - "at least." As for the rest of his body, the 24-year-old said that he felt good and never hit the proverbial "rookie wall." In fact, he said he felt better later in the year as he got more attuned to the NFL routine.

His statistics weren't better over the final four games than they were in the first four - a 76.7 passer rating compared with 103.5 - but he was more effective late in games, and considering the tougher overall competition, he was as good.

Down the stretch, Wentz relied heavily on tight end Zach Ertz, who caught 40 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns in the final five games. The duo, along with Jordan Matthews and several other receivers, already have plans in place to hold informal practices before Eagles workouts.

"I don't think people realize how viable the quarterback-receiver chemistry is," Ertz said. "So I think just having the offseason to finally build something together - obviously, we know that he's going to be here for a long time, I'm going to be here for a long time - is something we're excited about."

Matthews joked that he wanted to train in North Dakota, but most of the practices are likely to be held in the Philadelphia area. Wentz said that he's spending most of the offseason at his South Jersey home. He can, of course, work out at the NovaCare Complex, but when he finished his interview two weeks ago it was his last team obligation for months.

Wentz had already met with coach Doug Pederson for his exit meeting and cleaned out his locker stall. He was now free to do as he pleased. The Eagles certainly aren't concerned that their diligent quarterback slack will off. If anything, they have to worry about his doing too much too early.

"I'll probably fight the urge to touch a football for at least probably three, four weeks, maybe, at least," Wentz said. "Kind of just playing that by ear."

It would come as no surprise if he were to completely shut the noise off for some time.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane