The Eagles were busier with an ESPN report than X’s and O’s leading up to Sunday night’s battle with Dallas.
Head coach Doug Pederson and players ripped a report from ESPN’s Josina Anderson that quoted an anonymous player who said the offense has become too complicated for Carson Wentz and that the quarterback should throw safer checkdown passes.
“(The anonymous player) said, ‘Even Peyton Manning knew when to check it down,’” Anderson said Thursday on “NFL Live.”
“Carson Wentz right now is 38% on passes that travel 15 air yards, has three interceptions on passes like that, which is tied for most in the league. He also has 148 passes on those that are 10 yards or fewer. Right now, he has nine touchdowns and zero interceptions on passes like that. So I do think it is an apt point.”
Wentz is ranked 10th in passing yards per attempt, per Pro Football Talk, and that more of his interceptions have come off longer passes isn’t surprising as many quarterbacks follow the same pattern.
“I’ve never heard that one before,” Pederson told reporters Friday of the check-down suggestion. “We’re not throwing it deep enough and now we’re not throwing it short enough. I don’t get it.”
The Eagles have underperformed at 3-3, but are still tied with the Cowboys for first in the disappointing NFC East.
“It’s tough because how much merit do you put in the person writing the article, addressing the anonymous ‘player’,” tight end Zach Ertz said Friday of the latest story. “It could be anyone. I don’t know what it is. It could be someone in the front office, it could be a coach, it could be an agent. You don’t really put much merit to it until somebody puts their name behind it.”
Last year, Anderson reported that an anonymous player thought Wentz was “over-targeting” Ertz, and earlier in the week, Anderson reported an anonymous player was upset the team didn’t land star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, whom the Jaguars instead traded to the Rams.
“I don’t want to talk about (the report),” said struggling wide receiver Nelson Agholor. “I don’t want nothing to do with that. If you’ve known me, I respect the game and I play the game the right way. That’s how I look at it.”
Wideout Alshon Jeffery said, “It sounds like a story being made up to me.”
Anderson hasn’t publicly responded to the Eagles’ comments.