5 reasons Carson Wentz’s Week 1 performance wasn’t a fluke
By John Buhler
2. Doug Pederson knows what he’s doing with quarterbacks
Wentz and Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch have a better chance to succeed earlier in the NFL than does Los Angeles Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff. That is because that both Wentz and Lynch are playing for former NFL quarterbacks and Goff is not. Wentz has Doug Pederson, Lynch has Gary Kubiak, and Goff is playing for a former punt returner in Jeff Fisher.
Pederson is an Andy Reid disciple and backed up Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers for years. Though he doesn’t have ample experience as an NFL play caller, Pederson wisely brought Frank Reich and John DeFilippo to help him on his offensive staff.
Reich is known for leading the biggest comeback in NFL history quarterbacking the 1992 Buffalo Bills during the AFC Playoffs. He had been Mike McCoy’s offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers the last two seasons. DeFilippo has been an NFL quarterbacks coach for eight seasons. He was with the Browns in 2015.
The trio of Pederson, Reich, and DeFilippo give Wentz three strong offensive minds to work with his rookie year. They will hasten his steep learning curve as a rookie. Since they all played the position before, the Philadelphia staff isn’t going to put more on Wentz’s plate than he can handle his first year.
Wentz executed the Week 1 game plan marvelously for Pederson. Pederson will look at the film with Wentz, see where adjustments need to be made, and get ready for another winnable game in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football.
Next: 1. Wentz threw the ball down field