Eagles: Spreading the ball around will be key to beating the Redskins
The Philadelphia Eagles need to spread the ball around in the passing game early and often in order to take care of the Washington Redskins on Monday night.
It doesn’t take a football expert to figure out that the Philadelphia Eagles need to improve on offense. As they are continually struggling to put points up on the board, the Eagles need to figure out how they are going to get things rolling as they attempt to make a late-season run for the playoffs starting on Monday night.
The obvious plan will be to balance out the offense. Don’t have Carson Wentz throw close to 40 times a game when the running backs are barely getting over ten carries. Eagles running back Josh Adams has been willing to take on a hefty workload, and the Eagles should stay true to that. However, there’s much more to it than just running the ball more.
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The Eagles need to not only find a spark in the passing game as well, but they need to spread to ball around. Earlier this week, an anonymous “team source” believes that Wentz’s over-targeting for Zach Ertz seems to be a major reason why the Eagles are struggling so much this season. And while it’s easy to say “Well, Ertz is the only one consistently getting open and catching the ball,” that’s just not the only reason why Wentz is throwing to him so often.
Wentz needs to jump out of his comfort zone
It’s clear that Carson Wentz is not one-hundred percent back. No, we’re not saying that he’s still playing hurt – but he’s not entirely there mentally. He doesn’t want to scramble as much, and he doesn’t seem to want to spread the ball around as much as he did last season.
There are times where Wentz stares down Ertz from the second the ball is snapped. And there are times where he just forces the ball to a receiver in order to avoid taking his next big hit. What the Eagles need to do this week, is spread the ball around no matter what. Enough with the quick shots to Ertz. Get rid of the screen passes to Golden Tate.
Wentz needs to get a few 50/50 balls to Alshon Jeffery. Maybe Nelson Agholor can get a few big plays open across the middle. Obviously, these scenarios are easier said than done, but they are very well possible if Doug Pederson and Mike Groh can implement a solid gameplan, and Wentz is willing to let it fly all night.
Just remember the first half of the New York Giants game during week six. Or even the first two-quarters of the game against the Carolina Panthers. Wentz was dealing the ball to whoever was willing to find even a tiny amount of space separating from the defender.
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Earlier in the season, Wentz was dealing. Lately, he’s just been relying on the hot hand, which can only get the offense so far. Therefore, the Eagles need to spread the ball around in order to keep the Redskins on their toes. Philly has the talent to do so, and this week it is do-or-die. Enough with the games, the Eagles need a dominating victory, and Carson Wentz must lead his team to the big win.