Adrian Fedkiw
Doug Pederson has already dealt with his fair share of offseason drama at quarterback despite just four months on the job. Trade demands, a holdout and trading up twice in the NFL Draft to potentially land your franchise’s savior.
Welcome to the NFL, coach!
Jenny Vrentas of MMQB delved into how the new Philadelphia Eagles head coach is handling the tricky and delicate quarterback situation in the City of Brotherly Love and if his “emotional intelligence” has been up to par during his tenure so far.
Vrentas originally commented on the matter in her “10 Things I Think I Think” portion of Monday’s MMQB post, but expanded on the subject Wednesday. Here’s what she said Monday.
I think the Eagles’ quarterback strategy comes down to playing the odds, at least as Jeffrey Lurie explains it. “We see it differently than I guess some other people may,” Lurie said at the league meetings. “We see Sam [Bradford] as absolutely the right guy to quarterback the team. We are so rarely able to draft in the Top 5 in the draft. It’s only been twice in about 15-20 years. So we saw the opportunity, and we liked two quarterbacks. We had to make the move to secure having a potential franchise quarterback for many, many years. Having a lot of assets at the most important position in the NFL is a good strategic move for now. And it can only benefit us. Because in the NFL, it’s the one position you can’t just go get. And so when you have an opportunity, you’ve gotta take your shot, and you’ve gotta be bold. Otherwise, if you say to yourself, you know, it is probably a 50-50 shot that maybe the quarterback will be really good, you can’t let that deter you. So that’s how I look at it: You either have a really good QB and you compete for the Super Bowl, or you don’t and you are probably not competing for the Super Bowl. And that’s simple.”
Speaking of the “it’s the one position you can’t just get” part, this was the main reason why I loved the trade up to No. 2, despite parting with a plethora of assets.
Before the offseason began, the Eagles were stuck at quarterback. They were sitting at pick No. 13 and if they were to draft one, it would’ve been Paxton Lynch. Meh. The other option would’ve been to develop a middle-round quarterback like a Christian Hackenberg, Dak Prescott or Kevin Hogan for example. Don’t get your hopes up, Russell Wilson’s and Tom Brady’s don’t grow on trees. In free agency, it was either re-sign Sam Bradford or bring in Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brock Osweiler or Robert Griffin III. Mother of god!
Philadelphia would’ve been treading in 8-8, 9-7 mediocrity had they gone with any of those guys for the next few years.
I want a Super Bowl!
Of the 32 projected Week 1 quarterbacks, 22 were first-round picks. Sure, you can make the argument for Lynch, but I’ve never been high on him. That’s just me. I believe Carson Wentz has the intelligence, mental makeup and physical tools to potentially be a special quarterback in this league.
If he lives up to the potential, the Eagles will enjoy much of the same success that Andy Reid’s teams in the 2000s did. Except this time, maybe one of those years ends with a parade on Broad Street.
Here’s where things got tricky and where the emotional intelligence came into play. Obviously, Bradford threw a bit of a hissy fit after the Eagles traded up in the draft and landed Wentz. He demanded to be traded, but the market was bare and Bradford eventually ended his holdout and showed up at the OTAs.
Pederson, however, has remained firm in saying that Bradford is his guy. Lurie explained how Pederson has handled the emotional intelligence side of things so far with the team.
“Doug is doing a great job,” Lurie said at the league meetings in Charlotte. “He is communicating great, respects everybody he is in communication with. The players, I think, really gravitate toward him, in a human way. In a real, human way, not just an employee-employer type of way. And that’s important. Players play for passion, they play with passion and they want passion and great interaction.”
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Part of the reason I asked Lurie for an early review of Pederson’s “emotional intelligence” as a new head coach was because he’s already had a big test of that, navigating a sticky situation when Sam Bradford skipped two weeks of voluntary offseason workouts after the Eagles traded up to draft Carson Wentz. But all three quarterbacks—Bradford, Wentz and Chase Daniel, signed to be a veteran backup—are now back in the NovaCare Complex, learning the new offense during organized team activities.
“I think we’re navigating it well,” Lurie said.
Lurie also had very positive things to say about Pederson’s offense and his coaching staff.
Lurie also praised Pederson for being smart, knowing the offense like the back of his hand, and assembling a good staff, including bringing in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and retaining special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. A strong coaching staff, Lurie says, was “one of the prerequisites” for the first-time head coach. “And Frank Reich and John DeFilippo are terrific quarterback coaches,” Lurie added, “which is why, with our investment in quarterbacks, we surrounded them with real good people.” (Reich is the offensive coordinator and DeFilippo is the quarterbacks coach, but Lurie’s point was that both men know how to coach quarterbacks).
This is a great situation for Wentz to be in as a young quarterback. Not only is he learning from a pair of ex-NFL quarterbacks, Pederson and Reich, he’s also soaking in information from DeFillipo, who did a tremendous job with Josh McCown in Cleveland last season.
With all that being said, Pederson might be handling himself well right now, but it’s only June. How is he going to fare if Bradford starts struggling, is tossing interception after interception and the Eagles aren’t winning? Is he going to derive from the plan as more and more boos reverberate inside Lincoln Financial Field? That’s where the emotional intelligence is really going to come into play.
As for right now, however, so far so good.