Jump to content
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum

When Wentz gets in trouble


Bert Johns

Recommended Posts

It's always the same from the film I have watched. He gets himself in trouble when he holds the ball to long. That's when he throws the int's. Something to watch this up coming season. He way above average when he gets rid of it quickly. That's what Frank had him doing when he was his oc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Bert Johns said:

It's always the same from the film I have watched. He gets himself in trouble when he holds the ball to long. That's when he throws the int's. Something to watch this up coming season. He way above average when he gets rid of it quickly. That's what Frank had him doing when he was his oc.

 

Stephen Holder has a few decent tweets on this with video... here is one of them.

 

https://twitter.com/HolderStephen/status/1364283487445004288

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Bert Johns said:

It's always the same from the film I have watched. He gets himself in trouble when he holds the ball to long. That's when he throws the int's. Something to watch this up coming season. He way above average when he gets rid of it quickly. That's what Frank had him doing when he was his oc.

Peyton struggled with this early in his career.  Holding the ball too long and staying back in the pocket.

 

It wasn’t long before he became very adept at getting rid of the ball to avoid a sack/pick and/or stepping up in the pocket to buy an extra second or so.

 

Part of this, of course, is being quicker with going through reads.  And, naturally, the QB has to have trust and harmony with the OL and receivers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bert Johns said:

It's always the same from the film I have watched. He gets himself in trouble when he holds the ball to long. That's when he throws the int's. Something to watch this up coming season. He way above average when he gets rid of it quickly. That's what Frank had him doing when he was his oc.

“Too long” is a relative term.

In Philly, 2 seconds were “too long.”

I’m expecting him to have a lil more time in the pocket. Even a half-second is a big deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, luv_pony_express said:

Peyton struggled with this early in his career.  Holding the ball too long and staying back in the pocket.

 

It wasn’t long before he became very adept at getting rid of the ball to avoid a sack/pick and/or stepping up in the pocket to buy an extra second or so.

 

Part of this, of course, is being quicker with going through reads.  And, naturally, the QB has to have trust and harmony with the OL and receivers.

You can credit Dungy for a big part of that.  Peyton has admitted before Dungy got here he felt like every play had to be a good play and forced it at times and made mistakes.  Dungy got here and taught him punting wasn’t a bad thing.  Peyton said that was the hardest thing he ever had to learn.  Nevertheless it shows what good coaching can do for really good players.  
 

Its not about making major changes its teaching them “little” things that make them better.  I think it was Jaws who said he watched a lot of tape on Wentz since Reich left and his mechanics have gotten worse each year and that’s what causes most of his mistakes.  The Colts have three coaches on the roster to work with QBs.  I fully expect that a large amount of time will go to working on those mechanics and hopefully he will revert back to what he was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is holding the ball too long...

 

Carson Wentz's main issue right now is his footwork. I will almost say it is his only issue. He doesn't have as quick of a throwing motion as say Rodgers or Brady but it's not slow either. It is his footwork.

 

The first thing he needs to have in order to correct that is to get comfortable with the offense. Time to throw the ball helps too. But he absolutely must work on getting his lead toe pointed in the correct direction. He had this down well in 2017, but he hasn't lately. You can see an example of that here at 0:25.

 

https://youtu.be/4kgxumgPbWk?t=25

He should have been throwing this ball to the sideline, away from the three defenders so that his man could cut back and play the outside. Hightower's feet were planted, so if the ball is thrown to the boundary, Moreland at the very least does not have a play on the ball, but Wentz's toe is pointed more upfield and his hips don't come all the way through his body. The result is an interception.

 

His footwork lately also doesn't allow his toe to follow his body as he's going through his reads so by the time he spots the open read, his foot is out of position. That comes along with being comfortable reading and having time to throw. But, he also needs to be able to step into the pocket to extend his progressions, or throw the ball away.

 

This isn't a bad throw, but it sails a little because he tends to stride long, not much but a little. He needs to tighten that up as well. He does lead it to where only his man can really catch it though.

 

All of this can be fixed. First things first study the play book. If you get a good LT he will have the time he needs to practice his best footwork while making reads and it all should come together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I predict that Carson will be serviceable over the first part of the 2021 season and will finish the season strong and in command of the offense. 
 

When I look at Wentz from 2017-2019 and compare that to 2020, it’s painfully obvious that his mechanics were shot in 2020. It all starts with footwork, and he was just not mechanically sound in 2020. His accuracy was off. This is all correctable, but will take some time. 
 

I can envision us keeping it simple in the passing game over the first half of the 2021 season. I think we will rely on a strong running game, short-quick passing game, and strong defense. Then somewhere around the middle of the season, I think Reich will have Carson really believing in himself again, because of sound mechanics and not trying to play hero ball. 
 

When the schedule comes out next year, our opponents might want us in the first half of the year. We could be a force heading into the playoffs. 
 

Without knowing the schedule, I can see us going 5-3 over the first 8 games then finishing with a strong 6-1 or so. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BlueShoe said:

I predict that Carson will be serviceable over the first part of the 2021 season and will finish the season strong and in command of the offense. 
 

When I look at Wentz from 2017-2019 and compare that to 2020, it’s painfully obvious that his mechanics were shot in 2020. It all starts with footwork, and he was just not mechanically sound in 2020. His accuracy was off. This is all correctable, but will take some time. 
 

I can envision us keeping it simple in the passing game over the first half of the 2021 season. I think we will rely on a strong running game, short-quick passing game, and strong defense. Then somewhere around the middle of the season, I think Reich will have Carson really believing in himself again, because of sound mechanics and not trying to play hero ball. 
 

When the schedule comes out next year, our opponents might want us in the first half of the year. We could be a force heading into the playoffs. 
 

Without knowing the schedule, I can see us going 5-3 over the first 8 games then finishing with a strong 6-1 or so. 

If they can work in more of an RPO offense to start him back up, it might not be a bad idea. That was worked into Philly's offense during their Super Bowl run and it helped build Foles' confidence. Defenses are more used to it now but it might be a good base point. One of his issues this year in particular were crossing throws that ran right to left. He's got to be very committed to getting better at working his lead foot leftward. That's always been an issue with his mechanics, but he had it under control in '17 and completely regressed by the end of '20. If they can design some more concepts that attack the right of the field and give him deep options until he gets more consistent, I can see your vision coming to fruition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that gives me hope is how Frank worked with Luck to get the ball out quicker. I hope Wentz is fixable. If he is, the Colts (with a solid LT and improved pass rush), are a contender. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s a fear of being labeled a “homer” but many of the local beat writers and radio hosts are saying the Colts are far from contenders. I disagree IF Wentz can somehow play his best football in Indy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, CR91 said:

Reich won't have Wentz hold the ball. Offense is all about getting the ball out quick to the playmakers.

Didnt Rivers have the same issue at the Chargers, he held on sometimes too long because he felt he had to make a big play to win games. Last year he took what was given to him and became the second least sacked QB behind our line. I have to beleive the coaches here will get his footwork right and make him realize he doesnt have to put the team on his back every play to win games. All we need from Wentz is for him to make the throws when they present themselves, i truly beleive that no defense can stop everything our guys are capable of. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

I was listening to Lawrence Owen on YouTube and he had a eagles guy on.  He said Wentz is a quick rhythm passer and after Reich left Pederson was just a bad play caller.

That's also a good point to bring up about some of the question marks surrounding that whole dynamic concerning Pederson. He was Andy Reid's guy. Reid was his QB coach in Green Bay. Pederson was coaching High School when Reid hired him for his first NFL coaching gig in Philly. When Reid went to KC, Pederson followed him. This was Pederson's first gig in the NFL not under Reid.

 

When he was hired in Philly, he retained a lot of the assistants from Kelly's team. He relied on others to vet his coaching staff out for him, and he as even attested as much himself. When he had to kind of start rebuilding his own team, they struggled.  I'm not trying to say he's a bad coach, because part of being a good HC is managing people and personalities. But, in the NFL, you really need to know your stuff when you hire people. Without leading too much conjecture, it's clear there were some significant issues on that front in his 3rd and 4th years in Philly.

 

So on a side narrative from just this offseason, people were outraged that Bieniemy didn't get more consideration for a head coaching gig. He was a running backs coach in college for 4 years before Childress hired him in Minnesota. After Childress was fired (eventually working under Reid in KC), Bieniemy was back in college until Reid hired him as a running backs coach. Again without leading too much conjecture, people wanted to make the decision to overlook him about race, rather than explore the possibility that maybe there were some reservations about repeating the same pattern that unfolded with a guy like Pederson. Both former journeyman players, both not in the NFL without Reid.

 

But I digress. Wentz may not have done himself any favors by being headstrong and does have some technical things about his game he needs to clean up, but there is quite a bit on the bone to chew through when discussing his environment as well as the dynamic between player and coach.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Bert Johns said:

It's always the same from the film I have watched. He gets himself in trouble when he holds the ball to long. That's when he throws the int's. Something to watch this up coming season. He way above average when he gets rid of it quickly. That's what Frank had him doing when he was his oc.

Holding  the ball to long isn't the only issue considering  some of his best plays have come on broken plays. He was less accurate  on broken  plays due to poor  mechanics and a worse wr core

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, BlueShoe said:

I predict that Carson will be serviceable over the first part of the 2021 season and will finish the season strong and in command of the offense. 
 

 

 

This is what I see happening as well.  I see a decent start to the season and Wentz gets stronger as the season goes on when he starts to regain his ingame confidence.  It is one thing to do it in practice when nobody is hitting you but I think there will be some in game confidence that he will need to regain as he starts to trust the team and his mechanics again.   

 

Unlike Philly I think Indy will be more understanding of a slow start and allow Wentz to gain that confidence instead of fans and media tearing him apart in the media. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wentz has been holding the ball too long for sure.  Brady has an average time to throw around 2.5 seconds.  Wentz is around 5 seconds.  A lot of this is receivers not running correct routes.  I use the term "receiver" loosely since he was throwing mostly to guys who worked at Subway in their previous careers.  Wentz needs to fix his mechanics, settle down and stop playing hero ball and develop chemistry with the Colts receivers.  The receivers he had in philly were garbage.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

One thing that gives me hope is how Frank worked with Luck to get the ball out quicker. I hope Wentz is fixable. If he is, the Colts (with a solid LT and improved pass rush), are a contender. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s a fear of being labeled a “homer” but many of the local beat writers and radio hosts are saying the Colts are far from contenders. I disagree IF Wentz can somehow play his best football in Indy.

I agree with the beat writers and radio hots. I think they are several players away from being contenders even if Wentz has a great season. Just because you get a LT doesn't mean that the problem is solved. Our receivers are much less than adequate. There are several holes on the defense as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Thebrashandthebold said:

I agree with the beat writers and radio hots. I think they are several players away from being contenders even if Wentz has a great season. Just because you get a LT doesn't mean that the problem is solved. Our receivers are much less than adequate. There are several holes on the defense as well.

Much too early to tell: they’ve got the draft and FA coming up. Their receivers ranked pretty high as far as avoiding drops. Campbell could have a breakout year if TY (if here) could be utilized more, their group is pretty solid. I know you don’t see it that way but we shall see. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Carson's issue was compiled by a few things. 

 

1- Eagles have not had a solid route running WR that can win a one on one matchup. All the guys they have been bring in have been guys who succeed in plays that help create space. Doug refused to use that style offense and instead run plays that the WR needed to use precise route running skills to win the route. When your recs are not winning those matchups you are going to hold onto the ball longer. 

 

2- Dougs scheme became very predictable. Most of the DBs knew the routes the recs were going to run before they ran them. A majority of Dougs plays consisted of a comeback route on the outside, a seam route and short hitch route to a Slot or TE. Based off of the lineup the screen plays were obvious and helped the defense to not bite. Didnt help that Doug also gave up on the run very eary even when it was working so the playaction was useless. With a defense understanding where these routes are suppose to develope it was not easy finding an open target. Add that to the first topic and you have an even worse situation. 

 

3- The oline has been banged up all season long. i think the Eagles had a total of 15 or 16 different combinations for the starting lineup at offensive line. When your snapping the ball and the DE is on you instantly your are going to scramble out and have to buy some time to get your look at the progression which is at that point done so it becomes a scramble drill for the recs to get open. 

 

I was never a fan of Doug Pederson;s offense. Was a failure every year he ran 100% of it. The only year it was successful was in 2017 after Doug gave game planning and scripting(pretty much play calling) to Frank. Doug ranked in the bottom quarter of the league in offense and first have points. Frank that one year ranked 1st in offense and 1st in points. Also Carson's MVP play season. With Frank and his style of planning and scheme he will get Wentz the ball out quick. Not to mention the Colts 3rd/4th WR is better then the Eagles number 1 WR. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/23/2021 at 9:51 PM, CR91 said:

Reich won't have Wentz hold the ball. Offense is all about getting the ball out quick to the playmakers.

I agree.

 

look at 1st and 2nd reads, if they aren't open, throw the ball away...... no hero ball...

 

Overall, I expect that we will have a run first mentality as a team

 

I also expect that he will get some roll outs to extend the play if needed, but.....again.. no forcing of the ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Mrfox said:

Wentz has a mechanics problem, and unfortunately we hired the guy responsible for working with him the last 4 years. 
 

 

Press Taylor was a bad hire.

In the long run, you may be right, but let it play out

 

I think you will be pleasantly suprised

 

Reich knows what he is doing 

 

I'm excited to see what this year holds

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, NDSU_Guy said:

Another often ignored issue for the Eagles was the absolute lack of a decent ground game.  The had no RBs and it forced them to become very one dimensional.  

Agreed..... Hey NDSU guy......  what do you think of the LT from NDSU?

 

Starter?  He may be still on the board at our 2nd round pick if we go with another position in round 1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sure the Colts are well aware of Wentz’s flaws and did their homework on him before the trade.  The Colts brain trust clearly feels like they can fix them or they wouldn’t have traded for him.  So let’s see if they can.  They have a good track record in terms of getting the most out of their players.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

Much too early to tell: they’ve got the draft and FA coming up. Their receivers ranked pretty high as far as avoiding drops. Campbell could have a breakout year if TY (if here) could be utilized more, their group is pretty solid. I know you don’t see it that way but we shall see. 

I too am waiting to see. I don't think TY will be back. If you are expecting draft picks to fill all of the holes on this team, I think you will be waiting quite a while. I don't see Ballard paying for first tier free agents and those second and their tier players are stop gaps at best. I still think we are two or three years off and I just don't see whatever it is that you see in this receiver group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Mrfox said:

Wentz has a mechanics problem, and unfortunately we hired the guy responsible for working with him the last 4 years. 
 

 

Press Taylor was a bad hire.

Press was not hired to be the QB coach thank goodness for the Colts. He is one of Carson's best friends. It was a hire so Carson could feel more comfortable. A lunch room buddy so hes not sitting by himself. Someone to go out on the town with. 

 

For Press's sake the motto of its not what you know, its who you know came true for him and a job. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Press was not hired to be the QB coach thank goodness for the Colts. He is one of Carson's best friends. It was a hire so Carson could feel more comfortable. A lunch room buddy so hes not sitting by himself. Someone to go out on the town with. 

 

For Press's sake the motto of its not what you know, its who you know came true for him and a job. 

Taylor and Frank are buddies too

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

Press was not hired to be the QB coach thank goodness for the Colts. He is one of Carson's best friends. It was a hire so Carson could feel more comfortable. A lunch room buddy so hes not sitting by himself. Someone to go out on the town with. 

 

 

So you are saying he is a professional friend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

I agree.

 

look at 1st and 2nd reads, if they aren't open, throw the ball away...... no hero ball...

 

Overall, I expect that we will have a run first mentality as a team

 

I also expect that he will get some roll outs to extend the play if needed, but.....again.. no forcing of the ball

 

If you look at the 3rd video I linked in my initial post, it shows you a lot about what Wentz is both capable of, and needs to fix as a player.

Since it's a 2 possession game at that point, this is a 2 minute offense. The play is designed to get the ball to the left end (X) in the spread shotgun formation and get the ball out of bounds to conserve clock. Wentz recognizes that it's 3 deep zone even though the defense only showed 2 deep on the play because of how the secondary shifts on the underneath zone and how the safeties adjust to the slot routes. That tells him he's got 1 on 1 on the right side of the field because the right boundary corner is responsible for the deep third on the right (Y). He checks to his second read and lets it go.

 

But again, if you watch his release, it's not a perfect throw. His lead toe again is out of position and pointed too far inward. He tends to try and compensate for this by striding long to free his hips up to follow through, but that's when he tends to sail throws. You'll see him make a lot of throws where he looks like he's falling back on the throw. Notice how Hightower has to adjust to the ball. If Wentz throws that ball on target, it's a touchdown. He saw the home run ball, but his mechanics were not clean and he misses, not by much, but enough.

 

So, he still has the capability to make reads and drive the ball, but needs to clean up his lower body mechanics. I really think he's in a good position to be able to fix these issues in Indianapolis given the personnel already in place there and the focus they seem to have on what needs to address this offseason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, JoeThornburg said:

 

 

So, he still has the capability to make reads and drive the ball, but needs to clean up his lower body mechanics. I really think he's in a good position to be able to fix these issues in Indianapolis given the personnel already in place there and the focus they seem to have on what needs to address this offseason.

Absolutely...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

Agreed..... Hey NDSU guy......  what do you think of the LT from NDSU?

 

Starter?  He may be still on the board at our 2nd round pick if we go with another position in round 1

At the Senior Bowl he was the most dominent lineman on the field. Per the NFL Channel Announcers, he'll go in the first 12-15 1st round picks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

Absolutely...

I think some of that and why he has regressed is because of that ACL injury. That is a confidence issue with him now. He wants to keep that toe bent so if he gets hit in the leg, it will bend the way it needs to. He's got to trust again. That's why he made a lot of those bad throws this year because he didn't trust his line to protect him.

 

The messed up thing about that is he got his knee busted on a run play diving for 6. 

 

Godspeed young man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/25/2021 at 8:23 AM, MikeCurtis said:

Agreed..... Hey NDSU guy......  what do you think of the LT from NDSU?

 

Starter?  He may be still on the board at our 2nd round pick if we go with another position in round 1

Radunz?  Hes a beast and will die before he quits on a play.  I am really looking forward to watching him in the league.

He does need to put on some size/mass to play against the animals in the NFL though.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NDSU_Guy said:

Radunz?  Hes a beast and will die before he quits on a play.  I am really looking forward to watching him in the league.

He does need to put on some size/mass to play against the animals in the NFL though.

 

I see him drafted in round 1, 2, or 3 in peoples mocks, he seems to be an unknown

 

I would love us to get a DE AND a LT out of this draft

 

Maybe Paye slides to us at 21 and Radunz is there in round 2  ......

 

Prolly a PIPE DREAM :)

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

I see him drafted in round 1, 2, or 3 in peoples mocks, he seems to be an unknown

 

I would love us to get a DE AND a LT out of this draft

 

Maybe Paye slides to us at 21 and Radunz is there in round 2  ......

 

Prolly a PIPE DREAM :)

 

 

 

 

 

This up coming draft is chocked full of great talent. I expect Ballard will find at least a couple of great players. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Thread of the Week

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • @Solid84   Still holding out hope we trade our R1P15 to LV for Maxx Crosby give them draft capital to move up for their QB.    If we sit at P15, draft CB Quinyon Mitchell.  Latest report seen was the Colts haven't even talked trade for Sneed.  False news, who knows, time will tell?    If Mitchell is gone before P15 then see a trade back and draft WLB Edgerrin Cooper or OL Jackson Powers-Johnson. 
    • I like it overall, but I don't think there's a snowballs chance in hell we're drafting Kinchens after his atrocious Combine. With a RAS of 2.27 he's not even a blip on Ballard's radar lol.
    • Sorry late to the party line chat on Page 57 of 94   Skyy Moore, deleted that draft class and notes but Moore seemed to have some potential but wasn't sold on him.  Viewed Moore as an average receiver not much more.  I wouldn't trade for him.   If you were looking to trade for any WR, I would suggest targeting the Packer's Dontayvion Wicks.    As for some of these other comments that I have read up and not going to ready through 30 pages.  Colts spent 200M on most of their own (top NFL) players,    Recent news I saw is that the Colts haven't had any communication talks about trading for Sneed.  How true that is or not to be seen.  Seems the Colts have done a lot spending 200M on their own and doubt we have much cap space left to sign a big-name player like Sneed.  Still haven't seen latest cap space figures since our latest signing.     The Colts build through the draft and those expectations will not change this season.  Again, our organization was lucky enough to sign some of our best positional players.  Sadly, not everyone can get resigned and do expect Blackmon to move on.  Latest rumor is Blackmon signs with the Bills. 
    • The problem is Ballard drafts traitsy raw guys more often than not, so by the time AR is ready we likely won't know if the guys he drafted are IT. That issue then gets compounded by Ballard not using FA to bring in guys who work NOW. THEN if the guys he drafts miss, we'll be waiting another 2-4 years on the next batch... see the problem?   That's fair I guess, but Armstead and Huff were signed for ~$17m/year.   Huff was the 2nd most efficient pass rusher IN THE LEAGUE in 2023 behind only Micah Parson - that's better than Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, Nick Bosa you name 'em. For $17m that's worth taking a shot at, because even if he only produces at a good level he'd still likely be a Jonathan Greenard who signed for $19m. IF he works out though he'd be the bargain of the decade.   Armstead has already played with Buckner and he would be a big upgrade over Grover Stewart for $4m more per year than what we signed Grover for.
    • Great post, thanks.  One of your best.    I think your roster bonus argument crushes my signing bonus argument.   100 percent flattens it.   Like a Quinton Nelson pancake!   I don’t see a counter argument.     Many thanks.          
  • Members

×
×
  • Create New...