Wentz was not the problem

[Kray007]

Don’t get me wrong. He wasn’t grear. I get it. I have eyes.

But, going in, we all knew the deal with the guy. Give him solid pass blocking and a clean pocket with time to throw, and he’s gonna be more than solid. But, if you let opposing defenses ratchet up the pressure, he’s gonna look like Tom Brady trying to figure things out versus the Giants in Super Bowl 57.

The numbers should be easy to understand. According to PFF, Wentz attempted 27 passes. On 25 of those, the Raiders got pressure. That’s far too many.

A lot of the problems can be attributed to Covid. Nelson, Glowinski and Smith were all dealing with the disease. Eric Fisher was out with injuries, and Ryan Kelly was dealing with something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. The impact on play was obvious.

Not only did Wentz not have time to throw, but Receivers didn’t have time to run their routes and gain separation. While he wasn’t shut down, Jonathan Taylor didn’t have the kind of holes we’ve seen all season, and don’t get me started on the shoestring tackles. There were a season’s worth in one game. It makes me believe that, on a lot of plays, the blocking was just a little off

But, worst of all were the penalties. Illegal proceedure on Smith, holding on Smith, holding on Pryor, holding on Kelly. At least two of them aborted promising drives, and one shoved us back out of FG range.

And, finally, I think that we don’t give Wentz anywhere enough credit for the magic he works with his legs. He can be a magician at getting away from pressure; and, yesterday, he avoided 3 or 4 sacks.