Eagles' Pederson pins Wentz's struggles on short offseason

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson believes the abbreviated NFL offseason is factoring into Carson Wentz's early-season struggles.

"Two and a half weeks to prepare for your first real game, it's not enough time," Pederson told reporters Monday. "The passing game, it takes time. We're going to continue to work and get better."

Wentz looked out of sorts in Week 2 for the second straight game, missing several routine passes and throwing a pair of interceptions in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Along with the rest of the NFL, the Eagles had no preseason contests or on-field work before training camp because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I guess you can point to a lot of different things," Pederson said. "Missing OTAs, not having all the necessary maybe reps during training camp, missing preseason games, whatever it might be, the timing of things that we do in the passing game and just missing these throws.

"They are throws that he typically would throw, and it's a little bit, too, on the receivers. Sometimes the receivers need to make the catch as well. So it's things that we have to continue to work."

Wentz is already up to four interceptions for the season - twice as many as his touchdown passes. The quarterback has also fumbled twice and owns an ugly 64.4 passer rating for the 0-2 Eagles.

Pederson appeared perplexed when asked why Wentz is apparently regressing in his fifth season.

"It's a good question," he said. "For us, it's a matter of continuing to work. I think as coaches and players, we continue to strive to get better every single day. I just don't want Carson to feel like he has to make all the plays every single time. I want him to just be Carson and you guys know him, you've been around him, you've heard him, his demeanor. He wants to do everything right and we've given him control to do that, but we just have to continue to work to get better.

"I don't think anybody can totally master the sport. You're constantly learning and getting better, and that's what we've got to do and continue to coach that."