Not being the starter, but being asked to enter and play quarterback in the fourth quarter of an NFL game is not exactly an easy assignment.
For one thing, the starter took the majority of reps all week, and when you enter in the final quarter trailing 30-14 like Carson Wentz did last week against the 49ers, everyone in the stadium knows you are passing, so, there is not much mystery for the defense.
But Commanders QB coach Ken Zampese was pleased with Wentz’s appearance. “He looked quick on his feet. He looked like he had fresh legs and processed fast so that was encouraging.”
Zampese also liked that when Wentz planted his plant foot, he did not linger back there as a sitting target looking downfield.
“The ball came out. As we were going through earlier in the season, sometimes things got a little stuttered. This time, the ball came out faster, and that was encouraging.”
Wentz, in his first year with the Commanders, was learning the offense when against the Bears in Week 6, he suffered a broken ring finger on his passing hand, while also playing with a limited bicep and ankle.
Zampese firmly believes that Wentz was learning the offense while injured and thus prepared himself mentally for when his name would be called.
“(He) gets a chance to learn as he watches other guys and goes back in his mind, ‘Hey, we did this in the spring; this is what it looks like live.’ Just gets more mental reps at the same thing over and over again, so you come to a greater comfort level when you get a chance to come back and do it yourself.”
“I saw that when it all caved in he was able to get the ball flipped out to the back one time and then the ball came flying out of there a couple of times and we were like ‘yes, it is going where it is supposed to go, and it is going on time.’ Those things get you excited.”