It is not all that unusual for a rookie quarterback to start on opening day. Four of them, in fact, will do so in Week 1 this season, including the Eagles’ Carson Wentz when he goes against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.
It is also pretty typical for some first-year coaches to roam NFL sidelines every year. Four of them, including the Eagles’ Doug Pederson, will do so Sunday.
Rare indeed is a team willing to open an NFL season with a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback, the surprising combination sprung upon the Eagles on Saturday when general manager Howie Roseman traded Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles will be the only team to open this season with two rookies in the two most scrutinized positions in every NFL organisation.
Only seven other teams in this century have opened the season with a rookie coach and quarterback. It happens more now than it did in the 20th century or even the first part of this century when there was more of a dues-must-be-paid mentality.
In fact, all seven occurrences have taken place since 2008 and it is probably no coincidence that the first two teams to pair rookie quarterbacks with rookie coaches had success. There was a lot of local flavour to that success, too.
Before the 2008 season, the Baltimore Ravens hired away John Harbaugh from the Eagles and used the 18th overall draft pick on Joe Flacco, a product of Audubon High School in South Jersey and the University of Delaware. Harbaugh and Flacco helped the Ravens reach the AFC championship game that season and have been synonymous with winning ever since.
That same year, the Atlanta Falcons named Mike Smith their head coach and used the third overall pick on Matt Ryan from Penn Charter and Boston College. Like the Ravens, the Falcons went 11-5 in the regular season before losing a first-round playoff game.
A year later, the New York Jets and Detroit Lions tried to duplicate that success with some guys who also now have some Philadelphia connections. The Jets hired Rex Ryan as their coach and used the fifth overall pick on Mark Sanchez. They went 9-7 and advanced to the AFC championship game. The Lions, meanwhile, hired Jim Schwartz and used the first overall pick on Matt Stafford. They went 2-14.
Since then, three other teams – the 2011 Carolina Panthers, the 2012 Miami Dolphins and the 2013 Buffalo Bills – have tried the rookie coach-rookie quarterback combination out of the starting gate. The three teams went a combined 12-29 and all failed to make the playoffs. It did, however, prove to be a springboard season for Cam Newton, Ron Rivera, and the Panthers who went 15-1 and reached the Super Bowl last season.
None of the above situations are similar to the Eagles’ plan with Wentz and Pederson because a week ago at this time that plan was to start Bradford at quarterback and let the rookie from North Dakota State learn by observing. Now, it has all changed and Pederson and Wentz swear they are ready for it.
“Interacting with Coach Pederson has been awesome,” Wentz said. “He really just instils confidence in me, just knowing he has so much experience. Everything has been so positive this week that it doesn’t feel crazy. Obviously we’ve had a little more communication, but the lines of communication have really been solid ever since I got here.
“They’re pushing me. ... They’re just challenging me to be the best I can be ... and it all has been really positive.”
Two ingredients that always benefit a rookie quarterback are a solid running game and a great defence. Flacco would probably be the first to tell you that the Ravens’ run to the AFC title game in his rookie year had a lot more to do with the defence and the running game than his right arm even though he had a respectable rookie season.
And if Sanchez said anything different about the 2009 Jets, he’d be lying. The Falcons did not have a great defence during Ryan’s outstanding rookie season, but they did support him with the league’s second-best rushing attack.
Great defence and a strong running game also allowed Ben Roethlisberger to thrive in his rookie season with Pittsburgh.
Do the Eagles have that? Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins understands that the pressure was turned up on the defence when the keys to the offence were handed to Wentz.
“We feel like there is a little more on our plate,” he said. “The small things matter just a little more. We can’t have penalties that extend drives, field position matters, third downs are crucial for us to get off the field. We’ve harped on takeaways, but now those takeaways need to turn into scores. We need to be as devastating as we can on defence to give our team the best opportunity to win.”
Nothing would be more helpful for a rookie quarterback and a rookie coach.