It’s one thing for Carson Wentz to misfire 25 yards down the field, or get too aggressive and try to force the ball into a window that just isn’t there.

But in recent games, even dating back to the end of last season, he’s also been missing what we’d probably call “gimmes,” either sailing the ball on short throws or throwing screen pass wormburners, perhaps as a way to honor Donovan McNabb.

One of those took place in the the second quarter of Sunday’s loss, when he threw about five yards too high for Zach Ertz on a third and five. The tight end would have had to be Manute Bol at full stretch to get a hand on that pass.

Balls sail, and they slip out of your hand, and obviously every quarterback is gonna have sequences like the one we saw against the Rams, but doesn’t it seem to you like Carson has just been missing easy throws more frequently than he used to?

Doug was asked about it today, and got snippy with Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski:

Kempski: Carson had great protection all day. He wasn’t sacked and I think he only got knocked down once. I know you were asked Monday why he’s missing throws, and it’s an assortment of reasons, but some of the throws he’s missing are sort of like layups.. what would be the reason for some of those easier misses?

Pederson: Have you played quarterback in the National Football League?

Kempski: I have not, Doug.

Pederson: Okay. They’re not layups. There ain’t a throw out here that’s a layup. And so, some of it is just timing with young guys. Some of it is Carson just being not accurate at that particular time. It could be that there’s a defensive guy that flashed a hand or he has to change his arm angle at a split second. There are all kinds of reasons for inaccuracy and these are things we continue to work on the entire season.

It wasn’t hostile, the exchange. It wasn’t contentious; just the typical midweek Pederson crabbiness that we’ve come to expect, which is amplified by the 0-2 hole the Eagles are currently in.

Perhaps there are no “layups” in the NFL, but some throws are easier than others. Nobody will dispute that. And frankly, Wentz is missing throws both easy and hard. I think we all see that with our own two eyes. He threw a screen pass at DeSean Jaccson’s feet the other day and has been more or less inconsistent all season long.

Coaches and players always do the “you never played the game” thing, and I tend to support that more than most media members, who become offended for some reason. Doug makes good points about arm angle and timing and things like that, and if we’ve never thrown a football over an NFL line, at NFL game speed, to NFL receivers, then no, the media will never be able to relate.

But we all can see that he’s missing throws he used to consistently make. So what gives?