LOTS of Eagles fans already love rookie Quarterback Carson Wentz because he gives a good interview, and because he’s not Sam Bradford. Well, actor Patrick Stewart meets those qualifications as well, but you wouldn’t want him as the Eagles starting QB, would you? Of course not, because he lacks the merits to be one.
Before we get started, let me put my cards on the table. I wasn’t a fan of moving up to get him, but this isn’t a case of a guy with an ax to grind. Wentz is here. Even if he’s a bust he’ll be here for at least 4 years. If he’s any good he’ll be here for a decade of so. I’ll be 41 soon, so that means Wentz could be here into my 50’s (should I live that long). I’m not looking to spend a decade booing a man who’s just looking to do his best for our team. However, what you respect about me (even if you can’t stand me) is that I’ll tell it to you straight. So here it is.
Michael Vick‘s speed, Joe Flacco‘s cannon, Carson Palmer‘s ability to see passing lanes before they open, Andrew Luck having every tool in the box…people made big deal of those special talents when these guys were drafted. So what are fans and media saying sets Wentz apart?
Well that’s the thing. We haven’t much discussed the actual merits of Carson Wentz as an athlete, have we? Our Front Office spent a lot of capital to move up to get this guy, but I have yet to hear fans gushing over why he is so special. The reason that fans aren’t doing that, is because he isn’t special. I’m not saying that he can’t become a decent to good pro player. What I am saying is that there is nothing about this guy that makes you say “WOW!”
Even though the “Bottom Line” on his Draft Profile gave him a Round One projection, it also described him as “developmental”. On that same profile, while an AFC Scout did say that he possesses intangibles, that scout did not go as far as to say what a single one of those intangible qualities (for example: leadership, toughness, the ability to inspire or keep teammates levelheaded, etc.) were. When Wentz was asked what sets him apart, he said it’s the mental aspect of his game. At which point he defaulted to giving boilerplate answers that any QB (ranking from arm chair to NFL) could give. (Seriously check the link out). It’s all so deliciously vague.
With so much positive but vague talk surrounding the guy, I decided that the truest evidence would lay in how he plays. I wanted to see recent video of him, so I downloaded and watched a few videos of Wentz 2015 games. (Games, not just highlights, mind you.) I repeatedly went over and dissected five of them (Jacksonville, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, Montana and Weber State).
While those teams hardly represent high quality competition, at no point did I feel like I was looking at a man among boys when I saw Wentz play. I saw nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, special about him. He by no means looked bad out there, but he never looked “WOW!” either.
But don’t take my word for it. Watch THE VIDEOS and look at his ball placement. Look at how often he checks it down, or goes to a first-read pass to the flat. Look at the percentage of overthrows on deep balls from a clean/mostly clean pocket. These things happen to all QB’s, but they happen more often to average QB’s. Oh, and when you watch him run with that gangling style of his, don’t pretend you can’t already see the type of shots he’s going to take at the pro level. Watch the films. I’ll wait….
I’m not saying he’s without any potential. If he’s coached up, he has as much chance as any other athlete to be a decent to good pro. To be clear, what I’m saying is that this guy has no obvious tool in his arsenal that indicates a minimum career .625 win percentage. He lacks an x-factor; but since he’s going to be here for at least the next 4 to 10, 12 years, let’s hope he doesn’t need one.
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If Patrick Stewart lacks the merits to be the Eagles starting Qb, then you equally lack the qualifications to judge Qb talent — Stick to what your good at…judging NFL Qb talent is not one of those things.
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I’m not even going to argue with you.
Instead I’m going to go you one better, and leave your comment up so that people can see it, and judge you by it. 🙂
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Terrific! Thank you. If you really wanna do me a favor, let’s rehash this thing in five years when I’m right. Here’s my scouting report on Carson Wentz — because I see plenty of special qualities in him that you clearly do not:
http://sleeperlist.com/carson-wentz-scouting-report-2016-nfl-draft/
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Great! I look forward to reading it as soon as I get tomorrows article out. I will forego sleep to read it and I hope you can shed some light on the issue. As an Eagles fan, I really would love to be fully on-board with such a big move.
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Since the Eagles hired Chip Kelly the organization has been a dysfunctional mess. Even now if you listen to the HC, OC, and th DC they can’t get their stories straight. The owner is talking about “emotional intelligence” when the whole time he’s allowing his coach to sink himself into a no win situation. The Eagles have been a three ring circus of dysfunction. Just look no further than the Sam Bradford situation to see that dysfunction still resides in the building. In all of this dysfunction the only thing the players seem to unanimously agree on has been the selection of Carson Wentz. I’m not going to get into evaluating Wentz off his college stuff. Frankly it doesn’t even matter. It only matters what he does in the pros and it isn’t my job to evaluate him off his college performance. I am not upset about them drafting Wentz and it has little to do with the fact he’s not Sam Bradford although I will add Sam Bradford has 100% proven that relying on him will get your franchise nowhere special. I support this move because I understand the NFL is a league driven by quarterbacks and the Eagles have in their employment right now three guys who know a thing or two about playing the position. I’m going to give them the benefit of doubt here.
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As a fan we all want to give our team the benefit of the doubt, but as you said, the Eagles have been a dysfunctional mess for a while now.
That goes back to what I keep saying about poor leadership allowing all this to happen. In the midst of this poor leadership however, has also been some questionable decision making.
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In all of the dysfunction and with all the questionable leadership Wentz is the one thing they all seemed to agree on and that’s why I have hope about the kid. They aren’t the only team who brought into Wentz either. The Eagles weren’t the only team trying to get Wentz. They are just the team that paid the most. Nothing about scouting and drafting is an exact science much of it is about luck. I remember how high people were on Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf. I saw how poorly they performed. I don’t know what Wentz is going to be yet. I want to see him in NFL games before I make my judgement, but if they are wrong about this kid a lot of people are going to lose their jobs.
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Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf are exactly why I look at those extra picks we gave up and shake my head. If it pans out who can argue, but if it doesn’t (and the odds aren’t great) most of the fans who are telling me “You can’t make an omlete…” will spend years complaining about the yolk all over the floor.
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I’m not telling you that you’re wrong. I’m just stating that I understand why they are trying to make the move. If it works that’s great. If it doesn’t we move on. It wouldn’t be the first time the Eagles made a bad choice. The list is long even when they had all their picks plus additional picks of bad choices made. For Peters the Eagles basically gave up two first round picks that ultimately didn’t live up to the expectations. They got a potential HOF player. For trading McNabb and getting additional picks they got an average to sub par safety. It’s all a gamble. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Just not ready to call Wentz a failure before he’s played a game yet.
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