EAGLEMANIACAL.com

CARSON Wentz just took another step towards becoming a franchise QB. He invited some of his teammates to hang out at his place. In the break between OTA’s and Training Camp, Wentz will be hosting a week-long passing camp for skill position players, at his home in Fargo, North Dakota. I’ve been wishing for an Eagles QB to do this since Donovan McNabb used to host teammates at his home in Arizona.

A couple years ago, I criticized Nick Foles (our then starter), for not doing this. McNabb did it to become a franchise QB and perennial playoff contender. Wentz is doing it and becoming a franchise QB. Foles didn’t do it and became a Rams back-up. then a Chiefs back-up. Now he’s an Eagles back-up.

There will be no Defense at Wentz’s home. No one will wear pads. In many ways this will seem lesser work than the OTA’s. However, it’s infinitely more important. This will help the QB and the receivers work on chemistry, and timing. They’ll get to talk about the playbook as well as the Offense’s base concepts. They’ll get to teach each other, and gain more insight as they do. More importantly they’ll get a chance to get inside of each other’s head, and get a chance to understand what their teammates see pre-snap. More importantly, they’ll get a glimpse into why their teammates see it.

For those of you who don’t know this game the way I do, let me give you some good news: Our team is about to undergo a massive evolutionary step. Wentz was handed the role of starter last year, but the role of leader must be earned. This is him earning it. This is him stepping up and wanting it.

There’s an old expression that goes “Women communicate verbally, but men communicate shoulder to shoulder”. In the sun, in the heat, through his toil, Wentz will be shoulder to shoulder with his teammates. He will be earning his mantle of Leader, in the eyes of those he plays with. I can tell you firsthand, there is no substitute for that. None. This process cannot be faked, nor simulated. There are no shortcuts to greatness.

Howie Roseman said we would be blown away by Wentz’s intangibles, and I have to say that Howie nailed the hell out of that assessment. Wentz’s intangibles (ability to assimilate and utilize new information, commitment to his craft, even keel nature, ability to engender respect from his teammates, etc.) are all top-notch. I think Roseman overestimated Wentz’s athletic ceiling, but in any case it’s still seems higher than the athletic ceilings for Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Eli Manning. All of whom have won Super Bowls with lesser physical gifts than Wentz possesses.

I say that, to say this: Dear fellow fans. Sit back and prepare to enjoy the next few years at least. Our team is on the way up, because Carson Wentz just took another step towards becoming a franchise QB.