Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz continues to grow
It’s that time of year again for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans. Panic has set in after the Eagles — which started the season at 3-0 — lost their game in convincing fashion at Cincinnati. With the loss, Philadelphia is now 5-7 with almost any realistic shot of a playoff appearance now gone. During this time, we also find the yearly “blame the quarterback sentiment.”
While most times I would accept this especially when it comes to veteran or backup experienced quarterbacks, however, I do feel differently this year. Despite his impressive start to the season where many players, coaches, and experts praised rookie quarterback Carson Wentz for his play, many knew that a fall was coming for the 2016 second overall pick.
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After all, he is still a rookie. While that “fall” has been much more than expected, his play has also been dictated by an extremely poor receiving corps, the lack of a running game, and some inconsistent play from the offensive line. Despite the recent revelation about his mechanics, he is not a terrible quarterback or a “bust” as some have labeled him.
Speaking to the Eagles’ website about his rookie signal caller, head coach Doug Pederson backed up Wentz and his ability while making sure to state his belief in the improvement and steps Wentz has taken in his development this season.
“He’s growing. This is a marathon business, it’s never been about a sprint and we’re in it for the long haul. He’s done a lot of great things for us. We’ve asked a lot of him as we’ve said each week. He’s right where he needs to be.”
As we all remember, Pederson was the one who wanted to keep Wentz on the bench during the preseason. With Sam Bradford as the starting quarterback, the former FCS — Division II — quarterback would have an extended chance to adapt to the NFL and refine his game. With the Bradford trade that occurred right before the start of the season, all that was thrown out the window.
Quite simply, Carson Wentz has been learning on the fly. Yes, he still has a lot to improve on if he want’s to live up to his draft spot. That said, he has still come a long way in his development. Getting some more pieces around him needs to be the priority right now. When that is done, I expect to see some much better play from Wentz in the future.
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