Carson Wentz is the right man to lead the Philadelphia Eagles. A look back at his four year tenure in Philadelphia.
10 March 2020 Uncategorized
On April 28th, 2016 the Philadelphia Eagle franchise changed forever. Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles front office decided to make one of the boldest trades this franchise has ever contrived.
The Philadelphia Eagles traded the 8th, 77th and 100th picks in the 2016 draft, along with a 2017 first and 2018 2nd round pick to move up to the 2nd overall pick. From this vantage point, the Philadelphia Eagles were in a position to select quarterback Carson Wentz..
Carson Wentz was born on December 30th, 1992 in Raleigh, North Carolina. At the age of 3, Carson and his family moved to North Dakota, where he would grow into the exceptional athlete he is today. He played defensive back and quarterback in highschool, and graduated as the Valedictorian of his class in 2011.
After highschool, Carson committed to play football for the North Dakota State Bisons. Carson would go on to play quarterback for his home state school. His first season was spent redshirted, however North Dakota won their 9th FCS title in school history.
Carson finally took the reigns of the Bisons starting quarterback position in his junior year. He finished his collegiate career with 45 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and passing for 5115 yards.
Carson was projected to be a 2nd or 3rd day prospect before the senior bowl, however that changed after an impressive showing at the senior bowl and combine, Carson flew up draft boards and quickly became one of the best prospects in the draft.
The Eagles fell in love with him and decided to give up a stockpile of draft picks to acquire this talented QB. The fanbase was split on this decision, taking an FCS quarterback with the 2nd overall pick just seemed crazy right? Yeah I can’t lie, I was skeptical at first as well.
When Carson was first drafted by the Eagles, the initial plan was for him to sit behind starting quarterback Sam Bradford, and most likely be the 3rd man behind Chase Daniel. Best laid plans have a way of changing.
With an impressive training camp, the Eagles decided Carson was ready to rock as the Eagles starting quarterback. The Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings for a 1st and 4th round pick. Remember that 1st round pick they gave up to move up and draft Carson Wentz? As it turns out, they were in a position to get that pick right back.
After a long and tiring offseason, the 2016 season was underway with the Eagles starting a rookie at quarterback. The city of Philadelphia was excited and nervous all at the same time. I was nervous and excited and can remember week 1 against the Browns like it was yesterday. What if this didn’t work out? What if we just wasted four draft picks on a quarterback who can’t carry this team?
Needless to say, I was hooked on this kid right out the gate. Anyone else remember his first drive in the NFL? Need a reminder? Take a look at the link below for a refresher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMYfvs9XDBc
Carson threw his first touchdown pass at 9:53 into his first game, and I was instantly sold on this kid. He went on to throw for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first game.
Carson continued to put the league on notice in his next two games, throwing for a combined 491 yards in his next two games, and putting on an absolute show against the Steelers in week 3. This is one of my favorite Carson Wentz plays to date:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0VWvjs56E8
After week 3, the NFL caught up to Carson. He struggled in his next 11 games, losing 9 of them, bringing the rookie quarterback back down to earth. The Eagles finished the season 7-9 after a 3-0 start. The city was on edge, and wondering again: can Carson carry this team?
Carson and the Eagles went into the 2017 season with high expectations. There was no doubt he did his best in 2017 to prove everyone wrong. After the 2016 Eagle receivers dropped everything that came their way, it was time they provided Carson with some weapons. Howie Roseman went out and acquired the best receiver on the market in Alshon Jeffery, and signed speedster Torrey Smith to a 3 year deal.
After a 1-1 start, the Eagles torched the schedule where they peeled off 9 wins in a row. Carson had 24 touchdowns and 3 interceptions during that 9 game stretch. These numbers were unprecedented! For example in week 7 against the Washington Redskins, Carson was playing out of this world. On Monday Night Football, Carson threw for 268 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was unstoppable on primetime television. That game put the league on notice, and established himself as the MVP of the league.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKvzyLZ5DbY&t=50s
Unfortunately, for all the success Carson brings to the city of Philadelphia, he tragically tears his ACL during a game where he threw 4 touchdowns week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams. The 2nd string QB Nick Foles takes over, and the rest is history.
Bring on 2018 it’s a new year and a refreshed Carson. He sits out the first two games of the season still recovering from the ACL tear. His return against Indianapolis week 3 was riveting and I was fortunate to attend that game. The stadium was electric. The city was hungry for the MVP-level Carson of 2017.
The Eagles as a team struggled when Carson returned. Two horrific losses against the Titans and Panthers were, without a doubt, low points. Up more than 10 in the 4th quarter and they blew both games. Carson was hauled down by poor team performance. Despite the poor play he completed 21 touchdowns along with throwing 7 interceptions.
No need to go over the events that followed. Simply put Foles comes in after Carson gets hurt and one Alshon drop later the season is over.
Last year, I was 100% convinced Carson was going to be MVP and this was not pure Philadelphia bias. After analysing the team Howie constructed, there was no doubt
Carson was going to light up the league. Once again, he provided flashes of his 2017 accomplishments.
In the first 14 weeks of the season, Carson was unable to shine due to poor team performance. After we had a taste of Carson to DeSean week 1, it all came crashing down in week 2 against Atlanta. DeSean Jackson went down with a season ending injury, and that opened up the floodgates for horrific wide receiver play.
After an awful loss to the Miami Dolphins in week 13, the season seemed over. DeSean, Alshon and Agholor were all lost for the season. The wide receiver position became the downfall or was that an unfair assumption? Carson proceeded to lead the Eagles to a 4 game winning streak. During that winning streak Carson completed 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. In my opinion Carson deserved the credit as he carried a completely depleted team into the playoffs.
No need to go into detail about what happened next. One Jadeveon Clowney dirty hit later, and the season comes to an end.
Suffice to say, Carson has experienced tremendous highs and lows with this team and his professional career. I cannot think of a player who has been through more in his first 4 seasons as a professional. The peaks and valleys are remarkable..
I believe that fans of the game all agree that this kid is a special talent. Forget the Nick Foles narrative. Forget the Alshon Jeffery drama. Carson is the right man for the job, and I don’t know how else he can prove it. He took an injury riddled wide receiver core to the playoffs. Arguably there maybe 3 other quarterbacks who could have achieved what Carson was able to do down the stretch in 2019.
The Eagles went all in on this man in 2016, and it’s time for a repeat. Get him the right weapons and watch what happens. Carson Wentz is going to tear this league up again. Mark my words.