Carson Wentz: The Next Great QB in Philadelphia?

The NFL season is underway and through three weeks there are several story-lines that are worth following including the up and down season of the Minnesota Vikings led by new quarterback or maybe even the New England Patriots 3-0 start led by two backup quarterback. No story though seems to be bigger than the resurgence of the Philadelphia Eagles led by rookie sensation Carson Wentz. From the start of the 2015 college football season until now, Wentz has gone from an unknown prospect with good potential to one of the most polarizing players in the NFL this season. The truth is that no one really expected the Eagles to be dominating games the way they are this season and the performances Wentz has been displaying this year are nothing short of spectacular.

What if I told you before the year started that the Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson led Philadelphia Eagles would start the season 2-0, would you believe me? Many would probably agree with the prediction but there would be some who would question the expectation. Now with the Eagles being 2-0, there is no chance they can compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers right? Wrong again. In fact, the Eagles not only beat Pittsburgh, but they shut down the Steelers defense while scoring 34 points with Wentz at the helm. So far, Wentz has been everything the Eagles were hoping for when they traded but to draft him at #2 but how good has he really been? Let’s take a closer look at what Carson Wentz has been able to accomplish through the first three weeks of the 2016 season.

During the Eagles week 1 match-up against the Browns, Wentz has the center of attention and with a questionable preseason due to injuries many did not know what to expect from the North Dakota State product. Needless to say, Wentz had a good debut but did show a few signs that many rookie quarterbacks show in their first game from batted down passes to taking unnecessary hits in the pockets. Even though the Eagles won their first game, many people said “but it’s the Browns, anybody can beat the Browns”. While the Browns are one of the rebuilding teams right now and are not a huge threat to playoff caliber teams, Wentz still had a decent performance that at the very least deserves recognition.

Leading up to week 2 against the Bears, the growing sentiment was that “The Bears are better than the Browns and this is Wentz’s first road game in prime time so the Eagles won’t stand a chance”. In his first prime time game, Wentz went out and once again proved doubters wrong with another decent performance against the Bears. Now at this point, Wentz was not putting up huge numbers ad looked more like a game manager in some instances but at the same time did not turn the ball over which is a great sign of an accurate quarterback. Once again skeptics came up with the same excuse saying, “but they played the Bears, the Bears are not that good of a team”. While these types of statements are right in that the Browns and Bears are not great teams, that should not take anything away from Wentz and the way he has carried himself through the first two games.

With all this being said let’s pump the brakes because in week 3 we all know this is where Wentz and the Eagles get their first test when they go up against Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The first two games were practice games; they didn’t mean anything right? How can we judge Wentz off of two games against inferior teams? Statements and questions like these were the ridiculous things being said leading up to the Eagles-Steelers game and quite frankly I could see why they were being mentioned. Fans should be excited about Wentz I mean look what they had to deal with over the last 12 months. While it is great to root for Wentz and be excited for what he has done this far, let’s not anoint him the next Tom Brady just yet.

Now the time had come, the Eagles were going to face their toughest opponent yet in the Pittsburgh Steelers and this was the game fans were waiting for all week. The energy leading up to this game was incredible and after watching the Eagles dominate the Steelers all I can say is wow! Now I am not a Wentz skeptic but I did not expect to see what I saw this past Sunday out of both Carson Wentz and the Eagles defense. The Steelers had arguably the most explosive offense going into Sunday’s game but when the Steelers took the field, it seemed like they had their backups in the game. Roethlisberger was getting constantly pressured from the Eagles front four and DeAngelo Williams could simply not run the ball.

When Wentz and the Eagles offense took the field, I can honestly say that I was stunned by how good he looked in the game. If I was a causal fan simply watching the game on TV, it would not be hard to assume Wentz was a ten-year veteran by the way he makes adjustments before the snap and the way he extends plays with his feet. From his footwork both inside and outside of the pocket to his smooth deep passes in tight coverage, Wentz truly looked like a top pick and this performance is one that no one can argue against.

One aspect about Wentz’s game that really caught my eye is his pre-snap communication and the way he can make adjustments on the fly. During the game there were certain times when I thought to myself, “this kid runs this offense with great composure and the way he communicates with the offense during plays seems reminiscent of other quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers”. Now I am in no way comparing to Rodgers or any future Hall of Fame quarterbacks but it is obvious that he is comfortable running an NFL offense and the scary thought is that he has the offense basically memorized as a rookie. Can you imagine the potential this kid has in this offense if they land a top running back or receiver? Wentz finished the game completing over 70 % of his completions and yet another game with no turnovers against a Steelers team that was projected by many to be a legitimate Superbowl contender. Needless to say there is a lot of football that still needs to be played but I think it is safe to assume that Carson Wentz has established himself as a quarterback with immense potential and will only get better as his career progresses.