The Philadelphia Eagles took a huge gamble when they traded up in the 2016 NFL Draft in order to acquire quarterback Carson Wentz with the second overall pick. Many NFL reporters and analysts were skeptical on whether the North Dakota State product would live up to the hype, and several questions were raised about the Eagles' then unusual situation at QB. At the time of the trade up, general manager Howie Roseman had re-signed starting QB Sam Bradford to a two year deal and signed newly acquired free agent QB Chase Daniel to a three year deal. Fans originally believed that first year head coach Doug Pederson's plan was to start Bradford and have backup Daniel assist Bradford in learning the new offensive gameplan. Daniel played in Kansas City when Pederson was the offensive coordinator there. As a result, it didn't make sense for the Eagles to take a quarterback in the first round, let alone trade up for one. The usual situation carried throughout training camp and the preseason. Then, it happened.
Attribution: USA Today
Attribution link: http://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2016/07/25/doug-...
With just days to go before the start of the regular season, Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater went down in practice with a season ending, possibly career ending knee injury. Desperate for a replacement, Minnesota worked out a trade with Philadelphia. The Vikings sent the Eagles their 2017 first round draft pick and a conditional 2018 draft pick in exchange for Sam Bradford. The trade was not in the Eagles' plans, but Howie Roseman believed the offer was too good to turn down. Due to Chase Daniel's lackluster performance in the preseason, Doug Pederson named Carson Wentz the starter for the season opener.
Wentz embraced the opportunity, took his role as leader of the Eagles' offense, and lead his team to a 3-0 start including an upset blowout over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win streak, in which Wentz threw five touchdowns and zero interceptions, was enough to make him the league's Offensive Rookie of the Month for September. However, the honeymoon was about to be over.
Attribution: Yahoo SportsAttribution link: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/will-carson-wentz-man...
This young Eagles team with a first year head coach began to "shoot itself in the foot." Amidst tons of penalties, poor wide receiver play, a suspension to offensive lineman Lane Johnson, questionable play calling decisions, and surprisingly good play from the other NFC East teams, the Eagles started losing. Fans began to question Pederson's leadership as well as Wentz's ability. This team that had started the season 3-0 is now 5-6 as I type this, with little to no chance of making the playoffs. They have a do or die game this Sunday, December 4th against the Cincinnati Bengals.
An additional reason for the frustration of the fans is the Dallas Cowboys. 4th round rookie QB Dak Prescott and 1st round rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott have lead the team to the best record in the NFL. The fans are upset Dallas hit a home run with their rookies, and believe Prescott will go on to have a better career than Wentz.
I'm writing this today as a wake up call to Eagles fans everywhere to put your trust back in Carson Wentz. We have to remember that Wentz has next to no elite offensive weapons to allow him to make plays. Yes, Dak Prescott is good, but Dallas has the league's best offensive line, league's best running game, and a top 5 TE and WR corps. Meanwhile, the Eagles are just trying to rebuild an offense that lost all of its playmakers due to cuts and trades by their egotistical and tyrannical former head coach, Chip Kelly.
Attribution: The UndefeatedAttribution link: http://theundefeated.com/features/is-dallas-cowboy...
To use an example of what a supporting cast can do for a young QB, let's think back to the Eagles' offense in 2013. Our offense was fortunate enough to have the league's best offensive line and the league's best running game, plus the ability to stretch the field with WR DeSean Jackson. Our QB that year went on to throw 27 touchdowns, and just 2 interceptions. Who was it? Nick Foles, who's struggles with mechanics and accuracy have now made him a backup in the NFL. Carson Wentz is a lot better than Nick Foles, and you don't have to be an Eagles fan to realize that.
Growing pains are tough when you support a team in rebuilding mode, but I want to remind everyone in Eagles Nation that while this season started off great, we're still in rebuilding. Before the season started, I believed a final record of 8-8 would be an accomplishment. Looking at the remaining schedule, 8-8 seems very likely. Regardless of the record though, we as fans should be celebrating that we've finally found an NFL's team's most valuable member, A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK. His name is Carson Wentz, and he will be a household name for a very long time.