There is certainly never a boring day around the Eagles.
It has been roughly 24 hours since a Philly Voice article on quarterback Carson Wentz was released, an article that — among other things — labeled the quarterback as selfish and egotistical. While there were some positives as well, the overarching theme of the article was not positive for Wentz, and has created plenty of debate since it's release about the franchise quarterback.
Now that the dust has settled slightly, here are some more thoughts on Wentz, the Eagles and the story that rocked the franchise on Monday:
Criticisms of Wentz:
From the story: Indeed, sources describe Wentz as "incredibly hard working," "determined," and "highly intelligent." But the true Wentz is more nuanced and complicated, with sources describing him as "selfish," "uncompromising," "egotistical," one who plays "favorites" and doesn't like to be "questioned," one who needs to "practice what he preaches" and fails "to take accountability."
This is the paragraph of the story that has grabbed the headlines and will, fair or not, stick with Wentz. The question for the Eagles' front office is how much truth there is to it, and if they actually have an issue on their hands with Wentz.
From my perspective, having covered Wentz since he came to Philadelphia, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Does Wentz have a bigger ego than perhaps the public might want to believe? Yes. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, as any team would want their quarterback to have an ego to some degree. That ego has never shown itself in terms of dealing with the media or in the locker room from what I can tell, however. The ego is more in terms of being confident in what he can do and what he likes in terms of the offense. That is something coaches have discussed before — Wentz enjoys putting his own stamp on the offense and taking part in the gameplan throughout the week. It is easy to see how that could be perceived by some as uncompromising, selflish or egotistical.
As for the other criticisms of Wentz, I can only speak to what I have been told by players over the last three years, and my observations of how Wentz is received in the locker room. I do not believe Wentz is viewed anywhere close to as harshly or as negatively by his teammates as the article, intentional or not, might make it seem. One thing I have learned from covering the NFL is that players, more than almost anything else, know who can play and who can't. The players in the Eagles locker room know that Wentz is an elite talent. The combination of his talent, along with the fact that he is respected and does get along with the majority of the roster, leads me to believe the Eagles do not have an issue on their hand with Wentz going forward.
Wentz vs. Foles:
From the story: But while the sentiment in the Eagles' locker room is that Foles is "universally loved," Wentz isn't.
Moreso than the harsh quotes about his personality, I think this is where Wentz could run into some issues.
Wentz obviously has his supporters in the locker room, as has been clear by the many tweets his teammates have sent. That being said, Wentz's challenge in 2019 is going to be proving he can accomplish what Foles did last season, and in 2017 to a certain degree. Players know how much Wentz had to do with their Super Bowl win in 2017, but the playoff run in 2018 was all Foles. Foles is an extremely popular player in the Eagles' locker room, and with good reason. That isn't to say Wentz isn't popular, but after everything that has happened over the last two years, Wentz does face the challenge of having to step into Foles' shoes this upcoming season.
The Foles' shadow, both on the field and in the locker room, is going to loom large over Wentz next season.
Wentz running the Eagles' offense:
From the story: According to multiple sources, Wentz tended to "complicate" the offense. He didn't let it come organically, as Foles did. According to one source, Wentz could "complicate 2+2."
There are numbers that point to the offense being roughly the same under Foles as it was Wentz. The Eagles' offense averaged 22.0 points per game with Wentz, compared to 22.1 points with Foles. Still, there is no denying the fact that, despite what the numbers might say, the offense looked better with Foles running the show. They had arguably their two best games on offense with Foles at the helm in wins over the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams. They also tended to score more, and move the ball better, when they needed to with Foles at quarterback as opposed to Wentz.
There are likely two reasons for this. First, it is fair to say that Wentz commands more control of the offense as a play caller, from audibles to wanting certain plays run. With Wentz at quarterback the offense has more of his fingerprints on it than it does when Foles is at quarterback. That isn't to say Foles doesn't audible, but he does simply run the play Pederson calls more than Wentz does. It is also worth pointing out that Pederson might be more comfortable with Foles at quarterback. The two have been on some huge stages together, from the Super Bowl run last year to the playoff run this year. Pederson has not yet gotten those reps with Wentz, and that likely plays a role in how he is as a play caller with Wentz as opposed to Foles.
Bottom line, there is some truth to the point that Foles runs Pederson's offense better and more consistently than Wentz does, even if the production is roughly the same.
Wentz targets Ertz too much:
From the story: The glaring difference is that Foles, every source stated, would go through progressions within the offense — exactly how it was designed to run — and hit the open receiver, regardless of who it was or where they were on the field. Wentz only saw, it seemed, one receiver the majority of the season: Zach Ertz. This understandably frustrated the rest of the offense, considering other receivers were open downfield. To stop the Eagles in 2018 under Wentz was rather easy: Stop No. 86.
Of all the storylines that followed the Eagles through the season, perhaps the silliest one is the idea that Wentz targeted tight end Zach Ertz far too often, and that is why the Eagles' offense ran better with Foles as opposed to Wentz. The truth is this — Ertz averaged 9.28 targets per game with Foles, and 9.63 targets with Wentz. Add in the fact that the offense averaged roughly the same amount of points, and the idea that Ertz being targeted by Wentz somehow hurt this offense is a silly one.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
