Some fans will blame Carson Wentz's disaster of a 2020 season on Wentz. Some will blame it on the dilapidated offensive line and supporting cast. And some call it a perfect storm of the whole situation coming to a head.
You can count Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich as a believer in that last way of thinking.
"...It was like the perfect storm a little bit in Philadelphia with what happened. You know, all the injuries and all the different unique dynamics that go into the team," Reich said on PFF's "The Cris Collinsworth Podcast," with Collinsworth noting just how poor the offensive line situation was. "It was unbelievable. So I'm watching all the film, but I know this, especially as a former quarterback and as an offensive coach, I think I'm able to look at the tape and say, I get it, Carson's not playing well and some of it's him, but it's not all him. And so let's take 2020 as the outlier and let's look at all the other years."
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And though 2017 was the pinnacle of Wentz's still-young career, Reich acknowledged that 2018 and 2019 held moments that flashed his ability as an elite quarterback. But that perfect storm of 2020 really hindered his path to finding success, including in his mental game, and Reich continued the "storm" metaphor all the way to his current situation.
"...It's like getting off a ship that just was in a storm. It's in a perfect storm and you get off and it takes a second to get your legs back, and you look like you've just been beat up, and you just want to get on solid ground and kind of regroup and refocus..." Reich said. "You know how guys like Richard Sherman (Collinsworth's podcast co-host), you're wired to go on these journeys, you can't wait to get on the next one, so that's where I think Carson's at.
"Did he get beat up mentally, physically, the whole thing by the end of the year? No doubt, I mean, of course. But the guy's a competitor, I mean, I know this as well as anybody. He's ready to go on the next trip, and we're excited to have him on our boat, just to carry that all the way through."
What's it going to take to get Wentz back to form? For most guys, if you just look at the stat line, it would be a lot. After all, there aren't too many QBs who lead the league in interceptions (15) and sacks taken (50) while also fumbling the ball 10 times, in just 12 games of action, and are still given a starting role for a playoff-bound team. Most quarterbacks with such a stat line might not get a second chance. But Reich emphasizes the situation that Wentz was in and knows he'll be walking into a completely new one when he begins his stint in Indy. In fact, Reich thinks Wentz can get back into his 2017 MVP form.
"We do think we can get there... number one, just because we think Carson's that good of a player, but number two, and just as equally important, is we have a good football [team] and a good coaching staff and together we can get back on track," Reich explained. "I think the big thing with Carson, what's been said since the trade has been announced and been formal, is just... I think when he was coming into Philadelphia, it was almost kind of coming in to save the day.
"Well, we've got a strong team here, we're on the right track. Yeah, we expect him to come in and make monster plays and do things that a franchise quarterback can do, but that's really going to just start with the consistent play day in and day out. You don't have to be the hero. Just come in here, get in rhythm, run the offense, and then let the game come to you."
Does it sound like Reich is looking for Wentz to just be a game manager? Absolutely not. But it also sounds like he knows that Wentz had to shoulder a massive load in Philadelphia without the right parts around him, and lessening that burden and putting him in more of a manageable system will not only improve his play, but improve his mentality. Sherman agreed.
"I think that's a huge part... when you go to a good environment and good culture and say, hey, you just have to be one of 11," Sherman said. "If you're the engine, be the engine. If you're a wheel, be the wheel. If you're a carburetor, be a carburetor. It'll be a Ferrari."
And that's the way that Reich indicated things will run in Indy with Wentz at the helm. No more leading a group of walk-on wide receivers — having Sammy Watkins visit, potentially re-signing T.Y. Hilton, and boasting a young talent like Michael Pittman Jr. help to assure that won't be the case. No more old, injured and ever-changing offensive line — PFF ranked the Colts' unit as the No. 7 line in all of football in a "down year." And no more insanely high expectations from a fan base based on what had previously been seen.
"I think Carson was, a little bit, a victim of his own success early on. You're a young guy coming in and that year in '17, you know, we not only had a good team with the Eagles but... he played unbelievable," Reich said. "You look at third down and red zone tape and he was just pulling plays out of the air, looking like a magician.
"And... as you just noted, Richard, that's just not the way it works in the long term. You've just got to do your job, focus on that, and let everybody else do theirs."
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