Character Matters

Posted: June 23rd, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now.

This is important to the Eagles because they play Tampa in Week 2. With Winston out, Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the starter.

That would seem to be good news for the Eagles. Winston is infinitely more talented. I think it would be a mistake to completely dismiss Fitzpatrick. He’s got a 21-21 record over the past four years as a starter. Winston is 18-27 for his career. QB wins can be a terrible stat if you make too much of them, but it is worth acknowledging the numbers.

Fitzpatrick is a veteran QB. He is a great locker room guy and his teammates love him. At his best, he can avoid mistakes and do just enough to help his team win.

This whole situation is huge for Tampa. Forget the three games. Winston is supposed to be the key to their franchise. The Bucs spent the number one overall pick in the 2015 draft to bring Winston to Tampa so they could build their team around him.

The Bucs spent big money on free agent WR DeSean Jackson to give him a home run threat. They used a 1st round pick on TE O.J. Howard. They drafted RB Ronald Jones in the 2nd round. They used a 3rd round pick on WR Chris Godwin. The Bucs spent 2nd round picks on Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith to block for Winston. Tampa has tried to build a juggernaut offense. So far, it is talented but highly inconsistent.

The defense finished dead last in yards allowed last year.

Pretty soon the Bucs are going to have to decide if Winston truly is their franchise QB. The incident he’s being suspended for happened in March of 2016 so you can argue that he’s a different person now.

I haven’t been comfortable with Winston since the rape accusation from his time at Florida State. I would not have drafted him #1. I would not have drafted him at #201. I just can’t get comfortable with the accusation and the way he handled it. Winston never seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Life was business as usual to him. Even if he’s innocent of rape, you need Winston to understand that the accusation should change his behavior. It didn’t.

Tampa did their research and decided that Winston was worth the risk. They could have taken Marcus Mariota, but opted for the pocket-passer over the athletic QB. While Mariota is coming off a down season, he’s been terrific off the field in his three years.

One of the reasons the Eagles went so aggressively after Carson Wentz is that they trusted him as a person. I can’t stress enough just how critical that is for a franchise. If you are going to pay someone $20M to $30M per year and make him the face of your franchise, you need that guy to “clean”. He doesn’t have to be a saint, but you don’t want to be worrying about whether he’s going to get into trouble or be accused of something bad. You must trust the guy.

Wentz has been great in that regard. You couldn’t ask for a better guy.

Beyond legal/illegal situations, you can see that Winston has some maturity issues. If you watched Hard Knocks last summer, you saw Winston doing and saying some strange things, on and off the field. Bill Parcells used to preach that the QB cannot be the class clown. Winston hasn’t learned that lesson.

You can say what you want about Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel, but they set a good example for Wentz when he was a rookie. They showed him how to act in the classroom and on the practice field. Last year Nick Foles came on board and brought a good veteran presence to the QB room. Those guys have their share of fun, but they also have the right presence about them. Teammates see Wentz and Foles as leaders.

You would never see them doing something like this.

That was just…bizarre.

QB is such a critical position that you must get it right. You need a talented player, a good leader, a good teammate and a good person. The Eagles hit a home run when they drafted Carson Wentz. They hit another home run when they signed Nick Foles in free agency.

The Bucs have to be wondering about their QB and their future.

*****

Pretty cool.

_

One Comment on “Character Matters”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Former Eagles player denies vandalizing another former Eagles player’s car - Football News Latest said at 11:59 PM on June 24th, 2018:

    […] Character Matters – Iggles BlitzOne of the reasons the Eagles went so aggressively after Carson Wentz is that they trusted him as a person. I can’t stress enough just how critical that is for a franchise. If you are going to pay someone $20M to $30M per year and make him the face of your franchise, you need that guy to “clean”. He doesn’t have to be a saint, but you don’t want to be worrying about whether he’s going to get into trouble or be accused of something bad. You must trust the guy. Wentz has been great in that regard. You couldn’t ask for a better guy. Beyond legal/illegal situations, you can see that Winston has some maturity issues. If you watched Hard Knocks last summer, you saw Winston doing and saying some strange things, on and off the field. Bill Parcells used to preach that the QB cannot be the class clown. Winston hasn’t learned that lesson. […]