Carson Speaks

Carson Wentz is entering his fifth year as the Eagles starting QB. In some ways that feels way too short. In other ways, it isn’t nearly long enough. Time flies when there are endless “controversies”.

Wentz spoke to the media on Monday. This was his first press conference since the end of the season. As you might have guessed, there were lots of questions about Jalen Hurts, the Eagles second round pick, and Wentz’s thoughts on the playoff loss to Seattle.

There is nothing controversial in this. There isn’t much that is really all that interesting.

The media probed, wanting something worthwhile on the addition of Hurts, drafting Jalen Reagor, other moves that were made and of course, the moves that weren’t made.

Wentz has enough time under his belt to know how to give decent answers without really saying all that much. He said good things about Hurts, as a player and teammate. Wentz said he was excited to have an explosive playmaker like Reagor as part of the offense. He stressed that he and Roseman have a good relationship and that he trusts Roseman’s vision for the team.

When asked about Hurts playing this year, Wentz said “We’ll see. We’ll see.” I thought that was a strange question. Tim McManus normally is someone I agree with very much, but he asked that question in a way that made it sound like Hurts would get legit QB snaps this year and not be a backup QB and role player. At least that is the way I took it.

I can’t see Hurts playing QB this year, unless there are special circumstances. Wentz is the Eagles starting QB. Hurts can play if Wentz is injured, if he is used in a specialty role or if there is a lopsided game (good or bad).

You aren’t going to pull Wentz if he starts 3-for-9 in Week 5. That’s your franchise QB. You aren’t going to build a gameplan with Hurts as the QB for a series or anything like that.

The Eagles coaches have talked about using Hurts creatively. That makes total sense. And that shouldn’t threaten Wentz. Anything you can do to make life harder for defenses is a good thing. The Eagles gave up TDs on trick plays against both the Patriots and Seahawks, both helmed by Super Bowl winning QBs. You do what it takes to score points and win games.

Wentz stressed that he’s all for anything that will help the Eagles win games.

Was any of this BS? Was Wentz biting his tongue for part of this media session?

That certainly is possible. Wentz might have preferred Van Jefferson or Denzel Mims at pick 53, instead of someone who will hopefully spend most of his time on the sidelines. Wentz is too smart to spill the beans on his real feelings.

You could hear some enthusiasm in Wentz’s voice. He gets DeSean Jackson back this year. He gets to play with Reagor. There are good TEs, more fast rookies and Marquise Goodwin is in the mix.

Wentz should be excited. This offense has some real potential.

He did talk about the disappointment of the loss to Seattle. The Eagles had played well down the stretch and then the season came to an abrupt end. That was tough to deal with.

Wentz is always a driven QB, but coming off that loss and with Hurts behind him, he will be as driven as ever.

*****

Dave Spadaro on Alshon Jeffery:

The plan is for Alshon Jeffery to be a major part of the offense as he recovers from his Lisfranc injury. He has to complete his rehab, of course, and Jeffery is in the course of doing so. The Eagles have made sure this offseason to get the word out that Jeffery is being counted on and Roseman has had conversations to that extent with having No. 17 in the picture. A healthy and fully focused and hungry Jeffery would be a huge boost for the offense. He eats up defensive backs and the Eagles are fully aware that the last complete game Jeffery played was at Miami, on December 1, and he caught nine passes for 137 passes and a touchdown. He was dominating. Having Jeffery back all the way is an important piece in the offensive puzzle for 2020.

Is this legit? Will AJ be part of the offense in 2020?

All 32 teams read the sites of the other teams. They have to decipher what is legit and what is propaganda. The Eagles are trying to sell the idea that Jeffery is valuable to them so they can trade him for something.

That’s the smart thing to do. I just don’t know that they’ll be able to pull it off.

Is there a small chance the team does want Jeffery back? I guess, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. This comes across as a sales job.

And I hope it works.

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