He’s Not Perfect!!!

Posted: January 22nd, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

I’ve got breaking news!!! Carson Wentz is a human being. He’s not perfect and he’s not worshiped by all of his teammates.

Please make sure to give me credit if you use my breaking news.

I’m responding to the awkward piece done by Joseph Santoliquito for Philly Voice.

I won’t call it a hatchet job because I feel that’s going too far, but this is a highly flawed piece. It felt as if Santoliquito had a conclusion and worked backward from there, piecing together odd bits to support his theory that Carson Wentz has some real issues.

One of the real problems here is that Santoliquito has a history of pieces on Wentz that have a negative slant.

(h/t to Patrick Causey)

Even before Wentz took his first snap, Santoliquito had issues with Wentz. You could say that he wasn’t a fan of the pre-draft trade up to the number two pick.

What the bold move has done is push the Eagles, a team already full of holes that was fortunate to even finish 7-9 last year, further back from contending, while also letting their fanbase know that these next few years will be a rebuilding time under new head coach Doug Pederson. Sam Bradford has now become “Bridge,” Bradford, as the Eagles rest their future on an unproven quarterback that checks all of the physical criteria, but has proven little else.

The foolhardy trade places Wentz, or possibly Jared Goff, behind a dubious offensive line, with no discernible running attack and a receiving corps that’s devoid of a play-maker that can stretch the field and tended to drop passes last year. Compound those facts with a young quarterback that will be walking into a cauldron of living up to Von Hayes’ old “five-for-one” moniker and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Regrettably, that’s what Wentz will wear: Five-for-one Wentz.

Get used to it. Five may be prominent. Expect a few 5-11 seasons—if that—without any draft picks to hinder the bleeding.

“The last time I looked Carson Wentz, or Goff if he’s there, didn’t look like (Andrew) Luck, (Marcus) Mariota or (Jameis) Winston to me,” said one NFC scout. “A deal like this makes sense for any of those guys. Wentz and Goff aren’t those guys. And you’re dealing with the Philly market. Whoever it is they take better have thick, rawhide skin, because Philly fans could eat them up alive—and it won’t have anything to do with the kid. It’s (Eagles’ general manager) Howie (Roseman) that they should be putting on the skewer. But he won’t be the one out there running for his life with an offense that right now has nothing, on a team that has no draft picks for the next two years. Good luck with that.”

So when a guy with this background writes about Wentz’s shortcomings, it doesn’t have the same impact as if this was done by a beat writer like Jeff McLane, Les Bowen or Zach Berman. This is more a case of “connecting the dots I like” than actual reporting.

We can’t completely dismiss Santoliquito’s piece because he does have some good connections on the Eagles and he is a hard-working writer. This isn’t a made-up piece. The problem is that he’s twisted some things and then turned the hyperbole up to 11. If Santoliquito had written a more subdued and nuanced piece, it would have had far more credibility and possibly impact.

There was little to no balance here. There was a conclusion and the spinning of facts and quotes from unnamed sources to back that up.

This is just a mess.

His aw-shucks, overgrown-Opie-from-Mayberry routine plays well with the local and national media. 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.”

Numerous sources confirmed Wentz was once verbally attacked by a highly respected teammate for not being “a team guy.”

“Carson Wentz’s biggest enemy is Carson Wentz,” one source said. “He’s had his ass kissed his whole life, and sometimes acts like he’s won 10 Super Bowls, when he hasn’t played in, let alone won, a playoff game yet. Everyone around him wants good things for him. He did more thinking on the field than he did playing (in 2018). You don’t have to be a brain surgeon or a football expert to see how differently this team plays and reacts with one guy as opposed to the other.”

A reporter can’t use that Opie line. It’s funny, but not appropriate for someone who is writing this kind of a piece. And then “But the true Wentz…”. Wow. So the sources who describe Wentz as  “incredibly hard working,” “determined,” and “highly intelligent” aren’t as true as those who describe 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.”

Fantastic.

Must be wonderful to know which unnamed sources paint the more accurate picture.

Listen, I don’t doubt that Wentz does rub some teammates the wrong way. When I was around him at the Senior Bowl in January of 2016, you could see Wentz was a natural leader and a strong personality. Players gravitated to him. But guys like that aren’t for everyone. They will ruffle some feathers.

And I’m sure Wentz was in a weird place since mid-December of 2017. He had the Eagles off to a great start. He was on pace to be the league’s MVP. Wentzmania was sweeping the NFL. In the blink of an eye, he was rehabbing a knee while his teammates went and won the Super Bowl.

I’m sure Wentz was pushing himself incredibly hard this offseason. I’m sure he was a pain in the butt to some people around him as he worked relentlessly to come back from his injury. Wentz wanted his chance to go win the Super Bowl. A big part of his success is the fact he’s very driven. That can probably make him difficult to deal with at times.

Wentz is a great young QB with a bright future. The Eagles are lucky to have him. But he is far from perfect, on or off the field. No player is. To portray Wentz as a problem for the Eagles is really pushing things.

Just look at the players who have come out in support of him. BGN has a whole collection of tweets.

Nick Fierro got Jason Kelce to offer his thoughts.

“Carson arrived here three seasons ago and has been nothing but an incredible teammate,” Kelce told The Morning Call via text message. “From the moment he started taking reps as a rookie, you knew there was something different about him, and our entire offense got better largely because of the competitor and player he is. His work ethic and attention to detail every day made an impact on others, and he’s without a doubt a tremendous leader through his words and actions.

“I have not read Joe’s article and don’t want to get into a habit of addressing unnamed opinions, but I know this: Carson through the first three years has been nothing but a great teammate trying to get better each and every day, trying to make others better each and every day, trying to make this team better each and every day. And when the dust has settled, his legacy will be one of an incredible competitor and teammate who laid it on the line each and every day for the guy next to him, and a man who did everything he could to help this team succeed.

“I’ll go to war any day of the week and twice on Sunday with guys like Carson Wentz.”

I’ll trust the guys going on record over those who were off the record.

I’ll also trust my eyes. I see a really good player and a team that responds to him on the field.

And if you give me a choice, I’d prefer Wentz improve his deep accuracy more than his ability to be loved by all 52 of his teammates.

Derek Sarley summed it up nicely.

*****

Thank you to everyone for the kind words in regard to my mom’s situation. That really means a lot.

Eagles fans are something special.

You guys are the best.

_


One Comment on “He’s Not Perfect!!!”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Carson Wentz concerns are “overblown” – SportsNewsNow said at 12:51 PM on January 22nd, 2019:

    […] He’s Not Perfect!!! – Iggles BlitzListen, I don’t doubt that Wentz does rub some teammates the wrong way. When I was around him at the Senior Bowl in January of 2016, you could see Wentz was a natural leader and a strong personality. Players gravitated to him. But guys like that aren’t for everyone. They will ruffle some feathers. And I’m sure Wentz was in a weird place since mid-December of 2017. He had the Eagles off to a great start. He was on pace to be the league’s MVP. Wentzmania was sweeping the NFL. In the blink of an eye, he was rehabbing a knee while his teammates went and won the Super Bowl. I’m sure Wentz was pushing himself incredibly hard this offseason. I’m sure he was a pain in the butt to some people around him as he worked relentlessly to come back from his injury. Wentz wanted his chance to go win the Super Bowl. A big part of his success is the fact he’s very driven. That can probably make him difficult to deal with at times. […]