So many seem convinced that Carson Wentz has Eagles pointed in the right direction.
by Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
He's a hard sell for me.
See some positives, get the intangibles, understand the projections about his future, but, man, just not seeing it, or feeling it, when it comes to Carson Wentz.
As Eagles Nation hunkers down for the first official game week of the 2017 season, albeit a preseason one, all eyes, ears and heart palpitations will be focused on the second-year quarterback, with a common theme emanating through both spoken and unspoken ways.
That being that the kid, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the starter for all 16 games last year, is not only poised for greatness, but is a given to achieve it.
Sorry, just not buying it.
Yet.
This is not some contrarian claptrap. This is honest to goodness concern over whether Wentz is “the goods” or not.
Frankly, not sure what so many people it appears have witnessed to convince them he is.
Seems “hope” is replacing “reality,” if you ask me. Not only are we hearing about this natural chain of progression and is more honed physical skills, but we're getting inundated with insights about his growth as a leader, about how he's matured.
Spare me. We already heard that kinda fluff stuff from the moment the team selected him 16 months. Hell, from months before then as word started wafting around that the Birds' brain trust was even interested in him.
Forgive me for taking such overblown, often misleading propaganda with more than a grain of salt – think snowball-sized instead – as the pie-in-the-sky predictions of 10, 11, 12 and 13 wins rain down upon us.
Yeah, sure, his receiving corps pretty much sucked a year ago. It lacked a big-play guy and dropped a lotta balls. But the one, prevailing thing viewed here was Wentz's consistently inaccurate throws that – yo, just keeping it real because someone has to – had as much to do with incompletions and three-and-outs as those stuck-in-the-mud stone hands he was throwing to.
We're not talking in-traffic shots here. We're talking wide-open, running-free options ... and, yeah, they existed – a lot – regardless of what Wentz's staunchest supporters may say.
Free-agent signee Alshon Jeffery, a pass catcher of the highest order, could help there. But how much, who knows?
Not sure if it's good or bad, but it is amazing how “sold” the majority of the Philly fan base proclaims to be on Wentz. Limitations due to youth, inexperience and (non-)supporting cast noted, he hardly displayed a penchant for making something outta nothing never mind a glimmer of potential to dominant.
Newsflash: He didn't dominate in college, at the FCS level.
Does that mean he can't at this level? No.
But can we wait for a decent amount of evidence surfaces first to suggest he may before this all turns into a Law & Order case that implodes at trial because the police screwed up or the district attorney jumped the gun?
Something to ponder: Wentz's quarterback rating last season was 79.3. Colin Kaepernick's was 90.7.
Oh yeah, Kaep also dominated in college, at the FBS level.
Just sayin' ...
Hey, truth be told, would be happy to buy on Wentz. Just gotta give me more than mediocre numbers, excuses and wishful thinking is all.
Time's yours, kid. Sell me.
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