How is Carson Wentz continuing to do everything he’s doing?
As “Wentzamania” continues to grow, rookie quarterback Carson Wentz continues to stay focused.
No one who is associated with the Philadelphia Eagles or cheers for this team is going to complain about what they’ve seen from rookie Carson Wentz so far in his NFL career. He was supposed to get off to a shaky start against the Cleveland Browns. Then he marched the Eagles’ offense down the field on the first drive of his career and tossed a beautiful touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews.
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Then there was the Chicago Bears‘ defense and the bright lights of Monday Night Football. Surely the rookie would get rattled now right? Nope. He led the Eagles offense again like a seasoned veteran, and before you could say “Wentzylvania”, the Eagles were 2-0 on the season.
Come to think of it, even before that there was the pressure of being the number two pick in the NFL Draft. That was followed by a preseason injury that limited his on-field time, constant media attention and him being thrust into the starting lineup when his team decided to trade their starting quarterback eight games before the regular season started. Honestly, if this kid hasn’t gotten rattled yet, why would we think he’d start now?
What’s the reason for his success? Is he numb? Oblivious? Maybe he’s just a good guy who’s professional and focused? One thing’s certain, he’s got a tightly woven roster around him full of leaders and veterans and a great coaching staff to keep him grounded. Offensive coordinator Frank Reich said it best.
“Inclusive and comprehensive are good words to describe it. Howie was masterful orchestrating the whole thing. We worked out the players hard, we talked to them, we talked about their emotional intelligence, we talked about their football intelligence. We grilled them in the classroom for hours on football stuff. Then we would all talk about it and offer our perspectives and everybody was involved. Everybody had input. Everyone there was respected. It was great dialogue.”
Next: OC Frank Reich remains confident in Eagles as Sunday approaches
Reich continued, “And it was an easy consensus to come to on Carson. We all felt the same thing, that this guy has something special. He is special. We see that now and we’ve seen it from day one….One of our jobs as coaches is to keep the players humble. In Training Camp, when we had a really good day and completed an insanely high percentage of passes, I would find something to talk about how bad they were. I would say, ‘Don’t think for a second that you’re any good, because you’re really not’…Carson has the maturity to handle it better than most, the emotional and personal maturity, but I don’t care who you are, it can happen to anybody. I’m not sure I’ve seen it ruin a career, but it can ruin a season. By the time you notice it, you can lose weeks and weeks. It’s a trap you have to avoid, especially during weeks like this. This test right here is a big one in so many ways. Let’s see how we handle it.”
Good stuff Coach Reich. Sunday’s approaching and the “Wentz Wagon” rolls on.