Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Carson Wentz’s high-wire act must end

Something Carson Wentz said needs to be discussed for a spell.

Well, now that you’ve gotten a chance to calm down, how do you feel about Carson Wentz? The general consensus among most Philadelphia Eagles fans is one that probably won’t be foreign to you. Everyone is pumped that the ‘Birds’ beat the hated New York Giants for the eighth consecutive time, but as exhilarating as the final moments of that one were, there are some mixed feelings that have come as a result.

On one hand, Carson Wentz displayed the ‘clutch gene’ that so many have said that he doesn’t have. On the other, he continues to possess the gunslinger mentality and doesn’t have any concerns with the fact that it’s, sometimes, his decisions that put both his offense and defense in some pretty unfavorable positions.

Oh, you think that’s inaccurate? Just check out some of the post-game comments he made after the Eagles’ second win of the season. This clip is courtesy of the NFL’s official YouTube channel.

Some of that bears repeating, so let’s restate something that happened at about the 2:47 mark of this clip.

"It’s a constant battle. It’s an internal battle (on) every single play. It’s knowing when to pick and choose those moments. Sometimes, (on) third downs,  you can be a little more aggressive (and on), first and second downs, you have to sometimes throw (the ball) away. Like I said, it’s a constant internal battle that I’m going to face my whole career. (With) the ability to extend plays and make plays down the field, there’s a lot of big plays (that are) waiting to happen. So, I (have to be) smart and protect the ball. The one interception today was a poor decision, and we (have to be) better there, but there’s a lot of big plays to be made there and I’m going to be walking that fine line (for) my whole career."

There’s a lot that’s wrong with that statement, but let’s just talk about the most obvious issue with Wentz’s thinking. Nothing in that says that he sees anything wrong with what he’s doing.

Carson Wentz’s highwire act isn’t helping this Philadelphia Eagles team.

Everyone gets it. There’s a lot of Brett Favre in Carson Wentz. He’s a gunslinger, but that was the reason for his early-season struggles and it’s the reason for his current issues now. For those of you that feel like using Wentz on run plays isn’t sustainable, here’s a question that you guys need to answer. How is this a formula for success?

When people talk about how great that ’11’ can be, they bring up the 2017 NFL season, so let’s all do the same. Had Carson Wentz stayed healthy, he would have been the NFL’s MVP. Now, you can debate among yourselves about whether Philly still would have won the Super Bowl (some fans think that they wouldn’t have had Wentz played and not Nick Foles), but that’s another story for another day,

The present theory is this. As good as ’11’ was, those garbage and boneheaded throws weren’t there. That’s a tribute to Frank Reich and John DeFilippo. Fast forward, and though we all know that 2017’s version of Wentz is still in this guy somewhere, Press Taylor isn’t the guy to maximize his talent or make him better. Press Taylor is ‘the homey’. He’s an enabler, and he isn’t holding the Eagles’ quarterback accountable.

After any bad play or change of possession that comes as a result of a poor Carson Wentz decision, no one is walking over to this guy, coaching this guy, or even sitting with this guy on the sideline (that is other than Nate Sudfeld). That’s concerning, not as concerning as what Wentz said here but concerning nonetheless.

Somebody better get in this guy’s ear. Philly had better hire another quarterback coach or a real offensive coordinator or those questionable moments that everyone talks about are going to occur more frequently. You heard it for yourself. ’11’ has no problem with walking that line for as long as he plays in the NFL. What’s sad is no one that calls themselves a coach on this team seems to have any issue with what he said.