Carson Wentz responds to recent criticism of his practice habits

Yes, here’s another story about Carson Wentz and his struggles.

As you might expect, the struggles of a team that was supposed to contend for a division crown has a lot of people talking. Before any NFL games were played or there were any Philadelphia Eagles canceled practices, increased mass on Carson Wentz, or preseason games to talk about, just about everybody who was somebody started saying the following.

This was going to be a great year for Philly’s star signal-caller, and the Philadelphia Eagles would battle the Dallas Cowboys all season long for superiority in the NFC East.

Fast forward, and 11 is at the bottom of the NFL quarterback tier in just about every statistical category other than turnovers, and even though the Birds lead the ‘NFC Least’ with a 3-5-1 win-loss total, it’s the New York Giants, not the Eagles or Cowboys, that look like the class of the division and the team most ready to contend for a playoff spot.

We now have responses from both Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz.

As you might imagine, another loss by the Birds has the Philly media and the most loyal fan base in the NFL talking, but as they have all season, the national media is throwing their two cents in as well. Here’s something that’s been getting a lot of burn recently.

On a recent edition of the NFL Network’s GameDay Final, Michael Silver joined Chris Rose to discuss Doug Pederson’s shortcomings this season and what he called Coach ‘listening to too many voices’. Here’s a quote:

"Doug Pederson is extremely well-liked in that building but the facts are facts. They’ve been starting slowly. The offense lacks rhythm or cohesion, seems to be in a rut, and I think, if it continues, all options are on the table. There’s a feeling that Pederson may be listening to too many voices. There are a lot of offensive assistants on that staff and Pederson is amendable to their suggestions. The game plan doesn’t fit together, and even the voices in his headset, on the analytics side… You saw today they got to within 21-17 in the third quarter. They went for two, what seemed to be an analytics decision, (they) didn’t make it, and all of a sudden (they) were down more than a field goal, so a lot of frustrations swirling in the air in that building."

Wentz’s name came up as well (as you might imagine), as Silver detailed the following.

"Carson Wentz this season is a far cry from the guy who was tearing it up in the first part of 2017. There are some sloppy practice habits that he’s been allowed to perpetuate, that have carried over, not checking the ball down or knowing when to give up on a play, forcing the ball to predetermined receivers, and maybe overestimating his once elite athleticism… Look, they drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round. That was clearly a signal that they are not necessarily standing pat at that position, so I think, organizationally, they would like to continue to build this around Carson Wentz, but if this downward spirals, there’s a sense that it could all be blown up"

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson responded to this on Monday as he addressed the media Monday, stating ‘you guys are only out there for a short period of time’ and that he doesn’t know where Silver is getting his information from. QB1’s presser came on what Birds fans affectionately refer to as ‘WentzDay’. Here’s a quote from the man himself. This one came from his presser on Hump Day.

"Are my practices perfect? No. That’s why it’s practice, but as far as sloppy practice habits and those things? For one, you guys are out there every day, and then you guys are asked to leave, so the media’s not even out there. So, I don’t know where that’s coming from, but it is what it is."

Is Went talented? Indeed, he is. Is he tough? That can’t be denied either. Is he a leader? No one would question that, but when you hear things like ‘bad teammate’ and then anonymous sources jump in bed with the media, you start to wonder about things.

Look, we’ve seen teammates build a shrine to his backup. We’ve seen teammates play harder for that backup, so when we hear things like ‘sloppy practice habits’, and then you see Wentz throw 12 interceptions in nine games and fumble 57 times over the course of 65 career starts are we not supposed to ask questions. Maybe Silver is wrong, but pay attention to this one for a few weeks. All of this stuff isn’t just coming from nowhere.