Photo credit: Hunter Martin, Philadelphia Eagles photographer
To start the rookie, or not to start the rookie?...
I am one of those throwback kind of guys. Despite being less than 30 years old, I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC. I love American muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s, when everything was over-the-top: from engine size, to styling, to paint jobs. And in the depths of the Cold War, the defense industry was designing legendary machines like the M1 Abrams tank, the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets, the A-10 Thunderbolt II close air-support "gun with wings" aircraft, the USS Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, and the nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class hunter/killer submarines.
Along those lines, the best defense is a tough, disciplined, blitzing, swarming defense. A pounding, clock-chewing running game is a beautiful thing to watch (when it's properly executed). And rookies should sit down, shut up and learn the NFL game.
I was one of those who approved of head coach Doug Pederson's decision to keep rookie QB Carson Wentz as the Eagles' third-string quarterback. Why throw the rookie to the wolves, when you can teach him the game at his own pace? Conventional wisdom tells us that any player coming from a college football program--not to mention a Division I-AA team--will need some time to adjust to the pro game.
I never thought Carson Wentz was a bad player, or even a bad NFL prospect. I had done some of the necessary 'fan homework' on the Eagles' new franchise QB--I watched some film of his play with the North Dakota State University Bison, and I read some excellent analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of his game in college.
What I read, and saw with my own eyes, left me impressed--but not blown away. I thought he was a good prospect who would require some seasoning before taking the NFL field. But I'm not a pro scout, so my ability to project from the college game to the pro game warrants a grain of salt (or many grains of salt...).
I watched his few minutes of preseason play for the Eagles, and thought he did well for a rookie QB playing with second- and third-string players (many of whom did not make the Eagles' 53-man roster). Still, nothing I saw changed my mind. I thought Wentz was a promising player who probably wasn't quite ready for the pro game, but would be a good franchise quarterback after a year or two of keeping the bench warm.
The NFL has much faster, tougher, and more aggressive players than the college game. NFL players have more refined technique, and have spent more time studying game film than their college counterparts. Rookie quarterbacks just don't play mistake-free football. Rookies are going from a relatively simple game, often playing against defenders who just don't have the athletic ability to compete with their offensive counterparts, to a much more complex, fast-paced game. Defenders are smart, fast, and well-conditioned, and they hate to lose--especially to a rookie!
I went into today's game with cautious optimism. Considering that Sunday's game was against the Browns--a team that is starting numerous rookies--I figured that Wentz should look decent. The Browns are clearly playing for the future, not for the present. I expected the Eagles to win on the strength of a stout defense and a conservative, run-focused offense. If Wentz kept the boneheaded plays to a minimum, it would be a win for him and for the franchise.
I expected to see a bit of 'deer-in-headlights syndrome' from Wentz. That is, I was fully expecting to see him hold the ball too long, stare down his receivers rather than progress through his reads if the first one is well-covered, fail to trust his eyes [e.g. not believing his receiver was truly open], and/or try to fit some passes into throwing lanes that were too tight. Essentially, I was anticipating watching him play like a rookie QB, with all the attendant mistakes.
Photo credit: Brian Garfinkel, Philadelphia Eagles photographer
Boy, was I surprised!
Wentz looked like a seasoned veteran. All. Game. Long.
The Browns blitzed. Wentz remained calm and got the ball away. Cleveland defenders hit Wentz. He stood in there to complete the pass. The Browns flushed him out of the pocket. He threw the ball out of bounds, rather than try to force a completion (and end up as an interception, as such passes often do) or take an unnecessary sack.
Most tellingly, when Wentz set up behind the offensive line, he surveyed the Browns' defensive alignment and called audibles. I noticed this, from the TV broadcast, on two separate occasions: once, when Wentz called out "Lucy, Lucy."
I don't blame you, Carson; I Love Lucy too!
Another time, he called "Kill, kill, kill." No, the Eagles' newest QB isn't a budding murderer. [We hope!] Rather, when NFL QBs call out "kill," it means that they've observed that the defense is perfectly aligned to stop the play that's been called, and the QB is calling for the offense to abandon the play that's been called from the sidelines and proceed with a different, pre-selected play.
It's rare for rookies to have the football acumen to recognize a defensive alignment, let alone to have the presence of mind to call for the offense to abandon the coach's play call. It was quite remarkable that Wentz did this at least twice during his very first NFL game! According to the always-excellent Tommy Lawlor of Iggles Blitz, Wentz made these adjustments throughout the game.
I was similarly impressed by the very Aaron Rodgers-like use of the hard count, to draw the Browns offsides and get a free first down, on the first drive of the game. Savvy moves like that are rare for rookies, especially for a rookie in his first NFL start!
I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.
Now, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and shout from the rooftops that Wentz is Aaron Rodgers, Johnny Unitas, Tom Brady, and Steve Young all rolled into one Hall-of-Fame player! Anyone who thinks that one good game--or even one good rookie season--means that a player is destined for greatness need look no further than the opposing QB in this game: Robert Griffin III.
There's a reason that RGIII is playing for Cleveland, a mere four years after being drafted #2 overall by Washington in the 2012 NFL draft. Washington had a bad team, and designed their offense to minimize the intellectual demands on Griffin, who was coming from a simplified "spread offense" at Baylor. RGIII was able to play fast and ride his copious talent to a historic rookie season, in which he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
But, in the playoffs, Griffin was severely injured. This thwarted his development, and Griffin hit the inevitable wall as he had to adjust his playing style, while thinking about his not-100%-healed ankle, to begin the 2013 season. From there, Griffin was mismanaged by the Washington organization, until he was ignominiously benched for the entire 2015 season. He was then released in the offseason, and signed by Cleveland, where head coach (and highly-respected quarterback guru) Hue Jackson is attempting to resuscitate Griffin's career.
For his part, RGIII played pretty well on a less-than-stellar Browns team. And you can ignore the interception when it comes to evaluating Griffin's play, because he threw a pass that was tipped by linebacker Jordan Hicks, bounced up in the air off of cornerback Nolan Carroll, and fell into the arms of newly-signed safety Rodney McLeod. For much of the game, RGIII actually had a better completion percentage than Wentz.
The difference is that RGIII is a veteran player. He's had plenty of NFL experience, including handling ups and downs--within a single game, and in his career. RGIII should be accurate. He should be a leader. He should impress. He should know where to go with the ball.
The fact that Wentz did so well in his NFL debut really surprised me! He never lost his cool, and he never made the kinds of mistakes that rookies usually make. Maybe playing the perennially bad Browns, with their extremely young roster and new coaching staff, helped Wentz adjust to the NFL. If he had to face a top defense in Week 1, like the Panthers, Seahawks, or Broncos, Wentz's debut probably would have been a very different story.
The real test will come in Weeks 11-13. The Eagles face the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 11, host the Packers on Monday Night Football in Week 12, and then travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on a short week in Week 13. All are good teams, and will really allow us to see what Wentz and these Philadelphia Eagles are made of.
But, for now, we can enjoy the victory, and rest easy in the observation that Carson Wentz appears to be the real deal.
screencap from NFL video embedded in "Carson Wentz Shines In First NFL Start," an article on the Philadelphia Eagles website. All rights go to CBS, the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The video, from NFL.com, is "Highlights: Every Carson Wentz throw from Week 1" This title is incorrect; it only shows his completions, and it also shows a Wentz run.
Carson Wentz reacts after throwing a 35-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor in the 3rd quarter of his first NFL game on September 11, 2016
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