It was a midsummer’s night in August as the Philadelphia Eagles made their preseason debut. All eyes watched with cautious optimism as Carson Wentz took the field shortly after the two-minute warning. He strode onto the field to roaring applause as all eyes were on him in the midnight green helmet. Wentz is a vital part of the future and received his first taste on Thursday night of what it means to be an NFL quarterback.
Being a rookie at any level or position in the NFL is never easy, but being drafted into his situation is a major challenge. Wentz finished his first drive 2-of-4 for eight yards. Those stats are actually misleading for those fans who did not watch the game.
The drive stalled short of field goal range due to two drops by a subpar display by the Eagles’ receiving corps. Lackluster route running and poor awareness didn’t help Wentz, but he took what was given to him.
On one play, Ertz had a bullet pass that hit him right in the hands and he flat-out dropped the ball. As athletic as Ertz is, he has to make that play.
Nevertheless, Wentz made some great throws that hit his wideouts right on the numbers and his pocket presence is far higher than one could imagine. Wentz even put his mobility on full display, scampering for eight yards on a read option but fell short of the first down, after he was abruptly upended by a Buccaneers defender.
He got right back up before Eagles fans could hold their breath. The kid is tough, in fact, he took several big hits in the game due to the traffic cone style blocking, he received from the Eagles’ backup offensive line.
Wentz finished the game completing 12-of-24 passes for 89 yards and an interception. He showed that under pressure he has the propensity to throw the ball high, but will withstand the big hits.
It was also great to see that he was comfortable throwing the ball outside the pocket and showing a decent amount of accuracy on his throws. He will have to adjust to the speed of NFL defenses as they aren’t as yielding as the FCS.
Overall, I was impressed with Wentz and I’m cautiously optimistic about his tenure with the Eagles. He isn’t ready to be deemed the starter yet, but after years of missing the postseason, Eagles fans have a shiny new toy that is now in the prototype stage.
Once he is fully ready and capable, the NFL won’t be able to contain this Aaron Rodgers/Ben Rothlisberger hybrid.