Mended Wentz ready to lead Birds
Wentz determined to stay healthy after injury-filled start to his career
PHILADELPHIA >> Not long ago, the Wentz farm in South Jersey shook from a summer storm wreaking havoc on a get-together of Eagles players.
Instead of allowing the elements to ruin the day, Carson Wentz showed the down-home creativeness that appealed to his colleagues since Day 1.
“We were out there grilling, the O-line group,” tackle Lane Johnson recalled. “And it starts hailing out of nowhere. I’m talking about golf ball-sized hail. It’s beating the crap out of us. And we’re all running around. It was kind of funny.
“Carson looked around and told us to move everything inside. Underneath his garage, actually. So, we moved that stuff.” Problem solved. Players, not barbecues, win games. Salvaging cookouts, on the other hand, speaks volumes about where Wentz was and where he is now.
A year ago, Wentz was more interested in MRI and bone scan reports than team bonding ventures. Rehabbing a knee with two torn ligaments will do that. Then he sustained a fracture in his back. When it happened, he’ll never know. But typically, it’s from repetitive movements.
Wentz was unable to start the 2018 season, and for a second straight campaign, watched Nick Foles finish it. The Eagles have been to the playoffs in back-to-back years, winning a Super Bowl in 2017. Wentz’s next playoff game will be his first.
The Wentz of now has spent considerable time flushing away the negativity taking over his head. He had a heart-to-heart with his pastor. He went back to the bonding activities with teammates. And Wentz has redone his entire off-the-field training program, from a diet with no glutens to sleep therapy.
“I just I feel like I’m just in a much freer mindset, if that makes any sense,” Wentz said. “Really, I think as the season goes, that’s when I will really know if I’m really playing with that freedom, as the way I’m talking about right now.”
We won’t know how Wentz will react until the action is live and the instinct kicks in. Is that when he says, bleep the glutens, this isn’t working?
Wentz was one of just four NFL starting quarterbacks not to play a snap in the preseason, joining Jared Goff of the Rams, 35-year-old Aaron Rodgers (Packers) and Philip Rivers, the 37-year-old relic with the Los Angeles Chargers.
For all Wentz’s aggressiveness, he didn’t push the Eagles to get any snaps in the preseason. Whether it was the four-year $128 million contract that swayed him, or just being at peace with himself, the cat who was supposed to be difficult to work with per reports citing anonymous teammates simply rolled with the program.
“I really just talked to coach kind of about what he was thinking, to see what he was feeling,” Wentz said referencing Doug Pederosn. “I just told him, ‘I’m here, whatever you want me to do.’ I felt good from the first game but I knew he had a reason for everything. I felt really good and I’m really not worried that I haven’t been out there in live reps. I’m not worried about that.”
Of course, it would be breaking news if Wentz had said he is worried about the lack of live action entering a season with such high expectations for him and his team.
There are no excuses in terms of the supporting cast.
The Birds upgraded at receiver, adding deep threat DeSean Jackson in free agency and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, a red zone threat, in the draft.
There may not be a better tight end duo than Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.
The running back position was solidified with Jordan Howard and the drafting of Miles Sanders of Penn State. Darren Sproles is back for one last season. Wentz himself conceded the Eagles are “extremely talented.
“There’s depth at multiple positions, the talent from the starters you could argue is as good as it’s ever been since I’ve been here,” Wentz said. “But at the same time, you realize that talent doesn’t win championships, good teams do. But without a doubt it’s easy to look at the roster and say this is a really dynamic offense.”
Wentz insisted it wouldn’t be a problem distributing the ball to the playmakers. He knows them well enough to reckon it won’t be a problem if say, Ertz gets a ton of targets at the expense of others. At the same time, he’s cognizant of getting everyone involved starting with, interestingly, Ertz and Alshon Jeffery.
“I don’t feel like I’ve ever really played favorites,” Wentz said. “I just go with the ball, where the defense tells me to go. I feel like we’ve always kind of spread the love and shared the love over the years, and so I’m not really too concerned about that. I realize the coaches do a tremendous job of making sure that that takes place, that we are getting guys touches and doing their job, making sure those things happen. I know at the end of the day everyone will get theirs, and I believe at the same time everyone’s personalities will allow us. If they’re not getting the ball for three quarters, no one’s going to be complaining on the sideline, so I think we’re going to be in this thing together and I think we’re pretty good with where we’re at.”
Before Ryan Kerrigan, DeMarcus Lawrence or Khalil Mack come flying off the edge this season, Wentz expects to have a workable contingency plan to minimize the punishment that’s part of professional football.
The working points in the self-preservation plan include getting rid of the ball quicker and giving up on plays.
“I think it’s just the mental understanding of the offense and the understanding of this game and knowing that now I’ve seen three years of defenses and different things and kind of just knowing, ‘OK, where can I find a completion quick? Where can I get the ball out of my hands?’” Wentz said. “I’m still going to get hit. I can’t avoid that. I’m still going to run around at times and try to make a play. That aggressiveness in my game isn’t going to go anywhere. But there’s going to be little things where I think I can just find a completion and move on if it’s not the ideal look or they’re bringing pressure. I just need to spit it out.
“But like I said, I’m going to have to go do it. I’m going to have to go prove it.”