Santoliquito: Carson Wentz Needs To Take A Leadership Role This Year
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Everyone looks good in shorts and helmets when they're flying against nothing but air. So it was for Eagles' second-year quarterback Carson Wentz last week during the team's mandatory mini-camp at the NovaCare Complex.
Last year, Wentz was a wide-eyed rookie who was third on the depth chart expected to look and learn. Then, suddenly, he was thrust into the role as a starting NFL quarterback after Sam Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, and Wentz showed that he could be good.
The finished product is still years away, though there is one step Wentz needs to take this season, and that's to assert himself more in the locker room and out on the field. It's a role it appears he's warming up to, and it first starts with exuding more confidence in himself, before he can instill confidence in others.
Wentz is certainly willing to do anything to improve, and that came out when he procured the aid of an established quarterback coach this offseason to work on his delivery.
"That didn't surprise me about Wentz," said one Eagles' veteran. "We all like the kid, there's no question about that. But when you see and hear of guys that are willing on their own to take those extra steps to get better, the older guys become more convinced we have something special here. He had a good rookie season. He overcame some odds and obstacles. He's ready to lead.
"We followed last year. We'll follow this year, with more expectations. You rally around a guy like that."
"I've seen him sort of come in rejuvenated," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said of Wentz. "Last year at this time he had played a bunch of football. He was coming off his world tour. He had just been drafted. Now he's had a chance to just kind of sit back and look at the regular season last year and make the necessary adjustments and corrections and learn from it."
In his first season, Wentz completed 379 of 607 passes (62.4%) for 3,782 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In September and October, Wentz completed 150 passes in 228 attempts (65.8%) for 1,526 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. What is a concern is comparing those numbers to what he did in November and December, when Wentz completed just 202 of 336 passes (60.1%) for 2,011 yards, five touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
He says he's more comfortable after a year's growth. He says the game has slowed down considerably, where he's reading and reacting, not thinking as much. He also has a beefier receiver corps to throw to, with the additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith; even Nelson Agholor may be reclaimed from the depth chart by how well he looked this spring.
But the Eagles won't do anything unless Wentz actually does show faith himself, which will translate to others showing trust in him. Like everything else involving Philadelphia pro teams these days, it's a process that bears close watching. Wentz has shown promise. Now he needs to prove he can win.
