June 13, 2017
Over at The MMQB, longtime Sports Illustrated writer Peter King dedicated his column this week to none other than Carson Wentz. And while there isn’t a ton of new ground covered for fans who devour daily Eagles news and coverage, King made a comparison that kind of came out of left field.
He believes there are things about Wentz that remind him of Eli Manning:
But I talked to Wentz for awhile the other day, as he drove home from an off-season practice, and I came away thinking he’s got a good chance [of being a good player]. He reminds me of Eli Manning in terms of mentality and confidence—I’ll explain that in a few moments—and I don’t think the game’s too big for him, which I’ll explain too.
Wentz does talk in detail about going to California to fine tune his throwing mechanics — A decision Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo said on Monday that he supported — and goes back over his rookie season.
And the ability to remain unfazed getting thrown right into the fire is where King believes that Wentz shares similarities with Manning:
That’s where the Eli comparison is appropriate. I’ll always remember after the February 2012 Super Bowl win over New England, an emotionless Manning was being shuttled through the Giants’ locker room to a media obligation by a phalanx of yellow-coated security people. Looking at the scene, Justin Tuck of the Giants said, “That’s Eli—he’d look the same whether we just won or lost this game.” Manning felt if he left everything in preparation and performance on the field, no sense crying about a bad loss. And he never got very high after his biggest wins.
To me, there are pretty dramatic differences between Wentz and Manning’s personalities, but hey, Eagles fans would sign up right now for two Super Bowls over the next decade.
1. Drawing the line: Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland offers his thoughts on Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, and the rest of the Eagles charged with keeping Carson Wentz upright.
2. Out in space: Duce Staley knows something about being a workhorse running back in Philly, but now as a coach, he believes the Eagles’ latest free agent pickup can catch the ball a little bit as well.
3. All Wentz, all the time: Here’s why Carson won’t have a sophomore slump, a look at his ceiling, and a closer look at the 14 interceptions that he threw in 2014.
4. Flip, Flip, Flipadelphia: Whatever the reason was that DeFilippo is still in Philly, he doesn’t seem to mind.
5. Fipp, Fipp, Fippadelphia: Eagles special teams coach Dave Fipp wouldn’t mind being an NFL head coach at some point. He’s done a great job over the past few years, and we all know that John Harbaugh hasn’t done too bad after taking a similar path.
Mechanically speaking, Eagles' Carson Wentz still a work in progress: Tim McManus, ESPN
Flip went into detail on Wentz’s mechanics:
DeFilippo wants Wentz to eliminate the wasted movement in his throwing motion. That means holding the ball higher and bringing it straight back into a throwing position as opposed to dropping it toward his lower body first. The idea isn’t necessarily to improve Wentz’s release time -- both DeFilippo and Wentz argue that his release is pretty quick -- but to make it more efficient.
The 10 most important players on every NFC East team: Sports Illustrated
The SI staff says that Alshon Jeffery is the most important player on the Eagles roster:
Alshon Jeffery has a lot riding on this season, and the Eagles in turn are putting a lot of faith in him. The ex-Bears receiver is on a one-year contract in Philadelphia, meaning he could hit free agency again next off-season, and obviously he would prefer to do so with a huge 2017 at his back. And the Eagles are banking on Jeffery to fill their No. 1 WR role, while serving as a go-to option for QB Carson Wentz. Three of our NFC voters (Feldman, Jones, Kaplan) had him atop their Eagles board.
Pederson To Team: Finish Strong In Camp: Dave Spadaro, PhiladelphiaEagles.com
It turns out that the Eagles did at least reach out to free agent receiver Jeremy Maclin, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens:
“As I’ve said, we’re always looking for talent and ways to upgrade this roster. At the time when I was asked that question, I had not talked to Jeremy, but when he was still available over the weekend, we got together as a staff and discussed it. I called him and spoke to him and had a good conversation just to see what he was thinking, where he was at,” Pederson said. “He made the decision today to sign with Baltimore and we wish him the best of luck. We feel very good about what we have at wide receiver, but again we’re always going to keep our eyes open for ways to improve our football team at any position.”
So Far, So Good: Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Lawlor sizes up the Eagles offseason:
A great offseason on paper can be very different from reality. Fans of all teams have learned that the hard way. Dan Snyder has made more splashy moves that most owners and has virtually nothing to show for it. The Eagles looked like geniuses in 2011 and went 8-8 (and needed a 4-game win streak at the end of the year to get to that point).
Colin Kaepernick's 49ers jersey is the 17th-most popular in the NFL for May: Jared Dubin, CBS Sports
At No. 8 overall around the NFL, Carson Wentz jerseys are still pretty popular.
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