It’s not hard to imagine that the last 72 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind for Carson Wentz.
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Unlike every other aspect of the game, not much will change for the Philadelphia Eagles defensive front as it makes the transition from the preseason to the regular season Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
Wentz said he arrived to the Eagles’ facility at around 5:15 on Wednesday morning and began watching film with backup quarterback Chase Daniel, who arrived around the same time.
When Pederson arrived at the NovaCare Complex Wednesday at 5:45 a.m., Wentz was already there.
Wentz was drafted behind Goff, who went No. 1 to the Los Angeles Rams, and goes head-to-head with former No. 2 pick Robert Griffin III on Sunday. “You would think you wouldn’t just lose 11 in a row because you’re not always facing a great team opening day”.
“It’s different but it’s something I’m used to”, Matthews said.
Where Wentz stands in his progression from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State to the National Football League is far less certain.
“I don’t want to harness that aggression”, Pederson said.
“Coming from a smaller school, you kind of have a chip on your shoulder so to speak”, he said. “The biggest thing for any quarterback, particularly a rookie quarterback, in the first game is how well you can control your emotions early in the football game and the nervousness and all of that and just kind of settle into the football game. So I’m really excited for it”. You want to obviously get into the flow of the game and see how defensively they are going to scheme him and scheme us. For a quarterback from North Dakota State who played less than a half in the preseason, that figures to be steep.
Browns Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta told the team’s radio partner, WKNR-850 AM in July that they passed on Wentz at No. 2 and traded the pick to Philadelphia because they determined that Wentz wouldn’t become a top-20 quarterback in the NFL.
With the Browns and Eagles both breaking in new quarterbacks this season, will Sunday’s game in Philadelphia be low-scoring at 1:00PM ET? The 49ers got a second-round pick for Alex Smith in 2013, and I’d much rather have Smith than Bradford. They know what he can do after seeing him in practice.
Part of Wentz’s “inherent confidence” comes from the fact that he played in some big games in college. “So you know, I can talk to him, Frank [Reich] can talk to him, but it’s just human nature”.
McNabb went on to be a six-time Pro Bowler, and was arguably one Super Bowl victory or MVP award away from make a legitimate case for the Hall of Fame. “We drafted him to take on the reins”. And to think, a week ago at this time, Wentz wasn’t even likely to be on the active game day roster. The competition may be tougher.
With that said, Pederson also mentioned Wentz’s running ability, something Sam Bradford didn’t bring, and also said he doesn’t want to “harness” or hold back Wentz’s deep passing ability. “I think we just have to let it all play itself out and see what happens here pretty soon”. “Every rep is important” during his first-ever week practicing with the starters, Wentz said.
He’s not focusing on that.
Whether it impacts him or not, Wentz will have a chance to beat the team that publicly doubts him.
“I got some work with him during training camp but after that I really haven’t gotten any with him”.
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Simply put, there are more than a few scenarios in which the Eagles could lose but Wentz still has what we would deem a successful debut. Second head-coaching stint for Jackson, who went 8-8 with Oakland in 2011. “We need to win football games”. RG3 will be the 25th different quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.
