After the Eagles’ nail-biting victory in Super Bowl LII over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, some have gone on to Twitter saying the Eagles didn’t need Carson Wentz. One person posted on Twitter saying,
“Carson Wentz: system quarterback. Time to trade him to Minnesota for a draft pick.” Another one posted, “Main takeaway from the first half? Carson Wentz is a system QB.” Numerous other tweets have also said that Wentz is a system quarterback. There was even a tweet that said, “Quarterbacks that have beaten Tom Brady: Eli Manning, Eli Manning, NOT Carson Wentz”. Other tweets have been asking for him to go to lower-caliber teams such as the Browns. Other tweets say he is not as good as people think he is.
I was happy that a Bison Football alum won a Super Bowl ring, but those feelings didn’t last long. I became furious after seeing all the tweets critical of Wentz. He was on three FCS National Championship teams as a backup to Brock Jensen (one was as a redshirt freshman). He won two FCS national Championships as a starting quarterback for the NDSU Bison. In his first season as an NFL quarterback for the Eagles, he set a single-season record for most pass completions by a rookie.
He played at an MVP-level in his second season in the NFL before hurting his knee. After he brought the Eagles so far before getting hurt, people treat Wentz like he’s an afterthought.
This reminds me of the 2001-2002 season. Drew Bledsoe of the Patriots suffered a season-ending injury as a result of a hit in week three against the New York Jets. The hit from linebacker Mo Lewis resulted in a damaged blood vessel that almost killed him. The quarterback who took over for him, and would lead the Patriots to become Super Bowl champions was none other than … Tom Brady. The difference between Carson Wentz and Drew Bledsoe was that in that year, the Patriots were 0-2 when Tom Brady took over. Carson Wentz was doing much better for the Eagles than Bledsoe was for the Patriots.
What people also do not realize is that Carson Wentz was coaching and mentoring Nick Foles throughout the playoffs. Wentz was originally going to play backup to Sam Bradford during his first year as quarterback, but after a change of plans, Carson had a relatively decent season. Despite not playing in the playoffs, Wentz helped by bringing his experience as a starting quarterback to aid Nick Foles. This was not an opportunity Wentz had when he started in the NFL.
Wentz has done a much better job in the NFL than most people, especially his critics, give him credit for. He is also known for being a class act and giving glory to God and giving credit to his teammates. For example, after the Super Bowl game was over, Carson Wentz handed Nick Foles the Lombardi Trophy. They also hugged each other once the clock hit zero. Even before the game started, he posted on Twitter saying that Nick Foles was going to do well in the game.
To all those who criticize Wentz for being overshadowed by Nick Foles, think again. The Eagles couldn’t have accomplished all this without him.