Eagles' Wentz stepping up as a leader | Marcus Hayes
Carson Wentzs coaches and teammates can see the difference in the second-year QB.
NO ONE DISPUTES that Carson Wentz needs better pocket awareness, better footwork and a better delivery; not his coaches, not his Eagles teammates and not even Wentz. He works on those skills every day. He even visited a quarterback guru to pick up pointers.
So, in what area has Wentz shown the most progress?
It's not pocket awareness, footwork or delivery.
"Well, the biggest thing I've seen, No. 1, is leadership," head coach Doug Pederson said a few weeks ago.
On Monday his offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, agreed: "Just from a leadership standpoint, just kind of coming in and ownership of the team and just being comfortable with the guys, guys being comfortable with him."
Neither coach was led into his answer. Both answered "leadership" without provocation and without hesitation.
Leadership is the least coachable element and, possibly, the rarest. No position demands it like NFL quarterback. Talented athletes who are physiologically perfect and wondrously instinctive often underachieve because they are not effective leaders. They are unwilling to set an example, unable to understand concepts and uninterested in communicating to teammates what is needed. Then, they fail to hold teammates accountable.
Clearly, Wentz is a big guy who runs fast and throws hard. More and more, the Eagles are realizing that they have the complete package in Carson Wentz after just 16 games.
Certainly, a player should be expected to take greater control of his team entering his second season. It is all the more remarkable that Wentz is doing so despite operating from a deficit. He wasn't an All-American from a Power 5 conference, groomed to immediately front a franchise and given first-string snaps from draft day to opening day. Wentz entered last summer as a third-string quarterback from an FCS (I-AA) school; was injured in his first preseason game and so played in no others; then was promoted to starter after the Eagles unexpectedly traded Sam Bradford to the Vikings.
Even after starting every game as a rookie last season, Wentz had room to grow.
He's a big boy now.
"He's more vocal. More confident," said right tackle Lane Johnson. "With the young guys, especially the rookies, he's taken a lot of time to help them get set with the plays and all the motions. A lot more attention to detail."
"I definitely feel more comfortable with everything," Wentz said. "A year under your belt and those game situations. Having a full offseason to go back and dissect the tape, study the concepts more in-depth, knowing every detail about the concepts."
Leadership involves more than just figuring out the scheme.
"It's a hard thing to quantify or verbalize," said center Jason Kelce, who is, in a literal sense, closer to Wentz than anyone. Besides their physical proximity on the field, they, like most centers and quarterbacks, spend extra time during the week planning for the upcoming game. Kelce noticed that Wentz is standing taller this spring.
"Sometimes it's just body language, the way you carry yourself. Sometimes it's having an uncomfortable conversation with certain players," Kelce said. "All of that can be part of your voice with the team."
Wentz will be using his voice a lot this spring and summer. The Eagles added 13 players on offense. Six of them are sure to see playing time, including two starting wide receivers and the starting running back.
"What you see now is him having discussions with guys and telling them what he sees, what he wants, what he likes," Kelce said. "I think that further entrenches him as the centerpiece of the team."
When is the last time the Eagles had such a quarterback? During Bradford's brief stay, he always seemed as concerned with his own future as he did with that of the franchise. Michael Vick showed hints of it later in his career. Donovan McNabb was the face of the franchise, but then, so was Randall Cunningham, whose woeful shortcomings matched his unequaled talent. McNabb was a generational athlete who mastered offensive concepts but, with Brian Dawkins always around, was McNabb ever the unquestioned leader?
Did any of them have the potential skill set and the potential leadership qualities that Wentz has shown?
You might have to go all the way back to Ron Jaworski - physically proficient and vastly gifted with intangibles - to find a comparable combination.
After all, becoming an elite quarterback requires more than nimble feet and a quick release. It requires the sort of leadership displayed by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson - all great passers, and all great leaders.
"Carson has all of those qualities," Kelce said. "Another year into it, he's just more comfortable. And that's just going to build. It's just going to continue to manifest itself more and more."
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