Eagles QB Carson Wentz passed his first test week 1, when he beat the hapless Browns and threw some breathtakingly beautiful passes in the process. The red-head is going to face a somewhat stiffer test on Monday when he faces the middling but improved Bears defense and attempts to outduel Jay Cutler in a primetime game. If you asked the Eagles front office if they are worried about “exposing” their franchise QB (as the Rams and others seem to be) by making him play so early and on such a visible platform, I would guess they would probably smile and wink. Secure in the scouting and checking they did on Carson and the answers he provided for a franchise desperate for an answer under center.
Carson was an easy punching bag coming into the draft. Fans and scouts smelled bust when they saw the physically gifted but unproven red-head at the Senior Bowl and wondered aloud who would be suckered in by Carson’s arm, only to be frustrated when his opponents were a lot faster than Weber State’s bush league defense. It was too bad for those fans they didn’t get to know Carson the way the Eagles Front office did. Dan Pompei in his piece for Bleacher Report, describes how the Eagles front office were blown away by Carson’s football knowledge and Brain. Carson was valedictorian of his High School and maintained a perfect GPA through college. Nothing is too fast for him to process. He has picked up the Eagles offense at a speed that’s left their coaches speechless and allowed them to trade their embattled starter Sam Bradford for more picks to surround Carson with. With an elite brain to match Carson’s arm talent (which I personally was felt was better than even Luck’s coming out) the sky is the limit for the Eagles future.
Cutler was once thought of as the future for first the Broncos then the Bears. He has never achieved those lofty ideals and its felt like his days are numbered in Chicago for years, only for him to improve his play for a short time and only just miss the playoffs. If he is ever going to silence those critics and get some momentum for his club he has to beat the Eagles, whose defense should be more forgiving than Houston’s, and not lose to a rookie in primetime. The Bears have to see that their division is wide open, the Vikings lead it with both its star RB and franchise QB hurt, and take advantage of this opportunity to put its hat in the ring.
I believe the Wentz hype is for real, and I’m not scared of the Bear’s “home field advantage” of Soldier Field, as they went 1-7 there last year. Look for Carson to make a lot of fans and scouts feel foolish as he pops off and shows just how NFL ready he is.