As reported earlier today, rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts will be starting over Carson Wentz when the Eagles face the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. Wentz will serve as Hurts' backup.
Hurts came off the bench in Sunday’s loss against the Green Bay Packers and outperformed Wentz. Hurts finished 5-of-12 for 109 yards with a touchdown and an interception while rushing five times for 29 yards. Wentz ended 6-of-15 for 79 yards and was sacked four times. Now we have a “QB controversy” on our hands. With Wentz struggling this year will he remain the starter for the year? Or will Hurts take the reign to try and take that starting position?
Fans are already giving up on Wentz, but in my opinion, the Eagles should not go in that direction. Sure, Wentz is having arguably the worst season of his career, and there's no denying he is among the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season. Instead of benching him though, they should have worked on what he’s having trouble with, like holding onto the ball for too long or trying to make a play out of nothing. With limited access to practices and interviews this season, the media can not report what has been happening each week at the NovaCare Complex. So fans have no idea what the team is working on each week at practice, and it certainly doesn't seem like they were doing anything that was benefiting #11.
The blame for this team’s poor performance should not go solely to Carson Wentz. There are a number of reasons why they’ve been involved in an uphill battle all year. His struggles are part of it for sure, but with constant changes with the team due to injury, it could be difficult for Wentz to have any flow when the team is constantly changing who is protecting him and who he is throwing to. The Coaching staff has certainly failed its players this season too. With the offensive line playing poorly, why didn't Doug Pederson draw up plays for Wentz to be able to easily roll out of the pocket?
I’m glad Jalen Hurts performed well last week, and obviously, as a fan of the team, I hope he does again against a tough New Orleans Saints team. But is anything really going to be different with Hurts under center? Are the same exact plays that Wentz received going to be the same calls Hurts has to try to make successful? Or is Pederson actually going to adjust his gameplan to make things easier for his new quarterback?
At the end of the day, the issues for this team go deeper than the quarterback, and I really didn’t want to hear about another quarterback controversy from national media because it seems like that's the only attention this franchise ever gets from the media (Super Bowl win aside).
I’m still pulling for Carson Wentz. Even though he’s having a terrible year, if you’re a diehard fan you stick around through thick and thin and hope he comes back next year better than ever because you've seen how well he plays when he is on his "A-game". But if he doesn't turn things around, and Hurts continues to impress, the franchise will soon be at a crossroads.
