Should Colts worry about Carson Wentz’s new reported drama with Eagles coaching staff?
By Mike Luciano
The Indianapolis Colts might’ve fixed their quarterback issue by acquiring Carson Wentz from the Philadelphia Eagles, but Frank Reich is picking up a quarterback that could not have exited his old destination in worse shape.
Wentz underwent a startling regression, as he led the league in interceptions despite only starting 12 games and being benched for Jalen Hurts.
He was only able to recoup the Eagles two Day 2 picks because his play, combined with his genuinely horrid contract, really limited the number of potential suitors.
The former No. 2 pick has developed a reputation as a bit of a prickly character, with report surfacing left and right about poor communication and lack of bonding with teammates.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer’s latest column seems to suggest that one of the main reasons this trade was consummated was Wentz’s friction with the coaching staff.
Breer is reporting that there was a belief in Philadelphia that Wentz couldn’t handle hard coaching, and that he often clashed with offensive coordinator Mike Groh after John DeFilippo left. The column also insinuates that Wentz was at his best when DeFilippo served as the “bad cop,” Pederson as the “good cop,” and Reich as the mediator that wouldn’t always take a side.
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1363854861566099457?s=20
Carson Wentz’s drama in Philly shouldn’t worry the Colts
The report appears to suggest that if Wentz doesn’t have three people to give it to him straight, praise him no matter what, and act as the man in the middle, he can’t function. However, if that’s what makes Wentz’s tick, the Colts have an environment that can help him become more psychologically productive than he was near the end of his Eagles tenure.
Reich is obviously back, but Groh is on his staff as Indy’s wide receivers coach. While fellow offensive assistant Press Taylor, whom Wentz thinks highly of, wasn’t retained in Philadelphia, he will be back in Indianapolis as a senior offensive assistant. Those two helped Wentz produce over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and 2021 could be more of the same.
While Wentz is by no means blameless for his awful 2020 season and the chaos in Philly, his regression seemed to be a symptom of a rotten culture in Philadelphia that forced the Eagles to move on from a head coach that won a Super Bowl just four seasons ago.
In Indianapolis, the Colts are assuming that their infrastructure is far superior to that of Philadelphia’s. If proven correct, Wentz could be in line for another Pro Bowl season.
