PHILADELPHIA – We all know Carson Wentz has long since left the Hawks, and so has Wentz’s Hawks.
But now Wentz is back in the NFC East with the Washington commander, and the Hawks have to face him twice a season, starting Sept. 25 in Washington.
Therefore, the comparison here is relevant.
Of course, it’s easy to say the Hawks are better off under Jalen Hurts than they are under Wentz.It is also easy to come to this conclusion after seeing it Wentz’s three interception disasters in one day During practice at Commander’s training camp on Monday.
During that practice, reporters described the fans booing Wentz and lamented that the team was getting Wentz’s $28 million contract in 2022. The decision largely forced the commanders to part ways with veterans like Landon Collins and Matt Ioannidis, who had to meet Wentz’s contracts under the salary cap.
But in reality, the reason the Eagles are better with injuries goes deeper than a bad day in the first week of training camp.
We saw something in this Tuesday morning practice in which Hurts linked up with Jalen Riegel on a deep ball, continued to hit his number one goal on AJ Brown, and generally made on the ball good decision.
Yes, the usual caveats of course apply in both cases.
Wentz certainly wasn’t as bad as his 3-INT days. Hertz had an interception in each of the Eagles’ first three practices, including a brutal decision that crossed his body while running to the left.
However, Hurts is a student of the game, and it’s not hard to see that he doesn’t take criticism. He’s also in a much better position, with better players around him. And he’s in the same system for the second year in a row, with the same coach.
This is important.
Wentz, meanwhile, is on his third team in three seasons. He almost ran out of Indianapolis last season after a brutal end to the season. That’s reportedly a year after he asked the Hawks to trade him, largely because he didn’t want to compete with Hurts for the starting spot on the bench for the final 4.5 games of the 2020 season.
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“I think it’s in the details,” Hertz said of his progress. “I think the details will be refined and adjusted over time. From year one to year two, run the same offense…install the same thing, adjust it, try to do what (the coach) thinks is most beneficial. Things you start to fine-tune further.
“It just takes time. It will be for years to come.”
Remember, Hurts will turn 24 next week. There is still a lot of room for growth. Meanwhile, Wentz will turn 30 in December. It looks increasingly like he reached his peak during the Eagles’ Super Bowl season in 2017, when he was heading toward being named the league’s MVP before tearing his ACL.
On paper, Wentz appears to be having a good season in 2021, or better than Hurts statistically. Wentz had 27 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, while Hurts had 16 and nine.
But look carefully.
Their completion percentages and passing points are about the same (62.4 percent and 92.4 for Wentz vs. 61.3 and 87.2 for Hurts), as the two quarterbacks are mediocre at best in those categories.
But you could argue that Hertz’s running ability should also be taken into account. Hurts led all NFL quarterbacks with 784 yards and 10 touchdowns, an Eagles quarterback TD record. Combined with Hertz’s passing yards and TDs, his total is 3,928 yards and 26 TDs.
Add Wentz’s rushing yards and TDs, and he ended up with 3,778 and 27.
Sure, both teams have the same record, 9-8, but the Eagles made the playoffs and the Colts didn’t. A lot of that is on Wentz.
After all, the Colts were so disgusted by Wentz’ performance in the last two games, when they only needed a win to make the playoffs, that they didn’t even know who they’d replace him with. He traded to Washington. It turned out to be Matt Ryan, didn’t you know, and the Colts raved about Ryan’s professionalism and accuracy.
After all, Wentz was especially brutal in the final game of the season against Jacksonville. He also missed an entire week of practice for the penultimate game against the Las Vegas Raiders after testing positive for COVID-19. He was not vaccinated.
A quarterback’s intangibles are as important as statistics.
Of course, Hurts also had a brutal final game, with three interceptions in a playoff loss to the Buccaneers. But Hurts made sure it didn’t happen again in the offseason, working with QB coaches and teammates from Texas to California to Philadelphia.
It’s safe to say that, in the grand scheme of things, the 3 interception day in the first week of Wentz’s training camp will soon be a distant memory. He might come back with some good days and post some impressive stats.
Hurts will likely continue his strong showing Monday and Tuesday, including his struggles, missed shots and interceptions.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, however, as Hawks coach Nick Ciriani proved by breaking down every interception by Hertz.
“Two of them were wrong decisions,” he said. “One was a bad decision in the pocket. One was a bad decision on the move. The other, he just missed the pitch and Marcus (Epps) actually made an incredible game. You would Missed some pitches . . . but what you’re really trying to correct is those bad decisions.”
In other words, there are more possibilities. In stark contrast to Wentz. His completion rate last season ranked 25th in the NFL — behind the Hurts at 26th — reflecting his career percentage of 62.6 percent.
What you see is what you get. In Washington, after Tyler Hynek’s final two seasons, maybe it’s an improvement. That will certainly be the case for star receiver Terry McLaughlin. With Hurts, the Hawks can expect more, not only because Hurts is determined to improve, but also because the Hawks have a better team around him.
Best of all, Hurts can do more, especially as a runner. In 2017, when Wentz was at his best, he also added that dimension. But after years of serious knee and back injuries, he’s not that quarterback anymore.
“Steps are taken every day,” Hertz said. “Better than I did last time. It’s simple. I don’t want to make it harder. Just push myself and push the people around me to be better leaders and better quarterbacks for the team.”
