How misfiring gunslinger Carson Wentz finds himself in the last chance saloon
Former second overall pick Carson Wentz is surprisingly on his third team in three years. The current Washington Commanders QB has always been talented but questions about his approach and overall character have overshadowed his ability. He is one of the best examples of a hero-to-zero quarterback in the NFL today and is playing for his place once again in this campaign.
So how did Wentz find himself in this position? From being the starting quarterback in a Philadelphia Eagles side that won the Super Bowl (even though he was injured for the playoff run), to circling the drain in 2022. Let's take a look at how Carson Wentz fell from grace.
The negatives of gunslinging quarterbacks like Carson Wentz
There will be plays in the game where you will see a gunslinger like Wentz try a vertical pass down the field knowing the situation doesn't call for it. Yet no matter how many times he gets picked off, a gunslinger will try that pass again and again. The saying 'shooting himself in the foot' would apply nicely here.
Since his rookie year, Wentz has always played with a gunslinger mentality - a high-risk, high-reward approach. He is always one play away from jubilation or misery. Gunslingers thrive not because of their set-up, but because of their arm, swagger and never-say-die attitude towards plays.
Carson Wentz's history is written in interceptions, incompletions and fumbles
Wentz's gunslinger mentality kind of works against him when he is in a pressure situation. He'll hold the ball too long, placing himself in danger while waiting for a deep pass to develop. He often overlooks more open targets in search of a highlight reel throw. This mentality is okay if the result is a TD, but these days for Wentz the result is often an incompletion or worse, an interception.
Carson Wentz is an inconsistent passer in the short to intermediate zone, only truly excelling on deep passes. His inconsistencies as a rookie were chalked up to age and inexperience, but there are few excuses to justify it today. The Commanders brought in Wentz to end the musical chairs drama they have going on at QB. He simply may not be a polished enough passer to make it work.
Carson Wentz with a backbreaking interception? NFL is officially back. https://t.co/5HHVRoWshU
The Commanders find themselves in an odd QB situation. They have a QB who is struggling to throw with accuracy in the short, intermediate or long passing game. Wentz is not a running threat, he can only influence games with his cannon and it's misfiring right now.
Leadership concerns hang in the air above Carson Wentz
Bob Kravitz is a senior writer for The Athletic and a longtime Indianapolis sports columnist. He discussed what went wrong for Carson Wentz on the Al Galdi Podcast. Here are some of Kravitz’s thoughts:
“It’s about the intangibles. It’s about his presence in the locker room. It is not that he is a bad guy, he is just the wrong guy. The Colts felt like he lacked leadership. He didn’t have the right personality for this locker room. They just felt like they couldn’t move forward with him.”
He went on to say:
“A lot of it is things that only coaches and players see, the intangibles that you need from a quarterback, that the Colts felt were lacking.”
Darius Leonard on Carson Wentz's leadership style:
"He’s not going to say too much, he’s the lead by example guy but he has this presence about himself that when he’s around, you don’t want to let him down."
When I asked if that's similar to anyone else, immediately, "Andrew." https://t.co/RN7yJbmL5s
Rumors about Wentz's ability to keep the dressing room in check have been circling since his days with the Eagles. Many felt the emergence of Nick Foles destabilized his placement as franchise quarterback, but no such QB battle took place in Indianapolis. Carson Wentz, working under his own former offensive coordinator, failed to establish himself as a voice in the locker room.
A misfiring, turnover prone QB who isn't a leader sounds like quite the mess for the Washington Commanders.
Is there a way back for Carson Wentz?
In short, yes. There certainly is. Bob Kravitz further discussed Wentz on the Al Galdi Podcast and summed it up nicely:
“The guy has massive talent, and maybe the light will come on for him somewhere…Those last two games he couldn’t make the layups. He had guys wide open in the flat and he consistently tried to throw it into double coverage.”
Wentz needs to polish up his game management approach. He will always have the Brett Favre element to his game, but it's time to embrace a safety-first approach. Becoming a polished pocket passer is the only thing that can save him.
Carson Wentz throws his fifth interception of the season, this one into triple-coverage. Looks like the ball was tipped at the line.
https://t.co/bIaLQA1Blj
During his earlier spell with the Eagles, Wentz's weakness in throwing into the short zone (5-10 yards) was hidden by Doug Pederson's effective run game. The presence of safety blanket Zach Ertz helped mask Wentz's inconsistency with accuracy in the intermediate zone (11-20 yards). Free of those burdens, Wentz was able to focus on launching bombs down the field.
He can no longer rely on a strong short-running game or the presence of an elite playmaker outside to make plays. The plays in the short and intemediary zones must be made by Wentz going forward. He needs to adopt a Tom Brady game management style.
Wentz has to show mastery of how to make use of running backs to move the chains and read the entire field. He needs to deliver strikes to all areas of the pitch, utilizing all his weapons, rather than focusing on one receiver. Only through learning these other sides of the passing game will Wentz stop his current decline and slip into becoming a career backup.