The Philadelphia Eagles apparently still have a QB controversy.
At least that’s what you might think after hearing Brett Favre speak on First Take.
“I actually thought that they should haWentve kept Nick Foles rather than Carson Wentz just based off production and where they got to,” Favre said. “They won a Super Bowl with Foles. And that was a little bit surprising. But they’re obviously banking on his upside. How many more years do you let it linger before you stick with him or you cut bait? That’s a question only they can answer.”
Oh no… Brett Favre says they should have kept Foles pic.twitter.com/covggsyGvc
— Anthony Gargano (@AnthonyLGargano) November 10, 2020
These comments come almost a full 2 years since the Eagles let Nick Foles walk and gave Carson Wentz a 4-year, $128 million extension to be the franchise QB.
Nearly 3 years removed from the magical title run Foles took the Eagles on in 2017.
It seems there is a new analyst each week commenting on how the Eagles should have kept Foles.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson is clearly getting tired of responding to these comments.
After being asked three separate times about Favre’s comments during his press conference on Wednesday, Pederson got a little terse.
“I respect his opinion and his words. Those aren’t mine…Please don’t put words in my mouth or we’re going to have a problem. Carson’s our guy, bottom line. End of story” Pederson said to end the zoom call with the media.
Doug Pederson on Brett Favre saying they should’ve kept
Nick Foles over Carson WentzFirst 2 times Doug said:
“I respect his opinion”3rd time
“Carson’s our guy. Carson is the guy who is going to lead this team…
Those are his words, not mine” pic.twitter.com/sC8XYYgMH6— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 11, 2020
Pederson has repeatedly defended his franchise QB over the past 2+ years.
He stated, “it’s my job to get Carson Wentz to play better, to do better, to help this football team win as it is to get everybody else to play better”.
Wentz: “Everybody Has An Opinion”
Wentz addressed the media following Pederson and was asked if he heard what the Packer legend had said.
“No I did not”, stated Wentz, adding “At the end of the day it’s whatever. Everbody has an opinion”.
"No, I did not. Maybe you could enlighten me. At the end of the day, it's whatever. Everybody has an opinion."
– Carson Wentz, asked if he had seen Brett Favre's comments
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 11, 2020
There were no follow up questions on the matter and Wentz went to practice.
Perhaps the media was wary after the tense session with Pederson.
Or Wentz was just telling the truth.
Carson has gone on record saying he doesn’t pay attention to headlines or news clippings.
Wentz vs. Foles
People still seem to believe Nick Foles was the better option at QB for the Eagles moving forward.
Yes, Wentz has struggled the past two seasons, but thinking Foles would have been better is foolish.
Outside of his years with Philadelphia (2012-2014, 2017-2018), Foles has been a below-average QB.
In 25 games (22 starts) with STL, KC, JAX, CHI, Foles has a 7-15 record, 61.7% completion percentage, 23 TDs, and 19 INTs while throwing for 224 yards per game.
Most importantly, he has 0 playoff games with those teams.
Let’s also take a closer look at Foles’ 2017 and 2018 seasons after he took over for Wentz:
2017: 2* Games Started, 2-0 Record, 56.6% Completion, 400 Yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT (*Technically 3 games, but the Eagles sat most starters in Week 17 after the first quarter)
2018: 5 Games Started, 4-1 Record, 72.3% Completion, 1,413 Yards, 7 TDs, 4 INTs
Now we can compare to Wentz’s number during those seasons:
2017: 13 GS, 11-2 Record, 60.2 Completion, 3,296 Yards, 33 TDs, 7 INTs
2018: 11 GS, 5-6 Record, 69.6% Completion, 3,074 Yards, 21 TDs, 7 INTs
Everybody remembers Foles’ incredible stretch during the 2017 playoff run, but they seem to forget Wentz was on track to be the potential league MVP that season before getting injured.
The 2017 Eagles team also had that “it” factor.
Anytime a player got injured, the next man stepped up to fill his spot.
Foles was the most notable, but the Eagles also lost key players such as RB Darren Sproles, OT Jason Peters, and LB Jordan Hicks.
This will never be able to get proven, but it felt like the Eagles would have won the title that year with either Wentz or Foles.
Carson is 3 years younger than Foles and is clearly the Eagles franchise QB.
If the Eagles can fix their leaky offensive line and put some NFL-caliber weapons around Wentz, he should revert back to his 2017 form.
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