Philadelphia Eagles: Should We Hope Carson Wentz is the Next Eli Manning?
By Mike Lacy
After Eli Manning and the New York Giants suffered another loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, I wondered if we should hope Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz has a career similar to Manning’s.
Philadelphia Eagles fans: What if I told you that the Philadelphia Eagles would win two Super Bowls with Carson Wentz as their quarterback? You’d be pretty happy with that, right?
But how about if I told that you that the Eagles would miss the playoffs in seven of Wentz’s first twelve seasons, and he would never really crack the upper level of the league’s quarterbacks? Wouldn’t most of you say that was a disappointment?
And what if all of those things turned out to be true? How would you feel about that? Basically, the question I’m asking is: Would you be happy if Carson Wentz had Eli Manning‘s career?
Eli Manning has been difficult to define. Is he a clutch leader who can carry a team to a championship? Is he a choke artist who comes up small in big situation? Is he an elite quarterback? Is he overrated thanks to his family name and the New York media? Or has he been a combination of all of those things throughout his career?
Much like the Eagles did to get Wentz, the Giants traded multiple picks to select Manning with the top pick of the 2004 draft. Those picks included the Giants’ own first round pick – the fifth overall, which the Chargers used to take Philip Rivers.
More from Philadelphia Eagles
- 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
- Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
- 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
- Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
- Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles
The Giants also gave up their 2004 third round pick (Kicker Nate Kaeding), their first rounder in 2005 (used to take Shawne Merriman), and a fifth rounder in 2005 (traded to Tampa Bay who took OL Roman Oben.
That’s a considerable amount of potential talent the Giants missed out on. Rivers has made five Pro Bowls, and – Super Bowls aside – has arguably been better than Manning. Merriman’s career was shortened by injury, but he made three Pro Bowls and was a first team All-Pro during his stay in San Diego. Kaeding was a reliable kicker who also made an All-Pro team, while Oben had a steady, if unspectacular twelve-year career.
It’s a high price to pay, but it’s one that most NFL executives would likely pay to get a franchise quarterback. The question is: Should Manning be considered a franchise quarterback?
In 2008, most people would have answered affirmatively. After a solid enough first four years in the league, Manning played exceptionally well in the Giants’ run to the Super Bowl – a game which Manning was named MVP. He followed that up by leading the Giants to the NFC’s best record in 2008.
Manning suffered a major loss near the end of that season. Star receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg and was imprisoned. Without Burress around to catch his up-for-grabs passes, Manning started to seem considerably less elite. In the Giants playoff loss to the Eagles after that season, he threw two interceptions, and they failed to score a touchdown.
The Giants would go on to miss the playoffs in six of the next seven seasons. The lone exception came in 2011 when won the NFC East with an uninspiring 9-7 record and then went on another miracle run to a Super Bowl – with Manning again being named MVP of the game.
It’s foolish to blame the quarterback for all of a team’s woes, and there have been plenty of reasons why the Giants have fallen short of the playoffs.
Then again, Manning hasn’t exactly lifted the team into automatic contention like you’d expect an elite quarterback would. He’s only made the Pro Bowl four times, and has led the league in interceptions thrice. (Although the Giants won the Super Bowl in two of those seasons, so who knows?) A fair ranking of his standing in the league would place him somewhere in the bottom half of the league’s top ten quarterbacks.
Knowing all that, would I be happy if Wentz’s career turned out the same way? Absolutely.
As Eagles fans are well aware, winning a Super Bowl is difficult. There are only a few quarterbacks good enough to single-handedly lift a team to a championship, and it’s unrealistic to think that Wentz will eventually fall into that category.
It’s much more likely that Wentz will be similar to Manning – good enough to make them playoff contenders, but not great enough to make them so automatically.
The key will come when the team around him is good enough to win a title.
Next: Smallwood Still Promising
Will Wentz be able to put together a championship-worthy run of postseason performances like Manning did after the 2007 and 2011 season? If the answer is yes, then Eagles fans should feel very satisfied with Wentz’s career.