Photos via Getty Images Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson are set to face-off Sunday.
Emmanuel Acho parlayed four NFL seasons into an eclectic career as a best-selling author, intelligent sports talker and genuinely nice guy. The former Eagles linebacker has often defended Carson Wentz on his FOX Sports’ “Speak for Yourself” show and pounded the drum loudly for the quarterback once again. Acho compared Wentz’s first four games this season to Russell Wilson’s last four. The results might surprise even the most ardent Wentz hater.
Wilson, who started the year as an NFL MVP candidate, has gone 1-3 in his last four games while committing 10 giveaways and absorbing 15 sacks. Compare that to Wentz’s first four games this year when he went 1-2-1 with eight giveaways and 14 sacks. It’s an interesting debate.
Acho was perplexed as to why everyone has blamed Wentz for the Eagles’ failures while the narrative around Wilson has pinned the Seahawks’ struggles on a bad defense. The Eagles don’t have a “Carson Wentz problem,” per Acho.
“You have a Jalen Hurts’ problem. You have a roster depletion problem. You have an injury problem,” Acho said. “You have an offensive stability from an offensive coordinator problem, from the last several years. But do you have a Carson Wentz problem? No.”
.@EmmanuelAcho explains why the Eagles don’t have a Carson Wentz problem:
“Nobody is saying the Seahawks have a Russell Wilson problem… Wentz’s worst wasn’t as bad as Russ’s worst.”
Acho further explained: “The narrative around Russell Wilson is that his defense is terrible. He’s trying to do too much. He’s turning the ball over. Carson Wentz, for whatever reason, even though he doesn’t have help, the narrative is he’s terrible. His worst wasn’t as bad as Russell Wilson’s worst.”
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Is Wentz Being Coached ‘Hard’ Enough?
One dart being thrown at the Wentz board has been a lack of “hard coaching.” Perhaps Doug Pederson and the Eagles’ staff hasn’t held him accountable or challenged him enough.
It was something that former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook mentioned in this space. When Pederson was asked directly about hard coaching, he seemed confused and offended.
“This question of is he being coached hard enough, I don’t necessarily understand,” Pederson told reporters. “He’s being coached the way that we would coach any of our players, and we coach them all the same and we coach them all hard and aggressive and we’re trying to get the most out of all our guys. It just so happens that the quarterback position is magnified, and just like my position as head coach is magnified.”
Wentz has also come under attack for reported “sloppy practice habits” although the quarterback played it off in comments to the media. He knows he hasn’t been perfect, far from it, and vowed to “do better.” It all starts with execution.
“I think a lot of it just comes down to execution,” Wentz said. “And we can have 10 guys doing the right thing and if I miss a throw or one little thing can kind of derail a drive and kind of set us back. That’s stuff we have to take care of early in games and take care of.”
Five Players Miss Thursday’s Practice
The Eagles listed five players out on Thursday, including four due to illness: WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, RB Corey Clement, DE Vinny Curry, WR John Hightower. A fifth guy, safety Rudy Ford, missed the session because of a hamstring injury.
The team later clarified that Arcega-Whiteside, Clement, Curry — and practice-squad receiver Deontay Burnett — had all been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Arcega-Whiteside reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and Curry, Clement and Hightower had all been in close contact with the second-year receiver. Both Clement and Curry have reportedly tested negative, according to ESPN, and Hightower was deemed low risk.
Thursday Injury Report
“The Philadelphia Eagles received confirmation this morning that a player tested positive for COVID-19,” the team said in a statement Thursday. “The individual and close contacts who were identified through contact tracing are in self-isolation. We are following NFL-NFLPA intensive protocols and remain in communication with the league on this matter.”
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