Getty Media personality Dan Orlovsky called the Indianapolis Colts the perfect situation for Carson Wentz to change how he plays.
It makes no sense to continue rehashing what went wrong with the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Carson Wentz. Both the team and quarterback have moved on, and each hope to be in better situations this fall.
But the Colts and Wentz came up in conversation again with ESPN personality Dan Orlovsky appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on May 31.
Orlovsky adamantly expressed during his appearance that if Wentz was going to become a more consistent quarterback, it would have happened in Indianapolis.
“No, he’s not going to change that [his reckless play],” Orlovsky said in response to a question from McAfee. “If he’s going to change it, it would have been last year because it was the team to. It was the perfect situation to do it.
ALL the latest Colts news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Colts newsletter here!
Carson Wentz-Frank Reich Relationship
One of the biggest draws for the Colts acquiring Wentz last season was reuniting him with his former offensive coordinator.
Wentz played very well during his first two NFL seasons with Reich as his offensive coordinator. From 2016-17, Wentz led the Philadelphia Eagles to an 18-11 record with 49 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
He also made major improvements from his first year to his second season. His touchdown passes doubled while his interceptions were cut in half from 2016 to 2017. His yards per pass average also increased by 0.7 yards per attempt.
Reich left following the 2017 season, and Wentz was never the same. Although he suffered a major knee injury in December 2017, the loss of his coordinator was considered a bigger reason for his decline over his last three years with the Eagles.
But back under Reich last year, Wentz remained inconsistent. He was erratic from week to week but also quarter to quarter and even play to play.
“That’s just the player that he is,” Orlovsky said. “You’re going to ride highs like the Arizona game last year, and you’re going to ride lows like the last two weeks of the season. That’s just the player that he is.”
Orlovsky Partially Blames Colts’ Skilled Positions for Carson Wentz’s Inconsistencies in 2021
The Indianapolis fanbase is well aware of Wentz’s inconsistencies. He led the Colts to an 0-3 start and then sputtered down the stretch in losses against the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars.
In between, Wentz led Indianapolis to a 9-3 record.
While Orlovsky called the Colts “the perfect situation” for Wentz to change his play, he also said two other factors contributed to his lack of success in Indianapolis.
“I probably undervalued two things,” Orlovsky said. “One, the lack of skill position talent in Indy at the receiver position caught up to them a little bit. And then two, I guess he’s not great off the field in some situations, and that kind of impacted his play on the field.”
The question for Wentz, though, now becomes whether either of those two things change in Washington. NFL analyst Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus ranked the Commanders and Colts wide receiver groups both outside the Top 19 in his team wide receivers rankings last August, and that was before Michael Pittman Jr. emerged with his first 1,000-yard season in 2021 for the Colts.
The Commanders don’t have a significantly better receiving core than Indianapolis. Furthermore, although Washington running back Antonio Gibson is talented, Wentz will be playing without Jonathan Taylor, who led the NFL in rushing last season.
With that in mind, it’s more than understandable not to expect Wentz’s playing style to change much in Washington.
Comments
NFL Analyst Says Colts Were ‘Perfect Situation’ For Carson Wentz to Change