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juarezesdeporte · 1 year ago

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Miners Rally from 14 Down, as Buzz Beats Bearkats 37-34 on FG in Final Seconds

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Freshman kicker Buzz Flabiano hit a 32-yard field goal with three seconds left as UTEP rallied back from 14 points down to defeat Sam Houston 37-34 on Wednesday night in Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.

“It was an exciting game for us to keep battling and make the kind of plays we did,” UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. “And then to come from behind to take the lead and all of a sudden, we turn the ball over and let [Sam Houston] back into the game. But then responded with a stop and then the score.”

Cade McConnell completed a 37-yard pass to Jeremiah Ballard to the SH 19 to set up Flabiano’s career-best third field goal with just under minute remaining.

McConnell made his third consecutive start, throwing for 206 yards including a 25-yard score to Kelly Akharaiyi to tie the game at 27 early in the fourth quarter. Akharaiyi finished with 126 yards on six receptions. Backup QB Kevin Hurley added a one-yard score that gave the Miners a 34-27 lead early in the fourth.

The Miners (3-6, 2-3 Conference USA) kept their bowl hopes alive after gaining 222 yards on the ground led by Deion Hankins’s game-high 117 yards with a touchdown. Hankins hit back-to-back 100-yard performances for the first time in his career after going for 120 last week.

The last time UTEP rallied from 14 points down on the road came at UTSA on Oct. 22, 2016 when the Miners won 52-48 in quadruple overtime. The Miners also won consecutive road games in the same season for the first time since posting three straight road victories in 2004.

“We celebrated everyone’s efforts that they gave, obviously to come back on the road like that,” Dimel said. “We celebrated everyone who made big plays and it ended with the freshman kicker hitting some big kicks tonight. Cade [McConnell] had a good game and did some good things for a guy with limited experience. The second-half adjustments by the defense were tremendous and was really good on third-down plays down the stretch which was huge for us. And then JB (Jeremiah Ballard) made a huge catch at the end there.”

The Bearkats (0-8, 0-5 CUSA) stayed winless on the season after taking a 27-13 lead. SH gained 354 yards, but most of that came during the first half. The UTEP defense, after allowing 7-for-11 on third down conversions, allowed only 1-of-5 during the fourth quarter. UTEP outscored the Bearkats 17-7 in the fourth, and 24-7 overall.

Tyrice Knight, after a slow start in the first half, led the Miners with 12 tackles, while Maurice Westmoreland recorded a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Westmoreland now has a team-best 5.5 sacks on the season. Josiah Allen recorded six tackles, while AJ Odums chipped in with a career-high five stops.

Sam Houston, on its second possession of the game, took a 7-0 lead on a John Gentry 28-yard touchdown run. The Bearkats drove the ball 65 yards on a 11 plays.

UTEP answered after Sam Houston kicked the ball out of bounds, giving the Miners the ball at the 35. Torrance Burgess Jr. got the Miners within striking distance of the end zone when he took a 17-yard rush on a second-and-10 to the SH 24. The Miners then found themselves on a fourth-and-1 situation in which Hankins got the first down on a five-yard gain to the SH 10. Hankins followed with an eight-yard rush to the two-yard line and capped the 65-yard, 13-play drive with a two-yard rushing score to open the second quarter.

For Hankins, it was his third rushing touchdown of the season and 21st in his career. He now ranks tied seventh on the program’s all-time touchdowns rushing list with Donald Buckram and Owen Price.

The Bearkats then took a 14-7 advantage on the ensuing possession. SH drove the ball 75 yards on 12 plays (5:02) that was capped by another Gentry TD, this time on an 18-yard reception from Keegan Shoemaker with just over nine minutes left in the second half. Initially Colby Sessums hit a 44-yard field goal, but Logologo Va’a ran into the kicker. The penalty continued the drive that led to the eventual touchdown.

UTEP got within four points on a Buzz Flabiano 23-yard field goal at the 2:45 mark. The Miners used an 83-yard, 13-play drive that took 7:07 off the clock that resulted in Flabiano’s first field goal of the night.

The Bearkats, following a bad kickoff by Flabiano out of bounds, drove 65 yards on eight plays that resulted in a Malik Phillips six-yard touchdown reception from Shoemaker, his second TD toss of the half.

The Miners, down 21-10 right before the half, went 49 yards on five plays that resulted in a career-long 43-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Emari White played a major role on the drive, hauling in a career-long 32-yard reception to the SH 43 with 44 seconds remaining. White then followed with his first career rush, a play that went for 17 yards to the SH 26.

Sam Houston led UTEP 21-13 going into the locker room.

UTEP received the ball to start the second half, but went three and out, losing three yards on the drive.

SH followed with a 22-yard field by Sessums with 10:45 left in the third to make the score 24-13. The Bearkats, after an Emon Allen 21-yard punt return, led to another Sessums’s field goal, a 31-yarder to give SH a 27-13 lead with 6:14 left in the third.

The Miners would go on the score the next 14 points to tie the game at 27-27.

UTEP answered with a 68-yard, 10-play drive that was capped by a Mike Franklin three-yard touchdown run to make the count 27-20 with 1:07 left in the third. Hankins set up the score with a 28-yard run to the SH 3. Earlier in the drive, the Miners converted a fourth-and-3 with a McConnell 13-yard pass to Akharaiyi to the SH 36.

The UTEP defense forced a Sam Houston punt after allowing only 21 yards on five plays. McConnell then engineered an 80-yard, five play drive that resulted in a 25-yard Akharaiyi touchdown to tie the game with 11:25 left in the contest.

Following that excitement, James Neal intercepted his first career pass and returned it to the SH 1 that led to backup QB Kevin Hurley’s one-yard touchdown to give the Miners a 34-27 lead with 9:57 left in the contest.

McConnell recorded his first turnover of the season, an interception at the midway point of the fourth at the UTEP 36. The turnover led to Sam Houston tying the game at 34 with 6:02 left. Noah Smith ran four yards to the end zone.

Flabiano went a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal makes, a career best for the redshirt freshman. Burgess Jr. tallied a team-high 134 all-purpose yards (52 rush, 5 rec., 71 KR). Ballard added 48 yards on three catches.

Gentry led SH with 71 yards and scored multiple touchdowns for the first time in his career. Shoemaker threw for 202 yards (22-39) and two scores, while Smith tallied 67 yards on seven receptions. Da’Marcus Crosby led the defense with 10 tackles.

UP NEXT

UTEP will return to the 915 to host WKU in the 91st Homecoming Game on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Miners and Hilltoppers are set for a 7 p.m. kick in the Sun Bowl Stadium. It’s the first meeting since the 2018 season, while it’s the first trip back to El Paso for WKU since the 2017 campaign.

(Drew Bonney)

(Photo: UTEP Athletics Department)

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2fatguysff · 2 years ago

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Colts new QB

The more I dig into the Colts offseason, the more I think there are two options here. Either the Colts are going to end up with the 4th best QB in the NFL Draft, or they are gearing up to try and take a big swing at Lamar Jackson. I don't think there is any in between here. Ballard has been spending the offseason clearing this years cap number. This usually indicates a big offer to someone. The only person still available in free agency that could justify such a move is Lamar Jackson. Getting Lamar is the kind of move that he needs to make in order to save his job. If the offer that the Colts present doesn't contain enough of a poison pill, the Ravens will match the offer sheet, and the Colts will be forced to draft a QB. Ballard is delusional if he thinks that he will get his choice of guy at 4. QB's are going 1 and 2, and everyone knows the Colts need a QB, and if there is a team that needs a QB, they will jump the Colts and trade to 3 to ensure that they get their guy. The Colts standing firm at 4 ensures that they will get the 4th best QB. If Ballard had guts, he would make the move to 3 to ensure that he gets his guy. That is...unless his guy has been Will Levis all along.

#nfl draft #nfl free agency #nfl football #nfl

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gadgetsforusesblog · 2 years ago

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Click to read For Colts to move up the ranks, 'must be a man worth it'

Stephen HolderESPN6:35 p.m. ETRead for 3 minutes Colts GM: A QB has to be worth moving up and getting Colts general manager Chris Ballard discusses the possibility of the Colts trading to field a quarterback. INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts do little to deny the widely speculated notion that they are considering trading in the NFL version. When asked at the Scouting combine on Wednesday about the idea…

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officialnflbuddy · 5 years ago

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Indianapolis Colts 2020 Mock Draft Monday: Feb. 3

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Selection: Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina

Date of mock draft: Feb. 1 (link)

Analysis: “All you really need to know about the 2020 NFL Draft for the Indianapolis Colts is this quote from GM Chris Ballard, in a recent interview on The Dan Dakich Show on 107.5 The Fan, and later printed on Colts.com. The Colts’ GM stated, “I’ll always – I’ll preach this to the day I’m out of this game…

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#ballard #colts #draft #Feb #indianapolis #Mock #monday #QB

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reportwire · 3 years ago

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Jim Irsay: 'It was very obvious' Colts needed upgrade at QB

Jim Irsay: ‘It was very obvious’ Colts needed upgrade at QB

At this point, it seems few high-ranking members of the Indianapolis Colts will fondly remember the single season Carson Wentz spent as the club’s starting quarterback. Owner Jim Irsay, head coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard all elected against verbally committing to Wentz as their QB1 earlier this winter before the Colts shipped the 29-year-old to the Washington Commanders.…

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tkmedia · 3 years ago

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With Carson Wentz injured, it's fair to question Colts' QB depth

6:00 AM ETINDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard knew this would be a possibility. So did coach Frank Reich. Owner Jim Irsay has numerous years of experience dealing with it, including in 2015 with Andrew Luck -- who was the No. 1 draft pick three years prior.And now the Colts are dealing with it yet again: A starting quarterback who has a resume that includes way too many years of injuries.That's what was staring the Colts in their collective face when they acquired Carson Wentz from the Philadelphia Eagles last winter.Two complete 16-game seasons in five years in the NFL. That’s it for Wentz.What did the Colts do despite having that information?They didn’t go out and bring in a veteran quarterback with any experience to back Wentz up.And guess what else?Wentz is not dealing with one sprained ankle, he’s dealing with two sprained ankles that knocked him out of Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and leaves his status for Sunday’s road game against the Tennessee Titans (at Nissan Stadium, 1 p.m. ET, CBS) very murky.The Colts are staring at 0-3 for only the third time since 1998. They could be banking on second-year quarterback Jacob Eason to keep that from happening if Wentz is out Sunday.Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz was forced out of Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a pair of sprained ankles. His status for Week 3 is uncertain. Michael Hickey/Getty ImagesHe’s the same Jacob Eason who struggled to distinguish himself from rookie Sam Ehlinger to start while Wentz was dealing with another injury -- left foot surgery -- in training camp.Eason was slow with his progressions and threw every pass with the same fierce velocity of New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. He’s also the same Jacob Eason who locked in on tight end Jack Doyle, making it easy for Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey to intercept him in the fourth quarter Sunday.• Inside Aaron Rodgers' MNF legacy • St. Brown bros. gather family for MNF • Tannehill-Jones' chemistry heats up • Who spells Fletcher Cox for Eagles? • Tyrod Taylor yields starting role again • How Lamar Jackson made his loudest statement So if Eason does start this weekend and the Colts struggle to win games because of their quarterback play, Irsay, Ballard and Reich will have to look in the mirror because they deserve the brunt of the blame for not addressing quarterback depth in the offseason.“I thought he made really good strides," Ballard said of Eason before the start of the regular season. "Last year, not being able to get him any preseason work and, really, he was the third-string quarterback, so minimal reps all year. But what he got was a Ph.D watching Philip Rivers play the game."You can sit in the meeting room and you can sit in practice, but playing in a game is a whole different level. ... That’s going to be his biggest challenge going forward is to continue to play the game, the game has to get a little slower, and he’s got to play faster."It won’t matter who is playing quarterback for the Colts if the offensive line can’t do a better job protecting up front. The group has lacked continuity.Quenton Nelson missed three weeks of training camp because of foot surgery. He's also currently dealing with a bad back. Center Ryan Kelly missed a couple of weeks with a left elbow injury. Left tackle Eric Fisher made his debut against the Rams, returning from an Achilles tear with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. Right tackle Braden Smith is currently out with a foot injury.The Colts can’t afford to give up six sacks and 21 quarterback hits the way they have the past two games. Those numbers would likely be higher if Wentz wasn't able to avoid the rush by scrambling.“There’s no 'hide' in this league,” Kelly said. “We gotta stop it. There have been too many shots on him.”“His toughness, shoot, all the times he’s gotten hit and all the times he’s gotten up,” Nelson added. “It’s on a different level. He hasn’t complained once.”A struggling offensive line, a second-year quarterback who got his first NFL snaps on the final two drives of the game on Sunday, and the next three games on the road against teams that won at least 10 games last season in the Titans, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens.Good luck getting by with an inexperienced quarterback if Wentz is out.“He’s had a lot of reps during training camp, and he’s worked hard in just the way he’s interacted in the meetings and the reps that he’s gotten out in practice," Reich said about Eason. "You can see the growth. I can see the growth these last two weeks as he was running scout team. I can see the growth from the way he’s run scout team this year compared to the way he ran it last year. He’s making the right steps.” Read the full article

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kenttsterling · 2 years ago

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Hendon Hooker a ploy #Colts Ballard can’t afford! #NCAA Tourney shows how close #iubb is! #Pacers host Luka Doncic tonight!

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#Chris Ballard #Colts QB draft #Hendon Hooker Colts #Hoosiers Basketball #Pacers Mavs #Youtube

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juarezesdeporte · 1 year ago

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Miners win first ever game in Florida, defeats FIU, 27-14

MIAMI, Fla. – UTEP jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked as the Miners (2-5, 1-2 Conference USA) defeated FIU (3-4, 0-4 CUSA) 27-14 for their first conference win of the season in FIU Football Stadium on Wednesday night on ESPN2

Cade McConnell made his first career start under center, throwing for 262 yards on 11-of-17 passing and two touchdown passes.

But Kelly Akharaiyi dazzled the night with a career-high 223 yards on eight receptions and was on the other end of those McConnell TD tosses. Akharaiyi’s 200+ receiving game was the first for a Miner since 2012, while his total is tied for fifth most in school history.

Praise Amaewhule also highlighted the night by breaking the school’s all-time sack record during the third quarter when he brought down FIU QB Keyone Jenkins. Amaewhule added a second sack on the night while also forcing a fumble late in the game to essentially seal the victory.

Overall, the UTEP defense tallied a season-high 6.0 sacks led by Maurice Westmoreland’s career-high 2.5 QB takedowns. Westmoreland also added a career-high six tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.

The defense also held the Panthers to 363 yards and allowing only 2-of-11 on third-down conversions. The “D” forced two turnovers, while the offense played mistake-free football.

“We did the things we need to do right and we didn’t make the big mistakes, we made [FIU] make the big mistakes,” UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel said. “We jumped on them early and did a good job with that and held on to the football. We didn’t have any unforced errors to give opportunities to come back. Of course, the defense played so well and so many guys did some really good things.”

Tyler Williams led the way with nine tackles, while James Neal was credited with eight stops and recovered a fumble late in the game.

UTEP registered 441 yards of total offense, as the rushing attack gained 139 led by Torrance Burgess Jr.’s 86 yards on 20 carries. Deion Hankins rushed for 62 yards.

UTEP got on the board first with aggressive play from the offensive line. The Miners took the opening possession 75 yards on 10 plays that resulted in the Hankins one-yard touchdown rush that took six minutes off the clock. Hankins rushed for 37 yards on seven carries (5.3 avg.) and McConnell went 2-of-2 for 22 yards on the drive.

UTEP would really turn it up scoring two more touchdowns in a span of 58 seconds to jump out to a 21-0 lead.

The Miners increased the lead to 14-0 after the defense forced FIU to punt. UTEP only needed 10 seconds to get on the board for a second time as Akharaiyi reeled in a career-long 80-yard touchdown reception from McConnell.

Following another defensive stop by the Orange and Blue, UTEP used only three plays on its third possession that resulted in an Akharaiyi 23-yard touchdown reception. Jeremiah Ballard’s career-long 50-yard reception to the FIU 22 from McConnell to set up score.

Akharaiyi tallied 155 receiving yards on five receptions in the first half of action.

Following the fireworks show in the first, the Miners were forced to punt on back-to-back possessions with the latter being a three-and-out. The Panthers took advantage and took a drive 94 yards on nine plays that was capped by a Kejon Owens 11-yard touchdown. He was held up by Tyrice Knight before breaking away for the score to make the count 21-7 with just over six minutes left in the half.

Buzz Flabiano put the Miners up 17 points (24-7) after hitting a career-long 37-yard field with 1:03 left in the half. The Miners drove the ball 54 yards on 10 plays. All 10 plays were rushing attempts led by Burgess Jr. runs of 29 yards and 14 yards. He accounted for 51 yards on seven carries.

FIU opened the second half a drove the ball 84 yards on eight plays capped by Jenkins one-yard scoring run to get within 10 points (24-14) with 10:28 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers caught the Miners off guard with a successful onside kick following the touchdown and took possession at the FIU 48. But the UTEP defense held their position and stopped FIU after going for it on a four-and-6 play in which Knight bottled up the runner, coming up three yards short of the first down.

Torey Richardson came up with a big interception – his first of 2023 and second career pick – that gave the Miners possession at their own 25. The drive was highlighted by a McConnell to Akharaiyi deep ball that was batted around before coming down with a 44-yard reception to the FIU 16. The drive ended with a Flabiano 20-yard field goal make to put the Miners up 27-14 with just over five minutes left in the game.

UTEP has won its last two games in the eastern time zone after winning at Charlotte last season.

UP NEXT

UTEP will return to the 915 and host longtime rival and new CUSA foe NM State on Wednesday, Oct. 18. UTEP and NM State will face each other as conference opponents for the first time in 62 years when both programs were members of the Border Conference. The Miners and Aggies will kick off at 7 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on ESPN2

(Drew Bonney)

(Photo courtesy of UTEP Athletic Department)

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news247planet · 2 years ago

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#Colts' #Danger #NFL #AmericanFootball Colts in peril of division rival leaping over them to draft a QB https://news247planet.com/?p=167212

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junker-town · 4 years ago

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Carson Wentz has become the NFL’s biggest gamble

Carson Wentz is broken. Can he be fixed?

While much of the football world waits to see if the Texans will trade Deshaun Watson, the Eagles are still desperately trying to find a home for Carson Wentz. The Eagles are ready to go in a different direction at quarterback and need to get rid of Wentz’s $128M contract, but they also want to get value for a player who was an MVP candidate only a couple years ago. It’s a buyer’s market on the quarterback, but who wants to buy?

What began with a flurry of interest from a number of teams has now now died down. The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts appear to the be the last teams willing to at least listen to Philadelphia’s current demands long after the rest of the league submitted offers. While we don’t know precisely what the Eagles want, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the team wants “strong compensation.” It seems like Philadelphia would want a first round pick and more for Wentz.

Could that happen? Perhaps. Should it happen? Absolutely not, unless a general manager wants to risk his reputation on a fundamentally broken player who needs to be rebuilt. If you bet wrong on Wentz your career might well be over. No general manager can conceivably take this risk, absorb Wentz’s contract, offer high draft compensation, get it wrong, and still keep their job.

If you get it right though, if you fix the problems and bring back the player who powered the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl before Nick Foles finished the job — well, it might be the biggest bargain at the position since the Titans landed Ryan Tannehill for peanuts. That’s an enticing gamble for a lot of GMs, especially Bears GM Ryan Pace who seems to have fallen in love with the idea of trading for Wentz with his job on the line. Colts GM Chris Ballard is also looking to keep a promising team on an upward trajectory after Philip Rivers’ retirement.

What went wrong with Wentz last year? Can he be fixed? These are the things a franchise needs to weigh before trading for the QB.

Carson Wentz reportedly has an ego problem

One of the more mystifying pieces of information to come out of Philadelphia during the offseason, and subsequent firing of Doug Pederson, was that he and Wentz no longer had a good relationship. From the outside looking in Wentz seemed to have a quiet, mild-mannered demeanor about him, but behind closed doors this was anything but the case.

In a ranging breakdown of Wentz’s regression, the Philadelphia Inquirer painted the picture of a player who had greatness thrust upon him by those around him, and fell for the hype a little too much.

“Every great quarterback wants to be coached and they want to be coached hard and by the best, and it doesn’t seem like [Wentz] wants that,” one source said. “It’s kind of like whoever’s coaching him is working for him. But it can’t be that way.”

Here was a player who at 25-years-old was viewed as the catalyst in a turnaround for Philadelphia football the city had been craving for decades. Nick Foles got all the glory in the end for beating the Patriots, but inside the organization there was no mistaking who the Eagles viewed as “their guy” for the future. Foles was traded away to the Jaguars, Wentz would resume the mantle, and the assumption, at least at first, is that the team would pick up where it left off.

Obviously that didn’t happen. The team began to lose, and while it was apparent that Wentz had the relentless, Type-A personality teams look for in quarterbacks to lead them to wins, he didn’t display the same willingness to put losses on his shoulders too, even when they were his fault.

“He doesn’t understand that he lost games for us,” a veteran player said. “He will never admit that and that’s a problem because he can’t get it corrected.”

Not only did Wentz not accept blame, he wasn’t held accountable for making excuses for poor performance. It’s noted that Wentz would routinely be shown mistakes he made in the film room, only to shift blame to others and not accept responsibility for his own failings. To make matters worse, Press Taylor, who was the Eagles quarterback coach at the time (and only a few years Wentz’s senior) didn’t hold him accountable either, allowing the excuses to flow without correction.

“For instance, there would be a play when he didn’t throw to an open receiver. The read was drawn up as designed, the coverage played out as expected, and he would be asked why he didn’t pull the trigger.

And Wentz would say the look wasn’t there, or he would overemphasize the pass rush, and when it was suggested the play be run again in practice as to get it right, he would object.”

Wentz became conditioned to believe he was perfect, because there were a lot of voices in the organization telling him he was perfect. GM Howie Roseman reportedly has a giant Fathead of Wentz on the wall of his office, a shrine to the draft pick he thought he hit a home run on. It’s one thing to be thankful you took a player you believe to be the future, another entirely to venerate them for all to see. On some level you can’t blame Wentz for thinking he was the greatest thing to grace The Linc, because he was routinely told he was.

There’s major on-field problems too.

There’s a consistent theme to Wentz’s collapse where nothing is entirely his fault, not really. It seems hilarious to talk about him not accepting blame, then not foisting all the blame on him — but this is a nuanced situation.

The ego, the unwillingness to be coached, shifting blame. Those are symptoms of an ego run amok. Failing to deal with pass pressure on the field, making ill-advised throws, not standing tall in the pocket, well, that’s what happens when you’re sacked as often as Wentz was.

Protection became a major issue for Philadelphia. This was a unit that was never spotless, allowing 36 sacks during the 2017 Super Bowl season (16th in the league), but middling was good enough when paired with Wentz’s playmaking ability.

Injuries wrecked the left side of the line in particular, and without his blind side protected Wentz went down, a lot. Patchwork jobs on the line trying to keep Wentz up had the opposite effect, and in 2020 the team led the league in sacks allowed with a stunning 65.

The inability to protect Wentz drastically altered his play style, and suddenly the once-steady hand that led the Eagles to the Super Bowl was replaced with a completely different player. Losing faith in his protection, you could see Wentz’s eyes drop off his progression and check down the pass rush — whether it was there or not. It was an all-consuming concern for the quarterback, and often you could see him check the rush even when protection was adequate. Then he would need to return his eyes to the second level, relocate his receivers, pausing just enough for the coverage to get there if he forced an ill-advised throw. Often he would simply miss a lurking safety or dropping linebacker.

It’s not so much that Wentz was afraid to take a hit, and more that he played like he had no faith in the teammates around him. At least those responsible for pass blocking. I believe this is the true heart of his problems in 2020, and would also explain why he wouldn’t honestly answer questions about him missing reads. Nobody wants to be the guy who throws his teammates under the bus, or lose the respect of those around him. The issue is he didn’t learn how to put trust back into these players, even when they earned it.

By Week 12 the complete collapse of Wentz as an elite quarterback was seen on Monday Night Football. Wentz may have had lower points in his season than a 23-17 loss to Seattle, but after throwing 45 times for a paltry 215 yards, missing open receivers and being sacked six times it was clear he was done. The next week the Eagles made the switch to Hurts mid-game, and so ended Wentz’s season.

Can you rebuild all this?

This is a situation where we’re not just talking about a small hitch in Wentz’s game, or a minor issue that can be ironed out, but a player who needs to be broken down and built back up, both physically and mentally.

Wentz’s newfound propensity to check the pass rush needs to be erased, and he needs to be willing to trust the offensive line. That’s a difficult prospect considering this would be a new team, with a new set of players to mesh with. The saving grace, however, is that both Chicago, and Indianapolis, who are rumored to be the front-runners for Wentz, have fairly solid offensive lines. The Colts allowed 21 sacks this season, partially attributable to Philip Rivers’ unnatural release speed and feel for pressure, but also a testament to their talent. The Bears allowed 36 this season, markedly worse, but the unit seemed to improve as a whole as the season went on.

Either landing spot would give Wentz far more to work with when it comes to protection than he received from Philadelphia, but getting him to a point where he trusts standing in the pocket knowing these guys have his back, that might be another story.

This is a mechanical concern, but one I think is fixable. It’s not like Wentz is inherently scared of contact the way you saw David Carr or Jimmy Clausen become gun shy. It can be corrected with time and bonding.

The far greater concern as I see it is the ego issues. Every player should believe they’re the best, because it’s the fuel athletes need to succeed — but when that steps over the line to believing there’s nothing to learn, or everything is someone else’s fault, that’s far worse. I don’t know how a coaching staff can have a realistic expectation they can “fix” Wentz when there’s evidence from inside his current organization that he doesn’t think anything needs to be fixed. That lack of humility will not be coddled by coaches who didn’t draft him, or a general manager worshipping the ground he walks on.

This leaves us with a giant conundrum. Carson Wentz has been statistically brilliant for three solid years of his career, and a dumpster fire in 2020. Conventional wisdom would say this means last season was an outlier, and there’s something to work with — but it carries a colossal risk. Wentz is on a contract that will make him the 4th highest paid quarterback in the league in 2021, with a cap hit of $34.7M. He will make more than Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson. Framed this way the idea of taking a flier on a player who needs to be fixed is absolutely ridiculous, but the allure and the promise Wentz can return to form will be far too great for someone to pass up.

Whether that’s the Bears, the Colts, or someone else, they will be going all in on a hand without even knowing the cards they’re holding. That should absolutely terrify any fan of a team interested in making a serious run at Wentz.

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