Different day, same guy. You wouldn't know it by the way Carson Wentz addressed the media on Thursday that only a few nights prior he had thrown four touchdown passes in what was, it appears, his national welcome-to-stardom moment on Monday Night Football.
He was just Carson.
On to the next game, in this case Sunday against San Francisco. As quickly as Wentz processes what he sees on the football field and goes through his progressions, he's just as fast to move on to the next task. Wentz and his coaches look at the game film, see what they need to correct, and move on.
"I hone in on where we could have improved and just learn from it and keep going," Wentz said.
These are heady times for Wentz and the Eagles. The Tales of Carson Wentz are growing with every touchdown pass, every how-did-he-get-out-of-there? escape from the pocket, and, of course, with every Eagles victory. A world of Eagles fans is in love with a second-year quarterback who is on the rise from one week to the next.
"It's a special thing, and to watch it in real time from the sidelines and some of the plays that he makes, he's elevating the game, the guys around him, too," head coach Doug Pederson said. "That's what's fun to watch, that the guys want to play for people like that, for quarterbacks like that. Not only is he a leader on the field, he's a leader off the field as well. It's amazing to watch him. He's full of plays. He's full of amazement."
And, most important, Wentz is staying grounded with all of the hoopla and the hype around him.
"Carson is who he is," Pederson said. "He's so down to earth. He's humble. It's all about the team with him. He just wants to win each week."
On Sunday, Wentz starts a game without Jason Peters at left tackle for the first time. Second-year man Halapoulivaati Vaitai steps in as a starting tackle, full time for the remainder of the season. Vaitai played well replacing Peters in the second half the win over Washington on Monday night, and he'll be the one in focus from this point until the end of the year.
– and the coaches are saying yes.
Where does that happen? How does that happen with second-year quarterbacks?
"It's cool to have that relationship, that dynamic with Coach Reich, with Coach Pederson, that they respect my opinion when I bring them things like that," Wentz said. "I just love that relationship that we can just bring up those ideas."
Every part of this 6-1 start has been stunning and a collective effort, so the Eagles are very much in tune with following Wentz's lead. He is here to ball, every day, and to win every week. Wentz won two National Championships as a starter at North Dakota State. He understands what it takes to win it all, and he understands that all of the outside chatter is nothing more than a distraction.
He shuts it out. Has since Day 1. The kid is, he says, "always been wired that way. Just block out as much as I can. Just stay focused and can't get too high and can't get too low and just keep on grinding."
New day. Same Carson. Just the way he needs to be.
