The Philadelphia Eagles fan base might be one of the thirstiest fan bases in all of football. Not only are they starving for their first ever Superbowl victory, they’ve also been starving for a franchise quarterback ever since Donovan McNabb left (who they hated when he was there).
Well, back in April the Eagles and Cleveland Browns made a blockbuster trade sending Cleveland’s number two overall pick to Philly for two first round picks, one second round pick, one third round pick, and one fourth round pick. This trade is what started the unbridled enthusiasm in the City of Brotherly Love. With that second overall pick the Eagles took quarterback Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State, a guy who started for just two seasons (and was injured for a good portion of one of those) at an FCS school and threw just over 200 passes in the entire last season of his college career. The thirst for the elusive franchise quarterback in Philly was real.
Going through training camp Wentz was the third quarterback on the depth chart and was injured for the majority of it. The Eagles’ starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, was then traded and Wentz somehow leap frogged into the starting role. In the season opener against the Browns, Wentz had a solid game and made the throws he needed to make. Eagles fans were smitten. From just one game. Local newspapers and websites talked about how well Wentz did and how he is bound for an illustrious career in the NFL. From one game. Social media in Philadelphia was ablaze with how great Wentz was and that they won the trade already.
Calm down everyone, he had a solid performance against possibly the worst roster in the NFL (in Philadelphia mind you). The Browns’ starting quarterbacks were ranked last in the preseason according to Pro Football Focus. Their running backs were ranked 20th, receiving corps was ranked 30th, offensive line was ranked 21st, their front seven was 32nd, and their secondary was 25th. Let’s not get too excited about beating up on a team like that.
Of course, with the Chicago Bears coming up next the thirsty Eagles franchise will likely take those results out of context once again. With the 31st ranked preseason secondary, the Bears aren’t likely to stop any offense anytime soon. But don’t tell that to Eagles fans, because if you asked them they would tell you that the Bears defense is formidable with a lot of young stars on it. Don’t let them fool you. Proceed with caution.
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