By Brandon Simmons
Should Carson Wentz Go? But Where?
Sunday, it was reported that Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz wanted out if he was unable to regain his starting position. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Wentz was “not pleased” with how things have turned out within the organization recently. Whether this is true or not, all of this has come in the wake of the former first round pick getting benched in favor of the Eagles’ 2020 2nd round pick, QB Jalen Hurts, who has impressed coaches and fans with his play after 2 games. In Week 13, Hurts replaced Wentz in the 4th quarter of their loss to the Green Bay Packers. This led to Hurts getting the starting job in Week 14, in which the Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints. Sunday, Hurts was in the starting lineup once again, but it was in a losing effort. However, he had an impressive stat line that included throwing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Also, the fact that Wentz is due a ton of money in March, unless he gets cut before then, it could encourage this rumor to become a reality. So, the question remains where can Wentz go should he get cut?
The 2020 season is technically not over but some teams might be able to clear up a starting spot for Wentz going into next season. The New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars are in the race to nab Trevor Lawrence or possibly another QB talent in the draft; but if they fail to get one, they should consider picking up Wentz until they find their franchise signal caller. Other teams that come to mind have a starting QB that they could be parting ways with real soon. The Chicago Bears have been open over their concerns with QB Mitch Trubisky, despite his recent successes. The Dallas Cowboys will have to make some decisions when Dak Prescott returns from injury, if they decide to re-sign him to a contract, and not the franchise tag.
The way Hurts has been playing lately, it’s going to be tough to minimize his talent to allegedly keep Carson Wentz happy; much less keep him at all. Hurts has surpassed coming in as a Wildcat option; he has proven he can run this offense at a successful level. That’s going to be hard to keep on the bench while your team is getting by a division rival. Wentz has had one legit good season as a starting QB for Philly, and the rest have been subpar. He didn’t even finish his Super Bowl year because of injury, and when he did step into the playoffs last season against the Seattle Seahawks, ironically, he didn’t show up. Wentz has had multiple chances to show he can be the franchise QB, yet here we are again, with another opportunity for someone that is behind him, to show they can do a little bit better job than him. The thing that’s working for Wentz, is he is young enough to go somewhere new and rejuvenate his career.
Brady vs. the New England Patriots
When Tom Brady and the New England Patriots parted ways this past offseason, it sent shock waves but it also gave us the biggest “What If?” in sports. Would Brady be able to find success without Bill Belichick and the Patriots and vice versa. It’s safe to say that in 2020 that TB12 has won this round in grand fashion. The Patriots failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2008 and their offense looked terribly different without Brady under center. On the flipside, Brady has been dealing with some bumps in the road trying to learn his new offensive system as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers new QB. Still, he has led this team to a 9-5 record and on their way to a playoff berth for the first time since 2008.
Brady and the Patriots could have both had their days of glory apart from each other but there was one thing that separated them: adding weapons to help the QB. New England and Tampa Bay both signed former MVP’s to be their signal callers: the Buccaneers snatched Brady while the Patriots picked up Cam Newton. However, the slate of weapons that were available to each QB were overwhelmingly different. Brady had his selection of wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, then they added tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown. The Patriots made no moves in the skill position department, leaving Newton with wide receiver N’Keal Harry and tight end Ryan Izzo as well as the rest of the skill position players that were criticized as not good enough for Brady’s caliber. While Brady did get this group to the playoffs last year, it could not work for Newton, who was trying to adjust his strengths to this offense in addition to try and recover from COVID. Brady has mastered this offense for over 20 seasons compared to the 1 season that Newton has been apart of this team; some blunders are going to be expected.
Another thing that went in Brady’s favor was that, outside of learning the new system, he did not have much obstacles to deal with. His toughest tasks were worrying if the coach was throwing shade on him and if AB or Gronk would resemble any form of their former selves. Even though the Bucs suffered a couple of blowouts (both by the New Orleans Saints), they still handed them out (Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders). As for the Patriots, they had players opt out of the season for COVID reasons as well as have players actually catch it. They even had to adjust their whole offensive system to a QB who did not fit it prototypically.
The bottom line is Brady lucked out to going with a team that has granted him everything he needed for a championship pursuit, with very few issues. They brought in extra pieces, the defense is solid, and nobody has been affected by COVID. When you put it that way, it sounds like his success this year is being discounted more than credited, but that should not be the case at all. Brady still has the winning tenacity that pushes him to win, something that was on display Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons…again. That is also not to say the Patriots are not serious about winning. It’s the New England Patriots; they have been consistently winning for the past 20 years. But without Brady under center, teammates might not have as much confidence in their play as well as certain calls not going in the Pats’ direction.
Can the Browns Really Catch the Steelers for the NFC North?
While the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Giants, putting themselves in a position to go after the NFC North. Last week I wrote about timing and this is a perfect example. Steelers are on a 3 game losing streak while the Browns are rolling at the right time. Next week, the Browns will be facing the New York Jets which should count as an automatic W, while the Steelers take on the Indianapolis Colts. The Browns (10-4) are only a game behind the Steelers (11-3) for the division crown and this current schedule scenario, in addition to the Steelers continuous slide, is going to set up a season finale showdown between the two teams. That is when it will be answered if the Browns can win the division. It will be the biggest game of their season and required for them to respond big time.
Shout outs/Shut outs
Shout out to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant who caught his first touchdown in almost 3 years. The former Dallas Cowboy and New Orleans Saint was brought in to the Ravens practice squad earlier in the season. He was soon activated to the roster for a couple of games, but made headlines when he tested positive for COVID. It prompted him to say he would not return for the season but soon came back and now has a TD catch.
Shut out to Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for paying for his pregame antics. Juju has apparently been dancing on opponents’ field logos on road trips then posting them to Tik Tok and proceeded to do it against the Bengals Monday night. Well, he paid for those actions when Bengals safety Vonn Bell blew him up on a crossing route causing him to fumble the ball. Not only did Bell knock the Tik out of his Tok, but the Bengals handed the Steelers their 3rd straight loss.
Week 16 is bringing even more playoff drama and will probably add a few more division winners in the mix. There will be 4 games between the 25th and 26th, with half of them affecting the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings will visit the New Orleans Saints Christmas to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Arizona Cardinals will do the same when they host the San Francisco 49ers. As mentioned earlier, the Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting the Indianapolis Colts. If Pittsburgh wins, they clinch the NFC North. The Colts are no pushover and are trying to stay in the race for the AFC South themselves. But until then…I’ll holla.
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