Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz.
I could write his name 500 times in a row, 100 times for each touchdown pass he’s thrown so far this season, and it would probably be one of the best articles some of you have ever read. Maybe that reflects on my writing style, but I think it’s more proof that this city is completely infatuated with its new quarterback.
It was love at first sight for Eagles fans, as Wentz took the Eagles from an afterthought entering the season to heavy NFC East favorites in just three weeks. Just look at the latest Vegas odds for the Super Bowl: 20-1 odds is incredible, five times higher than it was at the start of the 2016 season.
It hasn’t just been Wentz-mania that has guided the Eagles to the franchise’s ninth 3-0 start. It’s been everybody on the team, from head coach Doug Pederson to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to all 53 players out on the field. And the man responsible for making all of this happen?
Well, that’s general manager Howie Roseman, and he’s been largely flying under the radar. And honestly, he’s probably perfectly fine with that.
We all know what happened with Roseman and Chip Kelly, a power struggle that saw Kelly granted full control of the team with Roseman banished, literally, to the other side of the NovaCare Complex to serve as a defactor salary cap consultant and equipment manager.
The end of the Kelly era still gives me nightmares, but it’s all in the past now as Kelly is off to San Francisco while Roseman has been reinstated to his original position as the team’s general manager.
The work Roseman has done in the last few months is nothing short of incredible. The city’s infatuation right now is with Carson Wentz, and Roseman deserves credit for making that happen. Don’t forget that the Eagles originally had the 13th pick in the 2016 draft before Roseman traded linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Byron Maxwell to the Miami Dolphins to move up to the 8th pick. Alonso has been playing well, but Maxwell has already been benched by the Dolphins.
Roseman then constructed a second trade to move from pick 8 to pick 2, where he acquired the rights to draft North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. It was the Browns who chose to accumulate draft picks, while it was the Eagles who chose to acquire a franchise quarterback.
And don’t forget the unfortunate Teddy Bridgewater injury. Well, unfortunate for the Vikings, but fortunate for the Eagles, as Roseman was able to trade Bradford to Minnesota for a first and fourth round pick, an insane value for a mediocre, injury-prone quarterback who has never even led a team to a winning record. In the end, Roseman was able to recoup almost all of the draft picks from the original Wentz trade, and that’s pretty incredible to think about.
Roseman’s other big move was the hiring of head coach Doug Pederson, an Andy Reid clone who has exceeded likely even his own expectations through the first three games of the season. Pederson has proven to be an aggressive and creative coach who really hasn’t made a single mistake during his three regular season and four preseason games (all Eagles wins).
Pederson’s staff, from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to offensive coordinator Frank Reich to quarterbacks coach John DeFillipo, have been phenomenal through the season’s first three games. They’ve continually put Wentz in position to make plays and win football games, unlike situations across the league in Indianapolis, Green Bay and Los Angeles.
Even Pederson and Wentz would likely admit that they have exceeded even their wildest expectations for the first three games of their 2016 season. The Eagles have been arguably one of the two or three most dominant teams through the first month of the season, winning all three games by at least double-digit points. Wentz has been the talk of the city, perhaps of the entire nation, while Pederson is already drawing early mention in the Coach of the Year discussion.
Roseman has been flying under the radar and there’s no doubt that he’s perfectly fine with that. The Eagles’ new (old) general manager has improved dramatically from his early days as the man who orchestrated the infamous Dream Team season, constructing what looks to be a reincarnation of the Andy Reid era – just the way the Eagles wanted it when they hired Pederson and Schwartz and drafted Wentz second overall.
If the Eagles make the playoffs, and based on their 3-0 start that’s a pretty good likelihood, Roseman has to be mentioned as one of the favorites for Executive of the Year. Even better, he may have set the team up to compete for multiple postseason berths over the next decade-plus.
