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Carson Wentz vs. Jared Goff: Choice already seems obviou[
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John McMullen
September 21, 2016
There are a lot of scouts in and around the NFL looking over their shoulders right now trying to explain how in the world they possibly thought Jared Goff was a better pro prospect than Carson Wentz.
As the Wentz Wagon rolls on in Philadelphia, fueled by shout-outs from the President of the United States and jersey sales that would make LeBron James blush, Goff, who was taken No. 1 overall back in April, one spot ahead of Wentz, gets used to being the backup to Case Keenum — a reality that, in truth, is not even deserved because the best QB in Los Angeles right now may actually be Sean Mannion.
Some who advocated taking Goff over Wentz, like Cleveland Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, who traded out of the second spot because he didn’t think Wenta was a top-20 level pro QB, can correctly point out that making declarative statements after a sample size of two games is unfair to everyone.
Those looking for cover also point out that his brilliant start was accomplished against perhaps the two worst teams in all of professional football, the Browns and the Chicago Bears.
More so, the NFL has a way of humbling even the most talented players at times, something that figures to at least start for Wentz in Week 3 when the competition turns from bottom five into top five with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But, the story of Wentz has nothing to do with the raw numbers or the fact that he is the first rookie in NFL history to win his first two starts while not turning the football over, it has to do with the way he handles the position and its responsibilities in an era where most signal callers arrive in the league woefully unprepared to handle what is about to be thrown at them.
Goff, of course, fits into that category after spending his career in Berkeley running Sonny Dykes’ Bear-Raid Offense.
The skill set is most certainly there for Goff, but some of the simplest tasks a quarterback must accomplish in the NFL are foreign to him — like calling plays in the huddle and the terminology of doing that, as well as taking the snap under center.
As for Wentz, he grew up in the pro-style system that North Dakota State runs and is already comfortable with autonomy at the line of scrimmage, whether it’s overlooking the defense and killing from one option to another or handling the protection calls in concert with his veteran center Jason Kelce.
As far as full-fledged audibles, Wentz has taken to them like a duck to water while Goff is still trying to figure out why in the world it’s called Spider 2 Y Banana in the first place.
In other words, Wentz is excelling in advanced calculus class while Goff is still working on his times tables.
So how in the world did a bunch of smart football people believe Goff was a better option than Wentz?
Some of it has to do with circumstance as Wentz is surrounded by better coaching that includes a triumvirate of ex-quarterbacks in Philadelphia in head coach Doug Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and QB coach John DeFilippo.
Goff, meanwhile, is mentored by a defensive-minded head coach (Jeff Fisher), a first-time coordinator in Rob Boras, whose speciality was tight ends and the offensive line, and a QB coach, Chris Weinke, who is so young he is more of a peer and just two years into the coaching profession.
If you are being completely truthful, however, the argument came down to level of competition for many despite the fact that quarterbacks like Doug Williams, Phil Simms, Steve McNair and Joe Flacco have already proven prospects from the FCS level can succeed on the biggest stage.
After all, if the kid with the high-end skill set from a Pac-12 school fails, you chalk it up to the draft being an inexact science. However, if the prospect taken at No. 2 overall from North Dakota State falls flat and you pounded the table for him, well then your employment is going to be called into question.
Too many used that as a crutch for the decision, obviously.
Politics are part of life and they can cause people to make some specious decisions. In a vacuum, nothing pointed to Goff over Wentz and you are now seeing that play out in real time.
