Make Up or Break Up: Carson Wentz (Fantasy Football)

Dear Carson,

I won’t insult you by trying to sugarcoat the situation. You are coming off of the worst season of your NFL career. It pains me to say it, but there it is. Your 15 interceptions this past season were a new low (or high, depending on how one looks at it) and you threw those over only 12 games. That means 3.4% of your passes were interceptions, which was another career worst. Even your rookie year wasn’t that bad with 14 thrown over 16 games.

It’s not just the interceptions, either. In these past twelve games, you were sacked a whopping 50 times. FIFTY. Five Zero. That led the league, even ahead of Deshaun Watson, and you lost 326 yards because of them, also a league-leading stat and not one to be proud of.

I guess it’s no surprise that you were benched in favor of the rookie Jalen Hurts. Given the poor production on the field and your tenuous relationship with head coach Doug Pederson, the outcome in Philadelphia was inevitable.

But I am not writing to you to pour salt into the wound, or rub lemon juice on said cut, and throw dirt in it. No. I am writing to you in the hope that I can decide on whether I should make up or break up with you for the 2021 season.

There is only so much heartbreak a person can take before one must sever the ties and move on.

After all, that’s what you did. Why should my decision for my fantasy future be any different?

Reunited Feels So Good, Right?

Sometimes relationships just sour. I am guessing this is what happened between you and Pederson that led to such a dramatic finish to the season. In all honesty, I can see both sides of the story. You may feel he dropped his faith in you but he may feel like you lost your ability and your drive to produce. (See my earlier example of your 2020 season before you get mad.)

There were also rumors that your practice habits had been slipping and you weren’t really taking your job seriously. I mean, your on-field production certainly seemed to back that up. You ranked 14th among QBs through 12 weeks, averaging only 17.78 fantasy points a game. Let’s be honest. That number is inflated thanks to two weeks of nearly 30 points. You had seven games of 18 points or less and three of those games were in the single digits.

What happened to the top-10 quarterback that we all came to know and love?

I will confess: I think removing yourself from people who may not have your best interests at heart is a big improvement. I have always told you that your friends Frank Reich and Press Taylor brought out the best in you. Now, look at you on a new team with some old friends.

After all, Reich and Taylor were both big parts of your life as you entered onto the big NFL stage as the No. 2 overall pick in 2016. They obviously believed in you then. Reich, as the offensive coordinator, and Taylor, as the assistant quarterbacks coach, were a part of the genius behind your best season in 2017. You were an MVP candidate before your injury snatched a Super Bowl victory out of your fingers. I mean, how hard was it walking into a stadium and seeing a statue dedicated to the guy who took your place to win? That just sucks.

Support That You Need

Not only are you reunited with coaches who had a significant impact on your career, but just look at all of the weapons around you in your new home in Indianapolis.

I know that WR T.Y. Hilton is getting on in years, but he was once an elite WR. He had to battle through injury and (even worse) Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers. Michael Pittman is another year wiser after his rookie season, Zach Pascal has been steadily improving, and Parris Campbell is returning. Then, there’s the RB phenom in Jonathan Taylor who finally exploded toward the end of last year and you have Nyheim Hines to gobble up passes out of the backfield.

All of the weapons wouldn’t really mean much if you didn’t have time in the pocket (ahem… Eagles). But this year, you have one of the top-10 best offensive lines in the country. Pro Football Focus ranked them 7th overall while the Eagles were a paltry 19th.

After I have written all of this down and really considered my options, I think there is really one course of action for me to take. I have decided that I will make up with you this year. I can’t bear to see you on another person’s team knowing the potential that you still have on a better team.

Sincerely yours for 2021,

Stepmom Lauren

P.S. It also helped that your current average draft position is in the twelfth round. I will, of course, keep my eye on this as the summer progresses.

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