Joe Santoliquito was on WIP this afternoon with Jon Marks and Rob Ellis, who was filling in for Ike Reese.

Let’s just get right into some quotes, because I don’t have anything else for an introduction. Joe’s story on Philly Voice described Carson Wentz being “selfish” and not much of a team player, information provided via anonymous sources.

On the timeline and when he started collecting information:

Months ago, with a very innocuous question in regards to Mike Groh. I was corrected and told basically that (the offensive issues are) not Groh, it’s Wentz. That really stunned me. It really opened my eyes up, so this was a case of a little bit here, a little bit there, and just collecting different other things and tidbits. A lot of what I did was not at the NovaCare Complex. A lot of things were done outside of the NovaCare Complex. What I did was simply go back and confirm, ‘this is what I’m hearing.. this is what I’m hearing from others.. what do you think?‘ I’m going to be questioned on the timing of this and I know I spoke to someone earlier today (who said) ‘you had access to Wentz on Monday, why didn’t you bring this up?’ Well one of the reasons I didn’t bring it up with him was that I didn’t want to let anybody else know what I knew, or what I was told. Two, I wasn’t really on great ground until I got substantial substantiation on Monday night, after Wentz spoke that afternoon. That’s what really kind of put this thing over the top.

Joe says another source came through on Wednesday to help push the story forward.

Ellis asked Santoliquito about the possibility of “aggrieved parties” speaking up, the idea of separating a disgruntled wide receiver, for instance, from a much bigger and legitimate issue.

After the jump:

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Make it six Eagles and one former Eagle who have popped up to throw support behind Carson Wentz after this morning’s Philly Voice article came out:

Jason Kelce shared the following message with @NickFierro from @mcall: https://t.co/I1PVDE8wqw pic.twitter.com/VCeWjcDXqs

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) January 21, 2019

The article, from Joe Santoliquito, cites anonymous sources in describing Carson Wentz as “selfish” and “uncompromising.”

Joe is apparently gonna be on WIP shortly, so we’ll see what he has to say.

But for now, the time is yours.

He’s replacing Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith:

Congratulations to @LaneJohnson65, named to the 2019 Pro Bowl! #FlyEaglesFly

Johnson replaces T Tyron Smith. pic.twitter.com/xMoEloZmyz

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 21, 2019

Smith apparently opted out of the game.

I, too, will be opting out of the game, but congratulations to Lane.

More push back to the Philly Voice story describing Carson Wentz as “selfish” via anonymous sources.

Five Eagles and one former Bird took to social media to share their disagreement.

Fletcher Cox was was the first to dispute Joe Santoliquito’s article, with Brandon Brooks piggybacking on his response:

What my guy @fcoxx_91 said!!! pic.twitter.com/DpRr39ZcEI

— Brandon Brooks (@bbrooks_79) January 21, 2019

Lane Johnson also poo-poo’d the story:

Whoever wrote that article needs to check their "sources". #fakenews

Carson has been and is our leader and our QB. Y'all know where to find me if you have any issues.#flyeaglesfly

— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) January 21, 2019

Ex-Eagle Torrey Smith also got in on the action, after the jump:

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Joe Santoliquito, coming in hot on MLK Day.

The long-time local sports writer dropped a Philly Voice story this morning citing anonymous sources in describing Carson Wentz as a “selfish” and “uncompromising” player. Joe says Voice spoke with “more than a half dozen players, plus other sources close to the team” over the past two months.

I have been judged as the most pragmatic and reasonable Crossing Broad writer, therefore I’ve been assigned the reactionary piece to Joe’s piece.

Let’s go through the story and pull some excerpts to analyze.

Writes Joe:

Whereas some circles blamed the Eagles’ offensive failures on new offensive coordinator Mike Groh, numerous sources in and around the NFL and Eagles said they thought Wentz may have been the root of the Eagles’ offensive problems. Groh is a “good coach,” who was “bullied” by Wentz, according to sources. The problem with the offense this past season shouldn’t lie with Groh, it should “lie with Wentz,” they said.

Yeah? Well I could see that happening. Groh was a first-year offensive coordinator who worked with the wide receivers in 2017, so this was his first season directly interacting with Wentz. If Frank Reich and John DeFilippo were veteran coaches, you could understand how they might assert more control over a then-25-year-old quarterback. Joe touches on that a few paragraphs later.

One thing is certain: Every one of our sources said the same things almost verbatim about the relationship between Wentz and Nick Foles: “They love each other, they respect each other and they support each other.”

But while the sentiment in the Eagles’ locker room is that Foles is “universally loved,” Wentz isn’t.

I found it interesting that Chris Long and Fletcher Cox created that Nick Foles shrine. You could theorize that they love the dude because of the Super Bowl run last year, sure. It certainly seemed like the team had really positive things to say about Nick when he took over for Carson, but I don’t know if that equates to them disliking Carson. It’s not like being “pro-Nick” automatically means that you’re “anti-Carson.” You could simply enjoy playing with one guy more than the other guy while enjoying both as people and players.

More after the jump:

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I never should have opened up Twitter after last night’s AFC Championship Game, but I did it anyway. Then I wasted at least 30 minutes arguing with various people about the NFL’s overtime rules.

I personally hate the OT rules because, as currently constructed, you’re allowing for a scenario where the game ends before both teams receive an offensive possession. The Patriots won the ball, which was determined by a coin flip, marched down the field and scored a walk-off touchdown. Patrick Mahomes was glued to the bench and didn’t even get to participate.

Tell me how that’s fair…

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It’s not.

The main counter-argument I get from people goes something like this:

“Yeah, well, the defense should get a stop!”

Yes, that’s true. Kansas City should have been able to get off the field on one of those third and long situations. They really blew it.

But that’s not the point. It’s not about the defense making a play. It’s about competitive balance.

See, it’s much more reasonable to give each team at least one possession to match what the opposing offense was able to do on their possession. If each squad has an offensive unit and defensive unit, those units should face each other at least once in overtime. We watched an overtime period last night where 50% of the players at Arrowhead Stadium didn’t even see the field.

The best way to illustrate what I’m talking about is to take the ridiculous NFL overtime rules and apply them to other sports.

Take tennis, for instance. Imagine Roger Federer wins a coin toss and elects to serve. Rafael Nadal doesn’t get to serve, Federer hits four aces, and the game is over.

Are you going to sit here and tell me that Nadal should have broken his serve? No, because breaking serve is measurably harder than holding serve. That’s why players alternate service in a tiebreaker. It’s the same thing in volleyball and ping pong. Are you gonna tell me that the serving team should be given a walk-off scenario? I hope not.

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