In the hours leading up to tonight’s Monday Night Football game, Carson Wentz is under the microscope. It’s not his first MNF match-up, but when the Eagles faced the bears in Week 2, the narrative around Wentz was much different. He was playing well beyond expectations. Eagles fans were on cloud nine. The Bears had their soul stepped on.

But nine weeks later, the story is different. Wentz has had his ups and downs. The Eagles have mostly had downs. The team is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in through an increasingly tinted window only Josh Huff would appreciate. The Bears are still trash. But Wentz is steady and ready for a struggling Green Bay. ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg posted a profile of Wentz today, focusing heavily on his faith, leadership, and relationship to his teammates. It’s everything you want to hear about the rookie.

Malcolm Jenkins has the bit about Wentz staying later at the facility after everyone has left. Jason Kelce talks about Wentz asking to sit in an offensive line meeting to learn about blitz protections, something Kelce said he’s never seen before. And of course, it’s chock-full of great Wentz lines, like:

“I’m not an idiot. I know we’re not going undefeated. I know I’m not going to throw a touchdown every game.”

Okay maybe not that one. Where’s the one at? Oh right, here it is. This is the one:

“I don’t think there was single player on the team who was thinking that [the Bradford trade] might be possible. I had a mix of emotions. It was funny to find out while laying in the middle of a cornfield. Not many people would understand how perfect that is for me.”

Damn, that’s not the one either. Here:


“I realize this is the beginning. I just tried to keep my head down and shut up.”

Okay. I give up. These are all what you want to hear from your QB, but none of them exactly have a zing to them. The kind of zing that causes Kyle’s eyes to turn into cash register dollar signs like a cartoon criminal while he envisions t-shirt sales. Wentz’s leadership is that of a quiet confidence. And when the closest example of outspoken, exuberant confidence from a QB in this league is Kurt Cousins, I’ll happily take Wentz’s style.