Wentz feels for Manning, honored by LeBron praise
PHILADELPHIA » Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is a dozen years younger than 36-year-old Giants counterpart Eli Manning.
Wentz, nonetheless, stepped away from his single-minded focus on the Seahawks, who the Eagles oppose Sunday night, to pay respects to the man who has two Super Bowl championships rings and 210 straight NFL starts.
With the Giants mired in a 2-9 season, head coach Ben McAdoo benched Manning in favor of 27-year-old journeyman Geno Smith. Wentz can only imagine how difficult that must be.
“I don’t really personally know him too well but have a ton of respect for him as a player,” Wentz said. “As a quarterback, he’s been a great one for years now. He’s shown that he can win in big games. I know that’s got to be tough for him. That’s the unfortunate part of this game sometimes. Things like that happen. But I wish him the best and I know he’ll be just fine.”
While Manning had the rug ripped out from under him, Wentz is riding a wave of popularity that grows each week.
Wentz remains the leading vote-getter in fan balloting for the Pro Bowl. He has 422,491 total votes; the next closest competitor is Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, with 370,379 votes. If both stay healthy and continue to play at their current levels, one or the other almost certainly will be most valuable player.
“I’m not really focused on that stuff,” Wentz said. “I’m focused on Seattle.”
The Eagles were beaten by the Seahawks, 26-15, last year at CenturyLink Field. Wentz thinks he and his teammates will be better for the experience, as well as their success on the road this season. The Eagles are 4-1 on the road, Wentz throwing six touchdown passes and no interceptions and posting a 99.2 rating in the last three games, all wins.
“It’s definitely loud,” Wentz said. “It’s a fun place to play. Most guys have been there now, so I think that will pay dividends in just our week of prep knowing how much we need to emphasize kind of hand signals and communicating things non-verbally. I personally always prefer playing at home and using the cadence. But you can always use the silent cadence as a weapon, as well. So, we feel confident with it. We’ve used it enough this year with that road stretch early in the year that we feel good about it.”
The Eagles (10-1) could claim the division pennant before kickoff with the Seahawks (7-4). If the Redskins defeat the Cowboys Thursday night, the Eagles are NFC East champs.
While the rest of the league will be watching for any signs of letdown, there still are some other missions to accomplish, including home-field throughout the postseason. And of course, there’s payback, although this Seahawks team is without several defensive stars, including Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman.
“They still do the same stuff,” Wentz said. “But any time you’re missing two Pro Bowlers like those two, it changes things a little bit. You can maybe be a little more aggressive at times. But they still have a very sound, very solid defense. And Earl Thomas back there, he still flies around. He’s one of the more impressive guys I’ve seen on tape. He’s all over the field.”
Speaking of flying around, LeBron James caught Wentz off-guard by calling the popular quarterback his favorite football player during a recent stop to beat the 76ers.
In a way, The King was paying his respects. And Wentz appreciated it.
“It’s pretty cool,” Wentz said. “I have a ton of respect for a guy like LeBron. I mean, when I was a kid, I was watching him tear up the league when he was a rookie. I love watching that guy play. He’s unbelievable. Besides the talent, one of the most impressive athletes in the world. It’s pretty humbling to hear that stuff.”
*** The Eagles listed defensive tackle Beau Allen (knee) and tight end Trey Burton (hamstring) as full practice participants.
The duo was scratched the last game.
Linebacker Joe Walker (stinger) didn’t practice, and the Eagles listed wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, center Jason Kelce (ankle) and cornerback Patrick Robinson (knee) as limited participants. in
*** NOTES » The Seahawks lead the league with 109 penalties. No other team has more than 90. The Eagles are coming off a season-high 11 penalties but have just 66 on the season. Tony Corrente is the referee this week. … It sure looks like the Eagles won’t activate second-round cornerback Sidney Jones this season, barring a rash of injuries. “He’s obviously still doing well with his rehab,” coach Doug Pederson said of Jones’ comeback from a torn Achilles’ tendon. “He’s getting better there, and again, don’t want to rush him back just yet.” … Zach Ertz leads tight ends in NFC Pro Bowl fan balloting with 238,809 votes, a total that ranks third among all players in the conference.