With every week and with every Eagles win, the debate picks up more steam. It becomes more valid.
It continues to dominate any conversation about the Eagles.
There's a rising swell of people in Philadelphia who want the Eagles' to veer off their long-term plan and hand over the keys of the franchise to Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
I'm not there yet.
I really doubt I'll get there.
Now, if Foles leads the Eagles to Super Bowl LIII and wins and is the back-to-back Super Bowl MVPs, it would be awfully hard to let him leave town and resume the plan to have Carson Wentz as the quarterback for the next decade. I get it. Heck, it would put a ton more pressure on Wentz than there already is. But anything short of that, if I'm the Eagles, I'm staying on this path.
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That's why I was so surprised to hear my coworker on the beat, Reuben Frank, say he's at that point already. During our podcast on Monday, Roob told me he was on the brink and I asked for a percentage.
"I think I'd keep Nick," he finally said. "I think I'm there."
If there was a camera in the room, it would have seen me raise my eyebrows.
Here's an excerpt from our podcast discussion leading up to that point:
Roob: I gotta ask you, because, I mean, with each passing week, I think this is more of an issue. Are you sure you're going to get rid of him? Are you sure you're going to stick with Carson long-term?
Dave: I still am. … To me, I've held this line for a long time …
Roob: You're not even wavering?
Dave: I think it's in the back of your mind now, for sure.
Roob: Front of my mind.
Dave: Well, I think it's in the back and it's creeping up. If he wins this game (against the Saints), all right, now we've got something to talk about. But is that enough? Is them getting to the NFC Championship Game enough to change the course of your franchise for the next 20 years? I don't know. So, right now, we're saying if Treyvon Hester doesn't get a fingertip on the football, Nick Foles is gone and Carson Wentz is your quarterback?
Roob: I'm not saying that. I mean, because I was thinking about this before that game.
Let me get to one of the points I made Monday. If you were all for the Eagles' sticking with Wentz before Sunday's win over the Bears and have now changed your mind on that, it means you're up for letting a blocked field goal that double-doinked be the reason to change everything. To me, that's just too reactionary.
This isn't about what Foles has done or could do. In a world where Carson Wentz didn't exist, Foles would be a fine option. But Wentz does exist. And the Eagles moved up to draft him at No. 2 for a reason. They started him as a rookie for a reason. They put him smack-dab in the middle of the Super Bowl class picture last year for a reason.
He's their guy. And it should take a heck of a lot more than what we've seen to change that.
I understand the Eagles have been playing better this season once Foles became their quarterback. That's inarguable. But it's also impossible to know how much of that is because of Foles. Did the Eagles' O-line get healthy because of Foles? Did the Eagles' defense start tackling better because of Foles? Probably not. I'm not even denying there's some magic; I'm just saying there are also some tangible reasons for the team's improved play.
Ultimately, I'm riding with Wentz. He just turned 26 and was having an MVP season before getting hurt last year. I think he will get back to that level of play as he gets further away from that injury. His ceiling is still higher. So high that I think he'll win an MVP award in this league. I think he'll win a Super Bowl.
Just last year, Wentz was voted as the third-best player in the NFL by fellow players in the NFL Network's top 100. Sure, a lot has happened since then, but he has undeniable talent.
And even this season, despite coming off an ACL and LCL tear, despite a stress fracture in his back, he still completed 70 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
This run is magical. Foles is magical. And he'll be a hero in Philadelphia for the rest of his life.
But Carson is still my guy. He should still be the Eagles' guy too.
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