Brian Baldinger discusses Eagles QB Carson Wentz. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

I entered my film room at the NFL Network on a Monday morning in late December about 5 am looking to digest as much film from the week 15 games as I could before we went to air a show called “Aftermath.”
Beating me to the film room on that dark cool December morning was my friend and colleague, Daniel Jeremiah.
He often did in his efforts to beat the race with LA traffic coming all the way from Temecula.
“DJ” spent a decade scouting college talent for the Browns, Ravens and for Howie Roseman with the Eagles.
He is enormously well respected within the scouting ranks. He even turned down two director of scouting positions with two different NFL teams this past spring to remain in Temecula.
It was in our film room that I first heard the name, Carson Wentz.
DJ was busy building his notebook on the upcoming draft. I asked him about the quarterback crop that would be coming into the 2016 draft. He mentioned Goff, and Lynch and Cook. And then he said the kid that is generating a lot of buzz is this kid from North Dakota State named Wentz.
He too had seen him play but wanted to withhold judgment until he got a chance to be around him at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama in about a month.
From that predawn morning in a dark film room in Culver City, California I had never heard one negative or anything remotely detracting about Carson Wentz.
I had seen countless successful quarterbacks come through the scouting process just shredded and stripped down to the point that it would be a mistake to take any of them.
I saw it with Aaron Rogers, Cam Newton, and Jameis Winston. No one was immune to the vetting process. Except for Carson Wentz. Even during his meteoric rise from the obscure mention about him in December all the way to the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL draft I couldn’t find anyone to say he couldn’t do this or do that.
That alone amazed me. Surely those two interceptions in the FCS Championship game against Jacksonville State had to be some cause for concern. Or the broken wrist suffered earlier that season. How big could the game be if it were against Northern Iowa or Montana State?
An obscure kid from Fargo couldn’t be so praiseworthy that no one couldn’t find one flaw?. Nope!
DJ, Mayock, Mel, and countless respected scouts and coaches couldn’t come up with one negative statement outside of his level of competition.
We are now three weeks into the NFL season and I still can’t find one negative thing to say say about Carson Wentz.
In fact I think he has played better at the NFL level than at anytime during his 23 starts in college. This isn’t supposed to happen. Moreover, I can’t think of a single instance where it has ever happened.
I refuse to dazzle you with statistics to define how good Wentz has been during the Eagles three very convincing wins.
I could talk about his 102 passes without nary a turnover, or any play remotely close to a turnover.
I won’t mention his completion percentage, yards per attempt, nor the nebulous quarterback rating. Since I refuse to write about his greatness via stats then any comparisons to Hall of Fame quarterbacks and how they fared during their first three NFL starts are also off.
Instead lets look at some defining moments in each of the first 3 games and let decisions he chose to define him.
Cleveland in week 1. The Birds are up 15-10 with 7:04 left in the 3rd quarter. If Doug P. walked out Donnie Jones and the punt team and tried to pin the Brownies inside their 10 and play field position, I don’t think there would have been any disapproval from the Eagle fans.
Instead Carson went with 5 wide receivers and found Zach Ertz for 6 yards and a first down.
The very next play Wentz lofted a pearl drop to Nelson Algholar over the outstretched arms of Joe Haden for the touchdown and a commanding 22-10 lead
In Chicago at Soldier Field on a Monday night the Eagles spread the Bears out with 5 wide receivers and put the ball in Wentz hand and he responded with 6 straight completions.
The last of those six completions was a discerning moment. It was 4th and two from the Bears 28-yard line. The field goal attempt would be from 45 yards on a perfect late summer evening on a Soldier Field that appeared to rival a PGA putting green.
Sturgis is a lifetime 85 percent accurate kicker from that distance. No Eagle fan would have been the least bit disappointed had Doug P. marched out Sturgis for the FG try on the opening series of the game.
Instead he let Carson take the shotgun snap from Kelce and fire a dart to Dorial Green-Beckham for and 8 yard gain and a first down. The trust between coach and quarterback is at the very least advanced.
The third play to describe Wentz’ rapid development was on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter against Pittsburgh.
The Eagles held a 13-3 lead against the explosive Steelers. It was third and 8 at their own 27-yard line. The Steelers desperately needed a stoop and the ball back to try and get back in the game quickly.
The Eagles had a 3 X 1 formation with three wide receivers spread out to the left.
Tight end Trey Burton would run a 15-yard deep in cut.
Wentz looked left for a long time waiting to see if anyone would open up, when suddenly defensive end, Stephon Tuitt quickly closed on him. He climbed the pocket to escape but kept his eyes down field.
He would make a sharp right to turn hugging the 25-yard stripe. Darren Sproles was his safety valve. When he saw Carson flushed he turned his route up the field along his Eagle sideline and away from his defender, the speedy Ryan Shazier. Carson feathered a pass falling off his right foot and hit Sproles in stride at his 47-yard line. The pass reached Sproles so perfectly that it became a 53-yard punt return to pay dirt opening up a commanding 20-3 advantage.
As we reflect back on Wentz’ instant success during his first bye week one must assume that something that resembles a struggle is coming. And if it does, I think Wentz has the toughness to withstand the challenges that comes with it.
The raging hyperbole is out their. That includes me for stating things like, “He is Peyton Manning pre-snap and Aaron Rogers post-snap.”
I know its far too early to make outrageous statements like that but he has been so flawless that he is almost beyond any recent comparisons. Afterall scouting is nothing more than the study of movement. And his movement along with his work ethic, his demeanor, his rare intelligence and other attributes is unlike any rookie quarterback I have seen.
As one Eagles executive recently told me, “I sure am glad that we have him.”
And I think in three impressive starts all Eagle fans feel the exact same way.