Former Eagles QB thinks benching could help Carson Wentz

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The Eagles this week announced that Jalen Hurts will start against the Saints, which means they are benching their $128 million quarterback.

Carson Wentz is heading to the bench.

But because of that contract and because we’ve seen him play at a high level before, this shouldn’t be the last of Wentz. In fact, one former Eagles quarterback thinks getting benched might actually help the 27-year-old Wentz.

 “I think Carson needs to take a step back and take some of the pressure off of his shoulders,” said NBC Sports Bay Area analyst and former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.

“Understand that, hey, there are some struggles with Philadelphia right now. The offensive line is a struggling unit. They’ve had a different group of characters playing throughout the season. The wide receiving corps, the targets that he has. That has been a mix of different players. So him going out there and trying to put it all on his own shoulders, probably puts more pressure on trying to play perfect football. You’re not going to play perfect football.”

Garcia brought up his own experience with the 49ers back in 1999. While the Eagles were starting Doug Pederson and eventually Donovan McNabb, Garcia was in his first season in San Francisco. After playing well, Garcia hit a slump and was benched.

That’s when he got a fresh perspective from the sideline. His quarterbacks coach back then, longtime NFL coach Greg Knapp, brought Garcia film of his successful plays from his good stretches. Garcia said it was helpful to see his good plays on film as positive affirmation.

“He needs to go back and get back to the basics,” Garcia said. “His drop, his rhythm, his anticipation, decision making, all those things that he was built on coming into the league and where he really flourished the first few seasons in the league, he’s really gotten away from. He needs to get back to that.

“Simplify the game, look at some of the plays you have been successful on, really break down what you’re not doing right out on the field and take a look from the sideline. See that it’s not all on you. It’s a team game, you need a full team effort around you.”

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