The biggest question coming into the 2021 season for the Colts was what Carson Wentz would look like coming off a career worst season in 2020 with the Eagles. The Colts gave up draft capital on the hope that Frank Reich would be able to bring back the 2017 level of play from Wentz when he was the frontrunner for the MVP award before tearing his ACL.
Even though the Colts struggled vs the Seahawks and surprisingly the offensive line couldn’t keep the QB clean, Wentz was a bright spot for the Colts offense.
Pro Football Focus Senior NFL Analyst Steve Palazzolo joined JMV to discuss the Colts Week 1 performance and Steve made the point that perhaps the Colts aren’t utilizing Wentz’s best ability as a QB:
“My big takeaway is that the Colts game plan felt safe. One of the benefits of having a Carson Wentz who has a really nice arm and can stretch the field is that I think you have to be aggressive when you have Wentz, you have got to get the ball down the field. He had one of the lowest depths of target in the entire NFL this week so he was throwing the ball a lot shorter than most QBs in Week 1.”
When the Colts traded for Wentz in the offseason they hoped he wouldn’t look like 2020 Carson Wentz. Steve agreed with JMV that he looked like his pre 2020 self:
“Carson Wentz was really bad last year and he didn’t look like that Carson Wentz. Last season he was the most inaccurate QB and the worst decision making QB as far as putting the ball in harms way. It was a much cleaner game than what we saw at any point last season, so at least he’s back on track after last seasons rough outings.”
While Wentz was what the Colts were hoping for in Week 1, the offensive line must return to its 2018 & 2019 form in order for the Colts to get back in the win column vs the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
