Alan Truex: Carson Wentz was the quarterback of the future. Now the future is murky

NFL teams crave mobile quarterbacks.  They just don’t want them to run very often.  So we see an inherent contradiction, personified this week by Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Before him, the best/worst examples of a dual quarterback were Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck.  They were 1-2 in the 2012 draft and Rookie of the Year voting.  But their professional careers were derailed by injuries.

Why did this happen?

Because Luck and Griffin insisted on squeezing every possible half-yard out of every play.  They considered sliding to be cowardly.  Again and again they rammed their shoulders into 250-pound linebackers.

They fearlessly sacrificed their bodies to give their team the highest probability of success at that moment.  We enjoyed watching such heroism.  This was the NFL edition of Marines storming up Iwo Jima.  This was Alexander at the front of his army, steering his chariot into the heart of the Persian Empire.

But it’s one thing to be Braveheart when it really counts.  It’s another thing to be stupid when it doesn’t count all that much.

Hard to win a Super Bowl if your quarterback is in a hospital bed.  Or in a cast.  Or touring Europe searching for orthopedic surgeons, as Luck has been doing.

A week ago, Wentz was going to be MVP.  His team was the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl.  He’d thrown 33 touchdowns.  He was the Now QB and the future of the sport.

But then he landed awkwardly while diving head-first toward the end zone.  And now he’s recovering from surgery on a knee ligament.  He’s finished for the football season.  We can only hope he makes a full recovery.  Like RG III did not.

So now the Eagles are quarterbacked by Nick Foles.  He’s 28 and one of the most solid of backups: won-lost record of 20-16, with 56 TDs to 27 picks, passer rating of 88.1.

The Eagles are not dead, just badly wounded.

Their locker room was described as being “like a morgue” after their most bittersweet Sunday afternoon victory over the LA Rams.  But the gloom lifted soon enough, as the team rallied around Foles.

Steve Beuerlein of NFL Monday QB said, “The Eagles’ offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, really believes in Nick Foles.  He’s seen the things he needs to see every day to feel confident in what he’s got.”

In fact, Foles was a 2013 Pro Bowl selection after he threw 27 touchdowns while winning 8 of his 10 starts for the Eagles.  Then his career skidded, with changes in coaches, coordinators, teams.

Troy Aikman has observed that “backup quarterbacks become less effective the longer they start.”  Defensive coordinators discover their weaknesses, usually related to lack of arm strength.  Foles strains to throw the deep outs.

But of course, smart quarterbacks can learn to compensate for their weaknesses, avoid trying to make plays that are beyond their limited abilities.

Beuerlein suggested that Foles may be renewed after “the time off, to sit around and regroup.  And now, back in a comfortable environment where he’s had success, Philadelphia, that could be just what Nick Foles needs.”

The Eagles are hoping for another Case Keenum, who was on the football scrap heap last spring.  He was transformed by the Minnesota Vikings into a playoff-bound quarterback despite below average arm power.

Super Bowls have been won by quarterbacks not as good as Foles.  But of course the Eagles would have a much better chance with Wentz.  He needs to keep that in mind the next time he thinks about diving into the scrum.

Granted, there is a numbing randomness to injuries in the NFL.

Deshaun Watson’s knee was unhinged in a non-contact movement during a Houston Texans practice.  Season over before the halfway mark.

But if you’re an NFL head coach, you should do what you can to keep your quarterback healthy.  That was the Bill Parcells approach.  No empty backfields that leave the quarterback unblocked on a blitz.  His quarterbacks were rarely injured.

But as rules were changed to allow more holding, many coaches not named Parcells started reducing pass protection.

The game evolved into pinball, score as fast and as often as possible, with quarterbacks who are quick enough to outrun the pass-rushers. 

This method has worked best in Seattle, where little is spent on the offensive line.  Russell Wilson avoids sacks by running away from them and throwing to elite receivers like Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin.

But sometimes Wilson is running for touchdowns.  He and Cam Newton in Charlotte and Dak Prescott in Dallas have all rushed for 5 TDs apiece this season.  They win games while providing far more entertainment than Tom Brady launching from the pocket.

But you have to wonder if the run is worth the risk.  Brady, universally proclaimed as The Greatest Of All Time, is one of the least mobile quarterbacks ever.   Peyton Manning was no runner.  Nor Johnny Unitas.  Nor Sonny Jurgensen.  You can go on and on.

The quarterbacks who endure are the ones who rein themselves in if they have any speed to rein in.  Roger Staubach slid.  And John Elway.  And even reckless Brett Favre.  They had lengthy careers leading to Hall of Fame inductions.

As the bodies keep getting larger and stronger and faster, collisions are more destructive, and quarterback protection must be accorded higher priority.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, who’s as big as Carson Wentz (6-5, 240), once committed to extending plays.  Now 35 and no longer a fast runner, he gets rid of the ball quickly.  And accurately.  Big Ben passed for 506 yards Sunday night against the respected defense of the Baltimore Ravens.  He had one rushing attempt, for 5 yards.

Here’s hoping Carson Wentz decides to be like Ben and Tom, not like Cam and Andrew.