Carson Wentz got everyone's attention in his NFL debut, right on up to the President of the United States.
The Eagles' rookie quarterback got a shout-out from Barack Obama earlier this week at an appearance in Philadelphia, with the president saying VP Joe Biden — an Eagles fan from across the border in Delaware — had urged him to get on the "Wentz Wagon."
Barack Obama says he came to Philadelphia to scout Carson Wentz. Joe Biden told him to “get on the Wentz Wagon.” pic.twitter.com/c5YCpy9qVr
— Dan McQuade (@dhm) September 13, 2016
Obama demurred, noting that the Eagles play his Chicago Bears on Monday night, but the fact that this discussion is taking place at all is a bit surreal.
Philadelphia has never been known to hold back its opinions on sports, for better or for worse, and no one carries higher esteem among the legendarily fickle faithful right now than the kid from North Dakota State. As he enters Week 2, the mission for Eagles coach Doug Pederson is to keep Wentz's attention on what matters. Though it doesn't sound like the rookie needs the help.
"He and I, we’ve had conversations the last couple days and I just wanted him to be aware of, just limit the noise on the outside, let’s just focus on football," Pederson said at a news conference Thursday. "That’s the one thing about him and his maturity level, is how well he does balance work with some of the outside influences, whether it be the media … autographs, different things like that. He’s handled it really well."
MORE: Week 2 predictions — Can Wentz keep his momentum rolling vs. Chicago?
Wentz's newfound stardom was a primary theme of his session with reporters Thursday, and the 23-year-old brushed off any implication that it matters to him.
"For me, I stay pretty focused on football and then at the end of the day you just go home and relax. You block out a lot of it," Wentz said. "Plus, we’re so busy, you don’t have time to really get caught up in too much other stuff."
He did, however, acknowledge the president taking time to mention him after being asked about it.
STEELE: Carson Wentz was ready, just like his head coach said
"I thought it was kind of funny," he said. "I know a lot of people, friends and family, thought it was pretty crazy, but at the same time I’ve got a lot to accomplish before we make anything too big out of that."
His 278 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Browns was a solid start, and the Eagles obviously have plenty of confidence in the second overall pick in the draft. If they didn't, they wouldn't have dealt Sam Bradford to the Vikings at the end of training camp. But Pederson isn't going to take any chances with the toast of Philadelphia.
"If I can keep him in the building as long as I stay in the building," said Pederson, "then we’re going to be OK."
