Carson Wentz was bad on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. It was arguably his worst performance of the season at a time when he needed to have his ‘A’ game. 27-of-51 for 231 yards, a measly 4.5 yards per attempt to go with three touchdowns and two killer interceptions, including the one in overtime that gave Randy Bullock a 44-yard field goal to seal the Titans’ season sweep over the Colts. “Excruciating,” is the first word Kevin Bowen uttered to open Monday’s Fan Morning Show. But while there is plenty of blame that falls on Wentz, it’s head coach Frank Reich and his play-calling that has a lot of people questioning what the QB whisperer is doing on game days.
Longtime ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio joined the show Tuesday morning and said while plenty of blame should go to Wentz, it was Reich who isn’t giving his quarterback the best situations to play under. Take the horrific sequence near the Colts goal line: a failed screen pass that resulted in Wentz under pressure and throwing a wounded duck in the air with his left hand that was easily intercepted by Elijah Molden and returned for all of two yards for the touchdown.
“That’s an obvious bad call and Frank Reich is an experienced play-caller. You can’t call a screen against that defense. Bad play by Carson but really Frank didn’t set him up for success with that screen pass.” – Sal Paolantonio
Frank Reich was to blame also for the lack of usage of Jonathan Taylor especially down the stretch.
“You’ve got a 14-0 lead and you aren’t running the ball? Jonathan Taylor ended up with only 16 carries? He should have had double that.”
At the end of the day, Frank Reich will be tied to Carson Wenz and vice versa. The Colts sit at 3-5, having lost both games to the Titans and now facing an uphill climb to even sniff the playoffs. Both guys need to get on the same page and quickly. A couple of soft games between the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars should do them both good before some gargantuan matchups between the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
To listen to the full interview with Sal Paolantonio, including whether he sees Carson Wentz as the long-term answer at quarterback for the Colts, be sure to click the link below and for all the latest on the Colts listen to The Fan Morning Show with Kevin Bowen every weekday morning from 7-10am on 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan!
