The Eagles have a lot invested in rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. It's the type of investment that will cost people jobs in the coming years if Wentz doesn't pan out as the next face of the franchise. History says that quarterbacks drafted in the first round have about a 50 percent success rate, though doubters will point out that Wentz is at an even bigger disadvantage because he played at FCS school Noth Dakota State.
But one NFL quarterback -- and a future Hall of Famer -- doesn't think the huge jump in competition will be an issue for Wentz. The Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, who also played at a small school, Miami University, has had a stellar 12-year career -- including two Super Bowl titles -- after being drafted 11th overall in 2004.
"You know, people do make a big deal about the small school, and his school is even smaller than Miami was, a MAC school," Roethlisberger told Talk of Fame Network's Clark Judge. 'But I think what you look at is: What did he do at that school? Yeah, maybe the competition level wasn't that great, but it's not like he just went out and had a winning season. He won national championships for that school ... and that's pretty impressive....
"If you look at what Carson did in college, a lot of it ... he's not afraid to get under center ... he did it. He can drop back and pass. He can do the play-action stuff. He can do the boots and nakeds -- things you just don't see a lot of in typical college football for the most part. There are still teams that do it. But I think he's as prepared as anybody because of the type of system he played in and the work that he put in to get himself NFL ready."
If that sounds familiar, it should; there was a report late last month that Wentz was ahead of veteran Sam Bradford in grasping the Eagles' new offense under first-year coach Doug Pederson. And last week, Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Wentz is "absolutely" further along than most rookies at this stage in the proceedings.
We'll have to wait to see how Wentz's rookie season unfolds, but if it's anything like Roethlisberger's, the Eagles will look like geniuses for trading up to the No. 2 pick. Big Ben was forced into action as a rookie after Tommy Maddox was injured in a Week 2 matchup against the Ravens. Roethlisberger would win 14 consecutive games and help lead the Steelers to the AFC Championship Game. A year later, the Steelers won the Super Bowl, and they did it again three years after that. Now Roethlisberger is considered one of the league's best quarterbacks leading one of the league's most explosive offenses.
But it didn't happen overnight; Big Ben's transformation from game manager and scrambler to cerebral pocket passer took time. So what's the difference between the college and pro games?
"To me, it's the speed of the game," he explained. "People talk about the rookie wall, and usually it comes Week, 7, 8, 9, 10 ... somewhere in there. It's hard because you go straight from playing college football, which is 12, 14 games or however many games they play now, right into training for the draft ... right into a team to training camp ... right to a team. So really there's like two years of non-stop football, no breaks, your legs aren't resting (and) your arm's not resting.
"So to make that jump ... and you're jumping not only because you're physically exhausted but you're playing against superior athletes and superior men. I mean, you're going from playing with ... these college guys can say they're men, but when you get to the NFL those are men. It's a big jump.
