Wentz is Turning Down Outside Noise

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The outside noise has been turned up on the struggling Carson Wentz this week.

Fans, pundits and even former Eagles quarterback Michael Vick have started to question whether the face of the franchise is really all that he's cracked up to be after what may have been a career-worst performance during a 17-9 loss to Seattle last weekend.

Wentz, though, isn't taking the bait.

“I know there’s always stress, there’s always pressure, there’s always that stuff, but, for me, it’s just be confident who I am in the good, the bad and the ugly,” Philadelphia's QB1 said before practice on Wednesday. “I don’t get caught up in what people say or think. Whether it’s good, whether it’s bad, I’m confident in who I am as a player."

Wentz has struggled without his top playmakers and that was only amplified against the Seahawks when Brandon Brooks joined Lane Johnson on the sidelines after an anxiety attack. What followed was a perfect storm of ineptitude resulting in five turnovers, four directly attributed to Wentz himself.

“You’re going to go through highs and lows, you’re going to go through peaks and valleys, but for me being confident in who I am as a person, as a player and as a man of God, that’s really all that matters," Wentz explained. "I have so much confidence in my ability to turn this around, do my best and get these things fixed that I don’t get too high or too low going through these things.”

A lull in competition -- a three-week stretch against three two-win teams in Miami, the NY Giants and Washington -- starts this Sunday and offers Wentz and the Eagles offense an opportunity to start moving in the right direction again.

His bruised hand, which required in-game X-rays against the Seahawks, has “calmed down” and Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor could be returning in South Florida.

And wins -- even against inferior foes -- tend to be a tonic for any frustration.

“They have a right to be frustrated,” Wentz said of the Philadelphia fans. “They pay money to sit in those seats, they pay money to cheer us on and they’re so passionate about it, and I’m the same way, so when they’re frustrated, I’m frustrated, too  but at the same time I’m excited to go forward and hopefully they’re excited to see us turn this thing around.”

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen