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Frank Reich on Carson Wentz: Losing wears on you

Philadelphia Eagles v Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 4: Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)

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Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz’s rookie season got off to a fast start as he played very well in three wins to open the year and raise expectations for what the Eagles might be able to do during the 2016 season.

The last nine games haven’t gone nearly as well. The Eagles have lost seven of those games, knocking them out of the playoff picture, and Wentz’s play has tailed off along with it. He’s thrown eight interceptions in the last five games after throwing three in the first seven contests, his completion percentage has dropped and the Eagles haven’t scored more than 15 points in any of their last three games.

On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Frank Reich said he believes the downturn has gotten to Wentz. Reich said that the “most confident quarterbacks in the world lose their confidence and get battered” at times, something he suggested has happened to Wentz while adding that he thinks Wentz will rebound.

“Well, for a while I thought he seemed totally unflappable,” Reich said at his press conference. “Now, in some of the more recent losses, do you sense that this is, ‘Okay, he’s feeling this one, he’s feeling this one?’ Yeah, we’re all feeling it. I think he was that young, naïve -- in a good sense -- but still very mature guy who came in and it was like, ‘Nothing is going to get this guy down.’ But it wears on you. It wears on you. Losing wears on you in this league. That’s why you’ve got to have the mental toughness. You’ve got to have the mental toughness because it’s a grind, and it’s especially a grind when you’re not winning the games that you want to win and you lose close games. You have to have the tenacity to fight out of it and not get too down. He has that.”

The experience of a full year as a starter, win or lose, should benefit Wentz as he heads into 2017 and it would certainly help his chances of future success if the team can surround him with more talent on offense. Even if they do, there will be adversity for Wentz to overcome and the Eagles can only hope that this year helps provide him with those tools.