Eagles coach Doug Pederson dragged into feeble defense of QB Carson Wentz in response to Brett Favre's comments

After Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson answered questions about Brett Favre’s Carson Wentz vs. Nick Foles comments on Wednesday, only a single question remained.

Could Pederson have handled that any worse?

When presented with a chance to defend his quarterback against an outsider’s criticism, Pederson punted until he was forced to answer, and then he gave a weak, milquetoast defense of the Eagles’ franchise quarterback.

Not exactly encouraging as the 3-4-1 Eagles gear up for the most difficult part of their schedule, with their success dependent on whether Wentz can overcome his struggles.

Favre: Eagles should’ve kept Foles

The debate over whether the Eagles should’ve kept Foles or Wentz after Foles led the franchise to their first-ever Super Bowl victory will continue to rage on in Philly, even though Wentz has signed a big contract extension and Foles is on his second post-Eagles team.

Favre, who has been retired for about a decade, decided to step into the debate when he was asked on “First Take” about whether he thinks Wentz is a franchise quarterback. He started off being fairly understanding of Wentz’s struggles, but then took a hard turn in the opposite direction and said he thinks the Eagles should’ve kept Foles.

“I think [Wentz] is very capable,” Favre said. “I think we’re all in agreement that he has the tools. I actually thought they should have kept Nick Foles rather than Carson Wentz, just based off of production and where they got to. You know, they won a Super Bowl with Foles. They’re obviously banking on (Wentz’s) upside, but how many more years do you let him linger before you stick with him or cut bait?”

Pederson drops the ball on defending Wentz

Pederson was asked several questions about Favre’s comments on Wednesday and couldn’t formulate a real answer until the third time he was asked. Maybe Pederson had such a hard time standing behind his embattled quarterback and criticizing Favre because he and Favre are friends and former teammates. Pederson was Favre’s backup for several years in Green Bay, including during their 1996 championship season.

Whatever the reason, Pederson was asked about Favre’s comments three separate times over the course of the news conference, and at no point was he able to give a confident or satisfying answer.

First, Pederson said he respects Favre’s opinion and he’d be having an off-the-record chat with him about it. When asked a second time, Pederson said again that he respects Favre’s opinion and that he’s entitled to that. Since neither of those were actual answers he was asked a third time, and then proceeded to barely defend Wentz while not condemning Favre’s opinion.

Eagles fans, who are upset enough with their team’s performance this season, won’t find anything in Pederson’s comments to make them feel better.

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