Rendell: Your choice - Wentz and early woes, or Bradford and success

IT'S TIME to man up, Eagles fans! Do you remember the song by the Lovin' Spoonful, "Did You Ever Have to Make up Your Mind"? The lyrics say:

Did you ever have to finally decide

Say yes to one and let the other one ride

It is not often easy and not often kind

Did you ever have to make up your mind?

All of us crazed Eagles fans must a decision before Sept. 11. Essentially, we have to say yes to one and let the other one ride (the bench). The choice is not easy. I know the overwhelming feeling among those in Eagle Nation is that they would like to see the future, a k a Carson Wentz, behind center as quickly as possible. After all, didn't Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, last year's No. 1 and No. 2 picks, start on Opening Day for the Bucs and Titans, respectively? Didn't expert analyst Mike Mayock tell us Carson is every bit as talented as those two? The answers are yes and yes. But what do you think the Bucs' and Titans' records were? The answer: 6-10 and 3-13, respectively.

As I've written before, I do not believe Wentz is as talented as Winston or Mariota, although the Eagles' supporting cast is better than that of the Bucs and Titans, so I think we would have roughly the same awful record if we went with Wentz out of the box or very early in the season.

Now, as for the other choice - sticking with Sam the Man has its perils, as well. The downside to this option is that Sam Bradford has made a hash of it by demanding a trade. He has a two-year, $35 million contract ($22 million guaranteed). For that type of money, I might sit in a T-shirt and shorts, with honey on my neck, arms and legs, surrounded by a swarm of angry bees every Sunday for 16 weeks. Sam, you should have been willing to compete. You should have been willing to earn your job over a rookie who played in the same football subdivision as Penn. The course Braford and his agent followed has created a real barrier for success this season. That barrier is 69,176 angry Eagles fans, who, for reasons to be expected, will shake Lincoln Financial Field with boos when Bradford comes on to the field on Opening Day. I fear the booing will be prolonged and brutal, and will affect Bradford's easily scarred psyche, and disastrous results will be immediate.

But Eagles fans, we have an option! We can say yes to Bradford, let Wentz ride the bench for the season; we can vent and boo Bradford during the preseason, but support him once the regular season kicks off. I favor this option, because I want the Eagles to be playing relevant football games come December. I believe Bradford did pretty well last season, particularly in the second half, when I thought he was flat-out sensational in a few games. He is a very accurate passer, and, with an intact offensive line and an improved receiving corps, including the additions of solid veterans Rueben Randle and Chris Givens, he has the ability to lead the Eagles into contention for the NFC East title.

If you don't believe me, think for a moment of all the dropped passes last season. While it is true that the Eagles have a very difficult schedule (seven games against teams that made the playoffs last season), I think that with Bradford at the helm, the Eagles can go 8-8 or 9-7 and maybe steal the NFC East.

We need Bradford to play well for this to happen, but for him to do so we must make up our minds - pick him, support him, cheer for him, and let Carson ride the bench till 2017. So it's up to all of us! We just have to finally decide which way we want to go - 3-13 or 9-7!

@GovEdRendell