Pederson’s guidance has Wentz in MVP hunt
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz already has made shortlists in early MVP talks. He’s guided the Eagles to a 5-1 record, tops in the league. That’s all thanks in no small part to Doug Pederson.
PHILADELPHIA » Every Thursday night or so, Doug Pederson talks about football and life with Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.
Make that football and “deer hunting stories.” Pederson didn’t mention if they were outfitted in camouflage and orange vests, but you can guess they drifted into that mindset. And probably played a little country music.
“He loves to deer hunt and all that, and I do, too,” Pederson said Saturday. “I was talking about my days in Green Bay with Brett (Favre). It’s just that time where he and I can just sort of take a deep breath, exhale, and get kind of on the same page going into the game.” Wentz, 24, and his older brother Zach are avid hunters. Last spring, they went on a seven-day hunting trip in New Zealand where they brought down wild game with bows and rifles. You can watch their escapades on Wentz Bros Outdoors on YouTube. They look like Navy SEALs in hunter gear. Their shooting is off the charts.
Tracking and taking down critters is not unlike preparing for football games, especially the attention to detail.
“He loves practice, and there’s not many people that just love to practice but he’s one of them,” Pederson said. “He works extremely hard at his craft and you have to be — as a player in this league, a player that wants to be coached. And Carson is that way. I think that’s big, and that’s not only a tribute to him. But I thank Frank (Reich) and John (DeFilippo) for working with those guys.”
Favre, if you read what some of his teammates said, isn’t in the same class as a hunter as Wentz. On one get together with a couple of quarterbacks, he wore sweatpants and mistook a deer for a dog. But that’s another story for another day.
Wentz already has made shortlists in early MVP talk. He’s guided the Eagles to a 5-1 record, tops in the league. If he stays healthy, it’s going to continue.
“He has a bigger picture, a broader picture of the team concept,” Pederson said. “He knows that if the team does well obviously he’s going to do well and he can be in that conversation at the end of the season. But right now his focus is week to week, and that’s what’s so refreshing about him, particularly this young so early in his career. It’s that he can get better, and he can improve each and every game each season. And I know that he’s probably going to be in those conversations probably for the rest of his career.”
While that might make it sound like Wentz is doing everything, not Pederson, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Pederson, Reich and DeFilippo, who quarterbacked Radnor High way back in the day, are the ideal people to have around him. Kind of like hunting buddies. Clearly Wentz trusts them, and vice versa. It sounds like a cliché, but just watching Wentz on a hunt shows another side of his mission to be the ultimate team player.
Wentz isn’t the only player Pederson has reached. Nelson Agholor, who, after the mistakes he made last year wouldn’t have survived the season, is tied for the team lead with four touchdown receptions. Agholor also is the unofficial captain of celebrations.
“Football is about expressing yourself,” Agholor said. “Coach told us that’s what he wants us to do, express ourselves and have fun.”
Near the end of a conference call with Philly-area media, Washington head coach Jay Gruden was asked if he was looking forward to seeing his older brother Jon Monday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jon Gruden does the color commentary on MNF. He was offensive coordinator of the Eagles from 1995-97, then head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I am,” Jay Gruden said. “I got to see him a couple weeks ago. We didn’t get it done against Kansas City on the road, but hopefully this week will be different.”
After a pause, Gruden returned serve saying “You guys looking forward to seeing him? ’Cuz he’s done a number on Philly himself.”
Jon Gruden and the Bucs defeated the Eagles, 27-10, in the 2002 NFC title game. It was the last game at Veterans Stadium. After the Eagles took a 7-0 lead, Joe Jurevicius caught a 71-yard pass from Brad Johnson to set up a short run giving the Bucs the lead for good.
“I was there,” Jay Gruden said. “Joe Jurevicius on a jerk route, took it 80.”
A week later, the Bucs defeated the Raiders in the Super Bowl.
A jerk route is a shallow crossing route with a stutter step to get a linebacker on the receiver. Though fans blamed Philly linebacker Barry Gardner for the TD, the late Jim Johnson said privately that Jurevicius was Bobby Taylor’s man.
*** NOTES » Benched the previous week, Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer is the starter again this week. Friday, he called a players-only offensive meeting. Sunday, we’ll see how it works against the Titans. The Browns are 0-6. They’ve lost 24 of their last 25 games. The Titans are 3-3. … Mitchell Trubisky became the first Bears’ rookie quarterback to win since Kyle Orton in 2005. He takes on Cam Newton and Carolina Sunday … We can confirm that the. Dolphins (3-2) are the only NFL team without a rushing TD this year. They won’t get one Sunday at MetLife against the Jets (33). … The Cardinals addressed their run game issue with Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 134 yards last week. But the Cardinals (3-3) almost blew a 31-point lead in a 38-33 win over the Bucs. The Cards take on the Rams (4-2) in England. … The Cowboys (2-3) are coming off their bye and take on the 49ers (0-6), who have scored just 113 points. … The Giants (1-5) host Seattle (3-2), which has won two straight games.