Nick and Carson. Nick and Nate. Nate and Carson. They were all best friends on the field, they were inseparable in training and in the locker room, they were all about the same age and, hell, they even looked alike.
If Carson Wentz said it once, he said it a thousand times. His relationships with Nick Foles in 2017 and 2018 and with Nate Sudfeld in the last four years have been key to his success.
Doug Pederson was amazed at the Eagles quarterback’s camera and how close those boys were, how they supported each other, how they revealed the best of them.
Now, for the first time, the dynamic has changed.
Dramatic.
From all points of view, Wentz supported Jalen Hurts and Hurts appreciates Wentz’s help.
But everything feels very different. Because Hurts and Wentz are certainly friendly, but they’re not best friends.
They didn’t stand a chance.
Wentz last month: “It simply came to our notice then. We have virtual meetings and all sorts of things. Developing relationships with him and everyone here has been difficult. I respect them a lot as a player, person and competitor. “
It hurts this week: “I know Carson and I have a strong faith. We are great believers in God and we put all our trust in Him. Carson was wonderful, very supportive and has a lot of knowledge. I’m always open to listening to these things. “
Why is everything so important?
The defenders don’t have to be best friends, like Foles, Wentz and Sudfeld, but they spend so much time together studying the film, dissecting the defense and troubleshooting each other, that when that relationship doesn’t have a chance to develop from because of a pandemic and the strict rules of social distancing imposed by the NFL, it is difficult for the same level of trust and support to be there.
Pederson is huge in terms of players building interpersonal relationships and how over time this translates into improved performance.
And he talked this week about how much he misses that aspect of leading a football team.
How can you replicate the relationship that is so important to becoming good teammates – especially for defenders – when you are allowed in the locker room only 15 minutes a day, when meetings are held practically, when you are not allowed to participate away from the unit?
“That’s a question I’m actually thinking about every day,” Pederson said. “I like to have meetings in person, where I can see the boys face to face and communicate face to face. With this pandemic and everything becoming virtual now, we just finished a set of online meetings. It is more difficult to build the relationships you would like to build and that is with any room in the team.
“The quarterback room is a good room, it is a solid room. But at the same time, it makes it a little harder when you’re not watching a movie together after a workout or when you’re at the receivers and watching a movie or watching a training box or when you arrive with [Jason] Kelce and go through protection plans. It just makes it a little more challenging this way.
“We are talking about social distance, but we try to maintain a level of trying to be more social together as best we can. Whether it’s Saturday night at the hotel on the road or even training during walks or actual practice. That’s … something I’ve been thinking about a lot these days and our boys have done a great job managing everything so far. “
What about Hurts and Wentz?
It is an ongoing work.
„I see the communication, no. 1, in practice [and] during the games, “said Pederson. “Only communication, dialogue back and forth, obviously through the Press [Taylor], by myself. Only that communication and this is the only indicator that tends to lead things in the right direction and that’s what I saw “.
After his first career start on Sunday, Hurts talked about how Wentz helped him during the game.
“Yes, he had some advice for me,” Hurts said. “A few small things that point here and there – certain looks, seeing the space of defense. So it was very helpful this week. “
They may not be best friends, but Hurts and Wentz seem to be doing their best in a unique and challenging year.
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