Adrian Fedkiw
What tension?
What drama?
If you listened to the Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz press conferences Tuesday, you’d think that Bradford, Wentz and Chase Daniel are the best of pals.
And hell, maybe they are.
“They’re great dudes,” Bradford said. “We have a really good room. Having Chase in the room I think for me and Carson both has been great just because he’s been in this system … He understands some of the smaller details. When we watch tape, he’s able to point out things.”
And about Wentz specifically?
“He’s been great. He’s a great kid and really talented. It’s been fun working with him, trying to help him, just trying to share bits of information I’ve picked up along the way,” Bradford said.
Wentz echoed some of Bradford’s sentiments.
“So far it’s been great. Working with Sam, working with Chase, we’ve got an awesome quarterback room. A lot of really good discussions, about the playbook, about life. Nothing but great things to say about both of those guys,” he said.
Wentz has also learned how to play the media game as well, dodging a question about offensive coordinator Frank Reich’s comments to WIP last week about Bradford not being the clear-cut starting quarterback.
“We view every day as an opportunity to get better. I think a little friendly competition within ourselves makes us better and at the end of the day it makes the team better. If we’re all pushing each other, working together, that only makes the team better and I think that’s something that we have going that I think is really special,” he said.
Wentz continued, saying “the relationship we have with us three is huge. We’re not out there to get each other, we’re out there to make the team better. Not only does that lift the team, it makes us individually better, being able to work together and not have to worry and stress about that other stuff.”
Wentz also talked about what his rookie experience has been like so far.
“So far it’s been great. Enjoy this time. This rookie year, it only happens once. Learning this offense as a rookie, it only happens once. I’ve enjoyed the heck out of it. It’s been great to be around the coaching staff, they’re top notch guys. I’ve learned a lot of ball and I love it,” he said.
And what has been the biggest difference between the FCS and NFL level?
“Speed of the game,” he said. “It’s evident out there. Everything happens faster, windows are tighter, safeties are cutting off things so much quicker. Everything happens faster, but I’ve just got to speed up my process as well and good things will happen.”
When Bradford looked back at his rookie year, he admitted that it was a blur.
“It seemed like it all happened so fast. You go through the draft process, you get drafted, you’re in a new city, you’re trying to learn an offense, you’re trying to get acclimated to the speed of the game. You’re trying to figure out so many things,” he said.
Bradford also commented on how he’s grasping the offense and said that he feels “really good” with it. There was a report by Matt Lombardo over the weekend that Wentz is grasping the offense faster than Bradford.
“The more you’re out there, the more reps I get in it, the more comfortable I feel with it,” Bradford said. “There are a lot more plays, a lot more concepts in right now compared to this time last year. Last year it was very repetitive in practice, you’d see the same plays so you’d run those plays multiple time, where as this year, we’ve got a big playbook. You might get one rep of a play all week and that’s it.”
Bradford will be under center more in Doug Pederson’s offense than he was last year in Chip Kelly’s and opened up about it.
“The footwork is different, the timing is a little bit different, the protection calls are a little bit different when you’re under center, but at the same time you can get into more some of the play-action stuff. It’s a little bit more realistic when you are under center, I think some of those fakes are better. When you stay balanced with the run and the pass under center, I think it just puts that slight second of hesitation in the defense,” he said.
Wentz gave his thoughts on the offense as well and how it’s different than the one he was in at North Dakota State.
“There’s just more. There’s more stuff, there’s more verbage, there’s more schemes, a lot more detailed. The general idea is pretty similar, there’s just more,” he said.
Check out the press conference below.