Carson Wentz says he hasn’t had pizza in almost 7 months

Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz talked to the media after practice on Tuesday and echoed a lot of his previous comments about getting or needing preseason reps and how he’ll be ready for Week 1 with or without them.

He also said that he does feel a little different three weeks into camp having had a complete offseason, and also with regard to some of the changes he’s made to his diet and fitness regime. The QB said that with these changes he feels better, stronger and more explosive, but it has been a while since he’s felt this way with his injuries.

Wentz also mentioned that among all the dietary changes he’s made, he missed pizza the most, saying it’s been 6-7 MONTHS (!!!). (WHAT!?) He said that’s the hardest, because when he’s hanging out with the guys, you want to order pizza, and trying to find pizza substitutes hasn’t been as successful as he had hoped.

But, he can have caffeine, so at least there’s that.

On the need for preseason reps

Wentz echoed Doug Pederson in noting that the way training camp practices go, they are very high intensity and he’s having to face a really good defense. The QB said that everybody is flying around and it’s as close to a game-like environment as they can get without the hitting.

He also repeated what he said last week and will continue to trust Pederson’s plan for him in the preseason, and trusts him to make the best decision for the QB and the team.

Wentz also said that he didn’t really let Nate Sudfeld going down with an injury affect how he feels about preseason play. Ultimately, he just feels bad for his friend and teammate, and knows that this was a big preseason for the No. 2 QB, but they are glad it isn’t a super long term injury.

He said it does get tiring to see the same defense everyday in camp, but at the same time, they do so many different things and give them different looks, that it forces the offense to be better. But, it does get to a point where they are excited to face some other defenses soon.

The QB also said that he doesn’t think there’s any downside should he not end up playing in the preseason at all. Either way, he’ll be ready when it’s his turn to take the field, whether that’s Thursday or Week 1 of the regular season.

Later, he emphasized that the confidence without the preseason comes with having several years in the league, and knowing that having preseason work isn’t the only thing to factor into success.

On seeing Nick Foles

Wentz didn’t hold back, saying, “I’m excited to see him”, when asked about what it’ll be like to face off against his former teammate. He said that they do keep in touch here and there, but it’s been awhile since they’ve seen each other.

He did joke that Foles wouldn’t tell him whether he’d be playing on Thursday, though.

The QB said he doesn’t really have a favorite Foles story, but did note that he credits his former teammate for getting him into liking coffee.

Wentz also mentioned that when he does talk to Foles — like with other guys across the league — they don’t talk a lot of football. They moreso talk about life and how his family is doing, and catch up on those kinds of things.

Later on, Wentz also said that his favorite thing about Nick is his personality. He said it’s been documented that the way they both approach the game and think about life, is a healthy dose of similar and different, so they often complimented each other and worked well together to see both sides of a situation.

Other notables

They did a lot of red zone work on Tuesday, and Wentz said they are able to provide so many options because of the depth of talent they have at so many offensive positions. They can really look toward any position group, and also have some really big bodied players that can make plays near (and in) the endzone.

Wentz said, “I love Clayton, he’s an awesome guy,” when asked about his rapport with the rookie QB. He went on to say that he likes what he’s done in OTAs and in training camp, regardless of how things looked in the first preseason game.