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Pederson drops the 'P word' on Wentz, lauds 'Peyton Manningish' prep

Eagles coach Doug Pederson called Carson Wentz's preparation "Peyton Manningish" Monday, when Pederson met with reporters the day after his team's 34-3 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pederson, the rookie coach who is off to the best start in franchise history, did not dispel the notion that Wentz, the rookie quarterback who is off to the best start in franchise history, has a so-called "photographic memory," something two of his questioners brought up.

"If it's a bad play, he forgets it; if it's a good play, he forgets it and he just kind of moves on, but at the same time he can recall things fast and quickly, things that we're seeing even during the course of the game that we can tweak on the sideline," Pederson said.

"He's a different player, that way. He's much like (Pederson's) last quarterback, Alex Smith, in Kansas City, same type of memory. For a young kid to do that is pretty special."

Pederson said his quarterbacks, who gather at 5:30 each morning, "are exhausting the tape."

"He's constantly, I hear him just even in the building, talking to guys about plays and routes and protections," Pederson said. "It's Peyton Manningish. I don't want to put labels on guys, but that's how Peyton prepared. That's how these top quarterbacks prepare each week. He has that knack, as a young quarterback, and that'll just carry him throughout his career.

"The challenge now is the more success, how much gets pulled on him and taken away from him (by defenses scheming to limit Wentz)."

Asked a followup question about "photographic memory," Pederson said: "I think he does have that type of memory, that type of recollection. He sees things, he remembers it. We can talk about it after a drive is over. We can obviously see it on the pictures, on the tablets on the sideline, and then when he goes back out there, he can remember that defense. If he sees that front or that coverage, that look again, he knows exactly what's coming defensively, and he can put us in the right play.

"For a young quarterback, after only a few weeks, to have that type of recollection is something special."

Other highlights:

*Pederson on a second-half conditioning edge, which he attributes to a tough training camp: "I just felt yesterday our guys really took control offensively and defensively up front. Our d-line and our offensive line, to be able to control the game that way, conditioning was good. I felt like our guys were in good shape in the fourth quarter."

*Pederson reiterated that he expects Zach Ertz (displaced rib) and Leodis McKelvin (hamstring) to return to practice when it resumes next week, in preparation for playing Detroit.

*Pederson said Ryan Mathews' ankle, which he sprained during the opener, "stiffened up on him" during the first quarter, which was the only quarter Mathews played Sunday. Mathews had an earlier problem with the same ankle, entering training camp.

*Pederson said he expects rookie guard Isaac Seumalo to "get some work done" the week of Detroit. Seumalo has a strained pec.