Big thanks to Villanova wide receivers coach Brian Flinn for his help on this piece.

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On Doug Pederson’s weekly schedule during the season, Thursday nights are reserved for a meeting with Carson Wentz.

Pederson may tell stories about his time in Green Bay with Brett Favre. He may gauge how Wentz is dealing with lofty expectations and an increasingly bright spotlight. Or they might just talk about hunting deer.

And then there’s the X’s and O’s — a back-and-forth about how to best attack the upcoming opponent.

“I think it’s important for myself as a play-caller and the quarterback that we kind of get on the same page,” Pederson said. “I want to hear his thoughts from the week of practice, and he wants to hear my thoughts.”

The meetings began last year. They evolved at the start of this season. And with the Eagles at 6-1, they’re now more involved than ever.

“It’s been great,” Wentz said. “Just to, first of all, develop our relationship. We talk about football, we talk about life, we talk about hunting. We talk about all sorts of things. It’s been really cool to develop our relationship and our trust with each other.

“But then to also just really focus in on the game plan and different things he’s seeing. Because later in the week, we’ve really watched a ton of film and have a really good grasp of our opponent. So he can talk about what he’s seeing. I can bring up some ideas and different things that I’m seeing. It’s just a really good, healthy thing for us. Then when we’re on the field, I know what he’s thinking in certain situations and vice versa. So it’s been really effective for us.”

Through seven weeks, the Eagles rank third in passing efficiency (DVOA). Wentz is fourth in YPA (7.98), first in passing touchdowns (17) and fourth in passer rating (104.0). He looks like the franchise quarterback that Eagles fans have been waiting for. Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo deserve their share of the credit for developing him.

One key has been that they listen to Wentz. Even though the quarterback is only in his second season, they’ve empowered him. Whether it’s true audibles or the take-it system, Wentz has the ability to control the game at the line of scrimmage. His acumen to get the offense into the right looks and the right plays based on the defense’s coverage has been key all season long.

But it doesn’t end there.

During Monday night’s broadcast, Jon Gruden pointed out that the 9-yard touchdown pass to Corey Clement came on a play that the Eagles installed at the suggestion of Wentz.

“I had to call NDSU, get the old film out so I could show them what’s going on and then run it in practice and convince them on it,” Wentz said. “It’s cool to have that relationship, that dynamic with Coach Reich, with Coach Pederson that they respect my opinion when I bring them things like that. It’s a great play, obviously. It’s been effective for us. But I just love that relationship that we can bring up those ideas.”

Wentz didn’t want to reveal the name of the play, so we’ll call it “Bison.”

The Eagles ran the play out of 12 personnel. Brent Celek ran a pivot route. Zach Ertz ran a dig behind him. And Clement released into the flat.

“If you’re that tight to the goal line, if you get pressure, a lot of times, the back’s unaccounted for,” Flinn said. “You can throw it out there for a cheap touchdown.”

Of course, on this specific play, the Eagles’ score had very little to do with play design. Wentz was pressured, and Clement followed his scramble drill rules, abandoning his route and heading upfield.

“In our room, we talk about what kills scrambles: loafs kill scrambles,” Flinn said. “When you stop running, a scramble’s dead.”

In the face of pressure, Wentz made an unbelievable throw. And Clement, who was the third and last read on the play, made a great catch.

“When I stepped up, I just peeked and knew where my No. 3 guy would be out in the flat, and he turned it up,” Wentz said. “I just knew I had a split second to make a quick decision, and I found him.”

Added Reich, “Here’s what happens when you’re not only athletically really good, but you’re mentally really good, is you have to be able to make that decision and know that that guy is going to be where he’s going to be at. And so it was that combination of physical ability to make the play, but also the mental ability to understand the dynamics of what was happening in that moment.”

In Week 3 against the New York Giants, the Eagles ran the same play. Ertz dropped what appeared to be an easy touchdown. NFL Films had Wentz mic’d up that day and caught him yelling to the sideline, “Again! Again!” Pederson listened, and the Eagles went back to the same play.

This time, Ertz hung on for the score.

Ertz’s route on this play can vary. So far this season, he’s shown a dig, seam and post out of this look.

“Here, they’re playing Cover 3,” Flinn said. “And he just throws the seam in between the corner and the safety.

“When we run pivot and dig, you hardly ever throw the pivot. The pivot’s there to hold down the under coverage so you can run the dig behind it. I think when you add the back there in the flat, it expands the field if it’s zone coverage and gives the two inside guys a little more room to work.”

Wentz said the Eagles installed the play early in the season, rep’d it in practice for a couple weeks and then started using it in games.

“It’s been effective,” Wentz said. “And it’s just got good answers all over the field. We mix it up with different things too so it’s not the same play exactly every time.”

Gruden said that Wentz ran this play 15 times inside the 5-yard line at North Dakota State.

“Sometimes, just plays have a good mojo for you,” Reich said. “You’ve had a lot of success, you’ve got a lot of confidence in them. And then you’ve rep’d it enough. I think what happens when you run a play over and over again, you see it against all kinds of different coverages. You see it against different coverage techniques and leverage that defenders play, and really good quarterbacks learn how to beat any coverage when they have one play that they really like. You feel like [they] can’t stop the play.

“We have different variations of that play so teams can’t zero in on it and ways to disguise it and ways to counter off of that play, but even in practice when we run the versions of that play, you can just see Carson just work the progressions and get to every receiver in the progression. … Sometimes as coaches, you don’t want to outsmart yourself. You just want to keep running the same plays over and over again, make them look a little different, have enough in your inventory that defenses can’t get too narrowed in on it, but certainly just keep running your same stuff and let your players play.

Wentz said that it’s not just him. The coaches have been receptive to ideas from all the players. He used the example of Nick Foles suggesting plays from the different systems he’s been in.

“When we all come together in that quarterback room, there’s a lot of ideas flowing,” Wentz said.

Pederson’s greatest strength as a head coach may be that he doesn’t try to do everything. Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas and their staff handle personnel. Jim Schwartz is in charge of the defense. And offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland takes the lead on the run game.

Pederson’s job is to work on the offensive scheme and game plan. He is responsible for building relationships with players and creating a culture in which those players can thrive. And of course, he takes the lead in developing the franchise quarterback. Through seven games this year, the Eagles are thriving in large part because of how well Wentz and Pederson are working together.

“I just think it’s important that that line of communication is open, the dialogue is there,” Pederson said. “I want to make sure that he and I are seeing the same things going into those games.”