Doug Pederson, Scolding Reporter For Asking Same Question A Different Way: "Ask It A Different Way"

By my count, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was asked five different times about the status of Carson Wentz in his Sunday afternoon press conference. The first was something like “has Carson been cleared for contact,” and from there the assorted reporters tried out a few promising variations.

Someone asked Pederson what he thought of Wentz’s workout prior to Thursday’s preseason game, as a sign of readiness; someone asked him how close to the regular season opener the team would push it before naming Wentz the starter; someone asked what criteria doctors would use to clear Wentz; someone finally asked what process doctors would use to evaluate Wentz’s readiness. Five different ways of asking the same question—when is this Carson Wentz fellow going to be ready for some dang football—but apparently Pederson has an endless hunger for more variations. GIVE ME ALL THE WAYS OF ASKING THIS QUESTION:

“I don’t know how many times I can answer this question. When they clear him, he’ll be cleared. I’m not gonna put myself in a box, I’m not gonna put my quarterback in a box, I’m not gonna do that. I’m not gonna go out on a limb, and I’m not gonna say that. So either ask it a different way, or you’re gonna get the same answer.”

Thankfully, there was one soul in the room bold enough to answer Pederson’s call for exciting new variations on the same question, reframing it as, basically, “how often is Wentz evaluated.” For his grit and determination, the reporter was rewarded with an answer. Daily. Carson Wentz is evaluated daily.

The gauntlet has been thrown down. Doug Pederson will only answer questions about Carson Wentz’s status if they are asked in new and increasingly avant-garde ways. Who will rise to the challenge?