The Mechanics of Carson Wentz: Adam Dedeaux
When people think of 3DQB and all the legendary quarterbacks who have worked with them, the obvious person that comes to mind is Tom House. House founded the company and gained quite a reputation for his work with Drew Brees and Tom Brady.
After those initial years though, the football side of 3DQB was mostly handled by Adam Dedeaux. While he may not get the proper credit he deserves in the media, Dedeaux has personally worked with many of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, including Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Matt Ryan.
When Carson Wentz went to 3DQB in 2017, he worked almost exclusively with Dedeaux. Due to their prior working relationship, Dedeaux was the natural choice to resume working with Wentz upon his trade to the Indianapolis Colts.
With the series being all about the mechanics of Carson Wentz, I felt that I couldn't complete it without talking to Dedeaux himself. So in today's edition of this series, I go through Dedeaux's background in this industry, his work with Wentz in 2017, and how things are progressing for Wentz this offseason.
Background with 3DQB
Dedeaux doesn't have the traditional background of most quarterback trainers. He actually began his career as a pitcher at USC. His intro into the world of mechanics was introduced to him by his pitching coach, Tom House.
House was primarily working with baseball players when he coached at USC. That all changed when House had the chance to work with Drew Brees. Once the word got out about the success of that training, 3DQB was born.
While House gets most of the credit for the work with NFL quarterbacks, Dedeaux played a major part in building up that side of the business.
"Tom (House) allowed me at that point to expand and he put me in charge of motion analysis and running the workouts everyday." said Dedeaux. "He was doing the baseball side and I would be on the other field doing football."
The biggest challenge for Dedeaux was bringing over the concepts he learned from baseball and pitching to the football world. While there are similarities between pitchers and quarterbacks, it was a completely different animal.
"When we started doing quarterbacks, I realized that there are concepts that we do that carry over but there’s just so much more to it." said Dedeaux.
Over time, Dedeaux was able to craft a model that is still used by 3DQB today. Through conversations with House, they were able to put together a model that infused the science of throwing and mechanics along with everything they were seeing from the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
"I had the opportunity to have the perspective of some Hall of Famers so I was able to see how they see things, what positions feel right to them, where do their eyes need to be, and things like that." said Dedeaux. "I would say the model was the marriage of those two things. What we knew to be true of science/movement efficiency/biomechanics and what the best in the world were doing."
From that point on, 3DQB has only grown. Most of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL now work with Dedeaux, and plenty of colleges are sending their quarterbacks as well. What started as a side project has turned into the best place to train quarterbacks in the country.
"That was really how I got started." said Dedeaux. "Taking what I knew from Tom (House) and asking the right questions of the best to ever do it. With that collaboration, it just kept growing and getting better and better."
Work with Carson Wentz in 2017
Back in 2017, Dedeaux had the opportunity to work with one of the more talented young quarterbacks in the league in Carson Wentz. Dedeaux certainly had his work cut out for him, as Wentz needed a lot of work mechanically.
"The biggest thing with Carson then is he was a big, strong guy but he would muscle balls. He would come up sore at times as a result." said Dedeaux.
Some of those mechanical concerns can be seen here in this clip by Dub Maddox, another QB coach that I have worked with on past articles. Wentz struggled to align his body to his target and properly use his lower half, which led to a lot of pressure being put on his arm.
The biggest point of emphasis for Dedeaux in those first workouts with Wentz was to get him to the point where his entire body was working together as a passer.
"We helped him get a better understanding of being more efficient, using his body correctly, and understanding mechanically what is efficient for him." said Dedeaux. "After that, a lot of the soreness he experienced went away."
Once the soreness went away, Dedeaux saw a light turn on for Wentz. He was able to see the results from just one minor adjustment and that is what helped him buy-in to the rest of the program.
"That was probably the biggest buy-in thing for him." said Dedeaux. "He saw the minor tweak we made, and a positive result, so he was ready for the next level. Back then, it was just getting him healthy and throwing the ball the right way."
After that work with Dedeaux in the summer prior to the 2017 season, Wentz would go on to have his best two years as a NFL quarterback.
In 2017, he completed 60.2% of his passes for 3,296 yards with 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions in just 13 games.
In 2018, Wentz would complete 69.6% of his passes for 3,074 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Obviously things went downhill for Wentz late in 2019 and for most of the 2020 season, but that peak play is still in him. The work he did with Dedeaux on his mechanics played a major part into that.
"As a quarterback, you are constantly moving in different directions and you are thrown off by the line and concepts." said Dedeaux. "In Carson’s case, we saw how good he could be."
Update on his Work with Wentz this Offseason
While I didn't ask about the details of their on-field work this offseason, I did ask Dedeaux about the progress Wentz has made and where he is mentally with their workouts.
The answer was the best possible one to get for Colts' fans.
"This was by far the most work and the hardest he’s worked with me. He has not backed off one minute." said Dedeaux. "I’m having to make sure he is getting his breaks and getting his body right. I think he will have the opportunity to operate more efficiently this year."
Wentz has been working tirelessly since February with Dedeaux, and will still be working with him right up until Training Camp begins. He hasn't shown any sign of slowing down his work once the season begins either, as Dedeaux will remain in contact with Wentz throughout the year.
The biggest takeaway from my conversation with Dedeaux is just how motivated Wentz is this offseason. His mentality isn't relaxed or relieved to be out of Philadelphia, it's more focused and determined to succeed in a better situation.
"(He’s) motivated to change a narrative that has been out there about him and his ability. Mentally, just in a much better headspace." said Dedeaux. "He’s confident in what he’s doing and confident where he is at. He’s in the headspace where he knows there’s no excuses anymore and he is in a place where he can go and succeed now."
Dedeaux knows that this is a process and that it won't all come together on day one. That being said though, he can't help but to be excited about this upcoming year for the Indianapolis Colts.
"He’s worked his tail off and I’m super excited for him. I think it is going to be a helluva year for him and the Colts." said Dedeaux.
