PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - A nuanced conversation about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense

Episode Date: December 10, 2025

After Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense struggled against the Los Angeles Chargers, the scrutiny around the quarterback is rising. Bo Wulf and EJ Smith discuss Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, A.J. Brown and many other’s roles in the offensive issues and are joined by Mina Kimes to break down where the group and Hurts go from here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast live from the X-Finity Studios and presented by Bet 3,6, 5, and Ashley, Wolf, and the Great Eagles Inside are E.J. Smith. E.J., how are you? I'm doing well. I don't need this plug in here. messing up what the shot looks like come on don't break your phone doing that i'm doing well it feels like it's been a while since i've been in studio so it's good to be back you got something you want to say about that by the way i don't have nothing to say i missed you guys yesterday okay didn't miss us that much i didn't don't don't make me feel bad about it i i listen not only this long night

I don't have any defense I enjoyed watching the show that I thought you guys had a good discussion thank you let's help and I noticed friends comment at the end oh EJ's coming in tomorrow good for him yeah is it you want to return fire let's know I

foment this rivalry I will as my wife can attest I did have some kind of I felt conflicted about needing to rest. Sure. Yeah. So that's all. Those weary bones.

No, no. Let's talk about Jalen Hertz. This is going to be an interesting conversation. All right. Let's talk about Jalen Hertz. Today's game plan on the show. As you can see, we're going to talk about Jalen Hertz. Mina Kimes joins the show.

Looking forward to that discussion. We'll probably talk about Jalen Hertz. And then after that, give me some more Jalen Hertz. And listen, I think this is the right time we have this conversation because the Raiders are coming up on Sunday. What are we going to say about that matchup? They stink, right? They need to win the game.

Nick Serena was asked on his radio hit about benching Jalen Hertz. Obviously, he's not going to bench Jalen Hertz. But let's, you know, when Jailen Hertz is coming off of probably the worst performance that he has had as a starter for the Eagles, what do we think about the whole thing going on? So let's get into it. Yeah. I'd like to start. Well, first and foremost, I think the benching conversation, I don't want to be.

be overly dismissive. Like, you know, the title of our show today is like a nuanced conversation about this because I don't, I think that like there, there, you'll hear a lot of people dismiss it entirely. This is ridiculous. Why would you even bring it up? And I understand that. But I also think it's a little bit ignoring the fact that it has been bad, this, especially this, you know, recent stretch from Jalen Hertz. It has been, uh, one of the worst stretches of his career. And it is hard to figure out how they're going to find their way out of it. it. Um, so again, I think that there's a lot of space in between. He needs to be benched. And it's ridiculous. Let's let's let's start with like two minutes of engaging the case for

benching Jalen Hertz. Because we both agree that that's that's the wrong thing. And I don't even think it's, it's farcically wrong as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. So let's just get it out of the way is what you're saying. Right. Yeah. Let's indulge it. The case for benching Jalen Hertz is you owe it to the players on the team and the talent that you have and a Super Bowl window to put the best quarterback right now out there and you need to find out if that is Tanner McKee or not and repercussions be damned there's a chance to win the Super Bowl that's the case right and for all the reasons that we can now we can talk about like the how Jalen Hertz has played over the last four weeks since the buy we have this graphic of just a split of what he has

done before the buy, after the buy, his completion percentage is down from 70% to 58%. Yards per attempt dropped from 7.8 to 6.4. He's throwing interceptions. The EPA per dropback is bad. And if you believe that part of the issues with the structure of the offense are Gieland Hertz's preferences, then if Tanner McKee can play quarterback the way that, you know, Nick Siriani and Kevin Petula want to design things, and he's going to get rid of the ball and give AJ Brown and Devante Smith, a chance to make contested catches in tight windows. Let's go see what they can do because the defense is that good.

Let's let's let's just, you know, repercussions be damned. Let's go for it. Now, my immediate rebuttal to this is twofold. The first is the immediate, the short term, right? Which is we, I know you're a huge Tanner McKee fan. I think we both have seen Tanner McKee play at a high level. That is so far from a definite. That is so far from like a sure thing.

I, you know, I don't let like the Nick Foll's story. like cloud your judgment here like where is there evidence of benching your quarterback this late in the season and going on a postseason run it is one thing to look good in and i don't want to minimize tanner mckee but it's one thing to look good in meaningless regular season games in the preseason and in training camp and in practice i imagine tanner mckee looks good in practice it's another thing to be like in high stakes but playoff games against the best teams in the league so it is a A huge jump, even if you feel confident about it, that's just like a massive change. Now, I think the bigger thing is a long-term argument against this, which is like you, I think

people are so quick to want to step out in the cold of not having a franchise quarterback. And that is a tough thing. When you step out under like the, right now you're warm in the house with your franchise quarterback and teams spend years, decades looking for those quarterbacks. a quarterback that is good enough to win you a Super Bowl, right? Which Jaylor Hertz is. Right. He's played at a high level in both of the Super Bowls that Eagles have been in.

To find those guys, it is not simple. It is not easy. And you don't know if that is Tanner McKee. So moving forward, like it's been five games, right? Yeah. That is a huge, huge organizational shifting decision. You don't make that so quickly. And I, you know, I've, right.

The idea being that if in a vacuum, you could, go into some simulator and be like, okay, who is the actual better quarterback right now? Let's figure it out. And if it's Tanner McKee, we'll go with Tanner McKee. Yeah. The practicality is to even try it,

to even dip your toe into it, Jalen Hertz's career with the Eagles is over. Yeah. There is no coming back from that. It's done. It's over. And that's the truth. And the reason,

part of the reason we're having this conversation is because I think there are some people in the building who do believe the offense would look better and different if Tanner McKee was the court. And that's why I don't think being dismissive of it is productive because it's not like this is a made-up sentiment. I know that there's a fever pitch for it right now

in a reactionary way. Yes. But it's not, to say it's like a huge thing or it's like to say it's real, it is maybe it's not a majority opinion, but it is a real thing. You know what the bad news for the people in the building

who think that way is though? If they made this move, they don't have their meat shield anymore. Yes. Well said. You know what I mean? Yeah, very well said. Like, oh, you want to do this?

Guess what? There's no one else for you to blame for everything that you are doing wrong. Yep. So that's the, that's the caution I make there. Okay, we've indulged it. Now, let's move on from it. No, because it's, because here's the thing. If you, as I said, if you do it, it's over.

Jalen Hertz's career with Eagles is done. Yeah. So if you believe at all that the quarterback who just won you the Super Bowl last year can play at a high. high level ever again you don't do this yes and of course you believe that right so yeah did he have a bad game of course he has everybody's allowed you're allowed to have some some dips but I mean be realistic but like like have just a modicum of patience I don't know now now well you go ahead because there's something else I want to say well I was just going to say that the the only the

The better argument, like, in the long term, is that really the Eagles past game has been broken for three years now. I mean, if you look at 2023 last season and this year, obviously Jalen played at a really high level in the Super Bowl. But in general, I think that you do, if the past game does not make meaningful strides between now and the end of the season, you are going to have to have a very difficult conversation about the philosophical marriage of Jalen Hertz and Nick Siriani. but to me to get to like the stage where you're pulling the lever that is we're making a change of quarterback we are going again stepping out into the non-franchise quarterback having crop of NFL teams that there are other levers you would pull before you pull that one for sure I think the simplest one you know and I like I understand that the crosshairs have gone from Kevin Petullo and they've now been re re uh whichever pointed at

Kevin Petulo or sorry Jalen Hertz but I do think that and we'll get into this throughout the show that there are schematic things at play here I think the thing the easiest lever and the lever that makes the most sense to pool is trying to figure out an offensive mind that can push Jalen Hertz and Nick Siriani into a different system that works better for the way that they want to play football well and I think what you're saying also is is practically it's easier to find another play caller yes then the guy who's got 55 million dollars guaranteed next year right exactly now uh i think we will talk about this with meena but like the the realities of the contract like it's it is pretty difficult to move on this off season you could do it the following off season yeah but if you were going to get you know two first round picks back or something like that all of a sudden you're more willing to yeah on that dead money yeah he's got 42 million dollars guaranteed this season and 51.5 next season I think that really the more important question for Jeffrey Lurie is why does this keep happening?

Yeah. Why do we keep doing this with quarterbacks? I'm so glad you brought this up because it is, I know, I think there are a lot of differences between Jalen Hertz and Carson Wentz, obviously, but there is like an organizational quarterback deification, enabling. Well, I think it goes both ways Because I think that part of the problem Internally with Jalen

Is that Jalen is such a strong personality With such a such Strong opinions himself About how things should be done Not not even offensively just In general Yeah

That he doesn't play their game A little bit Yeah In a lot of different ways And so It's easy for them to blame him for things and bristle at the notion that, well, he's not doing this the Eagles way, something like that.

And it's probably a little bit different than the Carson thing, where the Carson thing was more about, as far as I'm concerned, that was more enabling him and babying him to a different degree. Yeah. It's almost like, you know, like when they signed Jill into the extension after the Super Bowl, the 2022 Super Bowl, I think the thing that you heard internally was, man, like if anyone's going to hit their ceiling, it's going to be. That's the guy who's gonna hit their ceiling and I think and you've also heard like what a perfect personality for Philadelphia

He is wired exactly the way you need to be in and very quickly in 2023 All of a sudden behind the scenes. It was like oh man, you know once he got paid it's like You know he's he's not he's not exactly who we thought he was like come on. Yeah, it's yeah, and what's funny about it is how the whatever is going on in the current moment is how they frame his personality like when it's going well at the fact that he's like this is perfect When he's not, it's, oh, my God, like, you know, these, he's, you know, he's got a force field around him and he's, you know, he's not rallying and he's not open enough and all these things. And it's like, he's been, he is the constant in a lot of ways. Yeah. So I guess it is a reflection of the organization as much as it is the quarterback. I think so.

Yeah. Yeah. And Shea brings up, yes, the most mature 25-year-old, like we've ever, I've ever seen, right? That was after Brian Johnson got fired, too, wasn't it? Maybe. that well that used i think that was they used his age as like why would you ask him about brian johnson he's a kid oh yeah yeah yeah it was both yeah anyway we're going to get into some of the let's flash up that second graphic um lindsay about just the past game

troubles themselves and again this is post by he has dropped jalen to 17th in epa per dropback 19th in completion percentage 20th and dropback success rate. Now, fifth in scramble rate, and that's interesting, but 24th in Scramble EPA. And to me, I think let's get into this after the break, but I will tell you why I don't think the push for Gillen to be more involved in the design run game is precisely correct. I think it's something different. We'll tell you after this. So the other day I'm over at Mr. Lindsay's and I'm like hey congratulations

teacher of the year that's awesome we're having a good time we're celebrating and then we want to watch the game unfortunately not a good setup lagging

buffering switching apps to try to find the game it was a total disaster it was like I was fanfish so we go back to my place we watch the game we have a good time and we celebrate

the award in proper fashion because when you have Xfinity it's the perfect fan flex you get all the action right in your living room plus Xfinity's best picture and sound with enhanced 4K so clear it feels like you're in the stadium

it's the ultimate sports destination on top of that you get real-time notifications and live stats right on your TV it's the best seat in the house every time so next game day make sure that big fan isn't a big fail learn more at exfinity.com Xfinity imagine that

restrictions apply multi-view requires Xfinity 4K capable TV box if you're a last minute chopper like me you know the feeling. Shelves are empty, the crowds are picking up, and the ideas are running low. That's where Aura Frames comes in clutch with a gift that feels personal. You upload photos and videos to their frames effortlessly straight from your phone and display them year-round. You can share the photos all year long, just download the Aura app and connect to Wi-Fi.

Remember, you can't wrap togetherness, but you can frame it. Whether it's that hard to shop for Dad or the special someone in your life with picky taste, Aura Frames can give you the peace of mind to avoid those Christmas Eve shopping runs. For a limited time, you can save on the perfect gift by visiting R-frames.com to get $35 off. R-A-S-Best-Selling CarverMatt Frames. They're named number one by

a wirecutter. You can use the code promo code P-H-O-Y at checkout. That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com promo code P-H-O-I. And remember, this deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and

conditions apply. Back on the P.HL. My Eagles podcast. Jay Smith, how are you? You got really close to my face there. I bet I can get closer. No, I would, I would not like that. I would not enjoy that. All right.

Jalen has a runner. Yeah. And the idea that's, like that's really missing. We're getting to like the, let's talk about how it needs to look. How they could fix it, right? Or is that not what you're going? No, I think that's right. Yeah.

We're going to put to the side. Okay, don't bench Jalen hurts. Yeah. Don't be stupid. Yeah. Right? Yes. I would agree with that.

Okay. So, Jalen has a runner and the idea that I think it is, I think it is unfair to put on Jalen or whether it is, Jalen's decision, the team's decision, whatever it is, him running less. That's the reason that the running game is worse now. And I don't think that that is a one-to-one at all. in terms of designed run rate for quarterback starting quarterbacks he's third in the league behind Justin Fields and Jackson Dart last year he was first the three years before that he was second it's a little bit lower it's not that much lower

it's yeah he's at I think he's at 14% right now and it was like his previous low was like 16% it's not that far off he's been worse at it yes and some of that even by success rate is just the push push hasn't been as good, right? To me, the bigger problem with Jalen's legs is the scrambling. And the scrambling success

has been worse for some of those numbers that we put up before. And I think we have something else on this as well. This is actually number four that we have, Lindsay, the scrambling. But now this is just the past five weeks. And you see here, this is the one.

It's negative EPA, which is nuts. even though he's scrambling at the fifth highest percentage. And that's where I don't know what the fix there is because he doesn't look that different. You know, there was in 2023, it was like, oh, he doesn't look the same physically. I think he looks about the same as that. And I don't know if this is a,

I don't know if this is a, he doesn't want to run as much or what it is. But to me, when the passing game itself and the structure of the routes is as underwhelming as it has been, boy, would it be nice to have Jalen being dynamic as a, as a creator, be part of a sal for the offense? So I'm glad that we have structured this conversation this way, because I'm going to be a little alarmist here. Okay. The lack of efficiency on Jalen Hertz to scrambles this season, to me, like, that is the paradox of this version of Jalen Hertz in a way that I don't know where you go from here.

So if you think if this part of his game is gone, then you actually wouldn't want to replace him. What is Jaylen essentially? Like let's make this like a fundamental thing. Like let's pair this all the way down. Jalen Hertz has a quarterback. Like what does he offer you that makes him elite? It's his athleticism. It's the fact that he can extend plays and he can make things happen out of structure.

He is, he has been at least sufficient in structure at times in his career. You know, you add in Shane Steichen in the RPO game in 2022. all of a sudden he's an elite quarterback. You add in an elite running game in 2024, and that kind of opens things up and gets him to be a better passer in structure. But, like, again, let's make it like a fundamental thing. He doesn't access a third of the field very often.

Like, if you were going to build it, if you're going to build it like a Philip Rivers offense, you know, Philip Rivers is in the news, that's not a Jalen Hertz offense. Yeah. And that's totally fair. And to me, what, when I've watched, I've watched all of Jalen's best games,

His best games are when he's stiff-arming a defensive end and throwing the ball on the move. It's when he deadlegs the Saints defensive end and gets upfield. He is a dynamic player. You know, that is... Freaky in the open field. Like, that is what makes him special. If you're telling me that he's not going to be efficient and dynamic out of structure, he has not proven to be good enough in structure for you to feel good about the way that

the offensive look. I listen. This is my most, this is my most basic, like, uh, to who knows ball take. Yeah. He's with swagger. Well, I think there's something to that though. That's what he means. But there's something to that because the first three drives against the Cowboys is pretty much the only stretch of play that we've seen since the biweek where we've gone, that look pretty good. Like that guy, he was throwing in the middle of the field day, Jay Brown for the touchdown he's in rhythm he's remember week one remember him scrambling being awesome in week one do you remember at the half time for the bucks game when we talked about you you talked about him being an MVP candidate I talked about it later in the season

and look where we are now yeah so Jalen Hertz I do think is a I mean all players are rhythm players and you know I jalen has spent time with Josh McCown who I thought did like the best job any quarterback has done at least Eagles quarterback has explained to me in like a press setting about the importance of the first, first down, getting easy completions and, like, getting into that rhythm as a quarterback. And I do think that Jalen is a rhythm player. And I think that they've been so arithmic for years now. And I think that that's where you broaden the conversation to the way that they are offensively, the risk aversion that they have. But just keeping this focused on the scramble EPA. Because again, like, I pulled it for myself here. Like, he ranked

six last season, 33rd the year before, 13th the year before that and 15th the year before. 34th right now in what in scrambly p a okay or sorry yeah no scramble epa 33 303 in what 23 in 2023 he was 33 okay which again speaks to what the offense looks like when he cannot produce out of structure to me that is the thing like you have to figure out well yeah because you made the joke about they don't throw to a third of the field which is true and very very very basically you can't you can't continue to strip away parts of of an offense and still be successful. Especially if you're not going to be effective out of structure. I know Fran has made the comparison like scramble drill completions or kind of like turnovers. Like there's just a variance in that

it's not you can't build the whole ship out of it. Right. But like it has to be part of Jalen Hertz's equation. Well, and I also do think that this is in particular something where, you know, the, the, you know, the sky high hitch rates. Yeah. Do you affect it? Oh, absolutely. Because when you are designing routes that just end after three seconds then all of a sudden it becomes very difficult I mean we saw in the very first play of the game where you know AJ has to turn around

and then just go to the Vikings game is an example but like if you have routes that are continuing then all of a sudden maybe there's a better opportunity and also changing the defensive structure when you do that yeah I mean like the Vikings game is the counterpoint because like the touchdown to AJ in the early in the game it was on a hitch route

and Jalen just goes right and that's all they do that way But like, to your point, if you're running routes that attack leverage, then all of a sudden, scramble drills become a little bit more dynamic. So I don't know. To me, when we were looking through numbers before the show, like the scramble EPA number for me, it's like that is like a non-starter. If you tell me that Jalen Hertz is not going to have that level of like, you know,

effectiveness out of structure, I don't feel good about what this passing game is going to look like. It's also, it's also the place where like the argument for, pulling him back a little bit in the running game because of the hits he takes he's fair as a scrambler he doesn't take hits like that

I mean usually he runs out of bounds after getting a first down but even if not he's able to do his little like butt sit down in the open field like he doesn't take big hits when he's scrambling

it's when he's running up the middle that he takes hits yeah yeah and yeah I just I don't know to me the design run game and it's also it goes as we've talked about for a long time it goes to why they're not as good against man defense right now because he's not scrambling as much right

and i don't want to step on i mean we have a good discussion coming up with me about this but uh to me the design run game the only thing about it is if you're going to pair that down you have to be under center more and eagles are good under center against the chargers yeah it's just huge difference it's very difficult you i mean i've heard it for years it's very difficult to have an effective dominant run game from the shotgun in the modern NFL you have to be under center more often and you know, I've heard from, or this is where you, I mean, you do need the quarterback to be a threat, right? Right, but if you don't want, and because I agree with you, like, at some point, well, actually, I, I guess I don't agree with you in the sense that I do think that the Cam Newton thing. I've made that argument before. I've made that argument before, I've made that argument before, I'm made that argument before, I'd look like without that stuff. four years of eight nine years four years were like those those are lifetimes i'm thinking like two years

well jalen's in what year six yeah so i'm saying three more years of jalen as a part of the run game in a shotgun quarterback inclusive run offense like a power spread offense or you're getting five more years and i'm not saying like i like they'd be a straw man for me to be like the way it looks right now i know it can look better than it does right now but still without him as a part of the run game okay uh let's let's very quickly speaking to the uh you know static nature of the passing game let's take a look at the late night in l a graphic that or long night in l a that fran put together for us thank you fran and this goes to how ineffective jillin was against the chargers when holding onto the ball and this has been a problem for a long time about

uh you would think that a player of his creative ability would be able to to create big plays, but the longer he holds on to the ball, the worse the offense gets in this game. Completed five of 20 passes for 99 yards and all four interceptions when holding the ball for longer than two and a half seconds against the Chargers at 25% completion on those attempts, time for the lowest by any quarterback this year. And he completed, meanwhile, 16 of 20 of his quick throws for 141 yards,

and L.A. blitzed the most in a game that they have this season. So to some degree, the book is out here. Yeah, I want to just something in the chat, real Prince Blue saying that, because I think it's important to address this. I think it's important to not pretend that this isn't a thing. There are tropes about black quarterbacks not being able to read a defense or not being smarter to play this way. That is not what I'm getting at here. I think it is just a reality. If you've watched Jalen Hertz, he's not a timing thrower or an anticipation thrower.

So you can't access a third of the field that way. And you have to be able to, you can't access it with regularity that way. you have to be able to supplement that somehow. That is what I'm saying. I'm not saying Jalen Hertz is clearly a very smart quarterback. Of course. It's clearly, uh, and he's talked about being a triple threat and that being important to him.

So again, it's not an intelligence thing. It's not even necessarily like a processing thing. It is just the reality of like what you've seen Jalen Hertz, how we've seen Jailen Hertz play the position. And I know the, the throw he makes a Devante on that fine in overtime, the third and long. Yeah. It's the one where it's like, it's such a tease because if he could just make that throw, and that's the anticipation, that's placement, that's middle of the field.

It's like if they, who, who out there is going to be able to get him to do that on a more consistent? Right, because I was going to say how much of it is coaching. How much of it is the confidence to do it more often? And how much of it is the coaching staff saying those are risky throws? Because that is a risky throw. But you've seen, you've seen it in glimpses. And it's not even, yeah, it has to be. This is one where it's got to be coached in.

It's not, this is a risky throw. It's like, this is not a throw we want you to make. This is a throw you need to make. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So to me, it is not a, it's not really a reflection of, like, again, Jalen's intelligence. It is more just, he is, I think, I think Fran has said it. Like, he is an incomplete, like, like, player at times. It is difficult to evaluate because there are certain things that he just doesn't do.

But you can have an elite offense. with him in the way that he is incomplete. Yeah. It's just that you need to lead into certain different things. Most quarterbacks are incomplete. Most quarter, like, what, two thirds, more than two thirds of the league's quarterbacks, starting quarterbacks, have deficiencies, have things that they are not elite at or not, you know, whatever, even proficient at.

Yeah. So that's the coaching step. Of course. That is the, that's what the money's for, right? Like to figure out like, okay, how do we, you know, build around their strengths and minimize their weaknesses, as Britt and would say. yeah so you don't think that he needs to turn into a gym rat he needs to be i thought you're going to be like you don't think he needs to start playing running

back or something or play wide out yeah yeah yeah no i do not think that whatever whatever trope you want to use yeah turn into a gym rat jalen is like a coach on the field i imagine coach on the field yeah he's surprising articulate Oh, man, I've lived that one. I've lived that one, so. Oh, my God. All right, let's use that to take a quick break. Hear from some sponsors.

On the other side, Mina Kimes joins us to talk about all of these different things and maybe some other stuff. Stick around. Elkins Chevrolet is run by three brothers, real brothers, and Big Eagles fans. So this holiday season, they are making sure you get a deal

that will feel just as good as a win. Maybe even better if it's been too long since the Eagles have won and you've known what that feels like. So go to Elkins Chevrolet because they've got a great big inventory of Chevy trucks and SUVs and there's no better time to grab one at a price

that won't last, whether it's getting to the game to work or hitting the holiday road, you will roll into the new year and the perfect ride at the perfect price. Elken Chevrolet, real brothers, real deals, and you know what else. a whole lot of honking good service.

Marekins Chevrolet, Route 73 South in Marlton, New Jersey. Shop now at Elkins Chevrolet.com. Together, let's try. All right, sports fans, listen up. The holidays are here. You know, the Christmas lights are out. The snow. Maybe we get some snow in the forecast coming up.

That means it is the perfect time to get your finances back in shape as well. I've been checking out my credit score lately, and let me tell you, if you're a member at TrueMark Financial Credit Union, you've already got a serious edge. They've got this free tool called the Savvy Money app right inside their online banking and mobile app. I use it myself. Seriously, it's like having your own financial coach in your pocket. You can check your credit score anytime without taking a hit, get tips on how to improve

it, and even get alerts if anything changes. That's what I call playing smart defense with your money. So if you're already on Team True Mark, fire up the app. and check out the savvy money tool today. If you're not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Step up your financial game. Swing by one of their 24 branches or visit trumark.com slash P.H.O.Y to open an account. True Mark Financial Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA.

All right, we are back in the P.O.Y. Eagles podcast joined as we are every other week by the great Mina Kimes of ESPN and the Mina Kimes show featuring Lenny. Mina, how are you? I'm doing okay. I was trying to, as I thought about doing the show this morning, I tried to figure out like what the, like, it's, I was a little nervous. I'm not going to lie,

because it feels like going to the, not going to the dentist because you guys are like the dentist, but like, we get it, we get it. It's entering a space where you know the vibes aren't great, as how I would put it. It's like going to a party and you know everyone there is, funeral maybe is a better, I don't know.

Anyway. like an engagement party but you know that the couple is not going to last. Yes. Love that. Perfect analogy. Um, because also like an engagement party, the scenes probably go to the playoffs, right? We know that, but so here's my

optimistic case specifically about the passing game. Okay. Because that was boy was that terrible, right? Yeah. But we did see them do some different things. Yes. Yes. in the structure of the passing game.

And I think it is more likely that they're going to be at a like a league average level in the playoffs where it matters following this than they would have been just staying the course with sort of the static passing game

that they had had before. And so maybe over the course of the next four weeks if they can just lean into this a little bit more and I don't know, throw one interception a game and maybe it'll be good enough. I think that's you have I think correctly framed the optimist. There's a few things here that I think you could take for

Egos fans if you're optimistic. Let me let me paint a picture. One, you're right. They tried some stuff in the passing game in particular. I think that first in breaker to A.J. Brown was in the first quarter. Am I remembering that correctly? It was like a date. I did like one of the music when they did it. And then he hit it the DeVante one at the end. Which was a great throw? Best throw of his season. So yeah, they're trying some stuff. off in the passing game. That's good. Two, Jalen Hertz normally is not a turnover machine. He is not a, he's actually very nervous about turning the ball over sometimes to his own detriment. So what we saw there is not likely to happen again. Three, Hertz, I think, is more

likely to lose his legs in the playoffs. That's obviously entirely speculative, but would be a great deal of help to the run game, in my opinion. And for Lane Johnson's coming back at some point, right? Yes. I think you could definitely make a case we have seen the low. This is the low. Now, that's a dangerous thing to say. Very dangerous.

And as- Catching a fallen knife. Yes. And as Fran reminded us this week, it felt that way two years ago when the Cardinals were coming in, you know, in the middle of that collapsed. And it was like, okay, well, this will be the get right game. They can, this was when they'll turn it around. And obviously, that was not the case.

And it got even worse. So it does feel that way. but I we have been there before go ahead AJ it's also the is it a coincidence that the eagles tried some different things conceptually in the passing game and it coincided with one of jalen hurts probably his worst career worst game in his career so uh meena i want to know what you think what was what was your takeaway watching uh jalen's performance against the chargers and kind of how these two things interact with each other the way that they played offensively and how Jalen performed.

Yeah, that's a great question. I think you'd have to think back to all the individual turnovers in what happened, right? And it's hard. There were so many. So the Deshawn Hand one is the kind of, it's something that Hurts has struggled with over the course of his career, in my opinion, which is simulated pressures. And it was a great pressure design. I think they showed die.

The linebacker showed Blitz, hand dropped out, die sort of coffee, did a little coffee house. it was Henley who came. Jalen felt the heat. He didn't even look, right? We've seen him make these mistakes versus type fire zone types pressures. So I don't think that's really like about, I know, if I remember correctly,

it was like A.J. Brown, like on a little juke on the inside. And he was just sort of sitting there, yeah. Sitting there, yeah. The A.J. Brown tipped one was, I thought, as much on A.J. Brown? I don't know. I'm sure you guys broke them down. I think that's totally fair. He thinks it was a little bit more of a hospital.

Do you think it was a hospital? It was a hospital ball, but you need to make a better effort. Yeah. Yeah. I think both things can be true. Centaur, you made $30 million a year. The final one to go to that one, yeah, that's a bad decision. It's also an amazing defensive play.

It's such a good play. I was like, this is one of the best, like, incredible. Now, again, so Cam Hart's like a really big, long corner. He's got, yeah, he's got like 98 percentile arm length. Like, it's like, this is it actually showing up. yeah and then it was a great play by jefferson too and then cleo mac so you know that that was very uncharacteristic of hurts and but to go back to your original question i don't think him forcing that particular throw reflected any evolution of the out that's a concept that they run all

the time and yeah yeah you know why that play drives me crazy um i'm sorry to cut you off mina no no yeah because it's it's not an rPO he's not even reading calil mac yeah it's handing it off there from what I understand talking to people is is not even an option there it's just play action and if and it's there for him to hand it off I don't even understand why that would be in the playbook interesting yeah I so because I was screaming handed off and that's it's fascinating um yeah especially on first down right on first down yeah I know they the Eagles play I think this is another aspect of this they're calling plays right now with the belief that the run game is bad.

And it is bad. So even, you know, it's hard. It's such a constricted offense because you have a bad run game and a quarterback who's, you know, not willing to throw over the middle of the field very consistently. Are those things going to change in the playoffs? Probably not. But I think to go back to your original, like, optimistic framing, you don't need to do those things to a large extent.

You just need to find a way to throw the middle field, few times to make them actually respect it yeah um and there's other things you can do ben and i talked about the eagles on my tuesday pod people go check it out youtube.com slash at meena kimes and we're going to you know continue proving them throughout the season but he mentioned you know getting barkley involved in the passing game feels like a level pool against these types of defenses i actually think wait who they have this week it's a the raiders okay well you know you can do anything against the raiders I mean, it is not, you know, it's not like, oh, this is the one thing.

I actually think I looked this up, though, because I was curious about, so we started doing this matchup. Yeah, so the Raiders are 25th in DVA on passes to defensive, or running backs, pardon me. So good opportunity here to get that going against this team. The linebackers are not good in coverage. They're not good in anything. So it's not like, this is the one weakness. But, you know, I just think moving forward, that's something that they can do.

I would love to see them this weekend get in their heavier groupings because the Raiders almost exclusively play that with base. And again, you can really throw on these linebackers. So this to me is a good weekend to like, look, I're obviously probably going to win this game because the Raiders offense is so outmatched against your defense. But like, let's see if we can get some easy buttons in this offense versus a defense that will allow you to push them. Where are you with Jalen big picture? Because that has been the conceit of the show today. and, you know, as the Eagles, let's say, let's say they, let's be optimistic and say they win a playoff game and then lose. Okay. That's, that's the arc of their season. And it's, they, they come back a little bit, but, you know, the season as a whole is a little bit of a disappointment. Where are you with, with just roster building and the franchise trajectory with Jalen Hertz as the quarterback? So, Ben and I had this conversation to, and I brought up Tanner McKee, and, um, as bowl,

as this front now fest has been with regards to the quarterback position looking at hertz contract i do find it very unlikely that they move on this season off season not in season it's you know obviously not the thing yeah talking about this off season i think it's unlikely again i mean it's just you can look up the contract it's very it's it's very penal yeah very i think there's a there's a in theory there's a cost where it would be worth it but it is unlikely that that were to be matched so i think that what's required here is some honesty about what it takes for a jalen hurts offense to succeed consistently and it's also complicated by the fact that the two best of games of his career are super bowls right and i mentioned late stage russell wilson because i think

earlier in his career russell wilson had the mobility where this wasn't a factor but russell wilson had similarities in so far as he didn't really throw over the middle of the field very much. And because of that, the Seahawks really struggled when they were unable to run the ball because they weren't able to get the coverages that allowed them to attack one-on-ones outside. I think for Philadelphia, you're not going to change the quarterback this off-season, but you have to figure out everything in your power to fix this run game, because the quarterback is good. and I don't want to make it sound like he's like a terrible quarterback and you got to

sure with a good run game I actually think he can still be elite but I think without a good run game to get defenses out of certain coverages you're going to see similar struggles moving forward the tricky thing there is you probably need to be an under center team to be an elite running team especially with what we've seen from Jalen Hertz not being as big a big a part in the right game right and it's not something that Jalen's comfortable with so that becomes the next question then can you be an elite shotgun run team or can you get jalen to be more comfortable under center to to access those single high looks that brings the other thing i would say it's a really good point by you also just like they need to bring in this is something we talked about to

an offensive mind from an under center run system i truly believe that who can reinvent this because right now they don't seem to have the capacity in house to reinvent this running i know they're trying stuff, six offensive linemen, whatever. But that to me has to be the priority this offseason. Can we build an under center rushing attack? Frankly, it's not just, it's funny, the chiefs as well, right? I said similar things about them on Monday when we talked about them losing. But I do think that's true for Philadelphia, absolutely.

The defense was awesome. We don't need to spend too much time there. Right, like what's to, but what a waste of a performance. I know. I have a fun defensive question, a fun framing. This was bouncing around the Eagles Auditorium today with all the media types. Who do you think is the defensive MVP, most valuable player? Not like most outstanding, not most impactful, most valuable player for the defense.

Cooper DeGine. I said Cooper de Gene as well. I think there's two other contenders here. Okay. I mean, Quignan is a contender. Quinnian. Yeah. Jordan Davis.

Jordan Davis was so good on Monday night football. And he, if they had won that game somehow like in a scenario. 16 to through structurally who I would have highlighted what they do defensively they can't do it without them right I think you could say

the same about Dejean I completely that's what I was yeah my framing on I said this early this week meeting my framing on Jordan Davis is relative to expectation entering the season he has had the best season

on the team I think that's right I think I mean he was good last year but yeah he's had a leap he was the like he's in the best shape of his life all right man which he actually has been

the last couple years and it's gratifying I loved him so much as a prospect. I really did. And the arc of his career has been fun to watch. And I think Fangio has been a really good pairing with his skill set. Yeah, Dijin was unbelievable in this last game. I was laughing, like, watching him break up passes to Ladd McConkey.

Of course. Like, you don't throw a white guy at me. I mean. Like, who's insulted by this more, right? It was, but he's awesome. I mean, Mitchell is basically, I mean, NGS nearest defender stats. You can grab anything. He's just been an absolute shutdown corner.

This is a lot of really good players. But yeah, I think Davis is a good call. So let's say the egos don't really change that much. And they are who they look like they are entering the playoffs. Is there any other team in the projected NFC field? Do you think they can beat? Yeah. 100%.

Let me pull up the field. You got the Niners. You got the, you know, the bears. Okay, so, yeah, I absolutely think you guys are grim. I mean, the teams are flawed. We started optimistic. Okay, I'm going to pull it up. So I wouldn't pick them over the Rams, of course.

I wouldn't pick them over the Packers, even though. They beat them. I mean, they could, you know. I just think the Packers have unlocked something with the offense over the last few weeks. That feels sustainable. Bucks, absolutely can beat the Bucks. Have you guys watched the Bucks lately? Sure.

They probably wouldn't even get to play them until an NFC championship game just because the seedings would be. These things will shake out. Okay, the Seahawks, I would pick the Seahawks at this point. They can, but that Seahawks defense, I feel like it would be a nightmare for her. It's just the way, the style of play.

The Niners defense is incredibly getable right now. They don't have a pass rush. The corners would be really outmatched against Philadelphia's receivers. So I think that's a winnable game. Okay. The Bears, the Bears run game would be a problem in the playoffs, obviously. But on the other side of the ball, I got, man, dude, I got smoked for putting out a clip

that was like, the Phillies, the Eagles should be able to run on Chicago. And I put should, I didn't think you will, the Bears fans wrecked me. It was a clip pork, Ben was in the clip. too that clip like we got ratioed into the earth because of how bad that looked but i do think it's a winnable game they could figure things out um lions and pants yeah so i i do think a lot of these games are absolutely okay it's a good vibe check go ahead all right really quick we just need the in-law temperature check we'd be remiss if we if we miss this who's who's uh who's in the crosshairs right now okay

this was she only sent me one text in oh no she sent me at the uh emoji where the the guys like eyes are like this and he's like yeah and then she just wrote one text in all caps the word weak oh man

so it's not even like they've disappointed her so much that she's not even engaging quite as much that's how yeah that's how that's how bad it's been it's pretty grim right now uh yeah oof woof all right i have one more thing for you i mean i want uh i want to throw my take at you

that i've talked about here uh about television since i know that there are uh there are lots of tv shows that you watch uh tv to me lately one season's all i need like the the second seasons of of all the good precede shows that i've enjoyed the first seasons of

uh you've told your story i'm good What's the show that's making you feel that stranger things or? Oh, stranger things is like that's long gone. I mean, for instance, I am loving pluribus, loving it.

Love it. By the way, if you guys, I have a TV podcast too called viewer discretion where we recap Pluribus, so go check that out. That's what I'm trying to get you to plug here. But to me,

I don't, like, I'm not sure I'm going to need a second season of pluribus. You're like, that's a unique show. Yeah, but I think most shows are like that. Hasn't Vince Gilligan earned the benefit of the doubt here?

You've told your story, now you're just given the character something to do. You don't want to see the second season of the chair company and see what the hell. Did you watch that show? The ending was insane. I didn't see. I haven't gotten to the ending yet. I'm not spoiling it, but I don't know, like Severance, for instance. I felt no urge to watch the second season of Severance.

You know what? I get it. You've built a great world. You've told your story. I don't know. You're picking bad shows. Maybe it's getting older and I like, I don't know. That's my general take.

This is excellent. I think there's a lot of to this because I think now that somebody I'm sure has looked this up but the time between them feels so long I think that's part of it for sure the stranger things being the

but some of my favorite show TV shows seasons of all time were second seasons but have they been recently? Yeah something recent that's a good question right like yeah I mean I like the Wire season four as much as the next guy but yeah right yeah

something i'm excited to watch fallout season two which comes out next week do you guys watch that i know that's also on my list i haven't watched that yet it's good and that one i feel like has a lot of story to tell i think that's just the thing do you actually have story yeah is there is there source material for that i think they're all based on they're based i know they're they're based on the video games and there's a lot of so i think i think that is a little a little bit different maybe i'm just moving the goalposts but if there's source material the story has already been written you know what i For instance, now this is different because this also had sorts of material, but one of my favorite shows of the past five years is now I'm forgetting the name. The post-apocalyptic.

The last of us? No, no, no, HBO. There's so many post-apocalyptic shows. I know. I know. The Walking Dead? The Traveling Band of Actors. Oh, Station 11.

Station 11. I love Station 11. Got it in, got it out. like, beautifully told, I don't need, I don't know. That book is somewhere behind me. It's an excellent book that people should read. I don't know where it is, but go read Station 11 the book. It's amazing.

And a key difference in the book and the show. Okay, so here's another. I want to see. Yeah, there are some really interesting differences. I want to, um, season two of the pit. I'm really interested in seeing. Okay. Because that, but it's such a different kind of show.

It's like a, totally. The last remaining procedure, prestige procedural or the only one. Yeah. I am so amped because I loved season one of that show. That feels like a show where you could just do multiple seasons. I agree with that. It is also like my, my, I mean, we're taking your time here. But my viewing experience of the pit was basically, it was like a superhero show for Noah Wiley.

Yeah. Yeah. I also, we burned through like five of those in like one night. I was like, I got to see what happens next. You know what's funny is that was, that was, I did that with my at the time, like three week old. daughter just sleeping on my chest like we know she you know it was like the very beginning and we just we would pound through like

four episodes I don't I can't watch the pit it's too unsettling it's like it's like really yeah I don't do like real world like horror shows like law and order I'm out can't watch it yeah really yeah law and order you like I cannot watch that show he also he's also scared of rings um okay well I would say white lotus is a good case

for what you're saying because last season I thought was really bad. Yeah. I thought the second season was good though. Second season. It's pretty good. The diplomat that got better. I'm looking at the Golden Globes nominees. The diplomat actually got better if you guys have watched that. Slow horses. I actually have not watched the. Slow horses is good throughout. It's consistent. A case for a show that really should have just been one season. People don't like this take. The bear. Oh, totally agree. Yeah. Yeah. Totally agree. They're out of story. They're just making it up. Yeah. Listen, I'm glad for the for the health of the the television business

that everybody has jobs to extend the shows but you're just giving the care let go this character hasn't met with this character before let's give them an episode they're too busy

which is why the shows takes so long to come out so yeah all right check out viewer viewer discretion is the name of the podcast if you want to hear us

talk about pluribus I love I love plurvis oh it's excellent it's been so good all right so good Mina Kimes thank you so much

thank you for spending time we will talk to in a couple weeks happy holidays weeknight dinners in December could not be more hectic. I mean, we got school pickup. You got a nutcracker practice. We got eagles doing weird stuff. Can you believe they benched Jalen Hertz? Unbelievable. How am I supposed to make dinner after reacting to that on an emergency podcast? No, no, no, no, no.

That's why factor is what you need. More variety, more meals so you can choose a wider selection of weekly meal options, including premium seafood choices, like salmon and shrimp, you can support your wellness goals, you can save for global flavors, you get quick, you get delicious, and you get cheap. That's right. So eat smart at factormeals.com slash phly 50 off and use code PHLY 50 off to get 50% off your first box, plus free breakfast for one year. Get delicious ready to eat meals delivered with Factor. Offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase. here is a fact that shocked me. Mitsubishi Motors is number one in customer satisfaction with

dealer service among mainstream brands and SUV owners. That's not me saying it either. That's JD Power. If you're looking for the most affordable seven passenger SUV in America, cherry hill Mitsubishi.com has you covered with a 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander. Take advantage of their zero percent for 60-month APR financing for PA residents only. Combine that with the best warranty in the automotive business, 10 years, 100,000 mile power train, and five years, 60,000 mile bumper to bumper. Why settle for a lesser warranty and be on the hook for costly repairs down the road? Stop in today, tell them P.HLY sent you, and receive a $100 restaurant.com gift card

just for taking a test drive or completing an appraisal. I know people buy Mitsubishi's elsewhere. I just don't know why. Drive home your new Mitsubishi today. Just minutes from all bridges or available online 247 at Cherryhill Mitsubishi.com. Hello! We're back on the P.H.O.Y. Eagles podcast, but Will V.J. Smith. How are you doing? I'm doing well. I enjoyed our conversation with me, and I agreed with most of your TV takes, but I thought you picked bad shows as your examples for, like, only need one season. Like, Pluribus is very good, and Vince Gilligan deserves the benefit of the doubt there. Sure, but sessions really good. I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose interest. I'm going to lose steam. Most shows, I agree with you. Like, Barry. Oh, my God. We've talked about this, Barry.

Barry. Great example. Yeah, one season was enough. Westworld One and a half season. It's like the ultimate example. Completely off the rails. Yeah. This is a part of, I think, maturing

for me. Here we go. No, this is serious. Has been, I used to feel like I was a completionist. Like I needed to take everything to the end. And I feel like I have, I have, I'm happy that I've reached a point where if I don't, if I'm not feeling that anymore, I don't have to watch that thing. I don't have to, that does not need to.

be on my plate i respect that i think it's a like it's mature in that you you're you're evaluating your time and you're trying to be efficient with your time um but succession is not an example of a show that you should be out halfway through there's some watching some exceptions i'm happy that i watch succession i'm watching season one of stranger things right or season i'm on season two um we'll see if i make it all the way through that one yeah good luck oh it's i don't know perfect example i enjoyed season stranger thing season one that's all I got that's all I got in me sorry I don't know what's going on with me um season or sorry uh we were just talking about I the name of the show is gave me stranger things stranger things no that's what it was there was so many S shows in my head

I was like um Seinfeld stranger things is like it crosses the line of too creepy for me to watch I'm making the exception oh why too creepy because my wife really wanted me to watch it. I enjoyed season one. I watched watching scary stuff on the plane is good because like you're on a plane. Like what's going to happen to you? Don't watch, um, hijack. Is it inappropriate? Idris Elba. What do you do? Oh yeah. Well, that would be, yeah, that would see that's a movie show. That was good. And that was one season. Yeah. Wow. Look at us. Full circle right there. All right. We've got some super chats to get to. I've got stories from LA too that we have to get to at some point. Real Prince Blue. Jalen isn't quarterbacky enough. This goes back to the earlier discussion

to the good old boys club. Also how weird it is that the worst performances is positive to his detractors scheme-wise. I feel like you, we've already addressed. Yeah, I don't think like there are people. Racial undertones here. Yeah, there will be, there are people who will criticize Jalen Hertz in that manner. I think that there is, I mean, the whole point of the show today is that it's going to be a nuanced discussion. I think, yeah, I think we've, we've acknowledged that that's an argument out there, but it's not necessarily what we're, there's criticism that's independent of that. Cashquatch, Herbert, four interceptions in the playoffs last year.

Mahomes, three last week. And yet, no benching conversation feels like a uniquely filly cultural experience. That's the thing. I actually, I don't think that that is unfair. It is ridiculous to have a conversation about benching. I'm benching Jalen Hertz right now. Yeah, I agree. I don't think, like, we needed to...

It's preposterous. We need to put it to the side because I think that it is a daunting question on how they're going to fix it, which is like what we're talking about. But yeah, the benching, I was surprised how quickly it got to like... It's crazy. It's crazy. Jailen Hertz. Like, Nick Siriani's being asked about it.

That's surprising. I do think in the beginning of the show you were unfair to Tanner McKee. Tanner McKee is a top 15 quarterback in the NFL full stop. okay I know is I'm not gonna that could be is is okay I'm I'm not gonna have a I'm not gonna rain on your parade and you know what else I don't want to rain on bovertime no why well you don't get to just do it right now I set it up I was the one who got it I got us to bovertime and you stole the glory oh it's mine no you know what it's not called DJ time overtime had a good run I think it's

overtime again screwbo overtime um okay oh man that was awful I can't believe you did that to me what do you mean it was I was it was an alleyoop you set it up I threw it down it was I thought that's what was going on it was a self-value you like pushed me out of the air and grabbed it and dumped it that's selfish of you move overtime every no it's supposed to be a teamwork deal now you you were going to miss it too i was not never missed it cdp if jalen stays does that mean a jays stays next year i don't see how trading one of the three people he's comfortable throwing to helps the passing game good point a fair point i think it's a good question for a j um i found i found it very notable that hard knocks included a clip of jalen and a j talking and laughing at

practice like we didn't hear what they were talking about but they did uh they did have the clip of them having an exchange not a heated exchange for the yeah i'm gonna nice super fans yeah that's good musa who is less likely to be here in 27 nick or jalen good question that is a really good question 2027 two years from now i'm probably going to go Jalen you think he's less likely no I think he's sorry you think Jailin is more like I think Jalen is more likely

I agree that Jalen is more likely to be here in two years I think but I think you could make a case oh absolutely I think you could make a case that Jalen is less likely likely to be here next year yeah yeah I think that's the right framing they're like if you told me that there's gonna be a surprise one of them is one of them is leaving this off season it's probably probably more likely to be jalen yeah and it's probably like a fan you know a sensational

quarterback trade where it's like oh my god i can't believe that they did that you although you know space for tanner mckee lovers out there maybe it would be a tanner mckee move but yeah i think i think if you if we're looking at 27 i'm not saying either or likely for the record but nick i think is under more scrutiny like with the way things are right now and i i think but i think it's going to take another year of it being this way for anything to happen and I also think I've always said like the way that Nick coaches

I always want to bake in the possibility for burnout like he is such a passionate coach not to say you can't do it forever but I do wonder if that ever will manifest well and by the way the if you want to get really cynical about like you want to move on from Jalen

benching him is going to tank that value yeah right so just sneak trade Things happen so fast in this sport, by the way. It's insane. Like, the guy was a Super Bowl MVP less than a year ago. Speaking of things happening fast, can I, can I bring a little soccer talk to the table?

Okay. Have you been following this most solid stuff? Not really. I saw a headline. It is crazy. He's one of the best players in the world. He's an icon at Liverpool. And, like, it seems like they're going to have to sell him because he's, like, pissed off at the manager.

Why would they choose the manager? That's a good question. apparently Liverpool are not like a they are like the what is he pissed at they're like the steelers they don't like to they don't like to fire their coach what is he pissed at um he's been ars lute is that how you pronounce that no i'm asking i think it's arny slot that's how well british people mispronounce everybody's name so actually i don't know how you arny slot that sounds too that sounds too midwester british people call emiliano martinez emmy martinez they don't they don't deserve the benefit of out uh we were talking about this before

Sluat. I think sleut is probably right. Kind of hitting my ear wrong, but it's over time. We got, we're good. Egg sleut. Yeah, he's mad at the fact that he's not playing right now because Liverpool are playing terribly, and they took him out of the starting 11,

but he's not playing well. So it's just crazy. Like, the guy was like, they won the title because of him last year. Parallels. Don't mess with a sleut. Assetville, third in the table.

by the way Sean Wolford Elliot started the season seven for seven thought he was fixed from last year then he missed a field goal in three straight games

after the long snapper went on injured reserve now the original long snapper is back do we know how much changing the long snapper impacted the field goal operation

shout out to our friend Danes who likes football so much that he posted all of the long snaps from Cal Adamitis against the chargers the only one that stood out to me was a bad one on a punt

so I don't know if the long snapper is really scapegoated but yeah I mean Hugh let baby yeah he's back you let the dogs you Hugh Hugh Hugh Hugh Hugh Hugh you you you you They opened Charlie Hewlett's practice one another Charlie Hewlett fact I'm pretty sure he sits in my seat In the auditorium interesting the Hard Knocks cameras show like where everybody sits Interesting that you don't sit in his seat he sits in your seat yeah I mean I'm there all the as he was not i feel i feel possessive i chose this is a parallel with my airplane uh preferences i chose the last seat in the row because i don't want to feel cramped i want to be able to lean out and then when you sit there you get the occasional nick syriani shoulder smack which is just

an occupational hazard of the seat okay uh you're also in the firing line for the basketball hoop that is above your head okay but i like the seat so you chose the seat so that you would get the slap from Nick? No, I don't, I mean, the slap from Nick, again, it's an occupational hazard. Fresh Prince, please tell me y'all saw the Hard Knocks clip about wearing seatbelts on a plane. This was good. Also, Devante's plane crash solution was hilarious. So did you see it? I haven't watched it. Devante was making the argument. Like, why do they make you wear seatbelts on a plane? If you need that seatbelt, it's over regardless. Yeah. Which I think is a strong take. Right. But it's not for the crash. It's for turbulence. Yeah, but, like, also, like, who's falling out of their seat from turbulence?

Now, I've, I don't think, I've never, I knock on wood have never experienced turbulence that bad, that, like, my seat. There must be, there is, there is some level of crash or tough landing. Yeah. Where it does come into play. Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, the general. I honestly, they probably enforce it mostly because, like, they don't want people walking around. And the seatbelt is, like, the universal sign that you can't get out.

What was his solution? he said that if the plane was going to crash he would try to jump out of the plane at the very last second and try and like hit the ground running it's like the if the elevator is falling you're going to jump up in the air right when you think it's going to hit the ground i mean i guess i don't think that's going to work but yeah davanti's funny like i wish that we saw that side of him more

although which camera we were on this camera this camera i am on to you devante this juicer talk we know the endorsement's coming we know it's coming Like, come on. He did this with Wawa. He did this with Wawa. Like, all of a sudden, he's just really into Wawa. Yeah, that's true.

Yeah, he's going to be sponsored by a juicer company by the end of the week. You're absolutely right. Pat Fienis. Mina made the point that the Eagles need to hire an O.C. From an under-center system to work with Jalen. Does anyone specific come to mind? Oh, that's a good question. Now, we have seen a lot of chatter in the chat about your boy.

Mike McDonald I mean Mike McDaniel there's too many mics every coach is named Mike if the dolphin to move on but I feel like the relationship between him and Vic Fangio is not very good

but does that matter I'm not saying that I think he's the answer honestly like I don't know I know that the McVeigh-Shann tree like they like honestly they like Rich Skangarelli Hello.

Mary the run in the past, baby. I know that's a very different offense, and honestly, like, you want to talk about, like, quarterbacky. Like, they prefer, like, Mac Jones is, like, their gaze a lot of the time. So I don't know if that works, but I don't know. I do think it would be fun to see what this team would look like if they were, like, an outside zone team, like an undercenter outside zone team. All right, you've got some L.A. stories.

Yeah, so I got two stories from the road. I want your takes on both of them. The first one is, this is good that we're in overtime. I mean, it's an anatomical thing. It's fine. I mean, do you know what colostrum is? Yes. So I went for a nice walk in Manhattan Beach.

This is a good setup for the story because now you're wondering how I'm going to get, I'm going to land this plane. So I walked, I walked, you know, long walk. I'm on the phone with my wife. I'm having a nice time, taking pictures. and I go to a smoothie place. It's like a very well-reviewed smoothie place. You know, I want to get something before I get back to the hotel.

And the smoothie was, like, ridiculously expensive. Like, it was like 20 bucks. And I did not order a couple of smoothies on the menu because I'm like, these are, like, they got stuff in here. Like, I don't want, like, cold brew or, like, stuff in my smoothie. I just want, like, a fruit smoothie. So I order this smoothie, drinking it, enjoying it. I send a picture of the smoothie.

and the menu item to Julia, and she's like, what is Collistram doing in your smoothie? Yeah. And I'm like, I don't know what that is. Like should I be worried? So I Google it. I learn what it is.

And then I'm like thinking like, there's a way that's what's in my smoothie. Like the color is all different. Like it doesn't make any sense. And then I realize that it's like a health nut thing. It's like cow colostrum. Calostrum. Colostrum.

Is that how you pronounce it? I was unfamiliar with Colostrum before this, but the smoothie was good. Okay. So that's probably what I was paying for, right? I guess so. Sounds expensive. It was expensive. It was a very expensive smoothie.

So would you not have ordered it if you'd seen that on the menu? Probably not. Certainly not paying extra for it. I mean, I live to tell I think it's like a health nut thing I think people are, it's like got good nutritional value. Okay.

But yeah, I didn't, I guess I needed to read the menu a little bit, a little bit closer. Okay, that's pretty funny. Lindsay, your thoughts? You were laughing over there. I would never drink that. Well, like 18 bucks so oh my god for a smoothie i would yeah i wouldn't do that i don't care if

had golden and i wouldn't pay $18 or a smoothie it was it did the smoothie was good that's all i'll say it wasn't like it didn't affect the taste of the well of course not yeah yeah but it's not going to it's not going to dominate the taste with a bunch of other fruits but like the 10 seconds where i didn't realize it was cow colostrum really tough yeah i was thinking i was thinking like who's yeah how are they harvesting that well they and the the menu did not specifically say that it was cow colostrum. It just said colostomy. Yeah.

So, yeah. EJ, did you know that, like, people who are breastfeeding, like, if they don't have enough, they'll get, like, donor milk from other people who are breastfeeding and, like, give it to their kid? Wait. They get it. So they give that to their kid. Interesting.

Like, some, it's like somebody else's. I thought you're about to say that they drank it. And I was like, so you can drink it. Yeah, you can drink it. I mean, you could drink your own. I mean, I guess you could drink it. It's also there are. It'd be weird when you get from a smoothie place.

sure there are stories of like um uh i remember hearing a story of like they they were leaving the country or something like that and they couldn't make use of all the stored up milk and so they gave the kids a bath in it because it has like restorative yeah i've heard that powers otherwise but yeah well i don't i did not feel particularly restored but yeah i don't think one smoothie with gaclachram has all of a sudden change how you feel well then why am i paying for it. How do we know it's not, like, how do we know it's not just like in milk? That's a good point. Right? Like, when it isn't just in cows milk anyway, probably. All right. What's your other story? My other story is at the airport, it's got nothing to do

it. And this is not an anatomical. It's not a good. You didn't get cow semen. They probably charge you for that too. They probably would. We figured out it's really good for what I don't know what it would be good for. But I could think of one thing that it would be good for. Getting it done in and out of the studio My other story is I took the red eye So I needed to get some water Because I went straight from the stadium

They always take the fountains away In the press box before By the time that you get back up there Yeah so I couldn't get any water So I had to buy some water And the water at the airport It's like it's a marketplace And it's like eight bucks

for like a bottle that's like half the size of this sure and it's like alkaline water yeah it's like come on so I grabbed the biggest one I could get it was the most expensive it was bigger than the other ones so I was like right justify it that way um and it's a self service market now like a human being rings you up but you have to get the stuff yourself yeah I get two bottles of water and it's like like again it's like 15 bucks or something like that and the she goes like it's just going to ask you a couple questions And I'm like like come on like and I am a generous tipper I tip on things that like Not conventional like you know I will like me me and ZB actually argued about this like a month ago about tipping the dry cleaner like if I showed up late. I would tip the dry cleaner of course

So this isn't a generosity thing. I just want to clarify that but I don't think you have to tip for that well no obviously but the thing that was outrageous to me is the pin pad was not the options for the tip we're not zero 10 and 20 It was 10, 15, 20, and other. Right. You had to hit other to make the choice not to tip for a self-service market. For overpriced water. I was outraged. I was outraged. I couldn't believe it.

There's a certain Mexican restaurant like they could order online. And it's the same way. Like you have to go out of your way to hit zero as like the tip for like a pickup order. For a pickup order. You don't tip anything for a pickup order? No. I don't tip for a pickup order. I tip for a pickup order.

Really? Yeah. How much? Like a couple bucks? a burrito bowl, it's, you know, $12. How much are you tipping? $2. Why?

Like, what's the? Would you tip if you, or if you would walk in and, like, gotten your food, like, made for you, would you tip then? Yeah. Well. It's funny. I don't do it at the place in question. I do it, you know, maybe this is telling.

I do it at the ice cream shop I worked at, like, you know, it's like, I know, I know what those tips mean but not like a place like that i don't think it's wait i actually have a hilarious story just thought of that involves fran oh so i went to the taylor swift concert there's tour a few years ago with brinna actually who does the flyer show yeah and um we heard about told us the story well no i didn't tell you not that story that's a different thing yeah yeah the nice story um so we went to go get merch and fran was working like one of the merch thing And was? Yeah, yeah.

So we're like, oh, my God, let's, like, get in line and say how to him. And so I was like, all right, I'll get something. I'll get a water bottle just so we don't, like, totally waste our time. So he, like, brings it up and he turns iPad around and it had the tip thing, which obviously he wasn't trying to, like, do to me. But, you know, just like, and I got so flustered. I didn't want Fran to think I was, like, rude and giving him zero tips. So I think I put, like, a dollar.

I was like, and then I walked away, like, he handed me a water bottle. and he's my friend like and i don't even think he probably gets the tip really right so i was like but i was flustered so you think he owes you a dollar yeah friend well if he got if he got the tip i'll have to ask him if he like got yeah fray got the dollar you should give it back to lindsay because that was no it was a performative tip no way it was performative it's so what now you're making me wonder am i like being stingy for not tipping on takeout order here's my water my airport water take for you which i think i've shared before There is only one water that I will get at the, at an airport.

Okay. Because it has a great screw top. Yeah, you need those. The, the life water. Life water is good. Yeah. It is all is such a good screw top. It's very satisfying.

Now, I am weird about this, potentially. I will buy the life water and I'll pour it in this bottle. Is that weird thing? I don't think that's weird. I mean, if you're carrying that around anyway. I just, I don't like the, A, I don't trust them to change the filters in the airport. But then you're not getting the benefit of the screw top.

I mean, it's such a good screw on, screw off. Yeah, I just, I like this. This, me and this guy go everywhere together. They need to sponsor the show. Getting it done inside and outside the studio. Maybe not everywhere. All right. We got to get out of here because the flyers are coming up at 4 o'clock.

Make sure you check out that. If you are so inclined, we will be back tomorrow. the Duff Man in studio swooper continues and we talk a little bit about

the radar so for EJ and Mina and Lindsay and Jailen Hertz we thank you for watching and listening

we'll talk to tomorrow 2 o'clock and as always we love you Thank you.