PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Best/Worst-Case Scenarios For Jihaad Campbell, Makai Lemon & More Eagles | PHLY Eagles Podcast

Episode Date: May 19, 2026

Jihaad Campbell looked like a future Pro Bowl linebacker early in his rookie season before Nakobe Dean grabbed the job. Makai Lemon will be charged with helping replace A.J. Brown’s immense production. What are the best- and worst-case scenarios for those two as they head into 2026? Fran Duffy and Deniz Selman take opposite sides of a coin flipped by Bo Wulf on those questions, plus more insight about the schedule and why Fran thinks EJ Smith has overstated his September position. 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.L.Y. Eagles podcast on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, live from the Xfinity Lounge, and presented by our friends and Ashley Bowulf, the professor. Dana Sellman is here. So is Fran Duffy. And as you see, for those of you watching on YouTube or on fast, we are in Studio A, where we will be all summer long. That's right. It's an upskirt summer for us here. on the PHLY Eagle Show. A lot of leg. Expect more of that. How you guys doing?

Bo texted hashtag upskirt summer yesterday. And I said, jokingly said, save it for the show. But I guess that was, you took it to heart. Listen, the people have known for a long time about Fran's thighs. Now they're going to get intimately familiar with them. Not too familiar. But yeah, definitely a little bit more awkward now than I felt 35 seconds ago. I was worried that Studio B had burned down.

after your discussion of the fire trucks yesterday and then you said we'd be in Studio A but Studio B seems to be fine. I think pretty clearly EJ pulled the alarm to get away from having to show Thursday. But here we are. Good move by him.

It'll be a great show. Going to be a great show. Got a lot to talk about. We haven't talked to in a while, Professor. So I want to get some of your thoughts on the schedule. You know, after you spend some time with your schedule,

Guma, you're back where you belong. That's right. They took me hostage for three hours. Sure. Lots of stuff going on there. Tonight, Fran, is your event. I was going to save, well, yeah, I was going to save the nastier description. Thank you.

So looking forward to that. Now, unfortunately, both Professor and I will not be able to be there tonight. Yeah. I'm very awesome. You're going to be entertaining everybody on your own. Yes. Which you can do. Yeah, it'll be fun.

We're going to be going through all the film from all the rookie draft picks. as well as Jonathan Grenard. So we'll work our way up to the veteran pass rusher, but a lot of good clips we'll go through on McCoy Lemon, on Eli Stowers, Michael Morris, the entire rookie class before we get to Gernard. Now, you and I will talk tomorrow, and I'm going to get some of your thoughts on how that goes and what were some of the takeaways from going through that process.

But as a little bit of a preview, who are you most excited to show people? I think I'm excited to get into the film of Lemon. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions I answer on Stowers, and why, you know, like, why I have my feelings on Eli Stowers. But it'll be fun to go through guys like Cole Wisniewski and, you know. Wasneski. Wasnesky.

Yes. Thank you. Cole Payton will be an interesting one to go through. Yeah, that's a fun one. Yeah, there are going to be some fun players to be able to, you know, kind of share some of the film and dissect some things. All right. It is spelled exactly the same as. I know.

That's the problem. Right. So it's just the way his family chose to pronounce. Interesting. Yes. Yeah. I mean, that happens a lot. Sure.

Yeah. Of course. Yes, absolutely. All right, the conceit for the show today, especially at the top, is, this is a good for an idea here, the idea of going through the best case and worst case scenarios for a couple guys. So you used Nicopi Dean as the example from last year, basically hitting what would have been, I mean, I'm not even sure that any of us last summer would have considered the season he

had as a best case scenario, probably better than that. But a lot of guys with some variability based on what we expect to happen. and I'm going to flip a coin and you guys are going to have to take the opposite sides on it. Yeah, look, time will tell if it's a good idea. I thought it was an interesting way to kind of frame discussion around some of the pivot players

for this Eagles, 2026 Eagle season. All right, I think let's start with Jahad Campbell, who to me is one of the very interesting X factors for this season. I think we all thought that the way he played the first four, six weeks of the season, a guy who looked like a potential future pro bowler who had a real chance to become an impact player by the end of the season.

And then he just lost his job, not necessarily by any fault of his own, but because Nkoby Dean was just that good. And now he is counted on to be the second linebacker next to Zach Bond. That was coming off this shoulder injury where we're not exactly sure exactly how ready he's going to be for training camp, but he should be ready for week one. Now, do you guys have a strong opinion about which side you would like to take before I flip this coin? I think I would prefer, I'm always going to prefer to be the best case scenario camp, but...

Except when it comes to a few people, but... No, I always prefer to look half-classful. Remember, Fran's first appearance on Flew World Order, I think he took... Not Fleurled Order, I'd... Spredger Wins and Fly, he took the over on, like, every team. Yeah, okay. He's just a positive guy. Try to be.

Classic guy. All right, I'm going to let you call it. Okay. We've got a penny here. Okay? Big moment. You get to call it. All right.

Ready? Yeah. fails. Never fails. Tails, it is. Beautiful. All right. Give me the upside case for Jehad Campbell.

Yeah, I think for me, Jahad Campbell, best case scenario for him in year two, is that we see this versatility with his skill set, fully maximized and weaponized in this scheme with Vic Fangio. And that's that ability to be used similarly to Zach Bond, where you've got that ability to line up in a stacked position and then flex down to the line of scrimmage or drop back into coverage. If he does flex down in the line of scrimmage, is he always as a rusher?

Does he set the edge? Can he drop back? If you've got that ability to disguise your intent and you've got two guys at that position that have that ability to do that, you're constantly keeping defense's guessing. So for me, that is the number one thing that I think is paramount. If he's able to do that, that's the best version of that linebacking core. I think that if he's able to make big strides and coverage from like a vision and a feel and pattern matching in the middle of the field, I think that would be huge for this defense.

And honestly, it's like getting to right on the fringe of being discussed as like one of the best players on the defense, right? Like obviously, you know, like Jalen Carter, Quinawn Mitchell, Cooper DeGine, Zach Bond, like you've got that tier. If he's in that next tier by the end of this season, that's a great outcome. And ultimately, you want to get to the point where, you know, Zach Bond, his contract, it's kind of crazy in terms of like void years and things like that. But the void years begin in 2028 after the 27 season. So if you get to this point now with Jihad Campbell where he plays to that level this season, then you can kind of move on from Bond

by the time he gets to age 32 season, which is right around the corner, and he is the guy in that room. You can very much sort of envision the, you know, week four, week five, you do it or a professor does it, or, you know, some film junkie is like, oh, man, the Seagull's defense shut down,

whoever it was. But, you know, we didn't notice during the game, necessarily that the key was Jahad Campbell just being a beast in coverage, right? Oh, the Rams came out. It's week four. Yeah. One o'clock start.

They're all the 13 personnel. What did they do? Well, you had Zach Bonn and Jahad Campbell patrol in the middle of the field and look at what he did, you know, playing this high, low concept in the middle of field. And that's, to me, like, again, that coverage aspect of things, work in the middle of the field. It's not about matching one-on-one against the tight end,

but it's about just operating space and recognizing route concepts coming his way. That's where if he's able to go, from, you know, if we call it, like, as a rookie, it was like a B minus C plus. If he's able to take that to B plus, say, minus level, that is huge for this defense. And then even as, like, as a blitzer, we didn't see the fully formed version of that yet. Like, if he becomes what Nicopi was as a blitzer last year, I mean, that's, that's huge for this defense, kind of keeping that positive momentum rolling. Yeah, he's a different kind of pass rusher than Nikobe was, obviously.

And it's funny that Nikobe, after all the focused last off season on, okay, maybe Jihad Campbell's going to be like a 25% of the time past rusher like that's that's going to be his superpower that nicoby ended up having the season where he was a dominating force as a blitzer yeah um he's a different kind of player but i'm i'm curious to see how vic uses him yep all right professor give us the the the negative case here which i know is hard for you yeah um and then i have a couple follow-ups go Okay. Now, I did ask before the show, I asked to have run. So all three of us have our kids here in studio today. They're out there. Party going out. Out there doing who knows what. Yeah. Surprisingly quiet so far. So he has some, he has some that could be good or bad. Yeah. He has some of these he answered. And Jahad Campbell, worst case is one of the ones he did answer. So I'll save that for the end. Okay. Uh, mine is, I think Vic Fangio can be incredible for player development, right?

Yeah. But we know how much he believes in practice. Uh-huh. God Campbell is injured. He's missing the offseason, right? So he's going to be a little bit behind. Last year when Jahad Campbell was taking snaps on the edge, Vic came out and just flat out said the time that he spent on the edge stunted his development at inside linebacker.

Yeah. And this is going to, you know, like, like, hopefully he's able to. catch up and things like that. This is as he was getting benched that he said this. What if he doesn't quite get enough practice time? What if he doesn't quite learn how to fit some of those runs, where to be in coverage? We talked about Greg O'Sell was talking to coaches last year that he didn't name. We made it pretty clear who it was. But he said, oh, this is much harder for read Blankenship this year because he has to keep telling Jahad Campbell where to line up. What if he's never quite getting over that, the mental part? Yep. And then the injury continues as well. And

then he misses time again, and suddenly we're talking about should Jeremiah Trotter be playing and stuff? Well, this is when the bill comes due on the decision to let Nikobie Dean take over that job last year, because it was a, it was a, uh, a trade they made short term at the expense of long-term development, because Jahad Campbell was then robbed of half a season's worth of live action and building his bank of reps and seeing what it's like against different schemes and all that stuff and being able to to pocket that and have that to draw on moving forward. And so he is entering his rookie season as if it, or his second season rather, as if it is the second half of his rookie season.

Yeah, it made me queasy in the moment. Like anytime we talked about it was like, you were particularly down about that. And it wasn't even like an anti-Nobie thing because Nicoby was awesome. Like it was great to be able to see him come back. But to do it at the expense of your first round pick, a guy that they were willing to trade up pretty far to go get as we saw the behind the scenes draft access for. from last spring, to me, it would have been better served long term to make sure you really invest in jihad's development.

And for those who don't remember, he played every snap the first seven games. Then he kind of split time with Nukobi for two or three games. Then he was edge rusher only for about, what, one or two weeks. And then he was benched completely. Then he came back and played because Noggi didn't play the last two games. And then in the playoff game, he played one snap. So, I mean, he was basically just on the bench by the end of the year. And so where do you think he was mid-season Fran when he was playing in terms of just his instincts?

Yeah, I would say like for what my expectations were coming in, because it wasn't necessarily a strong suit of his profile coming in, right? It was like I knew that there was going to be some development there. I would probably say like a B, like B minus. like in terms of what my, so in reality it's probably like a C, right? Because it's like, all right, like I knew it was not going to be like sunshine and rainbows there. So I would say about what I expected. And honestly, I thought the arrow was pointing up. Like I was excited to watch him continue to develop.

So look, I'm hoping that the player development, that group there that's led by, you know, Connor Barwin and his team and the several individuals they have working with those guys, that they were able to kind of keep him rolling. And yeah, I'm excited to see what he looks like here this fall. Jane is how important do you think he is to this defense becoming a top five defense again?

I mean, it's the only reason I'm hesitating to say, like, extremely important is because I'm not sure how good Jeremiah Trotter would be if he had to come in. But that would be an injury situation. It's not like he's going to get benched for Jeremiah Trotter. So, yeah, I think, I think extremely important, especially with a question mark at the second safety spot. And because we know how important the middle of the field is for Vic and the way he calls the defense, I just can't see a world where Jihad Campbell is visibly struggling. And the defense is at the level that we were accustomed to seeing it. And where are you at in the moment on Zach Bond after his second season? I mean, I still thought he was, he was, look, the 2024 season, he was amazing. It was stupid.

Yeah, it was like crazy the plays that he was making that year. So it's like, it's almost like Sequin. And I thought you and EJ had a good conversation about Seekwan last day. It wasn't quite to that level and not quite as visible, but it's like, all right, like, he wasn't going to make all those insane plays in coverage that he made. made a year ago. And, you know, from 2024 to 2025. So I thought he still looked pretty good.

Really good. Sequin's the guy who gets credit when things are good, but he never gets blamed when they're bad, right? That's the conversation I heard. It's just running back. Right. Well, yeah. Yeah, I think, I agree with Fran on Zach Bonn.

I mean, Zach Bonn was, like, he was awesome, but he also got crazy breaks in 2020. Like, every play bounced his way. Like, he made the best play at the most important moment, like, you know, multiple playoff interceptions, things like that. I thought he was fine last year. Yeah. Like, I didn't think he'd be better than that.

You know what I mean? If we can get another 20, 25 Zuck Bond this year, I think that would be good enough. Dennis, would you say, well, go ahead. Have your Zach Von follow up? Because my question is not Zach Bond related. By, so, no, I was going to,

it's not necessarily a Zach Bond follow up. It's a, like, we're looping back to Jihad Campbell and then the depth there. If Jihad Campbell's not healthy to start camp, and we start getting it like, oh, Jeremiah Trotter and, Mile Munden or worked in. To me, it's a, like, medium, like, yellow flag

if we get into, like, the latter stages of camp and into the preseason and early stages of the season and we're talking about, like, packages where, oh, like, Trotter could see time here in this role at the behest of Jihad Campbell. That would be a yellow flag in terms of Jihad. I agree with that. Especially because that's not something of the...

They wants to do. Yes, exactly. I think the expectation should be that these guys are playing every snap together. Yeah. Yes. Professor, would you say that Sequin Barclay is a top 25 eagle of this century? Yeah.

Yeah, probably. Wow. But like, you want to talk about begrudgingly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, barely. It is really hard for one, like for Sequin, though, because it's literally like, you know, an amazing season. No, but I think it resulted in a championship

and he was like considered the best player on the, like, I think if you had to name one player who was the guy on the season they won the Super Bowl, it was Sequin Barclay. I think that probably gets him into the 25. But it's, I think that's right. And the thing is like, as much as I say how I don't think running backs matter and all that, and I am calling out all those people who last year, when the running game wasn't good, were like, Sequin's the same.

And my argument was like, well, if Sequin's the same, how can you say it was him last year? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the reality is there is a multiplying factor there, and not every running back would have turned that offensive line performance into what he did. And so it was a major factor on an offense that really didn't have the explosive in the passing game. So you needed the explosives. If 2024, the one player is Sequin, who would you say is the one player from 2017?

It's Nick Falls. Yeah, it's so weird, though. It's just the end. It's just the end. It's literally the end. That's like, how can you not think of Nick Fulins? It's a rule of you think of, but I don't know. I think you could make a case for Malcolm.

See, the only thing when I, so when I was going, Malcolm is in the- Fletcher was probably the best player on the team. It's like a leader as a leader in the face of the team. Yeah, it's Malcolm. And then I think he could also, he could make a case for Kelsey, but go ahead. Yeah.

To me, like, if I'm thinking of like the lightning, like lightning in a bottle, like, all right, like short span, I think it's Foles. the analog there for 2017. We have a big Super Bowl Champions banner above the stairs for both of them. Like the 52 and the

59 are right next to each other. And I always look at them. And usually I kind of like do a little applause. Like every time I go down the stairs. So this happens like five, six times a day. And every time I look at the banners, I kind of see faces. And this isn't like, it's not necessarily

scientific. It's just like, who I think of. So I think of Nick Foles and Kelsey and BG probably the most when I look at 52. I should think of Malcolm. I mean, Malcolm's like my all-time favorite eagle probably. But for whatever reason I don't. And when I see that, when I see the 59 logo, I just think of Jalen and Zach Bond. And I don't know why.

Like, that's just what I think. I mean, I don't know. If I thought about it more, I'd be like, I should think more about Jaquan or Cooper DeGine or, you know, whatever. But Quinyon, I don't know. But that's the thing. If you're a champion, you have a lot of good players. So it should be hard.

I think of it. It's like the conversation that we were before 2017 happened. So before the Eagles actually won the Super Bowl and we're talking about who are the best, you know, the best Eagles of the Andy Reid era. Right. Like, you know, I remember when I was working with the Eagles, we did like, you know, best Eagles of the last 15 years and things like that. Where T.O. would rank in those conversations.

It's like, all right, well, he was only here for two years. It was one year of absolute greatness. and he literally, you know, almost single-handedly, won them, you know, got them to the Super Bowl despite the injury versus someone who just had more tenure. It was like that. So, like, if you're looking at Sequin Barclay, just like you're looking at Nick Foles,

like, you know, people would make the argument. It's like Sequin or Trey Thomas. Right. That's a difficult conversation to have. How do you break that tie? I'm thinking, I've been thinking about this a lot because we're working on a project where we're going to get into this stuff.

And I think the fact that they won the Super Bowl I think it's sort of got to go take one in there. I also think like T.O. I feel like if you do the exercise of picking the one player from every season who was the guy and they go to the Super Bowl that year, I think it probably belonged on the list. Yeah. I think T.O. goes there.

You know the other thought I had? I believe that Trent Cole is the best eagle of the century to have never been a part of a Super Bowl team. like even get to the Super Bowl, you mean? Correct. Not on the roster. Right. Trent Cole.

Interesting. He's got there just after. Rookie in 05. Yes. He would be the highest ranking eagle to not be. To not get. I think that's right. Right.

Because he's higher than like. You could say Deshawn if you want to make a case. Deshawn, Todd Herman, Shady. Recently retired. I mean, I'm not putting him in this category, but I just felt really bad for him when I realized that when Boston's got retired. Oh, that's tough. That little.

2018 to 2023. That's tough. This is brutal. That is tough. I mean, brutal. You join a team that won the Super Bowl, and then you leave the team, and they win the Super Bowl.

When I went to LaShawn McCoy's Wikipedia page, I was like, two-time Super Bowl champion. I'm like, oh, yeah, like I forgot that he was on the Bucks team. Him and DeShan just went like weird ring chasing. They were like inactive and stuff in the Super Bowl. All right. I'm going to take our first break here on the P. H.O.I. Eagle Show.

Good conversation. Back with more on the other side. If you could have reliable and intelligent Wi-Fi. And what if you could keep that intelligent Wi-Fi at the same price for five years? Because that is what Xfinity's five-year price guarantee is all about. We are talking about Wi-Fi that makes everything in your home work together. That finds and fixes problems. Before you even notice them, super intelligent Wi-Fi with a sixth sense.

That lets you stream the game even when the whole family is online and lets all your devices be working in perfect harmony, not just now, but for five whole years. Best part, no annual contracts, no hidden fees, and Xfinity's best equipment included. So lock in your price today and unlock the possibilities with Xfinity. Learn more at Xfinity.com.

Xfinity! Imagine that! Select plans only. Restrictions apply. Tell them PHLI sent you. Went to the Phillies game with my son last night. Stayed all nine innings. Great game.

Got the Bryson stock, go ahead, Homer. Fantastic. But 82 home games, you're going to stay for nine innings every single time? Maybe not. So whether you're trying to beat the parking lot traffic or the victory brewing lines, sometimes getting out of the game early is the move. That's why Bet365's offering their early payout.

Whenever the team you're riding goes up a certain amount of runs at any point in the game, they will pay your bet out right then and there, and it is as simple as that. Now, at Bet365, they can't stop bullpens from ruining your day, but they can help them stop ruining your bet. So download the app and use code P-H-O-I-365, Bet-365, where winning is everything.

Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler, 21 older, only. Must be physically located in Pennsylvania. Terms and conditions apply in app only, Bet-365. Do you want to finish your sentence? No, I'm good. All right, let's move on with this best case, worst case exercise. Now, I'm going to give you a little option. Wait, everyone's worst case for John Campbell.

Oh, yes, yes, yes. Is that he's going to get kicked off of all future social media video appearances. I don't know if you guys saw the 14-minute schedule one. Yeah. The whole time he was like, why is John Campbell on here? Yeah. And he thinks that he's... Yeah, I mean, the worst-case scenario is he quits football.

Well, I mean, worst-case scenario. Let's not actually think about worst-case. Yeah. All right, I'm going to give you the choice now of you get to pick your best case scenario guy of the list I sent over to you. So would you like to make the case for Mikhail Lemon, Drew McCuba, Dallas, Goddard, Jonathan Grinard, or would you like to get into a Jalen Hertz conversation? It'd be the bullman. Interesting. Wait, and I'm doing the best case?

You get to be the best case because you're going to say the worst case. See, now it's putting more pressure on me than. Not so easy when you're in the hot seat, huh? No. I mean, I kind of like the coin. I kind of like the coins. The seats are better, though. The seats are better.

Let's talk Jalen Hertz. Wow. All right. I'm the pro Jalen guy on the show. How dare you? Someone has to say that he's good at something. A friend said that the best case scenario for Jalen Hertz is that he completes a Hail Mary to win the Super Bowl. I like that.

So, yeah. I thought that was good. I'll take that right now. This is such a, you guys, you guys have talked about it so much. Yeah, yeah, sure. Claire says no Jalen Hurd's conversation. Sorry, Claire. He is the quarterback after all.

By the way, worst case for Jalen Hertz, everyone said, every pass goes five miles out of bounds. That's called the clap and thurpin. Yeah, there you go. That's pretty impressive if you can throw it five miles. Yeah. This is going to be a new offense for Jalen Hertz. He famously struggles with, you know, at the beginning with new offensive coordinators.

This is going to be the biggest change, right? And so as you guys have been saying, so I'll keep it brief because you guys have talked about it a lot. He will just come out and look comfortable right from the beginning. And, you know, like under center, you know, wide zone play action, all that stuff. but they're going to also keep some of the stuff, some of that gimmicky run game stuff that they did in Green Bay

where, you know, like the spin series or whatever they call it where, you know, Jordan Love takes the snap and he like spins one way or whatever and then it's just the regular split zone run in the end

but you can do different kinds of play action off of it. That seems to fit Jalen's skill set. I think you guys had what, Nate Tyson, he talked about that, right? I thought that was a great point he made like,

because you see that stuff and it's like Jalen can totally do this stuff. Yeah. It's not like they were under center every snap. he's going to look great in that. He's going to maybe run a little bit more than he did before. He's just going to be like a little bit more excited by the whole,

by the whole thing. Yeah. And there's no more AJ. So there's not going to be the buddy ball stuff. He's not going to feel like he has to throw every ball to the same guy. I was thinking about that. Like similar skilled, good receivers on the team. Yeah.

I just think there's a chance that he'll look like a point guard out there in a way that like, you're like, wow, this guy is just good as a quarter. I also think from a narrative standpoint, you know, on the one hand, yes, it does feel like he has sort of lost a little bit of cachet in the organization with the way that they have shuffled some of the stuff behind the scenes. But you can see a scenario where in a post-A.J. world, it's like, okay, it's your team, you know? And he becomes like the guy who everybody follows in the locker room and it's a little bit less divisive there. and the team takes on a little bit more of his personality and he shows a little bit more personality sort of freed from

whatever it is that has gone on with AJ. And we've seen him take steps towards trying to at least in a public-facing way seem like more of a leader. I've heard behind the scenes, yeah, he's done more this off-season with stuff in the building than in the past and has been better about that stuff.

Yeah, I think that's... Just the fact that he was on that video is a difference. Yes. Like he would not have been on that video. What was your read on the beret? I think he's confused. I think he thinks beret is just like a pan-European concept.

I don't know. The whole team's going to wear berets off the plane in London? I wasn't sure what. I mean, I think he just thinks of it as like pan-European. Like, you know, all of Europe wears berets, is my guess. I don't know. What did you think? You seem to think he thought maybe it was in Paris or...

Well, either he doesn't know what a beret is. I think he thinks, I think EJ's thought that maybe he thinks the Kangol is the beret. No, no, no, I think he's thinking something he does not currently wear is a beret. I think he thinks like they need to go get berets.

Like, I don't think it's like something. Yeah. I don't have a good answer for this. But if it was wrong, why wouldn't they cut it out of the video? Good point, Lindsay. Well,

it might have been the most interesting thing said. And we know there's some good editors there who would catch it. There are several sets of eyeballs that watch those videos. Yes. I feel like they must have been like, I can imagine. All right. Brian, you have been waiting for this all off season

to be able to make the case that Feeling Hertz is going to hit the worst case scenario here. Not true. No, to me, like, I actually only have one line in here for worst case scenario. I think the worst case scenario, realistically, is that all the same inconsistencies that we have talked about for the last few years

show up and there's no growth in the key areas. I think if it's exactly the same, I think that that's the most real, like worst case scenario. Yeah, like could his numbers like go down and, you know, like, yeah, like that's, that's possible. But all of these things change. Numbers have never been his thing.

Yeah, exactly. It's never been. Like I think it's much more. No, but stylistically, all these pieces change. It's a new offense. It's a new group of receivers. And it's still mostly just balls on the outside. Yep.

And holding the ball too long and all of that stuff and not a little bit scared to throw the ball over the middle of the field and nothing really changed. The play, the play call works perfect. and he just doesn't throw it, right? Because it's in the middle of the field. And Fran's looking at it on his film review and he's like, I don't know why it didn't. Look at this, yeah.

And there's like four of those in week one and we're just like, oh no, right? Like that could be, yeah. Can I, because I think this is all tangential. I think it's all related. You guys have had the conversation. You and EJ have butted heads numerous times over the last week and change about the opening slate. And when we did the,

when we did the schedule release video or the, schedule release show a couple Thursdays last Thursday. It feels like three weeks ago at this point. Yeah, you were on his side. Well, here's the thing. That is extreme EJ. He is way on one side of the lead.

I am not there in terms of like, yeah, they need to go three and one. Or the offense has to be outstanding. The past game has to be a top five in the NFL in the first month or else it's a failure. I don't think it's that. To me it is like process. it is, are we, do we leave the month of September having a good feel for what this past game identity is?

Yeah. Like are we, do we think like, oh yeah, like, okay, I see, I see where they're going, even if they could be one and three. And I could look at it and be like, yeah, all right, I see where they're going here. And it's, and it's making sense. And it's congruous to the, it's parallel to the identity that we've expected from Sean Manion. It's a lot of the things that we expected coming in. I think that's good. And if we're seeing like good flashes from Jaylin, we're going to be.

Jalen do a couple of things you haven't seen them do before. We haven't seen them do. I think that's good. Like, to me, it would be bad. It's bad if we see a little bit of it. It's like, well, ironically enough, the Superboy. Where it's a little bit of this in Green Bay in week one down in Brazil. And it's like, oh, but then they don't see it again in week two on.

And it's like, one week it's this and another week it's that. To me, that's when the red flags start going up from me. My counterpoint to this is, did we know what the identity of the passing game was in 2024 early in the season. And we didn't. And we never really did. And then there was a parade. Yes.

But that's where like you had the number one or two, the number one or number two best defense and a legendary run game that were able to catapult the team to that. And when you didn't have those last year, that's when the everything kind of referred back to the medium. And so that's where, or to the median rather. And that's what I would be concerned with is that,

all right, if we think that the past game is, you know, the way you want to kind of structure this whole thing moving forward, you want that past game to have the right bones to it. I think it's unfair because EJ's not here, but I was definitely thinking more like Boe that the end of the season matters more than the beginning of the season in terms of how well you're playing in terms of getting into the playoffs. The one thing that we don't know is outside of 2021,

like this team has not started poorly in the Nixiriani era. Like the biggest example we have of a bad start is two and two, which is not exactly like a disaster. So we don't know. Like, I mean, this team was 10 and 1 in 2023 and it ended in a collapse. This team was 8 and 2 last year and it didn't end very well, right? How will the team react if it starts poorly? EJ seems to think that it maybe won't recover. And the thing is like we don't really have other than 2021 when they did recover very well.

But that's such a different team at this point. like it really doesn't matter right um so i don't know i mean you look at the schedule it is there are a lot of kind of games that look easy at the beginning right and so that might be part of ej's thinking it's like you've got tennessee you've got washington like what if you lose those you know like and suddenly now you've got a couple of tough games after that what if it just goes off the rails yeah and we just because we haven't seen it it's hard to imagine but i guess he's right that that would be bad but to me it's it's almost like the iceberg thing where it's like, all right, like, we can only, we were only able to see the

tip of the iceberg, right? We can't see everything that's going on beneath the surface. If, if the film is showing an offense, a pass game that does not have a great identity in the first month of the season, and then we are like, it's like a trickle out of like, oh, yeah, like things behind the scenes. It's a lot of what we heard, like in the McManus report and things like that. Yeah, I just think that that's probably a bad sign for the entire big picture moving forward. All right. Time to put. A pin in that. Take a quick break.

Come back with more on the other side. Professor has some extra schedule thoughts. And then I think we'll have a doubtless Goddard conversation after that. Introducing your new craving. That's right. Wawa now has tacos. Wawa is expanding its freshly prepared food lineup with new seasoned beef tacos available for a limited time.

And they're built to deliver bold, craveable flavor. in every bite. We are talking war. Soft tortillas filled with Wawa's savory, juicy, boldly seasoned beef plus fresh toppings that you can customize your way. It's all packed into a six-inch soft flour tortilla making it the perfect handheld on-the-go option whether you want the seasoned beef, the chicken steak, or the black beans. There's also burritos, bowls, and cassidias so you can mix and match and build a meal that fits your appetite. But don't wait because this lineup is only here for limited time while supplies last. So next time you're at Wawa and grab a taco and find your new go-to order. Hi, my name is the professor and is Solomon and I'm here to tell you

that Parks Casino is my casino of choice. Because at Parks Casino, you can have a great place for a night of headline entertainment and award-winning dining in addition to taking advantage of the fun at the casino. You can also make the night complete and stay at the new beautiful Parksview Hotel, which is just steps away from Parks Casino and offers shuttle service. And boy, do they have a great lineup of entertainment coming your way this spring, summer, and fall. May 29th, the night of Yacht Rock with Ambrosia and Pablo Cruz. The Long Island Medium, Teresa Caputo, is coming to town on June 6th.

You got George Thorogood and the Destroyers on August 28th. Sebastian Bach and special guest Stephen Adler from Guns and Roses. They're coming in October. and my buddy, Paul McCartney, who I saw at the Super Bowl, well, all McCartney, a tribute to Sir Paul McCartney, is coming in June. Go to parkscasino.com to buy tickets must be 21. There you go. Thank you, Professor, for those messages, back on the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast.

Time now for a little Taco Tuesday, presented by our friends at Wawa and Professor. This is the meat, as it were, in, your schedule analysis, what is left over that you have not yet care with the world. One thing you pointed out about the Eagle schedule.

A different show. One thing you pointed about the Eagle schedule is that it didn't have the... So like it's easier on paper than last year's for sure. By my methodology, it was third most difficult last year, 22nd this year.

But it doesn't have those like really easy games. There aren't a ton of Yeah, the games that look like that a game will be like a laffer. Which again are not always the wins. In fact, like Arizona at home was like on paper the easiest game. Not just coming into the season, but even going into that game, that Arizona team was horrendous. And that was a loss.

But just counting the number of games against teams ranked 20th to 24th in Super Bowl. Okay. Very thin. Okay. There were two such games in 2024. None last year. There are seven games this year against teams ranked

20 to 24. Why is 24 the cutoff? Well, just because there are none from 25 to 27. So I'm just choosing it. I'm cherry picking it. But the point is like, it's a big heart of a schedule.

Are the giants and commanders both in there? Exactly. So that's four of them. And then you've got Colts, Steelers, Panthers, and all of those are at home, by the way.

So the bulk of the home schedule, five of the nine games at home or against that kind of lower middle class. There are none where it's like, oh, this team's expected to be the worst in the league. Like, we've had those, like Carolina two years ago. We had Arizona the year before, had the Texans the year before.

Yeah. This year, Arizona and Tennessee are on the schedule. They're both on the road. That lower middle class is just looking back at the past years has been where the surprise teams have come from. Sure, that makes sense. I mean, both Seattle and New England were in the lower middle class last year coming in, and they were both in the Super Bowl.

So, you know, it's kind of to your point that, like, those teams could end up being good. Like, we don't know. Obviously, there's a lot of, you know, variance with teams like Washington and the Colts. Like, you know, they started so good last year. Can they repeat that? You know. So, yeah, it's something to note. My other point was about the NFL and the extra time windows.

And I think on this one, you may have misquoted me or maybe not. I'm not sure. sound like me. You said you disagreed with me about something. I do disagree about with you about something, but I don't think it was about extra time slots? No, no, extra time slots, yes. Yeah, like, so the NFL adding extra days, extra windows,

extra streaming service contracts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a big business guy. I am not a big business guy. Streamers to get paid. As a fan, I would prefer the games to be played at different times so I can watch more games. I don't see what's wrong with that.

Yeah, see, I disagree with that, but go ahead. Okay. The one time that I don't think that that's the case, and I've been on the record saying this in the past, is week 18. When you have the competitive reasons to have games at the same time, the NFL added in 2021, they added an ESS, 2020 was the first year they actually did it,

the ESPN doubleheader on Saturday. They're pre-committed to have two games at different times on Saturday, and that easily can spoil the, Week 18 games. And just look back at last year. The Bears and Eagles, they played at the same time on week 18. Nick Siriani said before the game

that the only thing he can control is rest, and he can't control if the bears lose and they're playing at the same time, so he didn't play for the two seed. Now, that's the way it should have been. It should have been played at the same time. Imagine if the Bears had played on Saturday instead, and lost.

And then Siriani would have played a starters, likely gotten the two seed. The Rams were in exactly, that situation where they knew they would get the five seed, either if they won and San Francisco lost to Seattle. Well, guess what? San Francisco played on Saturday. They did lose. The Rams did learn that they needed to win to get the five seed and get the easier game against Carolina. They played their starters. They won, and they got the five seed. So they got an advantage from the scheduling. Well, guess what the NFL did? They added a third game on Saturday. They sold it to

Netflix. They're putting it at one o'clock before the two ESPN games. It has been so hard for them to even find two games to put on Saturday that didn't spoil other games and give competitive advantages. To have three all played at different times from each other is going to, yeah, if you play them at the same time, it'd be fine. Because then you could, you have more flexibility to put the games that affect each other. And that's been my proposal, is have the entire conference be on Saturday. Like you move three games already, why not just move eight? And just have the whole day be one conference. Here's the other thing. They have Monday night football on week 17. That's two games in week 18 that you're basically can't put on Saturday because they wouldn't want to go Monday

to Saturday on week 18. So you've already eliminated two games. There are four to five games every week 18 that are meaningless. You eliminate those. You're left with nine games or so and you have to put three of them at different times on Saturday. If it's a game that matters, by fact of it mattering, it's going to matter for someone else. It's going to get to get to the point where like one of these games is going to be like the game for the first round pick or like the number one pick or something. Like seriously, it's going to get to the point where they can't find games with playoff implications that they could

that they could put fairly on that day. And yeah, well, I think people would watch it. And so they could do that if there is a game like that where the loser gets the number one pick or something. But the more moving parts here, the more it lays bare that equitability, equity is not their goal

in creating the schedule. The four games against teams with buyers. It is an entertainment product for them. It is not a fairness product. It's true. Now, the one thing that we have seen them do in week 18 that makes me think they care a little bit about fairness is they really do try to put a game,

like, they just canceled Sunday night football one year completely. Right. Like, because there was no game that was definitely going to matter at the end. Now, you could argue that's more ratings than fairness, but I guess it helped the fairness as well. Well, you're right. I mean, the Eagles are playing against four teams that are coming off a by. There are other teams that aren't playing any.

Right. And that would be an easy thing to solve for if you cared about it. Well, here's the thing. It seems like it to me. Yes. Spoken to someone who may or may not have taken a few hours last week to get ahead on spread your wins and fly research. Looking back at last year and some of the things that I looked at to determine like, oh, who are some teams that I feel good about and so that rest advantage thing?

Yeah. was not something that dictated, like, whether or not a team hit the over or under. You know, it was like very much, it was honestly like split up the middle. And I was listening, actually I was listening to our friend Ross Tucker, who had Mike North,

and I forget the, the name of the guy who was like right under Mike North with setting up the schedule. Matt South. It was not. But I had, I was listening, and he was actually, he actually asked about the rest advantage thing.

And they said, yeah, the data has shown that that, that has no. bearing and very little it's basically 500 yeah he was like it's there was like it's basically it's like you know home teams win 55 percent and road teams win 45 percent it's it was basically that and i was listening there was another podcast brought up the same exact thing uh the soon uh shout out to sean saud sumur sports uh podcast um was i was listening to that one and they said yeah like the rest advantage thing yeah is not a a big indicator of uh fairness in a team schedule or not

so i think that there are elements that like i agree with you that that's not the number one priority. But I think if there were things that they felt strongly like, yeah, like this is just not right, I think they would try and eliminate that if possible. I think their week 18 thing is they don't care about

seeding implications. They're willing to make concessions on that. But if it is a who gets in or not, then they won't mess with the unfair. And maybe the by week, the number one seed. The number one seed. I think it's the seating they might look at just because of the body that goes with it.

So teams with the rest advantage, just trying to tell what years. In the last six years have won 49% of the time. There you go. So it's not even 50%. Yeah. Now, you know, you could argue teams that are better tend to have rest disadvantages more because they're brought up. You know, whatever. Like there are all kinds of things you could do more scientific things than just count here.

but when you look at the records with with arrest advantage, the better teams are at the top, the worst teams are at the bottom. It's what you would think. You could argue there's an aggregate effect, right? Like EJ was talking about how you can't believe Dallas has to go to Rio and then they don't have their buy for so long. And so,

and he said that he sensed that the team was struggling after going to Sao Paulo last year. Maybe there's an aggregate effect that this doesn't catch. Like maybe you don't lose that game, but you lose the game after. You know what I mean? that kind of thing, but yeah. The one thing that I think they are finding some correlation with, and I remember bringing that up on the spread your wins and fly last year, the teams that have a lot of primetime games,

that is typically correlated with adjusted games lost due to injury. And so it's not necessarily about time of rest, but it's just like the late nights and late travel. That was one that did pop up. All right, let's put the period on the end of the Taco Tuesday, presented by Wawa. sentence, take our last break, come back, have a little best case, worst case, Dallas Goddard

discussion on the PHY Eagles podcast. I know about you guys, but I have been sweating the past couple days. Over 90 degrees, whoo! You know what that's doing, dear HVAC? Fingers crossed, it's holding up. If it isn't, I got good news. The good folks at Ace Hardware Home Services have you covered.

Because if the heat and humidity is sneaking in and your AC is not cranking like it should, don't you worry your sweaty little head because Ace Hardware Home Services has got you covered. From AC repairs to water heaters, plumbing and electrical, their trusted local pros bring the same helpful service you know from Ace right to your home. Whether it's a quick fix or a bigger summer project, they've got the tools, the know-how,

and most importantly, they've got the people to get the job done right. Ace Hardware Home Services is bringing helpful to your home, visit Ace Hardwarehomeservices.com today to get started. Tell them E.J. Smith sent you, and don't be afraid about the meat picks. The birds are headed to Nashville. And you already know what that means. A little bit of honky tonk, some live music, and Eagles fans taking over Broadway all weekend long. How are you going to get there with Philly Sports Trips?

Because Philly Sports Trips brought hundreds of Philly fans to Music City in 2018. and they're ready to do it even bigger this season. From flights and hotels to game tickets and exclusive fan events, everything is taken care of for you. Plus, you'll experience the weekend alongside former Eagles, David Akers, Hollis Thomas, and my buddy, Eagles insider Dave Spadero. The special appearances and exclusive events you won't get anywhere else.

This is more than just an away game. It is the ultimate fan experience. So lock in your spot today, at philly sports trips.com. That's philly sports trips.com. Tell them P.HLY sent you. There it is. Back in the P.HLY Eagles podcast.

All right, friend, I'm putting you on the hook again. I lost a penny. Oh. So I've got... Oh, good. Odds or evens here. Okay. You're going to go Dallas Goddard.

Odds or evens. They do these psychology experiments where they give people, they give volunteers coins. Okay. And they tell them to flip the coin like 20 times. and then write down the sequence. Yeah. And then they take away the coin

and they say like, you know, we had to give the coin to someone else. We didn't tell the professor, like, just make it up. Like, just make up a sequence. Okay. And they can tell which ones are made up

and which ones aren't. Because the ones that are made up don't have long enough streaks. Like people think it's just headtails, headtail, headtail, which is just as unlikely as like, right. You know, so they don't put enough like,

there should be like four heads in row at some point. And like no one puts that in when they're making it up. So I just thought I'd, It's like you lost the penny. You have to just make it up. I was watching the office last night as I was going to sleep. And it was the threat level midnight episode.

And he said, all right, I'm going to flip a coin. And it's, I'm going to flip a best of seven. And he's just sitting there flipping the coin. Very funny scene. Okay. All right. Odds are evans. You're an odd guy.

Let's go odd. Ah, even go. It is. You want the bull case or the bear case for Dallas Goddard. I feel like I'm so pro Dallas Goddard normally. but I will go with the I'll go bare case. Oh, interesting.

Yeah, right. Well, I'll let you go first then, Fran. Okay. Best case for Dallas is that the blocking returns to the level that we have seen from him in the past and he becomes that that high-end pass catcher and blocker at the point of attack.

And that to me, that allows him to play the Tucker craft role for Sean Manning in this offense, who was the focal point of that passing game until he tore his ACL last fall. And so when I look at it, it's all right, if the blocking can return, which maybe that was health-related last year, maybe it wasn't. But, you know, if that can bounce back, I think best case is, all right, he's second on the team and targets behind Devante Smith. He's a legitimate red zone weapon and touchdown maker, which he was last year, but that was really the only dimension where he was surplus value for this Eagles offense. The yards after catch is a big part of it.

That's the big thing to me. Yeah, and like staying healthy. Like, you right? You had multiple trips to injured reserve each of the last two seasons. It might even be three in a row. So you're staying healthy. You become that dynamic player with the wall in your hands. And if you're that dominant inline blocker, I think that's the best case scenario.

And I don't think that it's non-zero. Like I think that that's on the table. But hopefully it's the health to me is the biggest aspect of that. If I made you pick between a guarantee that Dallas Goddard is like the second most important receiver on the team. is worthy of that or he is as good of a blocker as we know that he has been in the past, which one would you sign up for? What I sign up for?

I think I'd sign up for B. Really? Yeah, I think I would trade, like, well. You're hoping that it's McKaylor. Right, yeah. So I think I might trade Dallas Goddard being an elite blocker and like the number three or number four target getter for as opposed to the opposite. And like he's not a great blocker, but he's like what he was last year.

Yeah. I think I would try. But a little bit better than last year. As a better yak. Yeah. Thanks to the design of the offense. Yep. Yeah.

I think I would make that trade. Interesting. I think that would be better for the overall health of the offense. Okay. What do you think, professor? And give us the downside. If you guys remember the, um, we had a show where we kind of compared the, the, the Green Bay offensive tendencies.

to the Eagles' offensive tendencies. This is when Sean Manion first got hired. And I had this chart where it was like, the Eagles were like off the charts with the hitches. Right, right, right. And Green Bay was off the charts with out routes. Yes. And when we looked at who was running those outroutes,

it was all the tight ends. Like so the main thing that we saw from the tight ends in Green Bay was those out routes, like whether it's a sail route, whatever it is. And... Which does not seem optimized for yak. Not optimized for yak. It is something that Dallas got to,

has done well here notably in the Super Bowl sure no it wasn't the best play of his life against the saints yeah uh but the like what if sean minion comes in and he's like i've got my i've got my guy like Dallas gotters the guy yeah and we're going to have all these plays that are designed to have him be the guy and what if he's just kind of lost the stuff like what if he isn't beating the safety man coverage on those plays and now you've got a bunch of plays that are designed to go to him and he's trying to be the Tucker craft but like and they're kind of for forcing it and it's not working, right? Because he's lost a step.

It's telling that Fran said that he was out with a long-term injury last year because he only missed one game to injury last year. But they were managing his snaps so much. He only missed week two last year. Yeah. He was not injured reserve? No. That was two years ago.

He was on injured reserve for one stint and he missed four games on another. He missed week two and he missed week 18. And week 18 was just resting. Really? And I'm looking at a snaps, like just normal snaps every game. But the thing is, he was not on the field. in a lot of scenarios, especially like scenarios where it was like 12 personnel

and they were running the ball and Grant Calcutera was the guy running like blocking on counter. So that's the thing though. I think it's telling that you remember it that way because he wasn't himself. Like he wasn't physically himself. He didn't seem to put in the effort blocking.

It's almost like he was trying to protect his body all year and he did. He did protect his body. He didn't miss games due injury. But he just wasn't nearly as effective. So I'm worried that it's going to continue that way. He signed another one-year contract. in his mind, he's got to be still thinking that he can sign elsewhere after this, right?

I mean, I don't think he's thinking about retiring. So the question is, like, is he going to try harder this year to block? Or is he going to be like, yeah, they signed Johnny Munt. Like, Johnny Munk can block. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, and Eli Stowers can't. Stowers can't. And that's the other thing.

It's like, so if they're going to play, Green Bay played 33 percent 12 personnel last year, if this team's going to play that much 12 personnel and Dallas Scottert isn't blocking and Eli Stowers isn't blocking? Like, what are we doing? Like, you know, is Johnny Monk going to be out there every time? Because then that's going to, you're going to limit snaps for somebody. So, and I know E.J. thinks Eli Stowers is going to play like every snap. But I'm just spiling on E.J. here.

Just want to want him to pull over while he's driving again. So I'm just worried that, like, physically, physically, you're not. Happy birthday, Julia, that's right. Happy birthday, Julia. Physically, he's not there. But the offense is designed like he is. Like, I think that's the worst thing. Yeah.

I think that's well said. And Evan said less than 100 yards on the season. For worst case. Fewer. Can I just say? He said less. I'm directly quoting. He told me in Turkish.

So that is my, that's me in poorly. The chat says that you had one and then changed it after I called odds. That's incorrect. I had one when I first asked you and then we got waylaid and then we came back to it. And the second time I changed it then. I didn't change it when you guessed. I don't dare. I'm just, you know, question my...

I don't know what's going on behind that chair. It's unbelievable. But yeah, it was a new set. This is like the psychic experiment. Yeah, yeah, totally is. Except we have him on camera. I can't believe that I got that wrong on the Goddard thing. I could have sworn that he was an injured reserve early in the year.

That's crazy. I mean, I can't believe it. Yeah, no. You have a name of season, and there's a good chance that he missed. No, he was each of the two years before that he was. That is how I remembered it by my mind. Including in 2020, for when he probably should have gone on injured reserve. And then he ended up missing, I guess, three games, kind of rushed back.

Right. Missed another four after that. And then he came back for, he played a little bit in that week 18 game, if you remember. Just so they, you know, he'd have some stamps. He was the only start of replayed in that game with that, Tanner McKee. All right. Let's do one more today. Let's do Jonathan Grenard, in part because we already have a graphic created.

Oh, man, I've got Evans. This is really bad. Okay. Season ending shoulder injury, first snap in a season opener. A Van Zumeren. Exactly. Oh, no. That's tough.

Obviously, injury is like worse chance. Out of existence. Yeah. Well, not quite worse. God. It's up there. I'm going to let. I guess you got to give the, uh...

You can take the, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, the, uh, the ball case. He could go pause, best case on. He's, yeah, he's going to take, drink his mouthwash first. I need to rinse. after speaking poorly about Dallas got her best case scenario for Jonathan Grinard professor do you guys trust your dentist by the way great question

very topical I do not trust my old dentist okay I feel better about my current dentist I've never had a cavity in my life and I went into I have a new dentist second time I went there and I mentioned to the not the actual dentist but the

what is the person called who does cleaning. The what? A hygienist. I casually said to the hygienist, you know, I'm really lucky I've never had a cavity. Four minutes later, comes back with x-rays, and she's like,

you're going to love this, bow. You know, we have this AI technology that defines cavities. And look, you see this color-coded in pink here? I'm afraid to say your 48-year streak is over. And I was like, what are you talking about? Yeah, we're going to have to treat this, you know?

And they bring out this paperwork and try to get me to sign it and everything. And I'm like, no, I've never had a cavity before. I'm not going to just sign this thing. And they're like, no, you got to sign it. I'm like, no, I'm not going to sign it. You have to sign it. It's just like turned to this, like, weird situation.

I'm not going to go back there. Screw them. Obviously, it's possible to get your first cavity when you're 48. I just, I'm just not, I'm not going to let AI tell me, have a cavity after. Good for you. Yeah.

How do we get there? Oh, the mouth away. I doesn't even have teeth. Telling you. Don't trust your dentist's people. Not naming names here, but, you know. I enjoy, I shouldn't say I enjoy.

I actually just, I do not like going to the dentist, but my current dentist, I like them. I do a good job. Yeah, I mean, we get a whole conversation about, you know,

why is, Why is the mouth considered separate from the body, dental insurance, or health insurance, with this whole bracelet. I mean, you know, come on. But topic for another day. Yeah. People who couldn't get into men school need to do something, you know?

For more thoughts on the American health care system. I'm really happy players with me on this one, by the way. This is good. We'll tell you in overtime. Now you can get some bad dentists. Oh, yeah. It's a very highly reviewed, very, you know, acclaimed dentist in the city. Really?

Yeah. So we'll see. I would have lost it if they told me, AI told me that. Oh, they showed me the thing. You see the pink, the AI, the pink color coding there. That means you have a cavity. And it's like, you guys are dentists, right? You need an AI. Like, it's just the normal X-ray.

You need AI to tell you it's a cavity? Like, what are we doing? Oh. So what's your best case? scenario on Jonathan Grenard. Oh, I think Jonathan Grinard is is way underrated for

like a, like a like a like a like a like a like a like a like a guy to bring in in the off season. Like I totally agree with you know all the people who are saying that like if this had happened not during the draft right some other time. I think that's a valid. It would have been a huge story right and it would have been a big thing.

I wish I could come to your thing today friend but I'm curious how much time you're going to spend on him because like what an exciting player. I mean, like, you lose Jalen Phillips and it's like, well, what are we going to do with that void? And you're bringing in a guy like Jonathan Grenard, who, by all accounts, is like every bit as good as Jalen Phillips. And, you know, we've seen him do it in the NFL.

Best case scenario is, like, he takes a lot of attention away from the other side. He's out there. He's dropping into coverage at the right times, like doing everything that he's supposed to be doing. And he's just like a huge impact player, double-digit socks, you know, all. All that. I think you're listening on audio and not watching. We've got the last three seasons combined there

comparison between Jalen Phillips and Jonathan Grenard. And I mean, Jonathan Grinard has been more productive. Now, he is two years older. So that's part of the deal here. But he's been way healthier. He's been more dynamic in the backfield. Now he is coming off a three and a half sex season. That's the red flag there.

But, you know, how do you rebound from losing Jalen Phillips? Yeah, and you're paying a third round pick, assuming you're getting, you know, you pay two thirds, but you're getting one back. So you're paying a third round pick to replace Phillips with Grenard, but you're also paying him a little bit less money. I mean, there's no doubt that they pivoted well. And just as importantly, you're going from Jalick's Hunt and Nolan Smith as your one and two

to those guys as your two and three, right? And then Ebiketi becomes your four, Priyant-Janka, whatever's going on with BG? I mean, like, you suddenly have numbers there in a way which we know matters of that position. Yeah, I'm excited by it. And he's experimented the first half of last season with, like, let's see what these guys do as the top. And if we can backfill with a bunch of guys, I think he learned that that's not what he wants to do anymore. Is BG coming back?

I'm less convinced of that than I would have been a month ago. Because they've brought in so many guys, right? Yes. Yeah. Because it hasn't happened yet. Right. Yeah, and it hasn't happened. Isn't he still on the roster?

Yeah, but since June 1st. Until June 1st. Yeah, because it was contract. He's taking up a roster spot now. Okay. But he's off on June 1st. Yeah. Should I go with the worst case?

Yes. Okay. You mentioned three and a half Sachs last year. This is year seven for him. Yeah. So it's like, all right, is this a sign of things to come or was it a blip on the radar? And so I would say like from a, the worst case scenario standpoint is that this is like a sign of things to come.

And so what I did as I looked back at some quality pass rushers that were built the same way as Jonathan Garnard, similar body types. So like shorter, squatty or thicker types, right? So I picked two guys over the last couple decades that had good career, like we're regarded as as good pass rushers that kind of had a similar arc at age 26, 12 and a half sacks. This was Gernard. Age 26, 12 and a half sacks, age 27, 12 sacks, age 28, three sacks. So you had that drop off there. Charles Johnson, a long time with the Panthers. Yeah.

Similar, you're 6-2-270, so like shorter, thicker. Age 26, he had 12 and a half sacks, age 27. He had 11.5 sacks the following year. And then he had five sacks in his last three seasons. So that's where it started to fall off. Lamar Woodley, 6-2, near 270, age 20. He had 10 sacks, age 27, he had nine sacks, age 28. He had four, and then he had six sacks in his last three seasons.

Now, I picked two, that's like low hang out. I picked like two worst case scenarios because I was in charge of the worst case scenario. There were plenty where I was like, oh yeah, like this guy, you know, like Trent Cole like lasted longer into his career. Like there were other guys that lasted longer with a similar body type. So I'm not saying that this is going to happen with Conard. But the worst case is like, yeah, he has four sacks, five sacks. we are having a conversation where it's like, all right, the potential out on this contract is after the 2027 season,

and it's a $32.5 million cap hit or a dead cap hit. Like, that's the worst case. We're coming out of this. Like, yeah, they didn't, they're not getting what they thought they were. I mean, the Vikings. Yeah. Are a team that wants to win. They're giving up on him for a reason.

Yep. Yeah. The Eagles, they gave the one guy that I thought of too, and it was a little bit later in this guy's career, and there were different players, different skill sets. they gave up two threes and gave a big contractor Gernard. They did not have to do quite this much, but they did trade a fourth round pick for Robert Quinn.

Yeah. And it was a complete zero for them, right? Like, like, don't remind us. Yeah, to me, like, that is something that can be on the table at that position. Yes. It can end quickly. Okay. That would be worse case.

Not a good case. Not a great case. It's a small sample last year. I mean, he had half as many. past rushing snaps last year as he did the year before. And yes, his sack rate was also half of what it was. But, I mean, I know you don't like pressure rate from PFF or anything like that. But a lot of those numbers were his career high last year.

So, I mean, it's not like he wasn't getting close or, you know, I've seen a bunch of, like, you know, brief film breakdowns that show that he still had something last year, right? I mean, it's not like he's coming in, looking the way Robert Quinn did. I thought, I thought, like, Robert Quinn, like, really looked terrible, like, at least in the earlier part of that same season. Yeah, it was. They just, the juice wasn't quite there. Yeah, yeah.

I was very surprised that they, given, like, how bad his film looked that season, like, that they thought that he was suddenly going to be good. Well, and not for nothing on the longevity front. I mean, a guy with that medical condition, you've got to be worried a little bit, how long it's going to last. It's going to be an issue. Did I miss something? Yeah, the green Nard.

Oh. What time is it? Over time. I mean. Who knows that deals with the man's psyche, you know? You're not a little bit worried? I would be. I guess I hadn't thought about it.

Yeah. Got to change the worst case scenario. All right. Good stuff, everybody. Fran, good luck tonight. Thank you. Look forward to. the reviews, hopefully a lot of good sickos coming out.

Yeah. And check it out. You and I will be back tomorrow. Yep. Professor, good to see you. Good to see you guys. Good luck in Little League tonight. You too. Who would, if we're doing like a top 25 Eagles of the Century? Who is like an early half of the century player who you feel like would be underrated by

recency by us? By the Youngens? Yeah. Oh, man. Really part of the century. I feel like I need to get out of the Dup chart here. I actually have a follow-up to that too. And would you rank Chilin-Hertz above Donovan McNabb?

Sneak that one in there. Bobby Taylor is my answer. Okay, good answer. It's under- Under-r-rida. I don't think he's discussed enough these days. Is there an overrated one? He was essentially drafted to shut down Michael Irvin.

Yeah. And he got drafted and he shut down Michael Irvin. It's like such a rare case of that working. You know, like where you draft according to opponent. and it works. Overrated? Yeah, is there one

that you think that we look back on it where he was a better player? Oh, yeah. It's a good question. Because the Rosemone as I was going through the exercise

and I was like, oh, this guy only had this and his, like on his mantle, like that's it? It was like, overrated maybe? No, it was John Runyon. Yeah,

he didn't have as Denver. He had one pro ball. Yeah, I was like, oh, I would have expected it to be more than that. Yeah. Runyon was the guy that stood out there. Just the nastiness, maybe like,

And he, I mean, he was important because he was a linchpin of, I mean, it was like the first big signing for Andy Reid. It was obviously a huge, huge player for them. Yeah, I think it's a, it's a good candidate too because of the because of the way it kind of went from. There were guys in between, obviously, but like Lane Johnson and John Runyon, yeah, maybe in some people's minds like, that team had John Runyon, this team had Lane Johnson. And those two players are nowhere near the same level. I mean, Lane Johnson might be one of the best players of all time. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, and John Runyon was not that. I would put Jailen above Donovan.

I would. Okay. Yeah. But, I mean, I would not be very upset about someone who didn't. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Good conversation.

That'll do it for this episode of the PHA Y Eagles podcast. Back tomorrow 2 o'clock. Thank you, Lindsay. Thank you everybody for watching. We will see you later. And as always, we love you.