PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Eagles Camp, Day 15: Will DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon Help Passing Game Soar? | PHLY Eagles Podcast

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Eagles training camp continues as DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon work their way back in to the Jalen Hurts-led offense. We heard from Sean Mannion, who has insight on Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee and the ...impressive young offensive line. Fran Duffy breaks down who showed out on tape from Saturday’s preseason game against the New England Patriots and EJ Smith joins Bo Wulf to discuss the action at practice.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello everybody and welcome the PHILI Eagles podcast on a beautiful Monday afternoon. Bowulf live here in the Xfinity Lounge and presented by Ashley E.J. Smith is at the Eagles facility and will join us in a little bit for the latest on Eagles practice. Good news. Devante Smith and McCoy Lemon full participants in the Eagles offense at practice. A longer injury list to get to though. first we're going to talk to Fran Duffy. But before we do that, a couple early soupies early on, let's get to him. SRG 5007 kicking things off and says, the cops called Jen York's tool criminal.
Starting point is 00:00:45 That feels excessive. I think we are all enjoying that particular news story. Dinkleberg, also with the super chat, says, bought my ticket for the Ospreys. Here we go. So now I can represent the Gush Push Live and in person, this is also me asking for an obligatory gush push update. We will talk about that with Fran Dinkleman,
Starting point is 00:01:07 but a good reminder that Wednesday night, we are two nights away from the ninth annual Osprey Awards at the Fittler Club, special guests, giveaways, surprises. If you're a VIP, you get food, you get drink tickets. I believe we have a handful of VIP tickets still available. Tickets are, you guys did a very good job. over the past week, but there's a couple tickets left. Get on it now.
Starting point is 00:01:35 Join us as going to be fun. If you are a fan of the show, if you were a fan of the Eagles, I promise it will be worth your while. Okay. Let's get to a conversation I had earlier today with our dear friend, Fran Duffy, who crunched the film on Saturday's preseason game against the Patriots, who stood out on offense,
Starting point is 00:01:52 who stood out on defense. Let's start with the offense, and let's do it by sending it over to the inimitable, handsome, very intelligent, Bowulf. It was just really sound up front. Those guys, and credit to Chris Cooper.
Starting point is 00:02:10 Kind words. I appreciate that. And here I am. It's a great man. Fran Duffy. Fran, let's talk tape from Saturday night's game against the New England Patriots.
Starting point is 00:02:20 We're football guys. Let's start up front. What do you think of the offensive line? They looked, especially the guys who started this game, looked like they were sort of blowing people off the ball. Yeah. What we saw on Saturday Night Live really kind of showed up on the tape on Sunday morning.
Starting point is 00:02:36 And to me, like watching those guys go to where it was the best I've seen some of these guys look on tape. You know, like I thought this was the best I've seen Drew Kendall look. This is the best I've seen Jake Major's look. This was, it was, it was a good performance from that group. I thought that really got after it. Well, it's interesting because with the context of like the one-on-ones up there, on Wednesday that that third unit who were the guys who were the second unit in this group they got destroyed in those one-on-ones and they had some tough times in team periods as well
Starting point is 00:03:08 but you know Kendall and Lampkin and Markell Bell like if you think of those guys is probably the top eight what rounds at the top eight of the offense line those guys all did very well what was let's let's start with Kendall because as much as we love Willie I think it I think it's most likely that Kendall is going to be the top into your backup to start this season How did he look? What impressed you so much? Especially him moving to left guard after playing right guard and center last week. I thought that was one of the bigger things was all of his reps at left guard.
Starting point is 00:03:37 And we know like in practice that when Landon Dickerson gets shuffled out, that Kendall's the first man in. So just him getting those game reps at left guard. I do think is important, especially for a guy that played center for the majority of his college career at BC. So being able to see him in that spot, I think was good. He just looked, he looked nimble, like good hands, stayed latched. on the blocks like i just thought it was a a really good performance from him and it was like he was out there a couple drives like it wasn't anything crazy but uh just the the other thing too working in tandem you know
Starting point is 00:04:10 we we talked about like the uh the double team with he and lampkin on the one touchdown run uh for shipley like work the the surfacing of blocks on those double teams on those guys uh and when i say surfacing of blocks i mean just like uh you know you imagine a double team like all right one guy attacks one half the man the other man the other guy attacks the other half the man just working in tandem together. It was just really sound up front. Those guys, and credit to Chris Cooper for making sure those guys looked that way, because that's what we've come to expect here in Philadelphia with Jeff Statland,
Starting point is 00:04:39 because that's something that they always harped on. And that showed up in this game. Okay, let's do Willie, who only played a couple series because it looked like he suffered that neck injury. We will find out more about what's going on with him from E.J. in a little bit. But more of the same? yeah i mean he's just always stuck on blocks like he's all and i do want to talk about that a little bit like i was thinking i was thinking about that while watching the tape between sunday and then monday
Starting point is 00:05:06 because i did the i did the offense on sunday i did the defense on monday and so um i always kind to go back to this was like a chip kelly quote that always stuck out and stuck out to me was like offensive line is strong levers well yeah no well yes but the uh offensive line is body on body defensive line is body off body and when I think of like Willie Lampkin you know he is he gets latched on and gets inside those defensive linemen or the linebacker's chest and just runs his feet and doesn't let go and he's such a he's such a pain I would imagine to go up against because like even the plays where he like loses early he's always like uh readjusting and finishes there was a play against a linebacker I'm like yeah like it's not like perfect but he's like downfield and
Starting point is 00:05:51 chasing and like given the last shove he's just I would imagine like just a pain to go up against, rep after rep after rep. I thought it was a really good showing from Lampkin. He looked good again. It's like playing pickup basketball and a guy's like guarding you too much. Like stop. Give me alone.
Starting point is 00:06:07 Yeah, right. Very annoying. No, he is, I've really enjoyed watching him. And if it like the, you know, obviously this is a player that I was really, I was high on in the pre-draft process and like I was excited about going to the league. But because he was such an outlier, it's like, yeah, like, all right,
Starting point is 00:06:21 like, what does it look like to kind of get, see, him show up this way in the preseason and kind of like past that test it's it's definitely good to see i also think we should say in terms of like trusting your eyes drew kendall was not a player who you loved as a prospect right and he has he has won you over yeah i think that you know for me i kind of saw him as a okay he's probably like your seventh or eighth offensive lineman and i think that he is now to where i'm at right now with him is like all right like maybe your fifth or sixth offensive lineman and I feel good about that. And I think that's obviously that's outperforming expectation.
Starting point is 00:06:58 So I like what I've seen from both of these guys. And it's really, it's important for this team, obviously, knowing what the situation they were in last year where you had Cam Jorgans and Landon Dickerson and the uncertainty around both those players due to the injuries that they suffered. So having these two young guys in the pipeline, that's definitely big. All right. Let's talk Markell Bell. And I want to start with the pairing of.
Starting point is 00:07:21 player and scheme. Now, I know we're not seeing the full extent of it, but we're seeing some of the baseline stuff here. Why do you think a player like Markell Bell, who ostensibly is like big and you know, Ophi is not the right description because he is athletic, but, you know, that's, that's kind of the book on him. Why do you think it seems early like this is a good match for him? Well, I think part of it is that big with his size, like, yeah, he's not going to be, you know, the craziest athlete in the world. But for that size, he is pretty nimble. he is pretty light-footed. And I think the bigger one is this.
Starting point is 00:07:55 When you get, and this is the advantage of like the stretch zone scheme, when you get a lot of these perimeter runs is that you get these defensive linemen on the move. And when they're on the move, the likelihood that they're going to be able to play with a strong base, kind of that, that dwindles a little bit. And so now when you've got them on the move and they're not playing with a good base and you have a big, big, strong, powerful man like Markell Bell, who is now able to latch on. And he's another one where he, when he lads,
Starting point is 00:08:21 matches on to guys, he does not let go. And when he's got full extension, he's, and we've seen it both weeks, both games, Ravens and Patriots, where he literally, he grabs on and just torques. He just, he twists and like tosses a guy over one gap or tosses them up the field. We saw that on one play in this game where he just displaces these defenders and creates a wide alley for the running back. And when you have those guys on the move in that way, he's able to do that at a high, high rate. Now, the run game is not all perfect, but I did think that he was better in this game than he was the previous game in terms of things like pad level, you know, trying to play with proper leverage. That's always going to be a battle for him, especially early on. But I think that we saw there was one backside double team.
Starting point is 00:09:04 It was the, I want to say it was the third or fourth play where he and he and majors just destroyed that defensive tackle and just completely. And the running back, the running back didn't hit it. Shipley didn't hit it off that backside. but the movement up front was phenomenal. And when you have that, I mean, look, at his size, he's going to be able to create that level of movement. But it's definitely good to be able to see him kind of pull that out and show that on tape. So if Elaine Johnson has a hangnail and has to miss week one,
Starting point is 00:09:36 has to miss one game early in the season, are you at the point where you would rather have Markell Bell played than Fred Johnson? A thousand percent. Really? Yeah, like I'm not even blinking. Interesting. I actually, if I do it, if I'm doing a 53, and I don't know if I want to say this to you,
Starting point is 00:09:54 because I'm competing with you in this, I would imagine, like, I don't think I'm going to have Fred on. Interesting. Yeah, I don't. See, I think that where we talk about with, with Markle Bell, where he's a vested veteran, he's got enough range. He's got enough range in the run game where it's like,
Starting point is 00:10:09 all right, he can execute some of these blocks time and time again, especially the backside stuff, he struggles. So basically what you're, doing when you see these like the outside zone right uh the idea is for the offensive line you are trying to stretch the front side and you're trying to cut off the backside and that's going to create an alley somewhere for the running back to kind of stick his foot in the ground and get uphill they get downhill and obviously you need the backside offensive lineman to cut off the guy that's on the backside so if you if you're imagining the left tackle is fred johnson and he has a defensive
Starting point is 00:10:38 tackle inside him he is often trying to cut all he's got to cross that defensive tackle's face he's got to chase that gap and get his hat across his hat and create the cupback lane. He's not able to execute those blocks. He doesn't have the ability to get up to the linebacker as high a rate. So he's struggled there. And also, unlike Bell, he's inconsistent in pass bra. Like that's always been like a little bit of an issue for him. So if you're just playing, we're playing more of a phone booth game, everything's downhill,
Starting point is 00:11:05 vertical displacement. And I'm playing in this phone booth as Fred Johnson. I think that works in this scheme, at least from what we've seen from a couple of games, I just don't think Fred's a great, great fit long term. Okay. I think that's interesting context. All right. Last thing on the offensive line,
Starting point is 00:11:19 I think I know the answer to this because, you know, I felt like your social media like most people should. Who in the next group, the guys who came in after the first wave of offensive linemen stood out to you? It's Mike Amaris, the rookie from Georgia, who's got outstanding size and for a guy that big moves really well. And it was, again, not all perfect. But he's really firm on contact. He move, he, there are movements with him that are like subtle.
Starting point is 00:11:49 There was the, uh, the, the first hurdle play from Carson Steele, right? So it was like a little like kind of like an arrow screen, a Texas screen in the middle of field. And so he kind of shucks his defender back towards the quarterback. And then he kind of pirouettes and gets back out. And I'm like, yeah, for a 330 pound guard to kind of move the way that he does. I'm like, all right, like, yeah, there are special traits there. But then he's also strong on top of it.
Starting point is 00:12:10 He was that way that I talked about like a, a stunt that he handled last week. I'm like, all right, like, he's, he's kind of like on his piece and cues there. Yeah, I, I kind of like Michael Mars. Now, he did, there was a, there was one protection where I thought he kind of blew the protection and he kind of let the defensive tackle free to Tanner McKee.
Starting point is 00:12:26 You know, it was a pressure and incomplete pass. But again, like rookie day three offensive linemen come to expect that. To me, like if I'm looking at, I've said this before, like, you know, Miles Hinton and Cam Williams last year, Trevor Kagan the year before, these day three developmental, offensive lineman swings that they've taken.
Starting point is 00:12:44 I've seen more from Micah in this camp and this summer than I saw from those guys for sure. And I think that he's a player that he's got staying power, in my opinion. Okay, that's good to know. I actually didn't think that Hinton and Williams were terrible, the two tackles.
Starting point is 00:13:00 Flashes for both, but also flashes going the other way. I don't know. I don't know if either guy is on the 53. And I think they'll be okay if either of them gets picked up elsewhere and don't. make it to the practice squad too. You know what it is with those guys? What's that?
Starting point is 00:13:16 The numbers game. It's a numbers game. Okay, let's move away from the offensive line. Okay. You talk about that unblocked pressure on McKee. Played a lot in this game. We spent a lot of time in the host game show talking about McKee versus Dalton.
Starting point is 00:13:33 What were your takeaways from the quarterbacks? Yeah, I mean, Dalton, Dalton wasn't good. That one was pretty cut and dry. A couple of those misses were really bad. The one to Cooper. Stowers, like the Stowers one is just brutal because like, we just wanted to see it. He could have used that, you know, like, just like kind of get some kind of positivity, something to kind of hang his hat on.
Starting point is 00:13:52 You know, having a third down conversion under his belt would have been big. So that's unfortunate. I thought the key was solid. You know, I thought that it was a lot of quick decisions. I thought he got comfortable as the game went on to. Like I thought that he kind of settled into a little bit of a groove there. It wasn't all perfect. And we know some of his drop from like an athleticism standpoint.
Starting point is 00:14:09 You know, he's not going to escape. get out of trouble as well as others. But no, I thought that McKee was solid. I thought that was one of the best showing we've seen from him this summer when you take training camp into account. Okay. Wide receivers tight ends.
Starting point is 00:14:22 Anybody move the needle? I think it's really, it's with how much Cam Lato and E.J. Jenkins played and how much they played early. And the Stowers thing was interesting too because Stowers again got like the start, quote unquote, like was out there early. But he got,
Starting point is 00:14:38 he was kind of like sprinkled in throughout and didn't play a ton of. whereas it felt like Jenkins and Latsu played a lot in the first half. And then we saw more Stone Smart as the game went on. I kind of wonder, are those guys vying for one potential spot looking at LATU and Jenkins there? And you saw a little bit of both where I'm like, all right, like Jenkins, there were a couple nice blocks there. He did a nice job at the point of attack against the defensive end. I thought that, you know, Lattu also had some good moments.
Starting point is 00:15:09 So on the big 25-yarder to Darius Cooper, right, he's lined up as an inline player, Latsu is he run, there was a three-level stretch. He runs the deep corner, gets down the seam and like takes the safety out of the picture. And that's, that is part of the beauty of like these multiple tight end sets. It's not necessarily, I talked about this with Cuzz this morning. It's not necessarily about, oh, like, can all these guys do all these different things? It's can you get the defense to honestly play, like you're dictating them and say like, you have to respect the run in a certain way.
Starting point is 00:15:40 We want you to put out these bodies on the field, and we don't want you to line up in this kind of way so that we can call these plays. And it's not like, oh, we're going to try and throw the ball to Cam Latsu here and throw it. But can you carry the safety, carry the linebacker and create space for, in this case, Darius Cooper, but that's Devante Smith and saying like, all right, you create this catch and run.
Starting point is 00:16:00 When the Rams played a lot of 13 personnel last year, it wasn't like, oh, Terrence Ferguson's, you know, getting, he has 40 catches for 500 yards, but you're creating space for Pooka Nakua. When you look at Seattle, it's not like A.J. Barner is like crushing it in the stat sheet, and he's a great fantasy player, but Jackson Smith and Jigba has 180 targets. I think it's the same kind of deal with, you know, talking about how these tight ends can impact the often, but you have to be respectable in both phases of the game. And that's where the, the Stowers conversation comes into play.
Starting point is 00:16:29 But looking at Jenkins and looking at Latu, I'm like, yeah, like, you can respect it and say like, all right, I don't know if this is going to be run or pass here. It's going to be, I'm fascinated to see how this plays out. Because the other aspect of it is it just a sixth offensive lineman. Yeah. The EJ and I were talking about that yesterday. He was asking me like, oh, on Sunday. So he's asking me.
Starting point is 00:16:49 And I'm like, oh, like, I kind of wonder if it's just, they do what, you know, Houston did this last year. They leaned into a lot of six offensive linemen. And Buffalo did it the year before. And then Buffalo comes and they're like, rather than having us, Alec Anderson out there for, 18 snaps a game. Let's just draft Jackson Hawes in the third and the fifth round and you are pathetic.
Starting point is 00:17:09 I mean, come on. You are pathetic. The Houston Texans did it a lot last year and they said, hey, like instead of doing that, like, all right, let's spend a day two pick on a tight end. And now they're talking about carrying five tight ends into the season. So I wonder if that's a path that the Eagles ultimately go. Is it Willie Lampkin? Is it Markell Bell?
Starting point is 00:17:25 Is it either or like in certain certain packages? And those guys play like not two or three snaps like again in the teens like 18. like 18 snaps a game depending on the on the matchup. Interesting. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out. All right, let's take a quick break. On the other side, the friend, we will talk about the defense
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Starting point is 00:20:10 the diehard draft guide is live today. This season hasn't even started yet, Fran. Well, we got weeks. We have college football on Saturday. We got a handful of games on Saturday. Your boy, Bill Belcheck, has taken on TCU at 12 o'clock out in Dublin. Here's what I'll say. The draft guy, I was really happy with the draft guide the last two years. You know, a lot of great info, like really really proud of it it's gotten a huge facelift uh it's it's completely web-based for people that have like used it on their phones and stuff it is so much more mobile friendly now so like all right you take like aesthetically like so much better there's all the new kinds of like bells and whistles to it this year um there's already hundreds of players listed in there there's dozens of reports
Starting point is 00:20:51 written on you know so the top prospects in the country if how many guys how many guys we got in there so far it's i think it's like three 25 or something like that like total uh like total players and it's, I want to say it's in like in the 50s in terms of like full writeups, like full scouting reports, you know, positives, negatives, comps, you know, physical tools, like that whole deal. So all that's in there. If you're sitting down to watch North Carolina versus TCU, you literally go into the guide, you can type in those two schools. It gives you the whole list to our, here are the players to watch in the game. I'm updating it every single day. Every time I add a player, every time I make an adjustment, if I add an anonymous quote from a scout,
Starting point is 00:21:29 like I hit save and it goes up to the site. So literally updates constantly. We've got a bunch of new bells and whistles on this thing now. So you're an Eagles fan. You're like, all right, who are some offensive tackles that fit the Eagles? You can go through.
Starting point is 00:21:41 The players that I've kind of earmarked is like, oh, this would be a good fit for the Eagles. They will show up in there. All the draft picks that every team's got. You can do it for all 32 teams. So if you're curious about other teams, like, oh, who would be a fit for this team or that team? You can create your own big board in the guide this year.
Starting point is 00:21:55 So you can literally like go in and you can make your own notes and save the board. and you've got that saved there in your diehardt site. You've got a player comparison tool. So you've got the two top receivers or two top tackles. You literally can open them up and put them side by side in every single area and see how they compare and contrast to each other with the film all right. They aren't right there. So yeah, there's a lot to like about the guide.
Starting point is 00:22:17 And it's growing every day. So I'm really excited. It's amazing. You are too good for words. Yeah. Let's not go crazy. And it's also still got all the, You know, all the things that you liked in the past, it still has.
Starting point is 00:22:31 It's just, it's prettier, it's bigger. And again, this is a living, breathing document for draft sickos. It's fantastic. If you want to go on the journey to the 2027 draft with me, you can, you can join us. I'm going to die hard. You get access to the guy. And again, the updates are constantly flowing. So it's going to be a lot of fun.
Starting point is 00:22:54 Okay. I can't wait to talk about that as the season goes on. but let's get into the defense and let's do it through the prism friend of the right people presented by our friends at TrueMark Credit Union. Up front, our big takeaways coming off the game, Ty Robinson, Josh Warew. How do they look upon closer inspection? Yeah. So with Wareau, I mean, the sack was impressive. I thought the run game stuff was better.
Starting point is 00:23:22 Not all perfect. Definitely areas where you can continue to improve. I do think that it got better, like I said, though, from last week to this week, better flashes of like, again, going back to like the body off body, body, body on body thing for defensive linemen where it's like, all right, like lead with your hands, like get full extension, keep that block or off you. He's got that length. He's not big enough right now to just completely dominate a tight end, right?
Starting point is 00:23:45 But all right, do you have that length to be able to hold your ground? You know, then maybe like try and stack and shed and get off the block. Showed a little bit more in that realm in this game. But obviously we saw the juice as a rough. that showed up. There were a couple stunts that they ran where he got caught. It's a shame because they called a stunt on the one. There was a draw play that went for like 10, 12 yards.
Starting point is 00:24:06 And stunts can be like a draw killer, right? Because if the offensive line is selling pass, that kind of creates some natural alleys where if you have a defensive end of pass rush or looping inside, there's a wide runway for you to go make a play. The draw went that way. I was like, oh, man, it was there for him. And he wasn't able to make the play. but ultimately, yeah, I thought it was a nice showing from Wero.
Starting point is 00:24:28 I do think, like, they're not going to be. A lot of these other young guys, I think that you could expose and I think they'll be okay. That we do typically overrate, you know, that. We do it every year. Yes. Yeah. DeNs have claims is low. I don't know that Wero is one that you could do it with.
Starting point is 00:24:45 I think he would be the one I would be scared of. Yeah, everybody's looking for, everybody's looking for pass rushers. Yeah. I think I would be scared to expose him to waivers. Okay. How about UR? UR was interesting because there were some good moments here too. Let me pull up the note on it because it was interesting.
Starting point is 00:25:03 All right. So I definitely want more consistency with consistency with him when it comes to like that full extent because he's so big and so long and so strong where again like lead with your hands, full extension, like really maximize those long levers, right, especially as a bullrusher. And there was one play because you see the flashes. there was this one play where he's going up against Demetri's crown over who is the right tackle draft pick from Texas A&M who's like about it almost as big as Markell Bell and known for like the physicality he's very good I think I might have compared him like Fred Johnson like he's
Starting point is 00:25:38 very similar that way he like barely shrugged him like it was like O-R like O'R like have crown over and like kind of just like playfully tossed him I think that's how I wrote yeah like he gently shoves crown over and like tosses him again. gap and they're like crown over is a big guy and then he makes like it was like a finesse like tackle attempt where he kind of was like half not half-hearted but like just kind of armed and this is before he made the first tackle I'm like man like that's a play where I know like you know coaches are going to be like Clint Hertz's going to be like not ripping him but like dude like come on look at what you can do now just like light that fire and it was a couple drives later
Starting point is 00:26:13 when he makes the first tackle and it's the first play of the drive he comes in stacks sheds crown over like toss him aside and like makes the tackle and it's like and there was two plays later he makes another tackle from the backside. So now I'm excited for this game coming out on Friday night because it's like, all right, like now that he sees like, this is what it looks like, this is what it feels like. When I do it, this is what it should, when I do it, this is what it should feel like. What does that look like on Friday? That honestly, because if the light goes on, like, they might be afraid to expose him to. That's what I'm asking you. Where are you at on exposing him? I would be, I'm more scared to expose WERU than I am UR, but.
Starting point is 00:26:53 I would be scared to expose who are as well. Because I think that, you know, the question and you know this, but it's for the listeners, it's like, all right, when you go through this exercise, it's were these players, was this player available to all 32 teams at any point recently? And if he was, what did the league say his value was? And how have things changed since that point? This was a really bad draft, right? And I'll say this about like Deonté Lawson or the Gush.
Starting point is 00:27:23 and like Maximus Pulley. This was a really bad draft. No team drafted these players. Have they done anything? Have they put anything on tape since that point to change that valuation? Right. And so with O'R, he's never played football before. With Wero, there is no film on them.
Starting point is 00:27:41 So with them, I think I'd be a little scared because, you know, teams might have been like interested in the upside. But now they've got some films like, oh, there's something to work with here. With like Deontay Lawson, who will talk about are like the gush and Pully, like, you know, there was three years or four years worth of film. And I don't know that there's been enough in two games and we'll get, we'll get another games worth to say like, oh, yeah,
Starting point is 00:28:00 he's better than the player we've got that we've had all offseason that we're working and developed. Yeah. Well, I think you have to ask what has changed. So, like, for instance, with a guy like Lawson, who we can get to in a second, maybe what has changed is we were worried about the medical, but he's playing and he looks healthy.
Starting point is 00:28:18 Like that, that's a thing that you do have to keep in mind. a guy like gush it's probably less likely that a team is going to see quite enough to definitely claim him but maybe they've had injuries all that stuff you got to you know and to be fair usually how he's very good at cannabis in the league and trying to figure out guys value before we get to the linebackers tie robinson does he look to you like a guy who can who can play real snaps early in the season yeah i think that you know he is looking like a legitimate DT4, DT5.
Starting point is 00:28:49 Like that's what it, what it hears me. That's all they need them to be. And that's honestly what you're probably, when you draft a six year senior in the fourth round, that's probably what you're expected. What I've noticed is he's playing with more physicality and confidence than what I've seen from him earlier, you know, previously and then certainly last year.
Starting point is 00:29:10 You know, he's working into more rush moves, like that kind of thing. he absolutely worked Caleb Lomu at left tackle in the run game. Like worked in the run game. Yeah, like there's been some good things. I don't want to go like fast forwarding a year. I'm getting ahead of myself. But like, do I feel good that he's going to give you what Morrow gives you in that role? When Morrow leaves next year, probably not.
Starting point is 00:29:35 Like I'd probably say you'd probably want an upgrade there. But I think that he has shown that he can be playable, which that was a question coming in. like, I don't know if he can give you anything. He's not, he's not, you know, I don't feel good about him making the 53. Now I'm like, yeah, if you want to keep him as your fourth D tackle, 50 tackle, you can get me there. All right. Let's talk about those linebackers. Lawson included the group that, that Vic has called the deepest position on the defense, you know, six guys, potentially roster worthy.
Starting point is 00:30:03 What stood out? First time to see Chance Campbell in action. I thought Campbell had a good game. You know, he matched a tight end on a crosser on a, like, play action. boot, forced the quarterback to like just kind of eat it and throw the ball into the dirt. He had a good job shooting a gap and make a near TFL. I went for zero yards coming from the backside. Just looked confident.
Starting point is 00:30:23 You know, it looked, everything he saw it was very decisive. I thought Campbell looked at it. He's got pretty good size. He moves pretty well. He'll play some special teams. Like I liked what I saw from Chance Campbell in this game. Going to Lawson. So basically the way that it was.
Starting point is 00:30:39 So Trotter and Smile London got the start. Campbell started to mix in as Trotter Trotter jumped out so it was Mondin and Campbell and then Lawson came in for Mondin so that was kind of like the pecking order there between those guys when Lawson came in it was early third quarter he had a couple of like mental busts like there was one there was like a swing pass to the flat where I thought he was
Starting point is 00:30:59 late to see kind of gave up a nine yarder on third and four he got cut there was a 20 yard run for Jam Miller he got cut bad by the by the guard on that side you know so kind of lost his gap and you know Miller was able to take advantage which not I was not as enthralled with the film from Lawson in this game. I thought they showed more last week. And even then, I thought it was kind of just solid last week. Honestly, that might be good news.
Starting point is 00:31:22 It might be, yes. Right. It means like, okay, we can safely get him through to the practice squad. I think Lawson, I feel better about him getting through to the practice squad today than I did a week ago. Smile. So what was interesting, so there was a rep early on. I think actually might have been the first play of the game. He flexed down to the edge.
Starting point is 00:31:41 in like that six one front the thing they they do with like Zach Bond and uh you know in jihad Campbell um so you know showing off that versatility that allowed trotter to be like the lone off ball backer um but he had a couple plays too like lost leverage on the the screenplay early on on that resulted in like a 28 yard or going out the gate to the right side or to the defensive left side um they used them a bunch as a blitzer and it's like oh like can you and i know ross talked about this on the broadcast on saturday night but just watching it'll film like man like all right like i want you to get home for one of these like you know impact the quarterback kind of deal he's got good range.
Starting point is 00:32:13 Like he covers ground. I think he's got more range than Lawson does. I think that at the point of attack, like, just kind of okay. So it's a, it's kind of like a give and take there. I do think that Campbell presents the best of those three. That would be how I would stack it personally. Maybe Campbell smile who you want to play in a game. Yeah, if I'm playing a game tomorrow,
Starting point is 00:32:39 I would probably stack it that way. But that's the thing too is like Campbell is still relatively young. So it's not like he's like, you know, it's not like he's 28. So even like long term, it's not like, oh, yeah, like I'd much rather have Lawson. Yeah, I don't know. I like what I've seen from Campbell. Okay. Our first chance to see a seventh round pick in this game, not O'R. Bernard, who just looking at social media,
Starting point is 00:33:04 had a little bit of an interesting game to you. Cole Wisnski. What did you think? Yeah, he got run with like the second group in this game. So he came in as the boundary safety. He didn't play a ton, but the decent amount of run. On Ty Robinson's second sack, this was a play I posted on social media, he did a really good job of there was a crosser coming his way.
Starting point is 00:33:26 It was a route like probably like 12 yards of depth, something like that, where the receiver sat over the ball. And he triggered on it quickly. Saw it, came down, took the route away, and Tommy DeVito had to eat the throw. and that's what allowed Ty Robinson to get home for the sack. That's what you want. Like, you know, for, you know, for, Winsnezzan to be able to show because he's not the fastest.
Starting point is 00:33:46 He's not, like, the most athletic in space. So, you know, being able to make plays like that and kind of match those routes that from depth is something that he's going to have to be really strong with. I thought that he showed, like, some physicality coming down hill and playing in the, you know, no, like, huge stops in the run game. But, like, all right, like, he's going to, he's going to mix it up there. That's kind of where he's going to make his money, right? So I thought he showed that.
Starting point is 00:34:07 I thought that was good to see. Now, again, I would say that there's probably enough where you feel pretty good about his ability to get through waivers as well, just because he's been hurt all summer. So, yeah, but I thought it was a good showing for Wisniewski. You were very bullish on Polly after the first preseason game. Did that stick?
Starting point is 00:34:26 Yeah, I thought that, I thought I liked it a little bit more from week one than week two, but he's still like, he's explained, he definitely moves to me. I think he moves better than Gush does. Now, Gush got reps early as the nickel. Definitely, Gush got more early run in this one. Polly strictly as a safety. Shout out to Dinkleberg.
Starting point is 00:34:45 Yeah, I think Polly just a little bit more explosive as an athlete and that is just doing a little bit more meaningful work on teams, on special teams. Okay. Anything else? Empting out the notebook that's worth. Let's see. Gush came in on a nickel blitz on the opening drive versus the run. Is it a nice play?
Starting point is 00:35:06 Yep, nice play. Versed 12 personnel. He got brought into the box and he was like banging around with a tight end in traffic. Like I like that. Got off an impact of the running back. I think they might have given the tackle to Ambri Thomas. But I'm like that should have been gushed there on that one. I thought Mac McWilliams looked fine.
Starting point is 00:35:21 There was a third and three scramble by Davido where he like jets out the back door to the left side. He's looking right. And Mac Mac MacMilliams was in press man coverage against the receiver and like took the receiver out. So I thought that was a good rep there from McWilliams. The Ringo stuff look good. It's what we talked about in the postgame show where it's like, all right, like, the tools are there. And that, that PBU was a perfect example of like the plays that Keeley, like, did not make in year one, year two, year three.
Starting point is 00:35:51 And like so many times, I remember like being with the team back then, you know, when he first got drafted. And you know, you're watching the practice tape and you're watching the game tape. And it's like he would make a break. He would have that ability where like he would match the route and not jump the throat. Like it's just like, dude, like go. You got the green light. Like make the play. And he would like second guess it or he'd double clutch or he'd look at the
Starting point is 00:36:12 quarterback and just like, no, like trust it and go. So him like trusting it on that play. Now like the ball hit him in the face mask. Like it's not the pretty, but you know, we say this about Quinnian, right? Like he's in great position to play the ball and make that play. So I thought that was good to see.
Starting point is 00:36:28 Definitely improvement of what we've seen from him in the past. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not giving up on Kili Ringo. Okay. I'm trying to see anything else there. Waru. I think I like Epinessa more than Evacady. Yeah. In terms of like making it.
Starting point is 00:36:47 Gabe Hall, another one. You know what? He does flash. I just, I can't get there with like I thought it was good last summer too. Right. And then they just sort of moved on from him. I think they'd like to keep him around, but I can't imagine a roster spot. I could be wrong.
Starting point is 00:36:59 No, I agree with you. It's been interesting to see the evolution over three years because, you know, When he was at Baylor, he was like a kind of like a long, lean, athletic, like gap shooting type. And he's consistently that put on more weight. And now he has turned into like a nice run defender where he uses that length to just keep, keep blockers at bay. And he had like three or four reps where like lockout, body off body, right? Like, you know, lock out, toss the guy to the side, make a play on the, you know, in the run game. Multiple times on the opening drive.
Starting point is 00:37:29 There was like three times in the first possession there. I thought he got, he got home as a pinter on a TE stunt on the. opening drive as well. The difference between like he and Zion Wilson, who is like much different body type, lot squatier, like shorter arms. With Zion, like, he can't lock out and like control a block. So when he locks out, it's got to be like lock out and shrug immediately and try and win. And he has flashed the ability to do that, but there's just more volatility with the way that he plays in the structure of this scheme where it's not, it's not always going to look pretty. He got moved by a couple double teams Zion Wilson did. So it wasn't like perfect day, but he definitely
Starting point is 00:38:03 flash as well. All right. Let's close the book on The Right People, presented by a True Mark Credit Union. Thank you, Fran Duffy. Everybody go check out the diehard draft guide. Great time to become a diehard. Thank you, friend. We will see you tomorrow night, I believe, after the Eagles open practice at the link. But for now, we take a quick break on the other side. E.J. Smith joins me live. I got to run back to the studio. Let's see if I can make it in two minutes. I'm a survivor. I'm not going to give up. No, you're not going to give up either. because the football season is about to start and what you want to do is have a little bit of extra interest in the game
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Starting point is 00:40:29 Back on the Pitchel, Y, Eagles, Poppe. And very shortly, we will be joined by the great E.J. Smith live at the Eagles facility. But first, a super chat from CDP who says, what is your favorite service worth $140? Good question, good topical question. And while some owners might think it's worth slumming it for $140, you know what you can do? How about save $50 for yourself, don't get arrested, and spend $90 on the new die-hard tier? that we've got. What do you get with the diehard tier? Good question. We got two levels now. Diehard level one. You get the lounge access. You get the discord. You get the premium written content
Starting point is 00:41:13 on all phtal.com. All that stuff. If you go to the pro level, you get the annual t-shirt, you get 20% off the all-city store. You get France NFL draft guide, which is live today. So make it happen. Thank you, CDP, for the for the softball. Thank you, Jed York, for the hardball. And let's send it now to the Xfinity Mobile call-in line
Starting point is 00:41:40 and bring in the great E.J. Smith live at the Eagles facility. E.J., looking good. How are you, my friend? I'm doing well. I'm testing a different microphone today. Better, worse? The same?
Starting point is 00:41:53 Lindsay, I would say about the same, right? About the same? No loss, yeah. All right. I'll take it. I'll take it. You know, trying to get 1% better every day over here. here. I mean, if it makes your life easier, then it's an improvement. It doesn't, but I thought it would
Starting point is 00:42:07 sound better. I think it sounds, I think it sounds marginally better. Okay, all right, I'll take it. I'll appreciate that. Let's get to the Ace Hardware, Home Services, Temperature Check, EJ, because we do have big actual Eagles news about participants and practice. Let's just say that the offensive past game is heating up to some degree. Yeah, it's a lot healthier. Mackay Lemon and Devante Smith both back at practice full participants. We saw him in seven on seven. We saw him in team. And I think, you know, not to say it's surprising, but very noteworthy that Mackay Lemon gets thrust right back into the starting offense.
Starting point is 00:42:44 You know, not there's no sort of formality of putting him back in with the twos. He's right back in. And what's interesting is neither of those guys had a huge role today, I would say. Neither of them, you know, I'm not going to come off of the practice field and tell you that they lit lit the field up. I think that they had three combined catches, two for Mikhail Lemon on underneath routes, one for Devante Smith on a, you know, over the middle of the field. But what I would say, which is interesting, is that it seemed like the bottom of the depth chart receivers, you know, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, those guys really benefited from the fact that
Starting point is 00:43:18 Devante and McKayleman were back. You know, the play of practice today was Jalen Hertz throwing a deep shot to Hollywood Brown near the sideline in the end zone. It was a great catch from Hollywood Brown. It's like you get those guys away from Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper to Gene. Yeah, it makes sense that they look a lot better in the offense. So, yeah, it was interesting to see those guys out there. Mackay Lemons used a lot in motion, you know, across the formation, return motions.
Starting point is 00:43:42 I thought it looked good. I thought this was a good day overall for the passing offense to a certain degree. You know, the defense had some moments too. But I thought you kind of saw what it's supposed to look like at the very least. Yeah, I thought that one play. I was there for the first half of practice, E.J., the Hollywood Brown one. I thought that was probably going to be a sack. That was kind of a generous give on the throw.
Starting point is 00:44:00 It was definitely a sack, yeah. But I agree with you on the motion stuff with Mikhail Lemon. For some reason, I don't know if it's just a, it's an aesthetic thing. But I think the motion looks so much more interesting and impactful when it's Mikhail Lemon out there. Yeah, I agree compared to Elijah Moore or Hollywood Brown. I mean, I think you'll see some Hollywood Brown motion. He's got a presence on the field. I think this offense, France talked about.
Starting point is 00:44:28 This offense is going to be really good for Mikhail Levin, you know, getting him into positions that really take advantage of his skill set. So, yeah, I think it was good to see it today. Again, I feel like he was the most in motion receiver today, you know, just utilized a lot across the formation. I think that he's going to be, you know, you've used the term muse before for offensive coaches. I think he will be to a certain extent, like Sean Mannion's muse, the player that, you know, each week they're going to have to be creative on how they're going to feature him. And, you know, I think that it looked interesting today with seeing how he was used. Yeah, I think for tomorrow's show, so schedule-wise, I've got to tell everybody, we've got a bit of a wonky schedule this week because of the Eagle schedule and the Ospreys.
Starting point is 00:45:10 Tomorrow, we have a double dip for you. We've got a regular 2 o'clock show. And I think that's an opportunity, E.J., for us to take a step back and maybe talk through some things that, like, what if things are not quite as they seem in terms of the way that we've been in this training camp bubble? I think one of those things could be, which you can unpack tomorrow, is like, what if Mikai Lemmon is a huge part of the offense right away? And we're worried about this hamstring, but he's actually from day one,
Starting point is 00:45:39 like the number two option in the passing game and they're building things around him. I think that's a possibility. Just to finish the thread, because the open practice at the link is tomorrow night, we'll have a post practice show tomorrow night. So a two-for on Tuesday, no show Wednesday, because if you want to see the Ospreys live,
Starting point is 00:45:58 you've got to be there. So you've got to be in person at the Fittler Club Wednesday night and check out the Ospreys live. That will then air on Thursday and then Friday is the preseason finale. We've got a post game show for that. So there's your schedule for the week.
Starting point is 00:46:11 But anything else from the offense today that you thought was notable EJ and we can get to the injury list in a minute. Yeah, just to close the loop on Mackay Lemon, we heard from him after practice and there will be a couple things people want to hear. So first, to your point, like if he's going to be a big part of this offense.
Starting point is 00:46:28 Both Sean Mania, you know, Sean Mangon before practice said that Mackay Lemon, you know, has been really engaged in all the meetings. Michael Lemon said the same. He said that he expects to be ready for week one, which I think is a, you know, a big deal. Now, you know, we'll see if they slow play. But the fact that he's a full participant, I think he will be ready. And, you know, again, I think they're going to work hard to implement him into this scheme. He said he'd play Friday if he had the opportunity, which I found noteworthy and kind of funny.
Starting point is 00:46:54 The thing I found really interesting hearing from Mikhail Meehan that we should probably unpack is he said that with the injury, he said he learned from the mistake. And he said that, you know, moving forward, he's going to be more professional about it, which, you know, he was asked at like three or four times about this. Didn't really elaborate more. I mean, I think, you know, with a hamstring injury, there are a couple things that come to mind. Like, is it hydration, is it stretching? Stretching is the first thing that came to mind for me, you know, kind of making sure that you're warmed up. But, you know, I did think it was noteworthy that he kind of alluded to the fact that it might have been preventable. And that moving forward, it should be something that he can prevent.
Starting point is 00:47:30 So, yeah, it was interesting to hear from him on that regard. And then overall, I think you'll enjoy this. Jailix Hunt after practice said that McKay Lemon, you know, kind of had a crack block on him during practice. And, you know, Jalix, like, kind of gave him a little pat on the helmet afterward because it's like, all right, I see you. Like, you're bringing some intensity to practice. McI. Lemon, when asked about that block, he just said, With almost a straight face, he said, it's a man's game. You know, you got to be able to do that type of stuff.
Starting point is 00:47:58 I do love that. Yeah, I enjoyed that. That's great. All right, let's close the book on the temperature check presented by our friends at Ace Harder Home Services. E.J., the injury report today of some interesting new additions here. And obviously, it's always interesting when we're coming off of the preseason games to see what happens.
Starting point is 00:48:16 Markell Bell did not practice. Thumb and leg injury. not sure how you get both of those. That's a fun one to just think about in the twister of your mind. But he was replaced by, I believe, Miles Hinton went to left tackle, Fred Johnson went to right tackle.
Starting point is 00:48:30 Markell Bell, let's keep an eye on that one. Jacorian Bennett continues to be down. Same for Grant Calcutterra. Same for Jonathan Jones. Willie Lampkin listed with a stinger, so that makes sense with what we saw on the sideline there. He did not practice Mac Mac MacMew Williams
Starting point is 00:48:43 out with a shoulder injury. Ambry Thomas, Quez Watkins, Cole Wisnesneski, back on the tub with a concussion and then the really interesting one, E.J., Eli Stowers, out with a hamstring injury today. What do you make of that? Yeah, it's a big deal. You know, we have talked about how Eli Stowers, you know, has had a slow training camp.
Starting point is 00:49:03 He's not really somebody I would expect to be active on game days based off of really what we've seen from him and the role that you'd expect that third tight end behind Johnny Munt and Dallas got her, you know, what they need to do. And I want to be clear, like, you know, he right now he would be competing for that third spot, given the way that he's looked through the summer. and now that he pops up on the injury report, you know, the next week is going to be really important to figure out, is he healthy enough where they have a vision for him to be back on the practice field in the short term? And if not, is he someone that you put on IR designated to return, I would imagine. You want him on the practice field and developing and, you know, working toward earning a role in the offense. But given what we've seen from him this summer, again, I don't know the severity of the injury. It wouldn't surprise me if he starts the year on IR. You know, again, we'll see what it looks like with the injury.
Starting point is 00:49:49 But it would not surprise me if the Eagles want him, you know, to just get 100% and then come back to the practice field midway through the season. It's not like he was going to really have a huge role in the first place. So it's something to monitor. You know, I think they had a move to make a tight end before this. I think especially now, you know, this even makes it. So you probably have room on the roster if you wanted to make a move there. And of course, the rules have changed. It used to be that if you went on IR before the season, your season is done.
Starting point is 00:50:16 If you want to get a guy on short term IR, you have to carry him on the initial fit. That is no longer the case. So they could put him on IR, design him to return the Nagan practice at some point. So is it four or six weeks? It's the IR and Pupper. That always get a mixed up. I think it's four still.
Starting point is 00:50:33 Pup is four. It's four. Changed from six to four. I think I are is also four. All right. We've got to take a quick break at our last break in here from some sponsors for two minutes. Stay with us, E. Back with much more on the other side.
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Starting point is 00:52:51 Yeah, we're still here. Don't worry about it. All city like the mayor, baby. Let's bring E.J. You thought you were going to get rid of me that easy? Looking sharp, my friend. All right. I appreciate it.
Starting point is 00:53:08 What else stood out to you at practice today? Who was your practice player of the day? Yeah, you know, I'm a lot. I'd give it tomorrow a Jomo today. He had a couple of really impressive plays. I had him for at least one sack and another key pressure. And Jordan Davis, like you mentioned, probably had a sack on the deep shot to Hollywood Brown there. Just a good day overall from the Eagles interior rush.
Starting point is 00:53:31 And, you know, whenever you're talking about training camp practice, you're always kind of looking at the positive side of it. But on the inverse, I thought this was a tough day for Landon Dickerson. Had him on the ground once or twice today, too, which is never great. he's not looked awesome this summer. You know, injury-wise, I think he's the one that you have concerns over. Cam Juergens, I think, has looked really good, actually. You know, I think that they're kind of on opposite sides of that spectrum. But, yeah, if I'm given a player of the day, Ojamo is in my notebook a lot.
Starting point is 00:53:58 This kind of felt like one of those Ojamo practices where every few plays, you're writing 97 pressure, 97 sack, into your notebook there. Okay. Yeah, I think he said a good summer. You know, he's surprised to make some bank the season goes as well as he expects it to. Anything else? You know who else had a good day? Cooper to Gene. Cooper to Gene had a couple of good coverage reps.
Starting point is 00:54:22 He was in coverage on a slot fade to Devante Smith. And that's one where, like, I mean, Eagles fans know that slot fade that Devante runs, that's usually against the leverage of the slot corner. And it's a really, really tough play to make if you're a slot corner. I mean, we've seen Devante have so much success. on that. So really good coverage from Cooper there to break that up. Overall, I thought, you know, the reason probably that McKay Lemon and Devante didn't have a huge involvement today was because they worked a lot against Cooper DeGine and Quineon Mitchell. So yeah, I thought Cooper to Jean had a good
Starting point is 00:54:54 day as well. Okay. Anything else from the post-practice availability or anything from Sean Mannion you'd like to discuss? Did you already mention the Tanner McKee note from practice today? No. Okay. He was first up with the two's today got more reps with the twos than Andy Dalton. Oh, they didn't really? That was the, okay. They rotated like once, but it was more McKee today for sure. And then my only other funny note from practice, Cole Payton was doing the Sydney Brown
Starting point is 00:55:22 today. It was a heavy ones in Tuesday today. There weren't a lot of reps for the threes. So Cole Payton was like 15 yards behind the play, watching Jalen Hertz and like going through as if he were the quarterback, which I thought was, you know, it's admirable that. Sidney Brown very famously did that. I'm not famously, but he used to do that a lot. when he was out with the ACL injury,
Starting point is 00:55:41 get those mental reps behind the action. It was funny to me. Today was like a regular season practice because they brought everybody together onto one field and didn't really rotate. It was mostly just ones when I was there. So, you know, why aren't they using both fields? Maybe it was to mimic a regular season environment.
Starting point is 00:55:59 But yeah, I thought that was interesting. Yeah, especially they changed the fields. You know, they were parallel for a while and now you got two parallel and one perpendicular to it. harder for us to watch practice but nobody's, nobody's feeling sorry for us. Post practice. Jailix Hunt talked about the confidence
Starting point is 00:56:17 that he's gained this summer. I feel like you can just tell at the podium that this guy has, you know, matured and changed over the summer. You know, I think that the, you know, I remember his rookie season, he said he would call his mom and be like, I'm on the practice field with Lane Johnson, you know?
Starting point is 00:56:35 Isn't that crazy? And now, like, he's given Lane, it's been a handful for Lane. He's been a handful for Jordan Milata. I enjoyed, he said that it was great to work against different tackles. You know, it's just great to get away from Lane Johnson and Jordan Milata. But the thing I asked him about is the fact that he can work different moves against, you know, tackles that are not at the top of their field there.
Starting point is 00:56:57 So, you know, he said that it was good to work against the Patriots guys. And when he was talking about the leap that he's taken, I thought it was noteworthy. He said like Zach Bond has really been the inspiration for him to, take this next step in his career. Talked about how Zach Bonn went from like a core four guy to being an all pro linebacker and the example that he sets in the building. And I thought that was a good window into Zach Bond, like the culture center. You know, he's not somebody who's been here for a long time, but he is someone that a lot of
Starting point is 00:57:24 these guys look up to. And, you know, he's somebody that Jalix has been trying to emulate as he has this breakout summer. Will Zach Bonn be a captain this year? I feel like he's got to be. I feel like he's got to be. Yeah, Jalick's talked about him. He literally said he's a superhero.
Starting point is 00:57:37 He said he turned into the ball and eagle. He's like a superhero, which I thought was fun. Other post-practice stuff, we heard from Tyler Steen. He echoed what we've heard a lot, which is the confidence stepping into this summer, having played a lot of football. That's been the difference for him. But the thing that I enjoyed, and maybe I can get through the first half of it before we hit overtime here, is the fact that this scheme, he did a really good job explaining why
Starting point is 00:58:05 this scheme is offensive line friendly. you know what what specifically is the thing that defensive linemen are you know so uncertain about and why it plays you know to their advantage but you know maybe we should do that in overtime oh no nailed it sort of it was like she had me in the first half like like that two second wait i was like oh no i screwed it up but we made it all right so tyler steen talking about the run scheme I thought he did probably as good a job as any. Maybe Lane Johnson in the spring is up there too. But he basically explained that for a defensive lineman, you don't know if they're going to run wide zone or duo. And wide zone is a horizontal stretch play where they have to work across the field toward the sideline
Starting point is 00:59:01 to try and make sure that they have their run fits in a good spot. And then with Duo, those guys are coming right at you. It's a vertical gap scheme run where it is a lot more about displacing people at the point of attack. And if you're a defensive lineman, you don't know which one's coming. You can't really sell out to stop either. And I think that's a really good explanation for why going from a scheme where it's inside zone and it's a lot of like the same looks constantly to a scheme where you're really
Starting point is 00:59:28 alternating polar opposite type runs where you know what you're going to do. You know if you're firing off the ball and trying to get somebody four or five yards off the line of scrimmage. Like we've seen the backup offensive line doing the preseason versus, you know, you're trying to get to the sideline and create. break running lanes horizontally. So, you know, and the fun thing about the system also for these guys is as the game progresses and that defensive line tires out, you start running more duo where it is just about the physicality. You know, you tire them out by get them to run to the sideline
Starting point is 00:59:56 in the first quarter and then by the third quarter and the fourth quarter, you're just able to blow guys off the ball. So yeah, I thought that was an interesting explanation from Tyler Steen, a good way of kind of summarizing Sean Mannion's vision for the run scheme and honestly probably why Nick Sirian likes it so much and why he made it such a priority. this offseason. I think that is a really good explanation. I like that. That's good stuff. Mannion talking before practice, not a ton super interesting. He's, you know, we talk to the quarterback competition at number two is ongoing. They don't feel like they need to make a decision anytime soon. You know, did you notice, I asked him about the fullback and the, the, some branches of what we
Starting point is 01:00:35 expect this offense to look like, utilize the fullback. And he's, he smiled. Like, what he usually usually do. So it almost was like that this is something that is up their sleeve a little bit. So it's on my radar. You know what my takeaway from that was you're going to roll your eyes, but hear me out. I think Cam Latu, his chance to making the team go up a little bit there. You know, I had him on my 53. You can go to all p.hoy.com. I put that out this morning. I already have a regret on it listening to Fran, break down the film. I think I'd have Chance Campbell on instead of Deontay Lawson if I did it right now instead of last night. But with Kamlatu, I think it's pretty close.
Starting point is 01:01:14 Like, even as someone who has been, you know, complimentary of Kam Latu in the past, I think that this competition for like that last tight end spot, call it the third spot, the fourth spot, depending on what happens with Eli Stowers. And if they make a trade, the guys who are currently on the roster, I think that Kam Latu is pretty much dead even with guys like E.J. Jenkins. You know, I probably would throw Stone Smart in there as well, Grant Calcutera before he got hurt. the difference is Cam Latu's got special teams value and he at least in theory has
Starting point is 01:01:41 positional versatility and you know not for nothing like I do think he even setting aside the bit I think he has like he's a good character in the locker room if it's you know a tie I think the fact that like people like him maybe that gives him a slight edge but you know I'm not saying I'm not trying to overstate it I'm just saying that that is one of the factors but to me Sean Mannion brought up that the positional versatility matters yeah It's a premium because of the fact that, you know, we'll see if they end up adding a fullback into this offense. So if I was putting maybe like 51 turkeys on Cam Latu being on the 53 man roster, then maybe I'm at 55 now based off of that answer.
Starting point is 01:02:23 But what about Carson Steele? What if he is the fullback? Yeah, he could be the fullback. He doesn't have the tight end flex and they're light at tight end. That was the thing I'm holding against him. But I mean, listen, that preseason game was really fun. I think he's going to be around the team. If he's not on the team, I think he'll be a good practice squad candidate there.
Starting point is 01:02:41 Okay. Anything else from Mannion that you thought was interesting? No, I'm bummed. I wanted to bring up that fullback thing. Yeah, because I thought his smile there was very telling. I thought too. I mean, like, he's a football guy. He probably loves fullbacks just like we do.
Starting point is 01:02:56 He's probably like, oh, yeah, that's going to be sick when we do that. The last thing I wanted to say, I was texting fray about this. Speaking of the tight end thing, why have we not seen Willie Lampkin? as a blocking tight end. Like when they go to 13, use Willie Lampkin, you know? I just, they don't have a better option. Even Latsu, like, again, I am complimentary of Latu. He's not someone you want one-on-one
Starting point is 01:03:18 against a defensive end in the run game. Like, he is not that type of tight end. He's a good move tight end. Like, you know, you can split zone blocks, you get him on the move, you know, run. He is the type of tight end that will, like, run full speed into a player that's bigger than him. And you can, there's a role for that.
Starting point is 01:03:32 But in terms of, like, point of attack, like, hold the edge, I think Willie Lampkin should get a look there once he's back. Why do you think, realistically, don't you think it would be either Markell Bell or Drew Kendall? It's an interesting question.
Starting point is 01:03:47 Willie moves better than those guys, though. Like, it's movement skills. Willie, would you put him inside and then you just kick everybody out? Maybe you put Markelle Bell. Maybe you put Milta out one and Markele Bell plays left tackle. I don't hate that.
Starting point is 01:04:04 My lot would be like an awesome third thing. Like you could put Willie at guard or whatever. Yeah, this would be with Markell. This wouldn't be with Willie. Dickerson plays left tackle or something. Yeah, you could put Dickerson at tight end if you wanted to get really weird. You wouldn't want to mess with the center though. I think that's too complicated, which is why I think he would probably just do Markell Bell.
Starting point is 01:04:22 I can be wrong. I just don't know if he moves well enough to be the third tight end. Yeah. I think Willie does. Kendall probably is a good call. Yeah, but it's not going on the ball. It's more like, can you get up to the second level and like cut off a linebacker. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:04:36 All right, anything else from practice? Any other notes? I think that was all I had for you. Hustled over here. Good stuff. I feel like, yeah. I think that's all I had. Jaylen did miss on a similar play
Starting point is 01:04:54 to the Hollywood Brown deep shot that they hit on. He missed on it later in practice. So I don't know. I thought it was a good day for the offense, but I know that they're like walking over here, talking to a few reporters. I don't know if that was unanimous if that it was a good day.
Starting point is 01:05:06 Yeah. I thought at the very least early in practice, it looked like they were in sync. I thought Jalen Hertz looked sharp. A couple soupies left on the cutting room floor here. That we're going to get to both from Steve Whitaker. These are questions for Fran. So unfortunately, you're going to have to answer that, me, Jay.
Starting point is 01:05:22 Fran, did OJ do it? Fran, who killed JFK? I thought these are going to be like film questions. They are. They're just different kinds of film. Fran getting to the bottom. No comment on the first one. uh no comment on the first one uh people long time listeners will know i do love the for bronco
Starting point is 01:05:44 that's really my only oj commentary uh that's why he was driving in style he was driving no that's not true not chicken or the egg it's it's not one of those um who killed jfk i i don't know i don't want to get into that uh two things to discuss from the chat one i see i see people correctly chastising the chat if you are watching liked a video make it happen what are we doing Number two, there are some people who EJ want you to address what happened yesterday at the end. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, Villa have imploded before in the season openers. That was about as bad as I've seen them play.
Starting point is 01:06:30 And it wasn't a fun watching experience. It was really tough. But, you know, yeah, happy for Brighton. I like Brighton. I think we, there's no animosity between the, the PHOI derby, Darby, however you want to say it. Yeah, it was tough. They didn't have a striker. Ali Watkins, like, apparently refused to play because he wants to go to Saudi Arabia.
Starting point is 01:06:52 So, just a really, really tough day for the club. I stand by, I told this to you, but I stand by, Ali Watkins is too old to be named Ali. Your name is Ali. You got to be, you know, like 23 max. Well, he's basically retiring. going to the Saudi league. So it's tough look, really tough look. I don't even know what that would be like.
Starting point is 01:07:13 Like, what's an NFL equivalent to that? Like, holding out. I don't know. There's not one. There's not really one. Live NFL? Yeah, don't joke about that. Wouldn't be a fan of that.
Starting point is 01:07:25 There you go. All right. Well, good stuff, EJ. I will see you tomorrow at 2 o'clock for our regularly scheduled PHOY Eagles show. But remember, we have two shows tomorrow. And then we've got the osseye. on Wednesday. Still a couple tickets available. Check those out at all
Starting point is 01:07:41 p.hly.com slash events. Let us know in the comments. Did he do it? I guess. And then we will talk to you tomorrow. Two o'clock. Thank you to Fran. Thank you to Lindsay. And as always, we love you.

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