PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Eagles youth movement & mock draft szn!

Episode Date: March 27, 2025

The greatest Eagles roster we’ve ever known is all of a sudden gone in an instant as the Eagles hand the keys over to the youth of the team. It’s also Mock Draft Szn & Fran Duffy has his latest mock draft out. Les Bowen gets to remember his time covering the great Brandon Graham, plus some football annoyances and plenty more on today’s PHLY Eagles podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

and happy Thursday to all out there. Welcome into the P.H.L.Y. Eagles podcast, remote location edition. We get Fran Duffy's film room and it looks like Les Bowen's Kitchen. Hello. How are you doing, gentlemen? Great. Doing well. I'm excited. We got a lot to talk about on a, on a kind of a little bit of a little bit of a busy Thursday. Yeah, we're leading people right up to MLB opening day and best of luck to our fighting fills out there as the season kicks off. but Fran Les, I wanted to start. Les's story the other day kind of hit me like a ton of bricks.

And if you haven't read it yet for diehards, head to all p.hly.com. Now, Les, we'll start with you because I've been in this blissful state of nothing can bother me. Nothing, nothing they do this offseason can get under my skin. Like, the Eagles won the Super Bowl. I'm good.

And reading your story the other day, even when the moves were happening and look, it's not an exciting offseason by any means you're losing more than you're gaining, but the belief is the youth is still there as cornerstones of this franchise, but reading your piece the other day, and you can

summarize it for people that may not have read it, it kind of hit me like a ton of bricks like, man, yeah, this is the greatest Eagles roster we've probably or probably will ever see and poof, it's gone. Yeah. Well, you know,

it's not really gone, gone, Jamie, but it is different. And it changes so fast. And this is kind of an obvious thing to say, I guess. But I wanted to rewatch the Super Bowl and really pay attention to the guys who aren't here now. And kind of see how different, you know, looking at it that way would be. And it was really different. First of all, I had to go and figure up, you know, like five starters, four defensive starters, one offensive starter. and then nine other guys that were active for the game are just not Eagles, six weeks later.

And that's the way the world goes, but it's very strange. I kind of got off on this kick when Josh Sweat was introduced in Arizona. And he said, you know, I haven't really had time to celebrate the Super Bowl. And he was probably next to Jalen Hertz. He would have been the MVP of the game. And he's sitting there wearing Cardinals Red, you know, before it's almost like they, like I said, someone else, it's almost like they yanked him off the float, you know, and send him out to Arizona. And it's free agency is what it is. I mean, they wouldn't have had Sequin Barclay.

They wouldn't have had Zach Bond. You can't decry free agency. But it happens so fast. It's so, the Super Bowl is so late now. You know, you're almost in the combine by the time the Super Bowl is over. and you don't get a lot of time to savor. You really, really don't. And it seems like it takes so long to do this.

And then it's gone very quickly. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, I reflected as, you know, knowing we're going to have this conversation and Les going through your article, I was thinking back to the night of the Super Bowl. And Jamie, you remember, like, you know, the big talking point, you know, for that show

just because it was such a dime, dominant win. Like you knew the Eagles were going to win from, you know, the majority of the second half. You go back to even before halftime, you know, most of that conversation was, is this the best Eagles team we've ever seen? Is this one of the best Philadelphia sports teams we've ever seen? And so, yeah, when you lose that many key pieces so quickly, it can be a little bit of a shock to the system if you haven't been keeping track of it. And it's, yeah, like I said, it's kind of the way it goes. And you can't decry free agency because they couldn't have built this roster without free hcessie but if you look at this as you guys were saying as the best eagles

roster ever wouldn't it be nice if you could just suddenly you know freeze this in amber and come back with the same group plus the draft you know this is the way yeah i the point i made in the story was if you were a steelers fan in the 70s you could buy a mean green mean jo green jersey and not be worried that he was going to be a new arlington saint there the next day or something. You know, I mean, it just, it's really different. And it makes it so hard to to get back and to keep things going. You know, I think the Eagles are in wonderful position to defend their title, but will they be as deep a team? Probably not, because it was a once-in-a-lifetime confluence of events. You know, you guys did a thing. I think it was actually Bo and Zach,

but you guys in P.H.L. Y sense did a thing about who's going to be this year's Zach Bond. Well, I mean, I get the point, but nobody's going to be this year's Zach Bond. No. It would ever happen. You know, I mean, that was the best linebacking season I've seen from an eagle in 25 years. It'll be amazing if somebody is this year's side. I mean, I hope it happens, but unlikely. Yeah, if Howard Rosen's able to find. a cheap, pre-agent kind of position borderline change player that becomes an all-pro,

just insert him into Canton, Ohio right now. Don't even wait. In the executive wing, you go, because that would be incredible. Look, I was kind of the driving force, Fran, you mentioned it. Like, I brought it up to Zach and Boe after the game, and I was like, mini dynasty, question mark. And, you know, Zach and Bo and Les and the vets that have been around the locker room are kind of like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know, like, it's really hard. to do that type of stuff.

But I think the reason everybody feels great is because, look, defensive line is the biggest position where you took a hit. But you have guys behind them. You have guys that stepped up that look like they're ready to emerge. Some of these guys, Nolan Smith in year three, OJMO will be year three as well, right? So some of these guys are kind of lining up perfectly with like the career kind of takeoff point. I still feel damn good about their chances, not only to make another run at it,

but to sustain this for a long time because of Fran, how well they've drafted the last couple of years. Yeah, and that's the plan, right? And that's what, you know, we were doing a show. It was late in the free agency process. It was like a week ago. It could have been a month ago. What I've been a year from ago?

Who's to know? Who's to say? The time is a flat circle right now. But either way, it was after a bunch of these guys had left. And, you know, Zach and I, you know, we had said on the show. was like, look, at the end of the day, you still have Jalen Hertz and AJ Brown and Sequin Barkley and DeVante Smith and you still have this offensive line. And you still have Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith and Zach Bond and Quinion Mitchell and Cooper

Dijin. You go down the list. Like there is a very talented team. But yeah, they're going to have to replace some key players. And look, you know, who's to say if Matt Pryor is not this year's is not. I was just, yeah. I just texted you guys and I said, Zach Berman is so many. that he's on vacation right now because we do have a little bit of Eagles breaking news,

courtesy of Jeff McLean, a man we know. Matt Pryor returning to the Eagles on a one-year deal. It looks like they're adding those depth pieces over the past couple of days here for the offensive line. You lose guys like Fred Johnson. That's a good thing. Yeah. You know, I think, yeah, Prior, not a start.

starting quality guy to me on a long-term basis, but a guy who can play guard or tackle and, you know, well, you know, you guys know better than I do. I'm not a big, Franz, a big guy who knows this stuff. This is Frank's wheelhouse. Yes, exactly. What do you think, Fran? Well, actually, ironically enough, I was just on with our, our team over at CHGO, late, just before this show started, when the news broke. And he was in Chicago. with the Bears over these last couple of years. And he actually got inserted into the starting lineup because the inconsistencies they had a right guard with Nate Davis.

He ended up playing a thousand snaps for the Bears this season and moved all around. Like did it all what we've come to expect from Matt Pryor, right? A selfless player, a swing backup who could play tackle and guard, both on left and right sides. And that's very valuable. And I think that that's when you're looking at the additions the Eagles have made along the offensive line, you look at obviously they trade for Kenyon Green. you know, in the C.J. Gardner Johnson deal. But then you also, you bring in Kendall Lamb a couple

days ago. You bring in now Matt Pryor. These are guys that have proven swing versatility, the ability to kind of plug it where it leaks along the offensive line. If you do draft a guy in the first or second or third round, obviously that guy's going to have a good crack at a starting job. But that's why they always target these players that have that versatility because there's multiple paths to success. That's one of the keys to Isaac Samaolo and the path that he had his journey here in Philadelphia. It's honestly one of the saving graces for Tyler Steen is that he's got the ability to play left and right and tackle and guard, right? And so that is a very valuable skill to have. And it's something certainly prior is going to bring to the table when it's time to have this competition here this summer.

And a guy that knows your culture has been here. You know him. There's not going to be surprises as far as his, you know, what he likes to do and how he goes about his job. But I like this move a lot. Yeah, and Fran, we had the honor of hosting 30 diehards the other night for the, Fran film session. And one of the questions from one of the diehards was, what is it about Jeff Stoutland that he's able to get the most out of these guys?

Because I'm at the point now with Jeff Stoughton where I'm like, oh, he's going to make Matt Pryor a serviceable right guard, right tackle, if he has to come in. And you're not even going to notice that the Eagles offensive line skips a beat. Somebody asks, like, what is it about him? Is it the technique he's teaching? Is it the personal relationships? Is it the motivation?

and your answer was just kind of like, it's a little bit of everything. But I think having somebody he knows with the system, you know, he can probably fit right into. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah,

he's a player where, you know, he's obviously, he's been around the league now for a few years, you know, since leaving Philadelphia. And he's part of that,

that long line. I don't know that this stat is still true. I guess we got, we have to check on like the status of Andre Dillard. I don't think he has signed yet here this spring. But every player, every offensive line on the Eagles was drafted since Jeff Stalland was hired in 2013. Every single offensive lineman was still in the league.

Like that is crazy. Like over a decade worth a dollar. Still a free agent, by the way. Yeah. You'll end somewhere though. He's not out of the league yet unless he wants to be. Just like when you look around the NFL, like to have that kind of a hit rate at that position, that's insane. And that's what, you know, to me when you talk about Jeff Stalin and what makes him great,

like he loves the draft process. He loves talent identification. He loves development. He loves working with the guys and creating those relationships. He loves the schematics of it. He loves everything about this entire process. And honestly, like the proof is in the pudding. He's good at all of it.

And so that's what makes him special. So you know their process a little bit, Fran and less, you know, being around them for so long. Where is Jeff Stoughton right now? Is he just in a film room locked away for 19 hours a day? Is he going out to pro days? I hope he's going out to pro days myself, but I don't know. Okay. Brand might know.

Where do you? Yeah, where do you think he is these days? What's his process like? This time of year is extremely busy for most coaches in the NFL, but certainly for the Eagles because they will see. Not because not every team is going to send all their coaches out on the pro day circuit, but you have to think there's a few different things that are going to be pulling coaches in certain ways.

There's not just pro days, but private workouts. and then coming trying to get back home for the 30 visits as well because if the Eagles are hosting an offensive lineman, you want your offensive line coach in the building for that relationship as well. And so look, there are times where you have to split those duties between the offensive line coach and the assistant offensive line coach. But yeah, it's a lot of flights, you know, making sure those guys are kind of going all over the map here between the pro days, the 30 visits, and the private workouts.

In my brain, he's got like an oxygen mask on like Bain. in a hyperbaric, like, film room chamber, just going through a draft board and moving guys around like John Nash in a beautiful mind. And he's making sense of everything and slotting guys in. But Cousin Gray said she saw that. That's what I don't want to touch him. Cousin Gray said he was chilling yesterday. She saw him.

And Player 1 and the Mad Cat says he's poolside with ZB right now in the Caribbean. So there you go. It all tracks. Yeah. Can you imagine Zach on vacation? So I didn't realize less. It was funny. I didn't realize he was out this week until Monday morning.

I saw Beau, and I said, oh, Zach's out all week. Cool. He goes, yay. You know, in the Caribbean on a family, like extended family cruise. And I was like, that's awesome. And Bo goes, oh, he's miserable. Yeah. So that sounds about exactly right.

I picture, like, 40 people in Chez's lounges by a pool, one guy in a suit, squinting at his phone trying to. If we could have only gotten a GoPro on him, I'd love to see what Zach Berman does on a vacation week. But coming up, we're going to let Les Bowen wax poetically about an all-time eagle great. And Les, I don't think you've had the opportunity to talk about Brandon Graham's career. You got to see a lot of it up close and personal. So after we tell you about some friends here at PHLY, we'll get right into that. And let me tell you about True Mark Financial.

They're headquartered right here in the Delaware. Valley right in Fort Washington and they have 24 area locations all across the area. I drive by two or three on my way into work and if you have financial goals like maybe buying a house, taking that dream vacation, an emergency fund. Me, I'm saving for my kids college tuition. So when you talk to the people at True Mark Financial Credit Union, they can figure out the perfect savings account for you. They offer high rate certificates and money market accounts to help your money grow faster and work harder for you. And it's financial literacy month. And they've got something that's going to help you off the field teaching your kids how to handle their money. I have a kid that's

getting around to that point where we're starting to give her an allowance for some chores and stuff like that. So we're trying to teach her about savings. And in a year or two, which is a little bit older, the green light app is going to be awesome because it's not just an ordinary app. It's a game changer for your kids. Whether they're trying to set savings gold, learn how to track their spending, or getting their allowance, it's all right there at their fingertips. And each kid gets their own debit card so they can make their purchases, learn how to budget and build real world money skills. While you stay in control from your phone, you get peace of mind and they get the chance to make smart, responsible choices with their money. So if you're looking for a way to teach your kids some financial plays, this.

financial literacy month. I can't recommend this enough. It's like training for life's biggest game. Head over to trumark.com slash green light to get all the details and sign up today. Don't miss the chance to set your kids up for financial success. And Fran, Les, I think you guys get a kick out of this. We gave my daughter 50 cents the other day because she did some chores. And 50 cents is like a huge deal. And she got the 50 cents. And before she put it in her piggy bag, she said we were talking about the pool this summer and she's like I have all the money I need for the pool this summer like I don't need anymore she has like 750 in the bank that's going to be gone in three days at the pool snack bar so teaching your kids financial literacy is always a good

yeah good luck good luck with that I'm still a couple years away from uh from frances understanding all that um but uh with that in mind uh let's now hear from our friends at hello fresh because look If you're tired of figuring out what's for dinner night after night, especially those busy weekdays. I know we've had a couple of them here in the Duffy House over the course of this week. You can get dinner done the easy way thanks to HelloFresh. And it's easy to find time to eat well when you've got a wide selection. We're talking 50 wholesome hassle-free meals that you can choose from each week and it gets delivered right to your front door. HelloFresh's new ready-made meals go right from the fridge to your fork in just three minutes.

It's the same high-quality ingredients. and restaurant-worthy flavor that you expect from Hello Fresh just with none of the work. Now, me personally, I like the prep and bake meals. I like putting a little bit of time in to, you know, I'm prepping fresh vegetables and meat. We're cooking everything. The oven's doing a lot of work, but I get Francis involved. And we have a lot of front, you know, putting all of that stuff together. You know, I know I was one of the things I like to do as well.

And Julia, our producer can attest to this. We were on Tuesday. I came in and I was like, oh, well, I need to have some lunch. We had the draft show at 12. We had the Eagles show at two. I have a very short time in between where I can get something to eat. Well, I had some leftovers from the night before from our Hello Fresh where we had, it was like chicken thighs and rice.

And it was like a, you know, some sauce on there, some vegetables. I bought that in. I had a to go to container, pop that in the microwave. Beautiful. I had a lunch and Julia comes over. She's like, oh, what do you got? I was like, oh, it's my leftover. Leftover, Hello Fresh from the night before.

Get up to 10 free meals and a free high protein item for life at Hellofresh.com slash Eagles 10 FM one item per box with active subscription free meals applied as discount on first box new subscribers only and varies by plan that's up to 10 free hello fresh meals just go to hellofresh dot com slash Eagles 10 FM look at an FM for free meals so again hellofresh.com slash eagles FM I love a good leftover nothing better when you when it's already ready made for you in the morning. It's the best. Comment in the chat that made me laugh during your read there, Fran. Paul says, Zach wears a 1920s full body bathing suit.

And I just pictured those like old Atlantic City pictures of people on the beach, like sweating in their bathing suits. And I can just picture Zach in the Caribbean in a full body bathing suit. That's a funny image. So I had to infect your brains after that mental image got put in mind. Yeah. Welcome back in. That crept in my head as well.

when I saw that comment. I don't know if most people think the way I do, but whenever I read something, it's just like immediate mental image. And that's when I want to move on from. This is the PHLY Eagles podcast. Les Bowen Framed Duffy. I'm Jamie Lynch here with you.

Now, Les, I wanted to give you the opportunity. Brandon Graham, a remarkable career. I caught up with them before the game down in New Orleans. And I just said to him, like, man, you're about to play in your third Super Bowl.

Has that kind of registered with you? And you could see, like, it really had. Like, he was reflecting on a career, and he was so just happy to be playing in a third Super Bowl, especially after the start to his career. And if you missed the Trent Cole interview, like last week or 10 days ago, was really good about helping him and that positivity that Brandon brought to the team and just that whole attitude. And we'll talk about the leadership replacement and all of that.

but less your thoughts on a remarkable career by Brandon Graham. It really has been. It's a unique career. That word gets thrown around a lot, but I think in this instance, it actually applies. He came in. The narrative has gotten sort of truncated and simplified a little bit.

Actually, he played very, very well as a rookie until he suffered, devastating knee injury. It was way more serious than we were initially told. He had to have microfrivolved. fracture surgery, which is not something a rookie in 2010. That was, you know, that was a pretty big deal, actually. And then with Jim Washburn being the defensive line coach and preferring veterans and preferring his great buddy, Jason Babbitt in particular, Brandon kind of got stuck to the bench for a good while. And this narrative developed. Everyone in Philly, you know, most years,

the fan base has a player. They want to see the Eagles draft. And that year, as everyone knows, it was Earl Thomas. The Eagles had lost Brian Dawkins in Free Agency a few years earlier, a year or two earlier. I guess a year earlier. And they then replaced him adequately. And this seemed like a no-brainer. And they took Brandon Graham instead.

So, of course, while Brandon is sitting behind Jason Babin and getting his knee better and all this stuff, Earl Thomas is becoming a great safety for the for the Seahawks, the Legion Legion of Boone. Yep. Yeah. So this went about like you would expect. He was vilified, Brandon was, and he would get in arguments with fans on social media. It was just, it was awful. I mean, we've seen it a bunch of times in Philadelphia and in other cities.

What I've never seen is an athlete who goes to. through several years of this and then is able to completely turn it around to where he's universally loved and respected by the time he retires. I don't know. Maybe somebody out there has another example of this. I don't. Certainly not in Philadelphia. But he started getting more playing time and he got through the Chip Kelly years. Everybody knows the Travis Long story, how Chip liked this undrafted guy Travis Long, who kept getting hurt. And Chip, who was a horrible, Chip had a lot of interesting ideas,

but he was a horrible judge of talent. And he was going to get rid of Brandon. He didn't because Travis Long got hurt yet again. Brandon, who had to play three, four outside linebacker during those years, and did a very good job of it, by the way. But then really started when Chip left, I think Brandon sort of really came into his own. He was five years into his career by then,

but, you know, he started to come into his own. And then the Super Bowl play is, I think, the iconic moment. I once called it the Eagles equivalent of the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. You know, Brandon reaching over and plucking that ball out of... Fun fact, Les. I grew up about a quarter of mile from that exact spot where Washington crossed the Delaware. There you go. And crossing Pennsylvania, shout out.

Yes. So, you know, when that happened, I started looking at him differently, and I started noticing something about Brandon. And I'm sure Fran can talk about this. He was a guy that whatever his overall stats were, and he wasn't, he never had 15 sacks or anything like that, you know, but he made plays when you really needed a play made. If you needed a stop, like on the run, or if you needed, you know, a deflection or a sack, so often he would be the guy that would step in at a crucial moment and deliver.

And that play in the Super Bowl, the Super Bowl 52 play, the thing that really looking back on that impresses me the most, everybody remembers that game and how the Eagles defense couldn't stop anything. it, which is certainly true. They had not touched Tom Brady all day. And there's two minutes left in the game, and he's thrown for 500 yards, and they've run for five yards of carry. And somehow Brandon Graham is like leaping through the guy blocking him all out, you know, desperate dive getting the ball. 57 minutes and some odd seconds, this hasn't worked. But on this play, it did.

And that, to me, was Brandon Graham. He would keep going and going and going until he won. And that's something you don't get real often, along with a lot of the other stuff in leadership and the way he carried himself as a person. Those are also things you don't get real often. I was on my hands and knees, Fran, at that point, at my house. house party when Brandon made the iconic play, about 24 people downstairs. But I watched the first touchdown up in my bedroom on a 13 inch television.

And I convinced myself it was good luck. So I ended up leaving the party on my own upstairs. And as Brandon was like making that play, I was on my hands and knees because I was still a Negedophian. I still thought the Patriots were going to come back and do it. Oh, I did too. I was there. Yeah.

I thought that. Yeah. I was on the verge of puking, and Brandon Graham saved me. You know, I heard you talk about a friend last week, and what a career. But that presence that's going to be missed in that building, you know, Vinny told us stories about in the meeting rooms. You told us how he would go out of his way to talk to the cafeteria staff in the Eagles media departments. that is such a unifying force outside of the football field. It's hard to replicate or duplicate that.

I do have slight concerns that just that presence alone, that positivity, that influence is going to be severely missed. And you can replace leadership in different ways. I just don't know if you can, you know, duplicate that ever. Yeah. I mean, look, we had the same conversations, a little bit different, obviously, because all these guys are individual, but it's, you know, a year ago when they lose Jason Kelsey, you lose Fletcher Cox. Like, all right, like, you know, they have to replace those guys not just on the field, but off the field as well.

And so you require those young guys that are going to have to take that next step. And this is another example of that. They're going to need other young guys to kind of pick up that Fiji mantle and become that kind of a presence. And it might not be that, you know, they don't need to swing by accounting and say, hi, what's up to everybody, right? They don't need to be that. but, and certainly from a football side of things, the leadership in the locker room, you're going to need someone to take that on. And so, you know, maybe that is Nolan Smith, right?

You know, whoever that is, like, somebody in that room is going to have to take that on and become that player for this, for this defense. Yeah. And he has to do you see in that role for him? I was just going to say, any indication? Nolan seems like he's got that crazy kind of infectious. He's going to run through a wall, so I'm going to run through a wall. I guess my fear with BG is just when you have such a positive force like that,

when things get hard, when a losing streak happens, when something gets leaked to the media that shouldn't have, I feel like he was the stabilizer of it. Does that just automatically fall on Lane Johnson now? Because that's not really lame, right? Like he's not a bubbly, joyous person that's going to, maybe he unifies everybody in a different way. But like, that's a big presence gone.

And in Dickerson, Paul mentioned, seems to be that kind of like pump up guy. Any idea who that kind of falls to? Does it just not get replaced in a way? Yeah, I mean, they've seen Jordan Milata take some strides in this area as well. You know, when you think about, all right, when things go bad, like, and the media descends upon the locker room, who's going to be the voice of the team in that way to kind be that outward speaking voice? You know, I think that you're looking at Lane.

You're looking at Jordan. you know, I think that those are kind of the season vets at this point. You're looking at it. I think Landon is certainly in that role. I think Devante is someone that you're going to lean on to be that kind of a guy. Certainly Jalen, but that's just going to be a little bit different, right? So just to him being the quarterback and separate podium sessions and things like that. But yeah, it's something that they're going to have to continue to develop, you know, some of these guys.

And I think that that goes into the types of players that they seek out to bring into the building. there's a reason why you're constantly looking for those kinds of guys is that, you know, as the old guard kind of phases out, you know you need to replace them. You know that you need to find guys to take that next step in that way. I kind of think about now that he has the contract, maybe Zach Bond. Because I think it can't all be on one side of the ball, right? Sure. Leadership is leadership. But to me, over the years, it seems like you have defensive leaders and offensive leaders.

and sometimes the defensive guys aren't really that attuned to what the offensive leaders are saying and so forth. Bonn, maybe Cooper DeGine, even though he's still really, really, really young. He seems like that kind of person. Maybe Blankenship, too. Yeah. But I do think they've got to get that. It's really a huge part of their success. And to that point, Les, I know Bo has made this point, and I think Sirian, his buzz cut, just brought it up.

to Zach Bond, you know, aside from kind of knowing that they were going to resign him by making him up in the Super Bowl, like, it was clear that he was going to be a priority of the team. Him being miced up in the Super Bowl, you know, kind of shows you that maybe he is that guy on the defensive side of the ball. Because to your point, offensively, yeah, myelot in Lane seemed fine. But defensively, you know, and that's kind of the title of the show today is like the young guns taking over. Man, this defense is young.

It's awesome because we believe in so many of these guys. but this is a young defense, which is a good thing, but that role needs to be filled. So maybe it is Zach Vaughn. Yeah, speaking of their youth, that was what I was really glad to see them sign Adderie Jackson the other day. Not because he's a great corner, but because they needed a corner who's older than 23. You know, that was scary. You know, that was really after they let Slay and Rogers go, you know, you. can't have a room where, you know,

Kili Ringo is the veteran or something. You know, I mean, you got to have somebody there that's done this a few times. And even if Jackson doesn't start, and I doubt that he will, frankly, unless somebody gets hurt.

I think if he does, it's a problem less. Yeah, yeah. Although I've seen him play well, not so much for the Giants. But yeah, yeah,

you're right. In the long run, you're right. Yeah. And, you know, even though Kili Ringo is, is the vet in that room outside of a Dory,

Jackson. She's wild. He is in fact younger than Quignan Mitchell. That's a little known fact. Wow. That is crazy. Les, what do you sipping on there? Is that a little iced tea? Ice tea, yes.

Sweetened or unsweetened? I'll talk ice tea with you all day. Okay. I am a China mist ice tea brewer. I go unsweetened with a half a lemon in my iced tea. No sweetener. Well, I make it in the coffee. maker, eight tea bags, makes about three quarts altogether.

A little bit of sugar, let it cool, put it in a fridge, yeah. You ever go, Arnold Palmer's? The kind of iced tea you get in restaurants is. Oh, it's crap. You can see through it. If you can see through it, it's not really iced tea. It's water. Now, Fran, you got the jug of water at all times.

Are you at home in the film room water only or do you have a at home beverage of choice? I go coffee in the morning and then I, well, usually, so I'll chug a big cup of water when I first like wake up and go downstairs. Like, you know, before I walk the dog, try and drink as much water as I can early and come back, have at least one cup of coffee. I fill this thing up and then I try and fill this up a couple times a day. Then if I'm feeling it later, if I need to, I'll have a Coke or something like that. if I need a little pick me up in the afternoon. But yeah, that's that's the typical order of operations here. There you go.

Les, we had a heated Coke versus Pepsi debate in the office on Tuesday when Fran was in. Would you like to weigh in on Coke versus Pepsi? Got to go Coke there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Less knows ball.

That's a fact. Our GM Vince stopped the fridge with Pepsi and everybody. I had to call him out on it and then the whole office supported me. And I think he went back into his Pepsi show. Yeah, it's just no good. I might have to start bringing some iced tea up to the offices, though. I'm a big ice tea guy. All right, coming up next, we're going to take a quick break,

tell you about some friends here at PHLY, but Fran has an awesome article up today on all PHLY. It is just about to turn the calendar to the month of April and is officially Fran Duffy season. We're getting closer and closer. And Fran took all the mock drafts out there, accumulated them into his processes system, And it's a great time to get in to be a diehard right now.

There's still a sale going on. And we'll make sense of this mock draft season. And who has what going where and what makes sense? We'll see if we can suss out anything that's going on in mock draft season right after this read. And let me tell you about the Bet Park's Casino. It is absolutely awesome. I've been out to the Excite Center many times. It's a state-of-the-art entertainment venue inside Parks Casino,

right there in Bucks County in the Philly suburbs, right off a 95 and the term pike. It's so easy to get to. It's been named one of the best places for concerts and comedy and a great place to see the country's best comedians and music headliners. I'm still mad at myself. About a year and a half ago, they had Shane Gillis there. Now Shane Gillis is selling out arenas all across the country, and he was right there at the Excite Center.

But they get awesome acts all the time. Gary Clark Jr., a guy that just absolutely shreds the guitar, is going to be at the Excite Center coming up. I'm going to see if I can make my way out there. Parks Casino, this is how you win. It's Pennsylvania's number one casino, and it's so close to anywhere. And they have so much great food at Parks Casino from the bamboo noodle house to Chickie and Pete, a whole food court. So much great stuff at Parks Casino. This is how you win.

Visit Parkscasino.com to buy tickets for all. shows must be 21 and older gambling problem call 1-800 gambler well now hear from our friends at rothman orthopedic because look if your joints are aching if your hands are cramping or if your back is out of whack rothman's got you covered because at rothman orthopedics practicing specialized care has been their passion for over 50 years and their mission is simple high quality compassionate and affordable care rooted in research research that is leading to new treatments and better outcomes for you. Each Rothman doctor is laser focused on their specialty, hip, knee, spine, you name it. They have a team for each body part right in your backyard. You can cross over the defense in the

driveway. You can drain those jump shots. You can root for your teams like no other fans in the country because since 1970, their physicians have remained committed to research, innovation, and minimally invasive procedures to get you back to what you specialize in. They're Rothman orthopedics and they specialize in you. Patients are going to find the full spectrum of orthopedic care at Rothman Orthopaedics. I said before, but last year, we're talking now the fall of 2023. My mom got double knee replacement back to back. Where did she go? She went to Rothen Orthopaedics for her rehab and for her care. It's not just the volume of patients that they take on, 255,000 of new patients and consults that Rothman is most proud of. But instead, it's their commitment to improving each

of those patients' lives through their service and care. Year over year, Rothman consistently performs among the highest volume of hip, knee, shoulder, and ankle replacements in the country. Rothen Orthopedics, and in you. Visit Rothenortho.com slash pHLY to learn more and make your appointment today. Now, Fran, Shay of the Bean Touching Fame wants to know on the wide shot there. We can see the Darth Vader bookend over there on this shelf. That's a strong item. Who's on the other side?

Is that Darth Mall? We got a Yoda back here as well. Nice. So, yeah, we're covering both ends of it on that side. That's good stuff right there. Once I look, it looks like, you know, half decent behind me. I would give this like a C-minus behind me. It is a disaster like right here.

So that's going to be this off season is getting this all straightened up. I've got all kinds of like fun knick-knacks. So once I get this behind me straightened out, I'm going to get like nice bookshel. kind of get that in. But that's a, that's a May, that's a May situation. Yeah. And just so everyone is aware, Bo will be back tomorrow. I think cousin Grace was asking if we have a wolf pup or a new member of the wolf den yet. Not yet. I'll let Bo explain everything. But no, no wolf pup yet. But we are on final countdown. So Fran, right now on all p.gly.com just

got added today for diehards. And if you're not a diehard, really sure. should consider becoming one. It's a great sale going on right now. You did something awesome. You basically took, was it 36 of the mock drafts? 36 mock drafts, yeah. Of all the people you know, know and respect out there, it's mock draft season. Everybody's putting out something. You took the 36 out there that you read, that you, you know, put it into your process and kind of made sense of it all. And who was falling where, and what seem to be common themes amongst all of them. Why don't we kind of go through the top 10 a little bit?

Right. And talk about what jumped out to you amongst all of these. And then we'll get to the Eagles, which is always nice to say, picking 32nd. Yeah. Well, what's fun about this exercise, I mean, there's a few takeaways that you can get from it, right? I mean, you can get a range of where, if you are an Eagles fan and you're hoping for Walter Nolan, if you're hoping for Donovan Azaraku, whoever it is that you're hoping for,

you can go in and you can just do like a quick search and say like, okay, like where, how high is this guy being talked about? What is the range of this player? Are we talking about this guy? I mean, there are mock drafts where Walter Nolan is going as high as like eight or nine overall, right? And so it's like, okay, well, if that's the starting point,

you got to be kind of holding your breath here. If you expect him to fall to 32, you know, I don't want to give away everything, but you can kind of see who's the favorite pick for the Eagles when you get the 30. it's Walter Nolan, right? And that he is the most commonly mocked player to the Eagles. But there are a lot of fun things you could take away from this exercise.

It is something that I'm doing constantly. If I were to just go back and try and find like Mel Kuyper's January 25th mock draft, you'd probably put it on a faster. I am trying to do that as we go through the process on a weekly basis. And so I'll usually take about a half hour, you know, once a week and just go through our hour. What were the main mock draft? You mentioned it from like the people that are, reputable, right? And there are some guys that fall through the cracks here, but I'm not pulling, you know, every mock draft that comes across my timeline. We're going to the, the Dane Bruleers and the Mel Kipers, the Dane-M-I as the Lance Zerlines, right? And so all in all, it's just, all right, like, there are 36 picks for each team, all 32 teams. You know, I'm looking at one right now. It's all right, nine of the, nine of the mock drafts had them selecting Marshall Pass Rush or Mike Green. Nine or six of them had Texas A&M, Shamar Stewart. Five of them had, had, you know, I'm looking at one.

cornerback will johnson from michigan so you get a sense of a who are the most popular targets for all 32 teams b what positions are most likely are being targeted most often by these teams and again you get that that range of prospect as well and i will tell you like this is something that all 32 teams you there are somebody in the building for all 32 scouting uh scouting uh scouting departments that is doing this kind of exercise, especially this time of year. After the visits have completed, you're starting to get a sense of, all right, who's going to be available, where, who could be going off the board, at what point you're doing exercises like this in these draft rooms. Now, you mentioned that Nolan has been knocked as high as, I think, eight. And

is this a more volatile draft in that regard than most? That's what I'm reading is that it's terrifically hard to have any idea who's going to be there at 32 because a lot of things you see are just like, whoa, what if it gets taken at 14? Generally, you don't have as much of that, right? This is a, this is a draft. Because people all the time, like, oh, like, you know, what do you think the Eagles are going to do at 32? And I'm like, I don't know what's going to happen at seven.

You know, it's so hard to predict. And there are a number of teams. That's what's fun about this, too, is you go team by team. there are some where there's it's kind of streamlined right it's like all right the Tampa Bay bucks there's been 30 again there's uh jihad campbell was the pick for third in 13 mock drafts the next guy after that is three right so it's like okay most people have them taking alabana lineback or jihad campbell that's like the runaway selection but there are a lot of teams less but i'm going as high as number 11 San Francisco 49ers right usually at this point it's late march you're

getting an idea like top 12 top 15 where guys are going to go there are with you i'm looking at the san francisco 49ers right now in this mock draft three different players got five votes one player got four votes one player we got three one two three three players got two and then there's like a list of 10 that got one no one has any idea what the san francisco four deniers are doing it at 11 overall right the the the dallas cowboys it's the same thing you go to the miami dolphins it's the same thing uh it's it's going to be really really difficult to peg this draft and we're look here's what's happening right now pro days are coming to a close you know, pro days are wrapping up.

And during these pro days, you know, representatives from all 32 teams are descending on, you know, Texas and Alabama, and they're all getting together and you see each other in the morning and you see each other in the afternoon and, you know, you might see them at night. Then you see the same people the next day. And it's a flow of information because not only are they there on these campuses, but you get media types at these campuses as well. So the insiders and the reporters, they start to get some of this stuff.

But then more importantly, for me, personally, selfishness, is now that scouts and teams are getting off the road, now they can answer my calls. So now we can get on the phone and have more of these. I was talking with a lot of these guys will say like January, February, you get to the combine, you meet with people. Now it's usually like, hey, like after pro day season, we'll catch up again.

So now you start to get a little bit more information and you get some more intel that way, just in terms of what people are hearing. And so now these mock drafts, as we get closer, you start to think that they'll get a little bit more on the nose about what we come to expect. I still think, though, this is going to be a very tough draft to be able to predict. I think there's going to be a lot of variance here with how these players are seen and how these teams are going to find their first round picks. Plus, it would be

a little bit surprising to see the Eagles actually draft at 32, right? Right. I mean, usually you either trade down to the second round or you try to trade up to get a true first round talent. what do you think friend do you have any idea what they're looking for there yeah i think that you know this one is going to be so fun because when you have a draft like this and we talked about like the ambiguity and like the fact that you know player eight through 30 are so similar what that result i think you you can look at this one of two ways either there's not going to be a lot of trading at all because all teams are you know they know who the top four guys are and that that's the one tier and everybody's going to say oh well i'm not going to trade what's

required for me to move up if I have a similar type of player fall to me. The other aspect of that, though, is if there's that next chunk of players, you know, let's say player five through 10, five through 12, whatever that is, where there might be some variance. And now, let's say if you are a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers at 21, if you were the Minnesota Vikings at 24, if you're the Eagles at 32, and you get into the teams, you get into 15, 16, 17, 17, 18. And now it's, hey, you know what?

this guy is a top eight player for us in this draft. He's the only one left in this tier. Let's make a move up to go get him. Right. And that's where it goes down to like the Nolan Smith pick where it's, hey, you know what? Like this is a guy we would have felt comfortable with taking at 10, right? And he fell to us here. We hear teams say this all the time.

And I think it kind of gets laughed at. It's like, oh, yeah, okay. It's usually the case. It is usually the case where a team was just higher on this player than everybody else. You know, by definition, that's the case. but I think that's something that gets lost in this process is that teams generally have a higher grade on that player than where he got slotted. Usually they're taking a guy with a first round grade or a top 10 grade outside of the top 10 because every team's boards are going to look a little bit different. So if I ask both of you, I think the obvious answer from most Eagles fans would be that they trade back.

Is it more likely they trade back or a guy slips and with the dearth of compensatory picks, they have in the near future. They have a ton of picks coming up. Could it be more likely that they move up for somebody that they really like? I think it's probably more likely that they were to trade back personally, but I would never rule anything out. And you know that how the, and Zach will say this.

So I'm sure he will nod at agreement as he's listening to this by the pool tonight. But the fact that, you know, when there's the reports in three weeks that, oh, Callie Roseman is working the phones about, look yeah of course he's working the phones that that's what howie roseman does right he's doing his due diligence he's going to make he's going to be making calls about what it's going to be like to move up he's going to make calls about what it's going to look like to move back you want to get all your ducks in a row before you get the draft weekend because you're not going to hash the details out when you're on the clock and so he's going to be making all of those calls in the weeks ahead yeah i was just thinking when

you were saying you know it's like it's such an unpredictable draft seven through 30 you know i wonder if one of those guys that they have you know maybe ranked higher than other teams do falls to 20-21 area and they go well now's our time to pounce like you know it's kind of metal to the you know metal to the pedal here let's go let's go get the guy we love um so i think with all these picks they have coming and and the compensatory picks from from so i know those are two years away still but it's like it's just refueling the pipeline i i'm starting to think maybe they could move up as opposed to back i think back is is probably more likely but it's exciting to think they could you know potentially go target somebody that slips.

As a former newspaper reporter, back is the worst possible scenario because now that they've divided the draft into three nights, the first night is just the first round. And you're sitting there. In fact, when I was, my last few years in the business, you know, the inquired daily news were combined. We had like four or five people at Novacare sitting there. And if they don't draft in the first round, it's. It's a blood bath, which is why my, actually, my last several years on the beat, I advocated for and was able to go to the draft so that I could actually have something to myself that I wasn't fighting other people.

You know, and that was a good strategy. And frankly, the Eagles never traded out of the first round in any of those years that I went to the draft. But, you know, that was, yeah, it's lean when there's only drafting one guy. and then they don't draft anybody. And it's like, oh, okay, what am I writing about now? So, Lesoth, in all the years you covered the team, what's the most memorable draft experience that comes to mind for you? You know, there have been a whole bunch of them.

But we mentioned his name earlier, and it got me thinking about this again. Andre Dillard in 2019. I was in Nashville, and they had all these, like, they set up on the river bank there at the end of Broadway, a whole bunch of tents and things. And it was a huge thunderstorm as the draft was getting underway. And it turned out Andre and his family were sitting under a drip of water during the draft,

which somewhat dampened, pun intended, his draft experience. But the thing that I really remember is, so Andre was supposed to be like a top 10 pick. Right, Fran? That was the deal. Yes, somewhere in the top 10, top 12, yep. He slipped and slipped and slipped. and finally the Eagles traded up a couple spots to draft him at what, 19 or 20. Something like that, yeah.

Yeah. And the deal was they hadn't done a lot of work on Andre, which is not something you ever want to hear and something you almost never hear the Eagles say about a player. Jeff Stoutland had talked to him on the phone like the week before the draft, kind of Stoutland was going over stuff. and who haven't I really gotten a good handle on, you know, who didn't we have in for a visit? And he realized he hadn't done much of anything on Andre Dillard because he was supposed to go in the top ten and they weren't drafting in the top ten. So he had a phone conversation with Andre Dillard and it went pretty well.

And on that basis, they felt good about drafting him. Well, didn't turn out great, you know. And usually the Eagles have a very good system for, you know, they really vet everybody. Dom DeSandro goes around. You know, they talk to everybody involved in this guy's life. And in fact, Andre's rookie year at training camp, I'll tell this story real quick, his high school coaches showed up. I've told this story before. And they were telling me how Andre was basically a basketball player who didn't want to play football.

and he went out for football and he was a freshman and he was so good that they were going to put him on the varsity and they told him this and he was taken aback he was like the varsity oh my god and they had to like hold a ceremony for him with the older guys presenting him with a jersey

to get him comfortable with playing on the varsity as a freshman and at the time it was a funny story but as you got more into Andre and his confidence and his demeanor. It kind of, that was the sort of thing that you uncover in a draft process if you really do all the work. A little bit of imposter syndrome was in the back of his head. The guy wasn't that into it. He didn't really grasp. So they told him you can make a lot of money doing this and he was doing it. But was it really his life? Was it really his

passion? Did he feel confident about it? No. You know, it's funny, Leslie, say this. And what you're saying also reminds me a lot of the fireman, Danny Watkins. Yeah. You know, there's back the guys. Marcus Smith, I think, fits into that. Yeah. You know, what do you think, Fran?

I mean, is that how you saw Andre? You know, it was. Yeah, I mean, the talent. It wasn't talent that he lacked. No, the talent certainly was there. He was a guy I was really excited about from a talent standpoint. And you saw he, like, ascended over the course of the, of the, of the, of the, his final season. you know, just the season he had out west.

It was, it was really impressive. But yeah, that's a guy that, and that's what's funny about it. You know, I think people scoff at, and look, we can get into the whole thing of like anonymous scout quotes and things of that nature. But because we are in the time of year where that stuff starts to come out. But there is, there is a gut feel to a lot of times when teams have these meetings with players and they bring them into the building and you meet them at the combine. You talk to them to the pro day. You go, you take them to dinner. you're trying to feel these guys out to get a sense of exactly what Les is just talking about, right?

To really kind of get a sense of, all right, like, is this guy, not even is he like truly committed to football, but is he a fit for us? If he's not, like, what would he need in order to be a fit? It's the job. I think we talked about it on the show earlier this week, but that's the job that for area scouts, that's like priority number one for the area scout now in today's in today's NFL. It's not necessarily like the on field evaluation. Teams have enough people that are going to be writing reports on these players, right? There's there are enough guy. There are enough sets of eyeballs that are going to be watching, you know,

Walter Nolan, you know, the defensive tackle from Ole Miss, you know, Howie's going to watch them. You got four assistant GMs are going to watch them. Two college directors are going to watch them. You're over the top scouts going to watch. And the defensive line coach, the defensive coordinator, there's going to be a lot of opinions on Walter Nolan's film. But the go-to source for, you know, the character piece is going to be the area scout.

And so that's where, and that's, you know, three quarters of the report is going to be like, yeah, this is what this guy is off the field. This is his personality. This is what motivates him. This is how he learns. This is what people say about him. You know, going back to it's a high school and hometown and everything. So, you know, that's that's the huge, huge part of the evaluation and the projection. Yeah, I'll be in the... Go ahead, Les. I was just going to say, this sport in particular is such a visceral sport and so physical. And it's, you really have to be, and you have to watch that because in my experience, covering the team for many years. Almost everybody I ever talked to in an NFL team would have rather played

in the NBA where you don't get beat up and get CTE and all that. And some of these guys are literally in the NFL because they weren't going to make it in the NBA at 6-4-280. And somebody said, hey, do this instead. You can make money. You know, and some people handle that well. And some people are just, okay, hand me the money and I'll go about my way. Yeah, I think in the two of you talking, you know, you're saying with Andre Dillard, it wasn't a talent issue. To bring it full circle back to BG, like when you get to the NFL level, all these guys are supremely talented, top 1% of the world.

But like when you look at a BG who had to overcome, you know, positional changes, coaching, micro fracture surgery, all these things, that passion that burned in him is probably what allowed him to have an incredible 15-year career with three Super Bowl appearances. So, like, while you can't rule your day with passion for football, it can be a deciding factor between a three-to-four-year career or a 15-year career. Yes. It really can.

And I've seen guys who could play, and we're pretty good. You know, they didn't take it lightly or anything, but just who weren't interoperating. in doing it for more than, you know, a certain amount of time. It wasn't fun for them. They didn't enjoy it a lot. It's an interesting, I mean, it's a tough sport. They're all tough, but I think football is about as tough as it gets. And to make the commitment to do that year after year after year is, it's bracing.

It really is. Now, Fran, back to your article that went out today on all p.hly.com and everybody should check it out. One man I know loves football, and that's my alma mater's finest, Abdul Carter. That man lives, Eat and Breeze football. He's not performing at the Penn State Pro Day today because he's still recovering from the shoulder surgery. I saw all I needed to see in the National Championship game when he made a tackle with his shoulder hanging off of his body. and still wrapped up with his off arm. In the article that's up right now,

where is Abdul Carter's most common landing spot amongst the 36 experts? Yeah, number two overall to the Cleveland Browns. 17 different mocks had him going there. He's the clear favorite for that selection. Two mock drafts in the last week have had the Browns taking Shador Sanders with Travis Hunter getting a vote in there as well.

And honestly, look, we were doing that diehard, the film breakdown event when the Russell News or Russell Wilson News came down, right? He was him signing with New York Giants. And my initial reaction, when that happened, you know, talking to the group was, all right, like, it's one of two things.

Either they think Shador Sanders is definitely going off the board at number two. And they're like, okay, because remember, the other thing that happened, this was Tuesday, that was the same day as Cam Ward's Pro Day. And what do we talk about earlier? It's like, all right, you go to these pro days and it's not just about, oh, you know,

they're getting eyes on a quarter, but it's information gathering. It's information, it's flow of information. So literally like a few hours after the Pro Day finishes, the Giants go. By the way, the Giants were on hand. The Giants were, you know, Joe Shane was there. Brian Daibel was there at the Pro Day, as were everybody from Tennessee. Cleveland had people there.

Everybody, all 32 teams were represented at Miami's Pro Day. But a few hours later, the Giants go and they sign Russell Wilson a couple days after they had signed James Winston. So to me, that says to me, okay, it's one of two things. either they Andrew Barry's cart was cartoonishly pounding out of his chest at Camor or Shador's Pro Day or well no to me it's okay either the the Giants know that they are not taking Shador Sanders at two or just period or three rather and or they're just not taking them period or they know Shador Sanders is going to be off the board in the top three or in the top two picks and now they

they're kind of they're stuck with it without a chair for musical chairs and so so yeah real quick friend we're going to head to overtime here on the show and we'll continue this conversation. But yeah, to me like that, you're not, you're probably not drafting Shador Sanders. I know that, you know, Adam Schaefter, you know, some other insiders are reporting that, yeah, they still could take a quarterback. It would be surprising to me if you would go in. Look, I would, you obviously don't rule it out.

But to me, I don't know that you would sign James Winston and Russell Wilson and draft Shador Sanders or even like, oh, we're going to trade up into the first round and select Jackson Dart or whoever, right? You know, that's a lot of cooks in that kitchen. How are you expecting that rookie to come in and take time away? Are the vet's going to be happy with getting third string reps? Like, it's just a messy situation because those are a big personality. I don't see them doing. I don't see how you draft a real franchise quarterback into that situation. I really don't. No. It's, it would be, to me, that would be very surprising. And so, yeah, I do think that it'll be Abdul Carter at two. That's good. My, my gut right now is that it's Abdul Carter at two. And then it's

Travis Hunter going to the New York Giants. That's my gut. And you don't have Shadur really going in the first round in your mock. Yeah, I had him, I think, falling to, like, just outside the top 20. I think it might have been Pittsburgh or somebody traded up to take him. You know, the team that's kind of like lying in the weeds is if, if Kellen Moore and the New Orleans Saints decided they want to take Shador Sanders, but that's going to be one of the interesting storyline, certainly, is going to be where, if he falls and how far he falls come draft night.

So, Franon, Les, you've seen the, I don't know if there's, is Chador comparable because of what comes with him? And I'm not saying this in a negative way because the kid seems incredible. He seems media savvy, friendly, you know, it's a great father, son relationship. But there is something that comes with him. There's a media presence, a media circus, for lack of another term. There's prime. Have you, can you recall anything really? comparable to this? And how do teams kind of weigh that? You know, I don't have anything from the

Eagles standpoint that's really comparable. But the one thing I think of is when Deshawn Jackson was drafted by the Eagles, his dad had been very, very outspoken. And I did a story right after Deshaun was drafted talking to Jeff Telford, who was then the Cal head coach. And he'd had a real problem with Deshaun's dad. Deshaun's dad, Deshaun had a first half where they didn't throw the ball to him or something, and his dad went on a radio show at halftime. It was like, you know, really ripping the coaching at Cal and the quarterback and everything else, you know, and Andy Reed actually had a conversation with Deshaun's dad, who tragically passed away like a year into Deshaun's career. But Andy basically told him, you're not going to be around our facility. You're not going to be giving quotes to anybody. You know,

this stops right now. And Deshaun didn't like that at the time. But that's the only way to handle something like that to me. And it'll be real interested to see how anybody handles Dion. What do you think, Fran? Well, Fran, the reason I brought it up real quick was because you said the Saints. And there's such a dumpster fire of an organization. Like, I wonder if they're strong enough to handle that type of thing. That's what kind of triggered the thing. question with me. Well, that's the thing. So like with New Orleans, the way I look at it is like, all right, you have a GM that is probably not going anywhere. You know, Mickey Loomis, I think is kind of, I don't want to say it's a lifelong contract, but he, he's not, he's not getting fired just because

of the responsibility he's got from the Benson. So I don't think that he's going anywhere. And you have a first year head coach who's going to have a, you know, a little bit of a longer leash. When I look at like the Giants, though, where it's, it's very thin ice, are you going to want to bring in a quarterback where, you know, anytime things don't go well, you have not just like Shador and his personality, but you have the ability for Deon Sanders to speak out on that as well. And by the way, if the owner wants to, he can go and hire his quarterback's dad to come and replace you. And that's a, it's a, it's a, it's a very tricky dynamic for sure. Do we see Coach Prime in the NFL in the next two years?

Well, I think that when you're looking at Colorado, I'm very, very. very fast. I'm interested to see like what that team looks like this year. My guess is if like do they make that big jump, you know, do they make another step? I mean, they lose a lot of talent this year. Obviously, you lose your starting quarterback, but you lose Travis Hunter, the Heisman trophy winner. You lose, they're going to have a few other guys that are drafted on day three. You know, and so you're losing a decent amount of talent from that team that was, you know, just a, just outside looking in in terms of like Big 12 championship. So like if it takes even a small step back, now they're middle of the road in the Big 12. Like, I know that it happened for Cliff

Kingsbury, you know, when he was at Texas Tech in terms of getting hired to the NFL without, like, huge success in the college level. But I think that would be fascinating to see if that were to happen for Deon Sanders. Yeah, me too. Yeah. And then the last one before we get out of here, it certainly looks like Aaron Rogers is going to be quarterbacking the Steelers, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah, it does to me. The Vikings have to go with McCarthy. They can't. Rogers isn't a guy you bring in to like help McCarthy, I don't think. I mean, Fran might feel differently, but if you bring in Rogers, he's your quarterback this year. And if he's not, it's a problem.

I kind of think Pittsburgh is the only domino left for Rogers. I know apparently they aren't offering much money. But does there- I wouldn't either. At this point, you know, I mean, is that playing a decision a whole lot at this point? I can't imagine. I mean, I'm sure he'd rather quarterback the Viking. who are a contender.

But I don't think the Steelers are going to be a contender, even with Aaron Rogers. But that's the last chair in the cakewalk. You know, I mean, there's nothing. I don't, where else does he go? Yeah, honestly, I would say just for like entertainment value, being able to see Aaron Rogers with D.K. Metcalfe and George Pickens would be the worth the price of admission.

That would be a lot of fun. You know, him calling out his receivers post press conference. Like you can do it like Mike Williams from what I understand is like a personality where like, yeah, you could do that. And it's like water off a duck's back. Like he's fine with that. I don't think that's how that D.K. Metcalf and George Pickens would react to, to that.

So that could be fun if that were to happen. Okay, I lied. I have one more for you. And this has nothing to do with football. It is a playful debate that my wife and I got into on Saturday. We had, you know, you talk about the daily plans. What do we have? We have softball in the morning.

morning, this and that. I said something late afternoon. My wife interpreted what I said as late afternoon as what I think is evening time. How many parts of an afternoon are there, gentlemen? You asked me to define late afternoon? I would say late afternoon is like after four. and before, before like six-ish, probably. Fran? Yeah, if you say late afternoon, like, that's definitely not before 3.30. Like, it's definitely not before 3.30. I would say I'm more blessed.

When were you, what were you calling late afternoon there? 3 to 3.30. Because. It's a bit of a gray area. I would call it near. okay it's mid but my point was afternoon can't have three parts to it i guess it probably can i i i think afternoon's a two-part uh session see there's the afternoon and then there's late early noon to two mid two to four late four to six yeah you're on her side i think i lost this one

yeah as someone who like because uh meg will say this to me all the time because i will typically say like, uh, sometime late afternoon or sometime like before, you know, and she's always like, what does that mean? Uh, I think we're having this conversation often. Uh, so yeah, I think, uh, yeah, I think you lost that one, Jamie. See, I said late afternoon and then it was three o'clock and I was like, let's, let's start getting ready to go. Like it's late afternoon.

She was like, what are you talking about? That's four o'clock. And I was like, but for like five months of the year, five o'clock is dark and then it's evening. So like to me late afternoon is like three, 15 to three 45. Yeah. No? I'm on an island on this one.

Yeah. Sorry. That's all right. I thought you guys would have my back. All right. That's going to do it for us here today on the P.H.L.I. Eagles podcast, a lot of fun. Seeing the Bowen Family Kitchen, seeing France film room.

And I am, of course, here at the PHLI offices. Bo, myself, and Rich Hoffman. We'll be back tomorrow as Zach Berman just yells at the clouds of the beautiful Caribbean around him that he's on vacation and he couldn't break the Matt prior news. It's eating them up inside. But we'll be back tomorrow here on the PHLY Eagles podcast. Thanks everybody for tuning in. Hit that thumbs up button on your way out of here. And don't forget, great diehard sale going on. If you want to get all the great writing of Les Bowen and Fran Duffy and Zach Berman and

Bo Wolf plus the rest of our incredible staff here, great time to get in. And we'll see you soon.