PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - MINI-BYE ADJUSTMENTS: What Can Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo Do to Jumpstart Philadelphia Eagles?

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

The Philadelphia Eagles entered their mini-bye at 4-2, coming off a humbling 34-17 loss to the lowly New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. And on Monday, they were caught off-guard when edge-rusher Za’Darius Smith shockingly retired. What changes are in store as the Eagles prepare for the Minnesota Vikings? Will Howie Roseman address the edge-rusher position at the NFL Trade Deadline? Can Nick Sirianni get his team more tough, detailed and together? What can Kevin Patullo and Jalen Hurts do to make the passing game more consistent, particularly with star receiver A.J. Brown? What can Jeff Stoutland and the Eagles’ banged-up offensive line do to create more holes for Saquon Barkley? Can Vic Fangio scheme around a weak second cornerback position? EJ Smith and Rich Hofmann discuss on this episode of PHLY Eagles. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to the P. H.L.Y. Eagle Show presented by Bet365 and Ashley and live from the Xfinity Studio. I am not Bo Wolf. My name is Rich Hoffman, but we'll be back tomorrow. Yeah, it is. It is me. And this is E.J. Smith, who just learned that it is me as well. E.J., how we doing, my man? I got to say, I'm happy you made it in the day because you were putting out some, I think some food porn is the right term on the old timeline. Yesterday? Yeah, you know, I got to be honest, Zadaria Smith wasn't the only Smith in the Philadelphia area who woke up this morning. After the mini-bye, you see the clouds outside. It's a dreary. It's cold and it's rainy. It's just a bad combo. woke up this morning and thought to myself, man, it would be nice to stay in slow motion today. Now Zadaria Smith, he's got some more capacity for retirement than I have at this stage in my life. I'm only 31 years old. I wasn't planning on retiring, but you know, listen. you can't knock the guy. Well, maybe you can, but I understand. I understand those early mornings.

Look, I'm happy you made it up here, but the idea of the breaking news graphic of E.J. Smith retires. He informs. He heard that the elevator was broken in the studio today and was like, I am not climbing up those seven flights of stairs. He informs the PHLY staff after the equivalent of five games of podcasting. Yeah. Zadaria Smith is done.

By the way, those stairs are. absolutely brutal. Yeah, they're like creaky too, which just adds to the misery, but I mean, I'm going to be positive about it. It's a good workout. It's a great workout. Yeah, you know, it's, uh, you know, it's like a little mini stairmaster right before the show gets the energy up. Yeah. So Zadaria Smith, like you said, uh, he did retire. He said, you know what? I am completely done with this today. And E.J., I guess my first question is, well, it's not even a question. I think everybody should just stay tuned for this week's episode of Brandon Graham on block to see Howie Roseman offer BG a contract on air.

No, I'm kidding. You should still listen to the show and subscribe and all that stuff. But I have a few questions for you about this Sedaria Smith retirement. I mean, it was fast. He signed the day after the week one win over Dallas, and he did not even make it to week seven. So first question for you, EJ, is this something to be viewed as separate from the general malice of the start of this season, or do you find it linked in any sort of capacity?

I mean, I think the only link that I would trace back to is that Zadaria Smith did sign with this team because he felt like, you know, this team had a chance to win a Super Bowl. And I don't think it's as simple as saying, like, his retirement announcement is a reflection of how he feels about the team. But I do think, like, let's be real here. Like if the Eagles were 7 and 0 or, yeah, 7, no, that's the right math. That's the right, man. If the Eagles are 7 and O right now, like,

Winsidarius. I'm going to get the advocacy out. I might need the advocates for a second here. But yeah, if Eagles were 7 and O, does he still have the same decision? It's an interesting question. But I do think more so, I think that you should view this in a vacuum. Like, this is a guy who did not go through. I think Fray made a great point during our emergency pod.

Like, you know, he is someone who did not go through off-season training. He did not go through training camp. You know, because of all those things like, you know, the short week, you play Sunday, you play Thursday and then you get the mini buy, you get the weekend off. It probably is important to remember like all of the context about like he probably didn't feel great coming out of that game. And then, you know, this is the morning where you wake up. Again, it's a jury out there and you have to make a decision on like if you want to, you know,

continue. You want to, you want to get back to the facility and go again. So to me, I think that that's primarily my view of it is kind of just like a personal decision. You know, again, I know that he informed the team this morning. So it seems like something he thought. thought about throughout the weekend. So yeah, I don't think it's necessarily like a reflection of like, oh my God, like things are going terribly with the Eagles that they've got guys just like jumping ship.

I don't think it's that simple. I think that, again, like the record might be a small factor in it, but I think it's mostly just probably a guy toward the end of his career deciding like the grind of a season is too much, too much for him. The MetLife turf takes another victim. And yeah, I think that's probably right. If they were six and oh, by the way. That's the right number.

Oh, so I was wrong. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's week seven, you know. Yeah, if they were six and oh right now. That's pretty easy math. Although I didn't correct you right away as well, too. So I'll take at least a quarter of the player.

So the abacus needs to become like a permanent fixture on the show at this point. Yeah. Because you're moving up to one, two, three. So yeah, more of just kind of a hits keep on coming type of thing. I guess how was he to deal with in the locker room? Like, was he like, he was there. Yeah. I mean, obviously a veteran player or somebody who, I don't know, I tend to find the veteran.

and guys more interesting just because, I don't know, they've experienced more. And, you know, they've probably played for a few other teams around the NFL. We'll get the Lane Johnson's quotes in a couple segments here, which I thought were pretty important. But I guess what type of vibe was he given you? Did you think this was coming? No, it kind of definitely came out of left field because I, I remember asking him after week one, like how much do you feel like you have left in the tank?

And I really, what I was getting out with him and I think that it's always, because I always find it interesting with players toward the end of their careers. Like what do you what is your plan post football? Like what are the things you want to do once you retire? And I wanted to get a sense from him if he had thought about those things. And he clearly didn't. He clearly he pushed back very hard on the notion that like he was toward the end of his career. He talked about the fact that he only played one year of high school football.

He said he was young in the game still and that he never had fears like going through training camp without a team that he was not going to be on an NFL roster. So it was literally a little bit over a month ago that he was saying these these things. and I think it does show you how quickly his mind changed about like being someone who thought that he had like, you know, a year or two left in the league to being like, you know what, this is, this is it for me. Look, I get it, right? He did not go through a training camp.

He probably was like, man, this is tougher than I thought it was going to be. He wasn't playing bad, though. You know, he leads the Eagles eddresher group with 1.5 sacks, which is its own conversation. Well, E.J, you just led me into question number two. And I'm sure you know the answer. but why don't you tell everybody who the king of the edge rusher room is now that Zadaria Smith has retired.

It's Patrick Johnson. Patrick Johnson with one sack is the... I wanted to tweet out earlier today like Zadariah Smith is the only edge rusher with a sack. And I was like, oh wait, no, Patrick Johnson is up to a sack on the season. So they have Jalick's Hunt,

Patrick Johnson, Josh Hushay, and Aziz Ojalari. Those are the four healthy edge rushers on the active roster right now. Yeah. And I mean, look, Patrick Johnson, invaluable special teamer, a guy that they, they waived at the beginning of last season, got him back this year. The idea that in week seven after a four and two start,

which is six, I got to get this in my head as well. The fact that he's walking into the edge rusher room with, who's that, Jeremiah Washburn in there? Yeah, and he's like, all right, you guys got to catch up to me. Now, you got to get on my level with one sack. That's not a great spot for, uh, for the Eagles to be in. Okay. So with that in mind, and I know you touched on this a little bit with Fran, but does this change the Nacobi Dean calculus at all? I forget what exact pot it was. It might have been last Wednesday when you had Fran and the professor on. I think one of you talked about, you were talking about the whole Nacobie Dean, you know, situation and with the two linebackers already entrenched and playing very well.

And somebody talked about how an injury, which you're not rooting for, could technically clarify the situation where, okay, somebody goes down, then you just play the other two guys. Could an injury to the edge rusher group clarify things? Because like, look, I personally don't think they're going to mess with it. But I think we have to admit, if there was ever a situation dire enough for the Eagles to give it a shot, it's probably looking something like this. Yeah, I still have a hard time getting there. Let's take Zach Bonn out of this conversation completely because I think I have very little,

like there's a very low chance that I. I think they're going to take one of the, if not the best offball linebacker in the NFL and say, hey, why don't you play edge for us? You know, we really need some help off the edge. I think he is a separate conversation. I think that Jihad Campbell, I'm still not really convinced that he is an edge rusher in Vic Fangio's eyes based off the answers that he's given us throughout the season. I don't think that I think he has a future to be able to play both, you know, the Andrew van

Van Ginkle role. Like, I think he could grow into a more versatile role. But I think, especially after watching him in training camp when they think, threw so much at his on his plate. And he did sort of struggle at times with all of that. And they paired it back. And ever since then, he's played really well. You know, as an off-ball linebacker, he has been very effective. So to me, I don't think you mess with the rookie. I don't think you tell him like, okay, I know you've been playing great as an off-ball linebacker. I know he plays as an overhang player sometimes against the run, especially. But I just don't

think you want him taking too many like true pass rushing snaps. But I mean, Fran mentioned it earlier today. Like, if you think that that is part of his future, maybe it is like, okay, listen, like, we're going to start getting you some of those reps now, get you, get you integrated earlier than we expected because of an injury situation, because you do have Nukobi Dean who can backfill that linebacker spot. To me, I still think the best way to insulate, like the lack of production on the edge, is to just continue to blitz those guys. But between Jihad Campbell, Zach Bond, if you rotate Nekobi Dean into that linebacking core, we've seen the Eagles use a lot of SIM pressures. I think that we could continue to see them

use a lot of sim pressures where if you don't like your edge rushers rushing off the edge, drop them into coverage every once in a while. And then it's not like they have like elaborate coverage responsibilities. It's really just dropping to a spot and, you know, kind of being a body in space. But I think that they can compensate for it. But realistically, and I still struggle with this one because I think in like a sim pressure world, like it's becoming more popular. You're seeing more teams really lean into them.

I can't believe that the Eagles offense isn't better against it with how much the defense does it. Yeah, right. Exactly. Get into Petulow's show him like Get into his office and show him how this stuff works. Look at look what Baker Mayfield

or look what Jackson Dart did against this sim pressure. But yeah, I just think like I still have a hard time believing that the Eagles can win like high leverage games against elite quarterbacks without addressing this edge group. Yeah, I definitely think so.

And like, look, I appreciate that Vic Fangio has more of sort of a holistic view of the defensive end position. Sure. If you're if you're Bryce huffing it up, in run defense. Uh-uh, that's,

that's not gonna walk. You need to be more well-rounded. I think he talked about it at his press conference last week as well when he got asked about the edge rush group. And he was like, look, you know,

uh, it's down across the league. We're getting closer than you think. Like he didn't seem too worried about it. He doesn't build his defense. Like you mentioned, he does not build his defense around like edge pressure or really just like, he's not as relying on the front four being the dominant forces.

Like we've seen past Eagles defensive coordinator's be. No, and look, I think that's a good thing because that means you have more ways to win. And I would argue that with the blitzing, is it great that he's blitzing in large part because they're not getting pressure with the front four? Like, no, but it shows that there is a malleability with him and that he's willing to try different things. I like that. But like you said, like that is a core element of your football team. At some point, you are going to be able, you are going to have to be able to get home with those four guys. The other thing with Campbell real quick to put a bow in that too,

he doesn't look like he quite has the size of an edge rusher. Yeah. I mean, but he's like not too dissimilar to Nolan in stature. I mean, Nolan just is like crazy off the edge. So it kind of works. But yeah, I'm with you.

He definitely, he's not, he wouldn't be a conventional edge rusher. And he's definitely not like, if we're talking about him as like part of that rotation, it is kind of funny because you kind of need two guys now. You need like the guy who's just going to give you credible, like snaps down and down out,

like an early down guy, a dirty work guy, because that was some of the stuff you were getting with the Darius Smith. You also kind of need a difference maker. You need a guy who can put in high leverage downs and stuff like that. So I don't know which one Jihad Campbell really falls in. You know, I don't think you're like going,

that guy's going to give us, you know, the key pass rush on the third down, but you also probably don't want them out there on early down, just like cracking skulls with offensive tackles with the line of scrimming. Definitely, that's how it gets hurt. Exactly. So it's not a, it's not a clean fit.

Again, I mean, they are in a bad spot. There are not very, like, there's not a good option right now at edge rusher. The good option would have been for Aziz O'Giari or Josh Usche to hit at a higher rate than they have. So to me, they are going to have to figure this out, you know, like midseason. And that inherently is going to leave them without a lot of good options. That's a good tease for the next segment. We have Kevin and CDP in the chat. They're offering Cooper DeGine and Keely Ringo as potential edge rushers as Kevin says,

terrible edge rusher. Kevin says, Keeley's got to be good at something. It's a shot of you, by the way. It's not a shot at me. I'm keeping my Keeley Ringo stock. I mean, there's no sense in selling it at this point. That's a Wolf of Wall Street. I do remember any stock at this point. Jim Schwartz used to say that like Avante Maddox could play any position on defense.

I think we're getting there with Cooper to Jean. Like, that guy could probably play Eddresher. Oh, yeah. I mean, look, I mean, the the rush he had against Bo Nix on that controversial non-fumble was, that's just a beautiful rep by him. It is, it is, it is, And before we get to break, I will say it is kind of crazy that last season ends in the Super Bowl with a historically great defensive performance.

Uncle Vic tells Zach Bonn at that point. Like, you know, Zach Bonn in the miced up afterwards, he goes to Uncle Vig. He's like, man, you didn't blitz at all. It was pretty crazy. And Vic just tells him, he's like, we didn't need to, right? Yeah. So clearly they need to this year. And I know last season, the story, the overarching story about the Eagles dominant defense.

last season was the back seven, right? And just how well they passed off routes, how well the linebackers played, Zach Bond's maturation, Quinyat Mitchell getting better and better as the season goes along, Coop getting put in in the middle of the season and really turning things around and allowing them to play nickel

against a lot of run-heavy formations. That said, we got left off with one of the most dominant games of four-man pass-rots ever. It kind of papered over the fact that, like, midway through the season, toward the back half of the season, there were legitimate questions about if the Eagles, pass rush was good enough for them to win a Super Bowl.

Oh, I mean, at this point in September last year, I remember watching that, that Monday night game against Atlanta, I was like, oh, my Lord, like they're never going to get to the quarterback and all. They made Kirk Cousins look amazing. So, look, you can work around this a little bit, but yeah, it's, I mean, they had the differences last year, even though they struggled early on, like William's was here. Yeah. Josh Sweat was here.

Jalen Carter was healthy and playing too. So a little bit of a different calculus now. It is the situation that the Eagles are in. Okay. Now, as EJ mentioned, you know, they're probably going to have to make a move at midseason. And we are going to talk about some of the potential players that they could acquire. And that will be a way to sort of jump into what are these guys going to do over the mini by? Like what are the main things that E.J. and I would change.

What are the biggest areas of need for the Eagles to address? and we will get to those after hearing from a few of our friends. And guys, it is cozy season. Holiday steals, they are here at Ashley Furniture. It's the perfect time to get your home ready for the holiday season, whatever you celebrate and save big. And Ashley has stunning dining sets for all of your holiday feast to super cozy sectionals, perfect for movie nights.

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Is it, is it a cozy season? You know, it actually, it's a cozy season. I like a cozy season. Well, you're not cozy right now. No, I do kind of wish you went with the hoodie. I didn't know if my hoodie was dressing enough for the show. So I skipped it. I mean, do you not have the show like dress code down? You know, I think you can kind of wear whatever you want. I mean, I'm still the new guy. So like, are you, are you looking? Are you looking? at what Bo and Fran are wearing every day and saying like taking an actual note of it, but just like the general feel. Not to like put Fran's business out here, but sometimes he'll wear like, he'll wear like, I mean, I won't name the brand, but he'll wear like really comfy like like workout shorts

because I mean, we're under the desk. Well, he's got to show off the thigh. Exactly. And I, I mean, if I had those thighs, I would too. Absolutely. But I've been taking note of that. Like, you know, my pants, they don't really matter. I mean, I'm going to wear pants, but like, yeah, but they're not the dressiest pants in the world.

Okay. Yeah. That's good. Well, I mean, it's, I remember when, so my dad used to be on Daily News Live. Of course. A lot, flex, yeah. Shout out to Rich Senior. But anyway, those guys had to wear suits and, you know, dress shirts and a lot of guys that you used to work with at the Inquirer as well.

And my dad, at some point, like five or six years in, he told me, he's like, yeah, man, everybody's just wearing shorts underneath the desk. Yeah, they actually got mad at Comcast Sportsnet in the daily news when they went to a set where the desk was not blocking their pants. They were like, oh, man, I got to wear real pants. Like, I got to buy more pairs of pants now. No, no, I'm, you know, I'm dressed, you know, nine to five up here and I'm wearing gym shorts. Yeah, it's like the mullet of like sports reporter wardrobes. It's like a business up top party on the bottom. Whenever I'm hosting the show with you, which I love doing, by the way, if you just want to drop a text, like, hey, is this cat?

Monday or are we dressing up a little bit. I'd be happy to let you know, love coordinating before going to an event with my guys and you're one of them. Yeah, I appreciate that. Okay. Some good closed talk there. Welcome back to the P.O.I. Eagle Show presented by Bet365 and Ashley Furniture. Okay, EJ.

So we did talk about how the Eagles, look, they're going to need to address the addresser position, which is kind of crazy considering. how bad the CB2 spot is. And it's just like how dire that looks. And I agree. I think you talked about it on the, I guess it was on the Friday. Like,

yeah, look, I think you have to address the ad dresser first and then just try to figure that one out later. Don't feel good about that by, by any means. So if you look back at Howie Roseman's past trade deadline history, look, Howie Roseman,

one of the best GMs working in sports. Yeah. That's a checkered history. The in season trades, Look, there have been a few that have completely paid off. I think the big one, J. J. Jai, that was a great trade for that team. But some other ones that you look back and you're like, oh, yeah, that wasn't great. And if you look at the edge rusher position, if you can remind me if there are any other ones that I'm thinking of,

but the two names that come to mind right away are Gennard Avery, who like, yes, that was really bad. Like he just, like. That's in the tank, Biggsby of how it was in trade. That's the tank Bigsby tier of Howie Roseman trades right there. You never go full Bigsby, and he did it twice. No, look, I think that's a lesson that Howie Roseman, like, as good as he is, like, he has some whiffs as well. And I think part of what makes Howie Roseman really good is that he continues to stay

aggressive and understands that not every move is going to work out. But, yeah, the Gennard Avery one, yeah, that was not great. And the other one that I'm thinking of is Robert Quinn a couple years ago as well. So if they do dip into the edge rush or pool, I hope it's a little bit better. than that. So let me ask you a question, because we were going to talk about what the biggest fixes were for the Eagles.

Like what we thought were the biggest areas of need, what are the things that we think specifically they need to improve at. And both of us, even before Zadaria Smith rolled out of bed and said, I'm done. Both of us had on our list, like they need to find an edge rusher at the trade deadline.

And when you look at Howie Roseman, you know, when you look at the offensive side of the ball, I view it as that's a coaching thing. Like look, Howie Roseman can look at that and he can go to Nick Siriani. He can go to Kevin Petulow. He can go to Jalen Hertz.

Whatever the collective is, because I know it's not that simple. And Jalen Hertz is going to, is going to, the offense is going to look how Jalen Hertz wants it to look. I'll take a drink every time I hear that. But they can look at the offense or how we can look at the offense and say,

look, you guys got to figure it out. Like there's continuity here. There's high price players. There's talent all over the place. should not look this bad. I think when he is looking at this roster and the personnel, he's got to look at the defense and say, that is where I come into play.

And I think the big name, we kind of split up the names that the Eagles should trade for. I took the more obvious one. E.J. takes a more detailed look at the entire league. For me is Trey Hendrickson. I guess my first question is, water gun to your head.

What does Trey Hendrickson go for at the Denver? It's a good question. I would have said a day two pick, probably, I mean, for the last couple weeks, I would have said a day two pick, probably a second, maybe an early, a team that you would expect to have an early third. Maybe you could do that with a player attached to it. To me, like, the, the arms race for a pass rush, I think is going to be an interesting thing to watch over the next couple of weeks as we approach the trade deadline. I think, you know, there's been even some reporting nationally about like, there's going to be

a real push from other teams that feel like this is a season. in which they're going to contend that are going to push for edge rush. They're going to push for, you know, past rushers in general. So could it move up to a one? I wouldn't, I probably wouldn't go that far.

But I still think a second rounder is probably the ballpark for a player like Trey Hendrickson. So who are the other teams that you think are going to be involved? I think I've read San Francisco, Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay,

I think are good ones. I mean, obviously Green Bay already made their trade. I think Buffalo would be an interesting one. If you're the Steelers, you probably A, don't really, you think the Steelers review themselves in the market for a pass rusher? I feel like they're pretty well stocked on in terms of pass rush, especially on the edge. They're four and one, right?

Yeah, no, they're four and one. They're right on pace to have like a little, little dip at the end of the season and get their nice nine and eight year. Chargers and, I mean, the Colts even. Like, I mean, if you're the Colts, are you just like, let's push some, push some chips into the middle of the table here. So I think that exactly who it's going to be will be to be determined. but I think there are at least a few like surprise contenders. I mean, even the Patriots are four and two. There are a few surprise contenders there that are like, yeah,

you could see a team like really pushing to get an edge rusher at the deadline. So Trey Hendrickson, 30 years old, I believe he came to a one year agreement with the Bengals after long holdout. So obviously like older player now at a position that ages pretty well. He's playing on just an awful defense right now. So I might just throw away whatever you're seeing from him this year. Yeah. And look, is like a very, am I wrong that the book on Trey Hendrickson, besides all the sacks

that he had last year, is that he is a high energy sort of player. Yeah, he's like, he honestly is very similar to Nolan Smith and like some of the things you'll get from him. You'll get effort on early downs. You'll just get like relentless motor on past rushing, in past rushing situations. And he has been productive. I think he had 18.5 sacks last season. He is a guy that you can put in.

Like, like, I want to continue to set. separate the edge rusher conversation. Like they could use a guy that just gives them snaps. I think that they need probably two guys at this position. But Trey Hendrickson, it probably like headlines the list of potential difference makers that you could add at that position. That's nice.

Yeah, little Philly's bullpen parallels at the trade deadline, right? That's a good one. You need the Duran, but you also need the David Robertson. Exactly. As well, too. And by the way,

you need to do it better than they pay. This is why you, this is best newsletter newsletter in the city right here. And this is why. Yeah, give me a subscription. It's in the comments every time. time. It's free. Please subscribe. Yeah, I got, I got some. Because that was a really good, like, on the fly comparison right there. I wasn't coming up with that because I do think edge rushers and

the bullpen, there are some parallels there. You know, it's a, it's a lower, uh, strings attached position at the trade deadline that you can add, but makes a huge impact. Yeah, definitely. And the other benefit for Trey Hendrickson as well is that he'll get to learn the tricks of the trade from Fred Johnson, who completely shut him down last year. I think he, Fred Johnson, if I recall, got Trey Hendrickson's jersey after that game. So a little synergy, which is the opposite of some of the guys that I'm going to bring to the table here. There's not necessarily great synergy between existing members of the Eagles coaching staff

and these two guys, but we're going to throw them out anyway. Well, that sounds like Miami Dolphins today. Yes. So Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb to, I think, yeah, Jalen Phillips. No, Jalen Phillips has not been a pro bowler. Bradley Chub, two-time pro bowler. There's going to be a trend with some of the. guys I bring up because the other one I want to bring up is New York Jets Eddrescher Jermaine Johnson,

who I just really liked coming out of the draft. Germain Johnson and Bradley Chubb both coming off of pretty serious injuries. Bradley Chubb had a torn ACL last year. Germain Johnson had a ruptured Achilles last season. If you're looking at like production this season, Bradley Chub has done better. He has had he has four sacks so far this year. So he's an intriguing one. Again, like the Vic Fangio connection. Like I hear so many people talking about like, when the dolphins fire Mike McDaniel, could the Eagles hire him as an O.C.? Like, you got to remember, like, the Vic Fangio's experience with Miami, that one year did not seem to go great.

Not great. So I think that that is an important thing to keep in mind with all these guys. But at the same time, like, I mean, we saw the Eagles hire Matt Patricia when Darius Slate was already in the building. I think that those things can be overstated. So, yeah, I think both of those dolphins edge rushers would represent upgrades and would be maybe a little bit cheaper than Trey Hendrickson, especially Bradson. Bradley Chub coming off of the injury.

Jalen Phillips just hasn't been as productive as Bradley Chub the season. He's only got one sack so far this year. So I know that Vic Fangio is hard to play for for some players and the dolphins. They didn't look great with complaining about Vic's methods, especially when Vic goes to Philadelphia and basically wins a Super Bowl on the back of his coaching. I do kind of wonder if Vic like doesn't even remember that era. He's just like, oh, yeah.

I mean, yeah, it was weird to hear. Yeah. I don't even like, Jalen Phillips, Bradley Chubb. Yeah, I might have three conversations. He doesn't seem to care very much about edge rushers.

So yeah, he might be like, who? Just get me a body in here that can play. Okay, Jermaine Johnson, the Jets, clearly going to be sellers

at the trade deadline. By the way, I was rooting really hard to make the joke after the game ended yesterday. So the Broncos played the Jets in London early yesterday. And it was like a complete slog.

And the Jets were winning. into the fourth quarter. I think they were up 1110. It was an absolutely gross game. And I was waiting to make the joke that Sean Payton should drive his bus through central London after a, after a loss to the Jets. But unfortunately, that Broncos defense is very good. Justin Fields is a, that's a tough watch, I got to say. Yeah, I was like, I still kind of, I have a toxic relationship with Justin Fields as a quarterback. Do tell. I just, I believe in him. I watch him struggle. Did you still believe? I'm not going to give up at this point.

Again, another one where it's like, what's the point? And I think the listeners of the show will know that I'm not always so like, like stubborn about takes. Like, you know, I threw the talent on the Eagles condensed formations early. You know, like there are certain things I will concede are just, it's time to give it up. And maybe it is time to give it up with Justin Fields. But he's exactly the type of quarterback that I am in the tank for. Like, traitsy, like, you know, just a guy that you like, he needs to learn.

in the process of the game, but like, that's what the coaches are for to me. So I've never seen so many misthrows on outroutes. He was throwing back shoulders on out routes, which is bad because that's where the defender is on out of him. I do think that, like, his confidence is shot, and it's probably time for me to give it up, but I just, somebody can fix him. I just feel like somebody will fix him. And I'm not ready to give up.

He seems like a pretty good dude. I thought he handled his, his benching last year in Pittsburgh pretty well, even though the team was playing pretty well. He's just doing terrible situations. Like, I understand, like, he's now been in, like, four different situations, and it's, like, at some point, it's just him. But I don't know. He's just, like, again, I know it's irrational.

It's just that that's my type of quarterback. I don't know. So again, for the second time, water gun to your head. Do you think one trade or two trades for an edge rusher for the Eagles? I think probably one trade and then one free agent signing. And I'm, could it be Brandon Graham? possibly, but that's like, that's not, that's not a P.H.O.I reporting. It's like just my own speculation here. I think that they need somebody, whether it is a Brandon Graham type or just

somebody else, they need to add another just rotational piece to that, to that group. I would agree with you. How's BG's arm doing? Is that? I mean, I'm less concerned about the triceps and more like he looks like he's lost a lot of weight. That's what most football players do, right? Right. So, I mean, you see him in those rompers. Well, they're not rompers. They are just, like sets. They look like rompers. And like, I don't know, most defensive linemen. For Monday next time we, we pod.

I've been telling Bo that he needs to get one of those. Yeah, Bo needs to like, and he should just go straight romper. He shouldn't, it shouldn't even be a set. Imagine what France dies would look like in the romper too. Now we're talking. But yeah, I mean, he does most defensive linemen, if they were wearing that type of stuff, it wouldn't look as good as BG's, uh, as BG is pulling it off better than most defense of Lyman. I would agree with that. BG. is the man. I think that's probably far-fetched that they're

able to get him. I don't know. I'm not in BG's head. Obviously, listen to the show every week. Love having him as a teammate. But man, I mean, what a what a great story to end on, you know, winning the Super Bowl. No, I said this last week, right? It's like he wrote off into the sunset and now he's going to drive back from the sunset. I don't know. It is, it is, it's a tough one, but I think it's like a fair discussion at the video. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, look, it's the same discussion that we were having with Jihad Campbell being the edge rusher, like, look, it's a dire situation right now.

I think all options have to be on the table. And I think if you're the Eagles, especially, I think you would definitely have to call. Yeah, you make the call for Brandon Graham, for sure. Okay, that was sort of the edge rusher discussion. Yeah, we got one of our resolutions out of the way, I think. After the break, we're going to talk a lot more about the offense and what we want to see, which is more kind of scheme-based, player-based.

I think they have the ingredients. there to be better than what we have seen so far. It has not been great. It certainly was not great again at MetLife Stadium, which is a house of horrors, even if the Eagles sometimes win by a lot there. I just never like playing there. Okay. And we will talk about that after hearing from a few more of our friends.

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presented about. I bet three, six, five, and Ashley Furniture. All right, E.J., let's start talking offense. Hold on. I got to address one thing in the chat. Let's do it. Provalon, John, I appreciate the suggestion. I really, I do.

I like the idea of a P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast after dark. I'm not sure if my Julia would like that as much as I would. But we can't be calling our Julia, not E.J.'s Julia. Because I also have an appreciation for our Julia. And she's the original. She's the original Julia. So OJ, you want, no, OJ doesn't really work, does it? No.

All right. Our Julia, that's also OJ. We're not talking orange juice either. Double OJ, maybe. Juice, baby. Don't put that on Julia. Yeah, don't, don't. Yeah.

But a good suggestion. I like a P.H.I. Eagles podcast after dark. I have so many jokes. in my head that would get me fired right now and let's move on to the offense. The juice, man. It's not even Tuesday yet. Tomorrow show. This is a bad sign for the week. Already a loopy Monday. Okay, E.J. Let's get it together. All right. Give me your number one fix that you were looking for on the offensive side of the ball. My number one fix for the Eagles offense is to be start prioritizing the run-pass option and play action game.

If you look at, and Julia, I think we have a graphic up or a graphic about Jalen Hertz's play-action numbers, because at least for, you know, most tracking sites don't delineate between play-action and run-pass options. I know some of the fancier ones do, but for our access, like, I'm just going to go off of play-action. So if you look at his play-action drop-back percentage over the last four seasons, it's steadily declined, which I find interesting because if you look at that 2022 season, It was up to 31.1% play action dropbacks.

Obviously, that was an MVP caliber season for Jalen Hertz. And if you look at last season, he was completing 73% of his passes. That's even up this year to 75%. The yards per attempt is a glaring difference. He was at 9.3 yards per attempt in 2024. He's down to 5.9 this season. And his EPA per dropback has dropped significantly as well. But really the usage, again, the steady decline in play action dropbacks for Jalen Hertz,

I mean, the first four games of the season, you could talk me into like, okay, this is going to be more of a passing offense that relies on Jalen Hertz seeing things and diagnosing things. But really, the first thing you'll hear from a lot of offensive coaches is how much the play action game can open things up for a quarterback, how it can give them easy answers. And we've been looking at an Eagles offense devoid of answers for most of this season, especially the last two games. I think that they need to simplify things for Jalen Hertz. And I'm going to save the other part of my RPO argument for my second resolution. but let's just say that I think it could also be a little bit of an identity for the Eagles offense, especially on early downs in lieu of a running game. So I think it really has a multi-faceted benefit. I've, I kind of went into the season thinking, okay, like RPO's aren't really as

in vogue across the league as you would think, but I watch the Chiefs on Sunday night football and they run plenty of RPO's. You know, they do give Patrick Mahom some of those easier, you know, those easier throws and easier decisions. And I think when you look at the Eagles offense, it's to argue that they couldn't utilize that that that part of their system more often and again it's something we've seen them do in the past yeah and I remember we were sitting next to each other in the in the press box for a flex for the Broncos game and making a Broncos sorry there was there was a great tweet I'm gonna I'm gonna bungal it but I believe O.J. Howard was taken after Garrett Bowles, who was a white Bronco. Yeah. That's awesome.

Yeah. Okay. That's all. I used to drive a Bronco. Oh, yeah? Yeah. We should, we shouldn't talk about this anymore. We're going to get ourselves in trouble. Is this before you knew the last 30 years of the white Bronco? Oh, I was aware of it. Oh, yeah? Yeah. I didn't drive a white Bronco, though. I wasn't a white Bronco. It wasn't a white Bronco. Oh, okay. That's fine. Yeah. I mean, a white Bronco would have been fine, too. It would have been funny. It would have been funny. let's move on so you mentioned we talked about the r pos in that game though and i thought dana's made a great point on his appearance the the week after where it was like yeah why did you just bring the the rpo part of the playbook why did you bring that chapter for this one so yeah finding a way to mix in those r pos obviously that 2022 season uh Shane steikin just continually pressed that button and it felt like his sequencing was great um has not been as good

this season. Yeah. And I think your point to, in terms of trying to find a solution that is not simply just run the ball. Yeah. Because it, for whatever reason,

whether it's, these players have taken a step back. I think Brett Tooth coming in for Landon Dickerson until Landon Dickerson gets back and he wasn't even playing to his normal standard. I think clearly because of the injury early on. That sort of ties in a, you came with a very specific suggestion,

E.J. I think they do. My general suggestion is, okay, yeah, it's not run the ball as much as last year, but it has to be a little bit better than what we've seen. So last year, that is elite, elite, elite level run game. You've got to take this from average

or whatever it is. I know in success rate and EPA, they actually are above average in the run game. I don't know how much the push factors into some of those stats. Yeah. But, you know, when you look at Saquan Barclays, like yards before, contact in particular. I mean, it was a joke how much higher he was than everybody in the rest of the league last year.

He was half a yard ahead of Jemir Gibbs in yards before contact. And Jemir Gibbs was number two overall. So, you know, I actually thought, and I'm curious your thoughts on this because you were there. I thought Lane's comments after the game. Yes. Were very interesting. Yeah. I mean, he talked about the Eagles offense being predictable and how it feels as if they are not keeping defenses on their toes, keeping them honest, talked about the fact that if you don't make defenses, keep them off balance, keep them guessing that it can

look the way that it's looked. And he suggested like more outside runs, which I think was really interesting because there was that sequence against the Giants where on first and second down, it was almost identical inside zone runs with Seekoine Barclay and it's just like everybody knew it was going to happen when they, like the second

that Jaylen Hertz gave the ball to Seekoine Barclay on that second down, it's like, okay, this is going to, they're going to, they're going through and out on this drive. So, which is, it is crazy to think about, like, this was one of the greatest run games in the history of the league the year before. And now, like, you're watching Jalen Hertz who handed off to Saquan Barkley and everybody knows that it's not going to go well. But it kind of is like it shows the fragility of it all, you know, the fragility of a run game that good. And it kind of like informs how special last year's run game was that, you know, it is like you hear these guys so say so often. Like it's so close.

They're always one block away. And it's like last year they were so. consistent as a group that it does kind of again inform how special last year's group was but no I'm with you I think that um you know my my second resolution I'll give it to you now was like they need to be more creative on early downs like I think last year the run game afforded them the privilege of not needing to be creative on early downs but I think this year whether it is the rPO game which again it's like you can kind of make defenses wrong no matter what if you run them well or even if it is just as simple as like they run yeah like switch it up have more outside zones

The gap scheme runs are interesting to me. They run like noticeably fewer. Gap scheme runs than they did last year. And to me, are they less successful with those though? To me, the thing about gap scheme runs is like, and I, if your, if your run game is not going to,

if your run game's not like your stay on schedule answer anyway, I like the gap scheme runs better because they do have the potential to hit for more. Like, you know, the explosive runs that you saw the Eagles get. A lot of those did come off of gap scheme runs where you have guys going downhill, guys pulling across the far.

formation. It didn't be so good with those before. And again, it's maybe not as the success is like, the success rate might not be as good. Like, you know, you might not be getting three or four yards every single time. But like last year, they didn't always get three or four yards on those runs. It was about setting it up, you know, kind of like trying to chase that explosive run. I think if they were less reliant on their run game to keep them on schedule, to be the identity on or especially on early downs and you're trying to stay ahead of the sticks, trying to stay out of third and long, if you have the RPO's for that, you have the outside zone. I mean, the zone reads, we haven't seen Jalen Hertz as much as a runner,

as much of a factor in the run game as, as he happens. One of those the other night. Right. Didn't hit. But yeah, we have, it has not been a big part of the game. And yeah, I mean, I think if you run more play action and RPO's like you're talking about, that might stop these linebackers from running downhill. Right.

And selling out to take away the Seekwon Barkley attempt. So maybe it is as simple. It's not as simple as this, but a large part of the issue is, yeah, if you get your play action game down, then maybe Seekwon has a, you know, a few more yards to be able to hit some of these big plays. But yeah, I thought Lane's quotes the other night, super revealing stuff. Like that is a grizzled vet. That is an all-time Philadelphia Eagle. Yes. Whose words carry a ton of weight in that locker room. I feel like he is sort of taken the mantle from his guy, Jason Peters in that regard. And he said that the offense was too predictable.

And I think it was, uh, informative, like, it, it sort of informed how much easier it was than last year, because, so Lane is talking about how it's too predictable, and I clearly agree. Now, I can't give you the exact reasons why it's too predictable. They're, you know, we mentioned play action and RPO, and there are a bunch of different things that they can do. But last year, after that buy, Lane, I guess it was Landon and Milata, they all sat down on Nick's couch, Nick's poor couch.

Had to deal with 900 pounds of those guys. That couch is very sunken in. I don't know if you remember the pre-season hype video they did, like where Nick is in the couch and his feet are like five. feet above his head because the couch is so far sunken in. So I think you're seeing the after effects of all those offensive linemen hanging out in there. His feet are swinging like he's like a little kid. He's a grown man.

That's just not offensive lineman size. Yeah. Yeah. But basically they just said run the ball. And look, I miss run the ball nation. I miss run the ball. But I think everybody understands that it's not as simple as just handing the ball to Saquan Berkeley because they haven't been as good.

And look, some of this is just the personnel. And I wonder if these guys are warning. down from playing an extra month of football. I can tell you that they are. Yeah. And it's not just the month of football that they played, but how much they ran the ball. I think, like, to simplify it a little bit, like, run blocking is harder than pass blocking. You know, like, you're trying to move people at the point of attack.

You've got guys, you know, rolling up onto the back of your legs. You're on the ground more often. Like, pass blocking is still difficult, but like run blocking is more physically demanding. Now, I think most offensive linemen would agree they prefer run blocking. They prefer to be aggressive, but that still does take its toll. You know, and obviously you look at Cam Juergens, Atlanta Dickerson both had off-season surgery. And I remember I talked to Jordan Milata about it a couple weeks ago.

He said that they all really brought last season into OTAs and beyond. So I think you are seeing that attrition up front for them. And look, the difference why I run the ball was the answer was even as the Eagle struggled in those first four weeks, Sequin hit some huge runs in that first month. Had the huge game down in Brazil against Green Bay hit. I think it was a 59-yarder against New Orleans. He hit a 65-yarder against Tampa. I might have reversed those.

But anyway, he had two huge plays in those games. So there was some proof of concept like, okay, if we stick to this, I think this could actually be a more sustainable formula. And we also have a quote from Sequin Barkley. Is this from the other night? Yeah, this is from after the game. And I just think it's interesting because they were predictable last season.

I think it shows how the privilege of having the best run game, that we've seen in a long time, you can be predictable because you're just going to move people out of the way. But I thought it was interesting that what he's calling for is like a more of an attack mindset. You know, he said, I also think we've got to get back to the attitude, the mindset of not really giving a bleep, what people are trying to do. That's something that I'm definitely looking for. And I just, I found it interesting because we've heard the same thing from AJ Brown. You know, obviously AJ Brown has been frustrated for most of the season, but he said a lot of the same thing. He's probably talking more in the past game. Seiquant's talking in the run game, but to me,

like, that is also, it goes back to like the gap scheme runs where it's like just push people around, you know, like, let's be less reactive to like what the look is and just run at people, you know, and I think they have the talent to do it. Do you think people are, uh, are sort of reacting to Sequin's quotes differently than they are to AJ's quotes? I do. Yeah, I think, um, and I, like, to a certain extent I understand it. AJ is clearly frustrated. And I think because of that, what AJ says often carries a lot of weight,

both internally and externally, I can tell you that like, when AJ speaks, the Eagles locker room listens. And like I know like most of the leaders, that is true, but he knows that he can make waves. He's talked before about being willing to be the bad guy in the Eagles locker room,

be the one to say the thing that makes people uncomfortable. So yeah, I do think that AJ, when he says things like that, it does create a reaction. especially externally, but also, to be fair, like, there is an internal reaction to stuff that AJ says as well. So I think Seekwon is probably more of an internal reaction than an external because he doesn't have the history of being the bad guy, quote unquote. It's funny, just judging by the number of people at each of their lockers when they talk.

And look, Sequin, obviously, it was like, you know, best offensive player in football probably last year. The difference in the amount of cameras that are there is somebody who's holding up the phone for old Ph.LY sports. and the Eagles post game show, it's hard to get into those AJ Brown scrubs. Everybody wants to hear what he's going to say. And, you know, after a very frustrating start to the season, I feel like that the intensity and the focus on him is heightened. Okay, we probably have a few suggestions for what to do with the passing offense and AJ Brown as we get closer to overtime.

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And welcome back to the P.HLY. show presented by Bet365 and Ashley. EJ. This is a, I'm moving a little bit off topic before we get into the passing game suggestions. This is a more open-ended question. I know you did talk on the post-game show and the following day as well. What did you think of Jalen Hertz's game the other night? I just, I think the last two weeks have really shown like the, it's been a regression in terms of

like diagnosis, seeing things, making quick decisions with the ball, making the right decisions with the ball. I thought that the interception against the Giants was really like a microcosm of that. And like, I understand like, Fran did such a great job breaking it down. Like, and I understand why Jalen made the decision he made. And I think like the, the accuracy on the throw, or the lack thereof, you know, the ball placement on that throw was really costly, as was just a Justin Fields ball. Yeah, honestly, it was. as was like the fact that he wasn't able to like diagnose and recognize the fact that what he saw pre-snap was not what he was seeing post-snap. And I think like of all the things that do concern

me about the Eagles offense and especially the past game like the evolution of the way the defenses are playing them. I think we've seen like the prolonged, uh, reaction to the action to the reaction from the Eagles offense and the sense of like, you know, for years, it was just blitzed Jaylen. That was all like that was the template that you see from defenses. Send extra rushers. They're not going to be able to sort it out. That's evolved now to sim pressures. Like how about instead of sending five or six or seven rushers because they have Eagles have gotten better with that. Now it is send for but you don't know where they're coming from and then you flood the zone on the back end. And if the Eagles are going to have a bunch of guys staying in for protection like you're not going to have open receivers.

They don't have like, you know, elaborate route concepts that get guys open in space. So I think that's a real that they will have to look at for the mini buy, and that is honestly my third resolution is to be more creative, be more effective against crowded zone coverages. And I think that starts with empty, empty formations. They were good in empty the other.

Yeah, right. And we've seen flashes. And like, my favorite thing about empty with a mobile quarterback is you still have the component of a run game. Like, you still have, and especially like if Sequin Park is in the field, you're one half-hearted Eagles motion away

from being able to run a zone read out of it anyway. But like, the quarterback, draw out of empty has been effective for them in the past. They have the players and the personnel with the offensive line to be a team that majors in it. They're kind of middle of the road in terms of frequency this year. I think that they could bump that up and that that could be an answer against some of those looks at their scene. Yeah, I thought Fran's point too about leaving a couple guys in the block like seven against three on the back end. That's that's hard. And I think you're going to need AJ Brown and Devante Smith to be superhuman. I mean, look, they're capable of it for

for sure, but that's why empty, yeah. I mean, it's a tougher assignment for the defense to, to cover. And this is where it's like, this is why they're, this is like, there's layers to this, because not only like do they need to be more creative schematically, but like at the end of the day, like you asked me about Jalen Hertz's performance against the Giants, like he has to be better. It is really that simple. It can be that simple as saying, like if Jalen plays at a higher level, a lot of these

schematic things aren't as big of talking points. Like, you know, he as an extender of plays. and a scrambler this year has not been as effective as he has been in the past. And like you would like to see him like extend to throw down field, extend to take shots. The Eagle Scramble Drills this year have been really, really bad. And like, but that's still to me is like, A, you can't build a whole offense out of scramble drills first and foremost. But B, like if Jalen is going to have three, four, five seconds to throw, like that is like

we talk about the lack of pressure for the Eagles defense and how that has ripple effects throughout the rest of the group. like that's the inverse with the Eagles offense. It's like if you've got five seconds to throw, you're extending a play, you're rolling out, you should be able to rip off explosives out of those looks every once in a while. Totally. So I'm going to take

maybe a little bit of an unpopular opinion. I thought the game on Thursday was a little better than some people are making it out the thing. I thought the fact that they responded with the two touchdown drives. He was sharp out of empty. He hit a couple scramble drills as well. He made the two uncharacteristic killer plays

and that's the deep ball to Devante. just you got to hit that throw. And then also, like you said, I mean, that was a misdiagnosis on the John Dotson outpass that turned into an interception. If he reads AJ, that's probably an easy touchdown for him to lay out there. But it's uncharacteristic for him to mess up those plays.

Like, they've been very efficient in terms of scoring touchdowns in the red zone this year. I don't know. I still, again, against a bad Giants defense. And look, I understand that the fact that they're not scoring any points after halftime is really bad right now. Yeah. And that is.

on everybody, it's on the coach is not making adjustments, it's on, you know, the player's not executing all of that stuff. It speaks poorly to the entire team. Yeah, I saw some actual positives in that game from Phelanauts. Yeah. I mean, I agree with you. Like the deep ball, like the miscue to Devante is like, that is just not a, that's not something we've seen from Jayland very much in his career. Like, he is very good on those throws. I think he just missed on that one. It's rare, right? He's got, he's got great touch on those. And that obviously, like, he didn't misread that one as well. And like, look, you know, some of this is that. everything is going wrong for the Eagles right now.

Jay One Hertz made the absolute right read, and A.J. Brown stopped running the week before as well. So it's one of those things. I, the one thing I would say just in terms of like a specific area to adjust, they need to, you know what, why don't we actually, as Julia points out here, as she went from lowercase to all-calf. Like, let's come on now. Don't call her OJ.

Okay, we will be right back after a break, and we will talk to you in overtime. So my fix, E.J. is just, they got to get A.J. Brown in the middle of the field more. Yeah. It's middle of the field, but also the intermediate routes as well. He's only, he only has eight targets in that 10 to 19 yard area. He's got five catches for 82 yards. It's clearly been his most efficient spot of the year.

Again, it's two super small sample size. But we're talking about a guy who, even last year in the Eagles run heavy offense, was second in the entire league in yards per route run. Right. It's the complete opposite this year. This is an inefficient AJ Brown season. Some weeks he is getting targeted. And I think they need to diversify it, right?

And this has been, look, this is not a new talking point. This has been something that in week two, people were talking about, you know, he's just running slants and these ends or he's running deep or whatever. They got to diversify it, whether that's through the RPO game, whether that's through the play action game, get them on a dig, get them on some other stuff. But, you know, AJ Brown, this has been a nightmarish start to the season for him. I cannot believe we're at where we're at right now. One of the best ways to maybe rectify that situation is just get him the ball and start playing better as part of an efficient offense as well.

So, yeah, they got to find a way to scheme him up. And I think that the best way is over the middle in that intermediate zone. You know, it's funny, like anecdotally, and last week you and I talked about the analogy of like you look at a keepers, like the, in soccer, like you look at the goals the keeper does, like concedes to see if they are as good as you think they are because like you might see, okay, like most of the goals this guy gives up or, you know,

just like absolute world class shots, right? Like you can kind of tell more from the the goals allowed than the saves. Yep. I feel like with a wide receiver and again, I want to go back and watch AJ's catches this year. I feel like you can kind of judge like because I know that there's a conversation about is AJ the same player. It's like if you watch his catches

I feel like you look at him and go, this guy's making a ton of contested catches. And like, I guess that could lead to a question about like, is he not gaining as much separation? To me, I'd say, like, it's hard to gain separation when you run like three different routes, you know? Like, and AJ's never really been the type that like runs like really crisp routes. Like he's not like Devante, but he's explosive. And again, it is, I think it's inherently more difficult if it's like you run slants, you run goes. And that's pretty much it.

You don't run very many crossers. Maybe you run like the 12-yard stop route a few times. and the stutter and go. That's really his menu. I think that they need to diversify it. I think that he still is a good enough player that he is like what he says he is. He can be the driving force for an offense.

He can put a stamp on him being the best receiver in football. I know it's really far from that right now, but I still think like if featured more often in this Eagles offense, I think that that is on the table. And I think that he is part of the answer on how you get this thing fixed for sure. Definitely. I mean, you cannot tell me that A.J. Brown, We saw it in the second half against the Rams.

Like how many players in the NFL are capable of completely taking over a game? Yeah, I mean, even against the Giants. If you look at some of the catches against the Giants, like some of these catches he makes are unbelievable. The one on the sideline. Yeah, it's just like there's like what. Honestly, there's maybe one other guy in the league that can make that catch. So he still has that ability. It's just a matter of leveraging it more often.

And that's where like watching games on Sunday, I'm going to watch games tonight. And it's just like, man, you see how other. teams feature their star receiver. You see like Pooka Nakua's heat map after, you know, six games and it's like, man, like, and the Devante, like, the Dvante thing is more of a Devante thing to me. But still, it's just like, like, that's where, like, I like how the Eagles get creative in the red zone sometimes. But like, if you, if you're using your creativity bandwidth there and not on like, how are we

going to scheme these guys open, it's like you're kind of doing your offensive disservice. I like Petulow in the red zone. Little early Andy, that little shovel past this. As France said, maybe run that to AJ next time. Yeah, just get him a touch. Yeah, but that's like the mentality you have to have, right? It's like the entire field. Yeah, and I've like, I've heard from AJ before.

Like, and maybe this is like self-serving for from him from his standpoint, but he wants to get involved early. He's like one of those players that needs to get in that rhythm early. And the Eagles offense has lacked rhythm so much. It is like you should have the mindset like I need to get this guy at touch. Even if it's not like, you know, my favorite play on the, you know, on the whiteboard or it's not at the top of my script. Like I think AJ Brown's inclusion, it shouldn't.

always be part of the script. It is funny that the Eagles fans, you mentioned a lot of my friends text me that, yeah, you saw what I put on my computer. I wanted to make sure I got the meme right. But basically, Eagles fans, they're like, man, do you see all these games on Red Zone?

Do you see how they get these receivers open? And they feel like the meme of Squidward watching SpongeBob and Patrick having fun outside. Meanwhile, there's like a Super Bowl trophy like in the background where they're like, why can't we have these nice things? It's like, you have a Super Bowl trophy right here. But I understand it because, yeah,

when you watch how creative some of these other offenses are, you're just not getting that from the Eagles right now. Okay, we spent a lot of time on like three or four of these. I'll just add one that I have as a suggestion. Stick to the second quarterback and just keep them there. You know, I think. Cornerback, not quarterback, right? Cornerback.

Okay, just making sure we're not saying it's Tanner time. No, no, no, no, no, no. Stick to CB2 and just keep him out there. I don't know who the answers. I mean, I feel like Adory Jackson played better than Keeley the other game. It felt like there was a little momentum for Keeley into this week. I mean, Keeley was a disaster. Yeah, to me, it's like if you told me that the Eagles were in the divisional round of the playoffs

against like the Los Angeles Rams or something, who would I rather have out there? Like, to me, it's like Keeley Ringo is the one that you would say like, he might give up like 15 catches for 250 yards. Adori, you're like, he's going to give up. I'm confident that like Adori is going to give up like eight catches for like 105 yards and you're just going to have to live with it. That's better for 15, 20. Yeah, like, Keeley is the more volatile answer.

And maybe you could talk yourself into him growing into the role. I think that there's still room for that to happen. But yeah, I think that Adori played better than Keeley against the Giants. And like the thing that is interesting about that is it's kind of like the best evaluation tool we've had of them since training camp because it's like both on the field you guys are both on the field same situation same everything like let's see who looks better and I think adore looking better is significant there um so yeah I don't feel great about it but I I sort of lean that way the only thing that is just like ping around my the back of my head especially after Zedaria smith literally just

retires midseason is like some of those turn downs from adoree are really tough um and like I just wonder the line was bad man yeah it's like I don't know it's I saw like LaShawn McCoy suggested that Adori just retire. So I think that's why that's... He might have to start and play every set, man. There's just not a lot of good options back there. But again, like, in terms of like volatility and like, can you just like trust in him not to lose you the game?

I think Adori is probably slightly ahead. I would agree with that. Yeah, it felt like he gave up a few contested catches where the coverage was okay. And yeah, I think you're probably right about that. Also, you mentioned Adori turning down the contact. act around the goal line. Kili Ringo not touching the guy down on the one play. That's just a guy who's head is not in the football.

Yeah, it was, it was, it's just, it's chaotic, right? Like, that's like, it's like, uh, in line with that. It's like, you give up the catch and you just, yeah, you don't like think like I got to just put a hand on that guy. So, I can give you my, my last resolution really quickly, if you want, it's sarcastic. Uh, let Cam Latu return some kicks. I want to see it. I just, you know, I want to see something.

A little bowling ball? Yeah. He's doing everything else so well, except for, um, it's sarcastic for. blocking it was Abdul Carter on the split zone I was so worried I watched that on film and I'm like oh Fran's gonna kill Cam Latu for this

and he was actually pretty nice to Cam Latu on that one so I felt good it's a hard play to make I know I know he made that great block on I believe it was Sequin's touchdown run against the chiefs in week two that's when he really got my attention text Bo and Fran you know

Cam Latu he's interesting and they told me to settle down who's settling down now I think whether it's Cam Latu or Tank Big V knows like something goes off and the light goes off and they got to figure out this field position game. I mean, they're just,

it's a huge part of the game now and they are just at a deficit every single week. Yeah. So yeah, that's going to have to get fixed. Like, you know, I don't have anything insightful to say about that. So maybe,

yeah, maybe give Cam, give him a shot. Okay. Before we get out of here, we have four super super. super chats, it looks like. First from Ed.

How much does the offensive issues bleed into the defense from having to play more? I certainly felt like that was the case on the Broncos game. As in like, so as I'm trying to make sure I'm clear here, bleeding. So this is saying the offense is affecting the way the defense is playing. Just by tiring the amount. Yeah, no, I completely agree. That was my main argument with Bo when he was, you know, ringing the alarm bells after the Broncos game.

It's like, Eagles offense has consistently put the defense in bad situations. like the Tampa game especially like the amount of time that they were on the field I think that that does add up and especially when you're thinking about the run game or the run defense think that that stuff matters now it doesn't absolve them but yeah I think you hear these guys talk a lot about complimentary football and like I almost like you know like hate saying it because of how much you hear it but I think that that is an example where they have not been playing complimentary football no and also some of the defense's best players have have been out in recent weeks as well and so that's just going to add on to, okay, you're tired, your gas, the offense is going three and out at a pretty high rate. And, yeah, it's, it's hard. So I'm, I'm not too worried about the, I'm worried about the pass rush. They're going to have to fix that. I'm assuming how he is going to, and that is less related to the, like, the amount of plays

that they've played. Yeah, exactly. The idea that they were, like, like, the Giants beat them physically the other night. Yeah. That's not good because the Eagles have been accustomed to being the more physical team. They were the more physical team all the way to winning a super. Bowl a season ago. But I think they, especially on defense, I think they can get some of that back, especially

you get Quinnyon back, you get Jalen Carter back. I mean, Nolan Smith, too, one of the most physical players in the league as well. So I'm not, I'm not as worried about that specific aspect of it. Okay, we have Brendan who said, this. It's got. Can you explain that to me? No. Okay.

This guy. team be for real crazy. I am not a sandwich. I got nothing. Did you understand 100% of that? I understood like 80% of it. I was thrown for a loop at the end because I let's be clear. I am also at least semi-washed.

Like I can, I know a little bit about the internet culture of 2025, but not enough to know what the sandwich reference is. No, I feel 100 years old with that one. Assuming that's a young person. Yeah. Yeah, lingo there. All right. From Dr. Prince Blue, EJ, is it Sim pressure or Simp pressure?

Depends on who you ask. I go Sim pressure, but, you know, to each their own. Good answer. Okay, moving on to CDP, who breaks down the team after losses with BG gone? It's a good question. I don't think the Eagles put out a video from the locker room

after each of the last two losses, but I, If he asked me, I would guess. Jalen? At times it would probably be Jalen, but after some losses, I mean, it's been reported before that Jalen hasn't always addressed the team. I think that's why BG being gone is.

It makes it very interesting. I could see Seekwon. I could see it being Seekon. Sequan's the designated loser breakdown? I don't think I'd want that job. Oh, he's a high character gentleman. He's done it a lot with the Giants. So, no, I think that

Those Giants fans on online were They were having a field day with this documentary Years of suffering By the way, by the way, he still won the Super Bowl It was still embarrassing what happened to you guys last year Your franchise still stinks still. I have a closing statement. Okay.

I feel like I'm going to use my like experience As an Asson Villa fan to inform how Eagles fans should possibly feel. Interesting. It's never as bad as you think it is in the moment. It's never as good as it feels. like it is. So it's like when they won four straight, it didn't, it wasn't as good as it seemed, you know, like, I remember writing after that Tampa Bay game, like they have, they're an imperfect team with a perfect record and they have a lot of time to get this fix, but like they're really good.

And then after two losses, it kind of does feel like the wheels are coming off and away, but again, it's usually not as bad as you would expect it, as you feel like it is in the moment. I mean, they are probably a win against the Vikings who are also a shaky team away from at least going into this bi-week feeling better. So, I don't know. I think like we just went through resolutions and pointed out that there's a lot wrong with the team. But I don't know, watching the rest of the league on Sunday. It's like they got time to keep up with the actual heavyweights in the division and the conference. I mean, division's its own thing.

In the conference and across the league. So not saying to feel great about it, but I don't think it is as alarmist as maybe it has felt. Now that we've had the weekend to process all of it. Totally. You watch the rest of the league. And yeah, sure, there are times when I'm Squidward watching the play design and being like, why can't the Eagles have these nice things? But you do see a lot of uneven, very beatable teams, like far from perfection.

Honestly, the team that's probably impressed me the most, like, as far as how they've played, has been Shane Steikin's Indianapolis Colts. They just seem pretty buttoned up, although that was a very close game. Yeah, they feel like they could have like a midseason slump, though. Well, they probably just don't have the talent. Right, yeah. But in the NFC, like what team is like, Oh, man, like, that's going to be such a tough one.

Like, the NFC's the better conference, too. Yeah. Yeah. Like, the Rams look good, but the Eagles beat them already with all of the problems that we talked about. The Bucks, but again, the Eagles beat the Bucks. Yeah, so I don't know. The Green Bay hype, I still really do like Green Bay,

but I guess what I'm saying is you could go through all these teams and you can't really pinpoint one where it's like, man, they really have their stuff together. I guess I could have. Of course, it's overtime. But, yeah, they got time to figure it out. That's what I would say. completely agree. Green Bay did not look very good yesterday as well.

I mean, they had a great first couple weeks, but yeah, they've been very average, I would say, the past few weeks. So you mentioned Astonville. Let's close on this.

Do you, did you ever watch Sam Allardyce coach your team? No. I will never. When you stink, you bring in Big Sam to avoid relegation. If he like the Steve Bruce, like effect,

like it's just like, just get the guy in and just like, you know, just stem the tie. But, but let's not finish in the bottom three. Like let's figure out how to play the next year. Yeah, I want to be clear with everyone.

I will never misrepresent my soccer fandom. I have been a fan for the last three or four years. And like I have gotten really into it. But to the point where I do know some historical stuff, but I wasn't watching soccer 10 years ago. And I'm not ashamed of that. All right. Sounds good, man.

It's a great time. How's the team doing this year? They started really bad. And that's part of my rant about it. There you go. It's never as bad as a team. They're getting out of their, they're getting out of their funk. They've scored goals, which is good, and they're doing well in the Europa League.

If they win the Europa League, I might actually cry, which, again, it's like I've only cared about the scene for a few years. But you can ask, my Julia, there's a real emotional connection to this team now for me. It's probably unhealthy. Hey, buddy, it's good to feel something. You can't feel it with this team. You have to be the Stone Cold Newsman. Yeah. And cover these guys.

objectively. Okay, so I believe for the rest of the week, we have tomorrow, it's you and Bo? Yeah. We have a surprise guest on Thursday. Ooh, what a tease that is. So Wednesday. Julie is like we do. Julia's just figuring that out as well. So tomorrow, you and Bo, Wednesday, it's myself and Bo. We're really going with the different combinations this week as well. Special guest on Thursday. Professor will probably show up on Friday. You know, shit. He'll show up at some point here. We have a loaded week before the Eagles take on the Minnesota Vikings off the mini-bye. Brian Flores, like, he could probably dial up some sim pressures.

He might just dial up some pressure pressures. He's awesome. I mean, as a DC, strictly speaking, as a DC, he's going to have some stuff. Yeah. Well, there's going to be a lot of stuff to talk about this week. I got to be honest. I don't even know is Wentz playing this weekend. I got to be honest, too.

I'm not entirely positive. We'll figure that out with everybody the rest of the week. Thank you to Julia for her production excellence, as always, the original Julia, doing that for us. Okay. And for E.J., I will say, as we close it out here, we love you.