PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Nakobe Dean down, Jeremiah Trotter Jr up? The Eagles defense faces uphill battle

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs, they face it without starting LB Nakobe Dean. Does Jeremiah Trotter Jr get the call u...p to start as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio alluded to? PHLY Eagles will discuss Trotter Jr vs. Oren Burks. Zach Berman joins us from the Novacare complex after head coach Nick Sirianni’s press conference. Plus, Super Bowl Champion Vinny Curry joins the show to break down the play of Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay and the Rams offense. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome into the P. H.L.Y. Eagles podcast, Jamie Lynch, Rich Hoffman with you, and we are presented by our friends over at Bet365. Find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Enter promo code P.HLY 365 at Sign Up. And we thank them as always. I got to cook up today's same game parlay, Rich, for the odds boost on Sunday. When I say winning bets for the Eagles player prop wise on Sunday, what immediately comes to mind for you. Because I went with the Jalen Hertz touchdown last week. In hindsight, with the concussion, probably not the best choice. What do you feel on this weekend? What's in your gut here? Jalen Hertz touchdown. It didn't work last weekend, so we'll run it back this weekend.
Starting point is 00:01:06 I feel like more weeks than not that's going to work out. Yeah, that's why I included it, but, you know, probably a mistake in hindsight. But welcome in. It is Wednesday. This is not a loopy Bo-Wolf from yesterday and Zach Berman, quarreling in here, but hopefully we get some Julia laughs. So it's a tough one to follow up. In all honesty.
Starting point is 00:01:26 But Zach is going to join us from 215 down at the NovaCare Center after Nick Siriani's press conference today. We'll talk about Tim McManus's piece on ESPN that had to do with Nick Siriani. Vinny Curry is going to join the show at 240. But Rich, off the bat, I'm very happy to be doing another Wednesday edition of the PHLY Eagle show because that means the season is continuing. Me too, man. You know, when we signed off last week, I had no idea.
Starting point is 00:01:52 Yeah, it could have been the last. If we were going to meet again. We would have never seen each other again. So hopefully we are doing, what, three more weeks of this, two more weeks of this? I mean five with the week in between. Okay, yeah, so I wasn't even close. Yeah, we'll just keep going for forever. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:06 And if they win the Super Bowl, we'll do it through March. I mean, Stone Cold newsman, Zach Berman is going to continue being the hardest working man in media. So maybe he needs a breather the week after the Super Bowl when he's working on a piece. So let's hope it goes on for a while. And then parade coverage, you know, all this stuff we got to get to. Let me ask you a question. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:23 At this time of the week, obviously, Packers games done, Eagles play. It would felt like a B minus kind of C game when you factor in the offense. Sure. I think that's fair. But heading into last week's game with the Packers record and what you knew about them, are you more nervous this week about the Rams or were you more nervous last week about the Packers? I was not nervous last week. I was supremely confident. You were.
Starting point is 00:02:45 Now, the thing that the media narrative is building, you know, I don't know if you've seen like, I watch NFL network every morning. There's a lot of talk about Matthew Stafford's December and January record being the best of all quarterbacks in football. You know, all of a sudden, you know, Dan Orlovskis of the world are out there saying that this Rams offense is the team that nobody wants to face right now. So like the Rams snowball narrative is snowballing here a little bit. and it's kind of crept into the back of my mind a little bit. So you'll acknowledge that it's a narrative, but you're still scared at the same time. Well, it's mostly Matthew Stafford related. To me, that guy's a vampire that doesn't die easily.
Starting point is 00:03:29 And he keeps the Rams in games. And we're going to let you rant because I can't wait for this about Stafford last week. But yeah, he gives me a little bit of the more so than Jordan Love. And a lot of times the moron hoagie-mouth view, Sometimes I just boil playoff games down to quarterback play. And Matthew Stafford scares me more than Jordan Love does. The Packers are probably a better team than the Rams are. I think that's fair.
Starting point is 00:03:56 Stafford, this is the, this is boiling it down to the least common denominator of football fan. He makes really cool throws. He does. Like he often doesn't look at his receiver. Yeah, no, his arm talent is crazy. He's also not a very mobile quarterback. No, he's not. rush is getting there.
Starting point is 00:04:15 If your coverage is pretty sticky, like Cooper DeGine on Cooper Cup, winning the battle of the Coopers, the first times, even though Vic Fangio said, eh, we played a bunch of zone. Not Vic, Cooper DeGine kind of won that matchup the first time. Yeah, I mean, I think he's pretty scary. And obviously, Sean McVeigh, if you're just boiling it down to quarterback and coach. Combination that you have to respect their ring. You have to respect them.
Starting point is 00:04:38 That said, the rest of their team is not as good as the Pax. No. Now, their pass rush with Fisk and Verse is pretty deadly, and they were killing Sam Darnold on Monday night. But overall, yeah, I think most advantages in this game go to the Eagles. The Rams are coming off a short week, obviously dealing with personal matters off the field and the tragedy that's happening in L.A. They got to travel east, the cold weather. There's just a bunch of things that are very advantage. for the Eagles. And maybe most importantly, Rich, I don't know how you feel about this,
Starting point is 00:05:16 but when there's certain matchups, there's always like a vibe gut check to it. And to me, the Eagles own the Packers. And to me, the Eagles own the Rams. This isn't 2001 anymore. They really have owned them. So like that aspect of it, I feel very confident because I just feel like whether it's Doug Peterson or whether it's Nick Siriani and especially Vic Fangio, They kind of own the Rams and Sean McVeigh. So from a vibe standpoint, I feel great about the matchup. And what did they run for? 300 yards in the last game total.
Starting point is 00:05:51 They ran for, yeah, 314 yards on 45 carries. Obviously, Sequin Barkley had the majority of those. But Kenny Gainwell had a really nice touchdown, though. That was a great moment when Sequin runs down the sidelines to congratulate Kenny as well. Yeah, I mean, Jamie, they won 3720. It was even more lopsided than that. They gave up the classic Vic Fangio. All right, we'll give you a late garbage touchdown
Starting point is 00:06:16 to make it seem like it was closer. And the Rams for some reason were like driving like it was like to win the Super Bowl on that game down the stretch. Look, I mean, that was a very confident win. And it's hard to kind of look at the Rams having to come to Philadelphia
Starting point is 00:06:33 where it's going to be cold. You can get to the weather in a little bit. The very horny polar vortex talking a little bit. what why is the polar vortex got to be horny well it makes me a little randy I love a little polar vortex coming into Matthew Stafford's face
Starting point is 00:06:49 you know oh my god all right moving on moving on yeah it'll be cold and they should be able to run the ball all right
Starting point is 00:07:03 diverting from that talk I do have to let everyone know that Rich right now is a very exciting time here at all PHLY because if you've been hanging in the office like you have, you've seen Fran's note taking during the college football season. And that's going to, you know, finish on Monday night. But for a large majority of the NFL, it's already met mock draft season. Now, hopefully this isn't something we have to deep dive too much in the coming weeks because the
Starting point is 00:07:30 Eagles will be picking 32nd overall. And we can put it on the back burner until after the parade. But for everybody out there, it's mock draft season. And for, Fran Duffy is one of the absolute best in the country. And right now we just happen to have a limited time offer going for diehard membership. It's $4 a month and you're going to get full access to everything that Fran has done. His reviews, the plus minuses, the breakdown on the first round. And mock draft 1.0 was released this morning. And there's your little diehard QR code if you want to scan that.
Starting point is 00:08:06 Limited time offer right now, $4 a month. You get full access to Frank. and Duffy's brain and thighs. So, Rich, it's a great time to get in and become a diehard if you are a mock draft sicko, which I absolutely gobble up the content. I just don't want to think about it. Eagles-wise for a while. Sure.
Starting point is 00:08:23 Yeah. But obviously, if you are an NFL draft sicko, I'm sure the senior bowl is coming up soon one of these weeks. Hopefully the Eagles will still be playing. Yeah. No, Fran is the absolute best. And because he now works for us, he can do a lot more. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:08:38 So now's a great time. wanted to mention that because I read Friends. I only got about a quarter of the way through it this morning, but the mock draft 1.0 was fantastic, and everybody should consider joining. Randy is a pretty classic. I love Randy. You know what I think of when I hear Randy in that context, Austin Powers?
Starting point is 00:08:55 That's probably where it's like, Randy, baby. Randy is a very, very good word. When you're like a 10-year-old kid, you're like, what? That's what Randy means? I thought that was a guy's name. Yeah. We brought up Austin Powers to the girls recently. Oh, because Skyler likes Cat in the Hat, which is played by Michael Myers.
Starting point is 00:09:16 Okay. And me and Addy were like, oh, well, when you're a little bit older, you're going to love Austin Powers. And I was actually kind of excited for a rewatch because I haven't seen it in probably 20 years. Yeah. You know, it's not really like a highly rewatchable movie these days. But it'll be good to throw a little throwback to Awesome Powers. If you came across it on TV, if it was on like Comedy Central or something like that, I was always watching a little awesome powers. Anthony calls those clicking sticks.
Starting point is 00:09:43 You would click and stick awesome powers? I would click and stick awesome powers. I like that. All right. Now, the story of the day, or at least the interesting news that came out yesterday to me, Rich, and let's get your thoughts on it. Vic Fangio talked yesterday, and we're going to be joined by Zach Berman here in a little bit. He more than alluded to Jeremiah Trotter, potentially getting the start at lineback start or majority of playing time,
Starting point is 00:10:06 whatever you want to call it, this Sunday over Orrin Burks, who got picked on on Sunday, little bit. It's pretty exciting. As the St. Joe's prep alarm, I'm sure that's pretty cool. The hometown kid. Has it an Eagles fan. Yeah. The hometown kid getting to start for your team that your dad played for in the playoffs. That's awesome. That pick of Trot Senior, I believe it was after the 2004 NFC championship game where they're all celebrating on the field at the link. He's got Junior in his arms, you know, and Junior has a chance to send the Eagles to that exact game this week. Yeah, I guess what do you make of that? Because here's the thing, regardless of if it's Birx or Trotter, that player is going to get picked on. You know why? Because that player is new.
Starting point is 00:10:48 That player is untested. And that player, most importantly, is not Zach Bonn. You're probably going to go away from him. I thought Boe made some interesting points of like, you know, maybe it might depend on who's better in coverage in the middle of the field because they love those overhang looks. I find myself watching Zach Bonn a lot on a lot of these plays. He's kind of the guy that my eyes drift to. It's either him or Jalen Carter at the beginning of plays. And a lot of times you see Zach Bonn, he starts, you know, in a normal offball linebacker role, but then he'll walk to the end of the line and he'll basically replace the defensive end. And, you know, he might drop out of that look or he might rush the pass.
Starting point is 00:11:25 Or oftentimes he drops out of it. But, uh, yeah, I don't know what they're going to be able to do there. Now, I do think it's, it's worth noting that Vic Fangio is not that big on gamesmanship. No, he's not. And you pointed that out in the newsletter this morning, which by the way, sign up for it's awesome. Yeah, I think that's a, yeah, Vic doesn't play that game. Well, he got asked about Bryce Huff's one snap. And he was like, he was like, well, yeah, we like the other three guys better. And by the way, one of those guys was a project rookie who we had no idea was going to even play this year.
Starting point is 00:11:56 And he's like, yeah, I like that guy better. Yeah, James Sutton has surprised some people for sure. But we're going to continue talking about that. And look, there is the Vic Fangio in Sean McVease aspect. of this in his head aspect of this game. Back in 2018, I believe it was, Vic Fangio shut down Todd Gurley, who was on like an MVP caliber season.
Starting point is 00:12:18 I think they held the Rams to six points. And Sean McVeigh, after the game said he had to like reevaluate how he coaches because he took such a beating and learned from it. So there is that aspect of the game too, which is really fun. And that's something we talked about a bunch in the middle of the year. Then you watch the game.
Starting point is 00:12:33 And for the most part, you know, the Rams moved the ball pretty well on that first drive. Eagles get a turnover. but Vic Fangio shuts him down as well. I am a little bit worried as the Negedelphian and just, you know, having been scarred throughout the years, Sean McVeigh is a really good coach. I feel like he's going to figure it out.
Starting point is 00:12:48 At some point, I just hope it's next year or the year after in some meaningless regular season game. But one other point on Trot real quick, too. If he plays and he plays well, our Axeman Jr. shirts in the PHLI store, they will get an inner excellence type bump if he has a good game. The number one selling shirt in Philadelphia.
Starting point is 00:13:08 come one day morning. All right, we're going to talk to Zach Berman from the Novacare Complex in just one minute about Nick Siriani's press conference and what he thinks about Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Getting more playing time this weekend. But first, let's tell you about some friends here at PHLY. And that's my friends over at Ace Hardware Home Services. I've been an Ace Hardware Man over those big box stores for a long time. Why?
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Starting point is 00:15:47 Download game time today. What time is it game time? All right. This is the P.HLY Eagles show presented by Bet365. Find out why. It's never ordinary at Bet365. It's never ordinary with the Stone Cold Newsman, Zach Berman, down at the NovaCare Center. Let's bring them in here.
Starting point is 00:16:07 Zach, hello, and happy Wednesday to you. Oh, we got a... You're muted, Zach. Yeah, either a mute on your end or our end. We'll figure that out here and get you in a second. What do we think? Who's at fault, Julie, or Zach? Place your bets.
Starting point is 00:16:23 Get your bets in, chat. Yeah, let's get a thumbs up for Zach. He looks stellar with the sunlight coming in. Still don't have you, Zach. Yeah, we're working on it. I see the sunlight coming in the window, though. Looks like Sal Pal is not there today. Yeah, South Pal didn't kick him out of a studio.
Starting point is 00:16:40 That's very... That's a good story. Start. Try it again, Zach. Nope. Nope. Yeah. Oh, well. Yeah. But let's get some thumbs-ups for Zach in the chat. We'll check back with him. Reestablish the connection. It's basically the old Nintendo cartridge trick. We're going to take it out, blow on it. Take it back in and we'll get up and run in here. Life lessons. Yeah. It's funny. My daughter is on a Nintendo switch now that we got her. And the frustrations of video games, I get to see, I get to relive through her. And I'm like, Skyler, sometimes you just have to walk away, come back to it. And it's pretty funny to see. So I was always jealous of the kids that had, okay. All right, let's try it now.
Starting point is 00:17:19 Zach, there he is. Zach, Zach, Zach, Zach. Perfect. I was saying it's all, I always look forward to these Wednesdays. I got to look forward to it like five extra seconds today. But, you know, I'm restarting. The app never ceases to not work. So what were the Berman brothers growing up,
Starting point is 00:17:41 back with the Nintendo family, Sega, what were you guys? PlayStation. Yeah. Yeah, so started off Nintendo. And then after a few years, you grad, you know, after a few years, Sega Genesis was in existence.
Starting point is 00:17:54 He graduated Sega Genesis. And then after a few years, looking at eBay prices on the PS2, I finally got the PS2. And I remember the first time playing into that white football on that PS2 was one of the most glorious days of my life. So, yeah, I've been really thought of that.
Starting point is 00:18:13 Let's get some thumbs up here for Zach's PS too. Now, what game got the most work amongst the Berman brothers and did it lead to Fistakovs ever? Probably madden among one that brothers played with each other. And then for me personally, NCAA football. Yeah. I built so many dynasties in those days. But when we played with each other, definitely maddened.
Starting point is 00:18:38 Now, who got the Eagles? What was the House rule here? We would do the random team. You got three shots of the random team. Fair. Yeah. So it's like dealer's choice. Yeah, that's good gamesmanship by the Bermans.
Starting point is 00:18:52 So ZB, with NCAA football, because this was something, when I was down the shore with my whole family for a week, my cousin and I would typically take one of the worst teams possible and try and make them a juggernaut with, you know, we had SMU, we had Idaho, we had New Mexico State, some different teams. Who were the teams that you?
Starting point is 00:19:10 you took over in NCAA football. Yeah, I always try to work my way up the coaching ladder, right? So you would start off with like the one star or two star teams. Sometimes there were BCS conference teams that you can get in at the entry level on. I remember Missouri was a team back then. You can get in on. Vanderbilt was a team that can get in on. And then I would do that and I would try to work my way up.
Starting point is 00:19:36 At the time, the dream job was like Florida State. right because you know the the nobles were wrong back then but then uh i i always got into building syracuse as i was approaching going to syracuse and there's something cool about the dome i grew up a big michigan fan but michigan was always too good to take over back then i used to find the mascot games pretty funny and the syracuse uh otto the orange is the orange is running out there and uh you know sometimes you couldn't see otto's arms but he was carrying the rock yeah it's fun it's fun but rock. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:11 I always fared better than the coaching staff at Syracuse Day. I'll put it that one. That's changing now with Fran Brown. Yeah. So,
Starting point is 00:20:18 Zach, before we get to Nick Siriani from today, I thought it was pretty interesting yesterday, Vic Fangio, and as Rich pointed out in the newsletter today, Vic is not a gamesmanship type of guy. It was,
Starting point is 00:20:31 and we have your tweet from yesterday with the quote, you know, it looks like there's a really strong chance to Jeremiah Trotter Jr., whether he's, starts or gets the majority of time has a, has a real shot to make a big impact on Sunday,
Starting point is 00:20:46 as he could be thrust into the fire here. Yeah, first of all, I appreciate putting the tweet up there. That's at, what, 41.2K views. We got to do two weeks. Yeah, we got to bump that up. There's a rookie numbers. Yeah, no. So, yeah, this has been pretty consistent this year for how the Eagles
Starting point is 00:21:04 have approached injured players, is that they're not afraid to play younger guys. and that's a little bit of a departure from last year. Howard Rosemette, the Combine said one of the things they learned from from last year is don't be afraid to play younger players. If you think back two weeks ago when Nicopi was down with the app injury, they split up snaps between Oren Berks and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Ostensibly, that was because of the special teams' responsibilities,
Starting point is 00:21:31 but also I don't think one necessarily distinguished himself from the other. Orrin Barks is certainly bigger and the better athlete. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. though, you can see the upside. There was a reason why so many Eagles fans were excited to draft him. I understand the name has a lot to do with it and the local connection. But if you watch him play at Clemson, he's a fun player. You know, I did the, on draft day, I did the my guys.
Starting point is 00:21:54 And Jeremiah Trotter was the my guy at linebacker because I just like watching him play football. He's instinctive. He hits hard. And I think there's, I think there's validity to war. there's reason why Vic Banjo would want to have them out there. So I don't think it's going to be every snap. I do think they like Warren Birx. And Warren Berks is going to see some time.
Starting point is 00:22:16 But I think you'll see a rotation. I don't think it'll be situational. I think there'll be more, you know, series by series. Zach, I was a little worried scrolling your Twitter account yesterday. I don't know how many views this specific tweet had, but it certainly got mine. And it was that Nicholas Morrow had been signed to the practice squad. Yeah. I got to say, even if he doesn't play, that just brings back some.
Starting point is 00:22:37 bad memory. So he's not going to be active, right? Well, they're going to have to elevate either Nicholas Morrow or Dallas Gant to be the special teams only, right? Be the fourth linebacker in this game. Special teams only, but then
Starting point is 00:22:52 depth also. They didn't sign Nicholas Morrow to play linebacker for them this week. But this is a position where the Eagles are notably thin on the depth chart. And that's not just the 53, but that's the 70. And I talk about 70 because of the practice squad players.
Starting point is 00:23:08 16 practice squad players, one international exemption. So when anyone was watching and saying it's 69, there's actually 70 guys so we can get to practice. The Eagles have... I'm not talking that one, Zach. I'm a mature adult. Yeah. If Bo is here, I imagine I would have made fun of it.
Starting point is 00:23:30 I didn't hear of it. Said that. Just keep going to have that, right? Yeah. So, as I was saying, the Eagles only have one linebacker really on special, I'm sorry, on practice squad. And that's Dallas Gant. Dallas Gant is someone who they've elevated at the end of the season.
Starting point is 00:23:46 They didn't add them until midseason. Eagles had Ben Van Sumer on the 53 earlier this year. He obviously got injured. They just don't have linebacker death. Nicholas Morrow is someone who I know it wasn't pretty on defense last year, but he did contribute on special teams. he is experienced, there's some carryover there. So I get why they did it.
Starting point is 00:24:11 The reality is when you are signing someone off the street on January 14th, your options are fairly limited. So if you get a guy who is starting experience in the league, who has experience who can run and Morrow can still run, I get it. I would just say this is not a move to replace Nekobie Dean. This is more of a move to replace maybe Oren Berks's practice, or his practice, his special team snaps or Jeremiah Trotter Jr. special team snaps.
Starting point is 00:24:39 So, Zach, what were your takeaways today from head coach Nick Siriani and his press conference? Any observations astutely found by you? Yeah, so regarding Trotter, he thought that week 18 game was valuable. And he mentioned how important that was for getting some of these down the depth chart players, some snaps. you know, if you look at the volume of snaps Steebles have this year from first and second year players,
Starting point is 00:25:10 it's about a 3% increase from last year. So that really jumps out to me because I think it was deliberate. I asked Nick Siriani about the comment how he made back in February basically saying when they looked at last year they should have gotten those guys on the field earlier. He specifically mentioned Nolan Smith last year.
Starting point is 00:25:31 and I think that when there have been time, and Nick said it wasn't intentional. Nick said it's just kind of worked out that way. But I would push back. I think I know that's what Nick's saying. For instance, when Brandon Graham and Bryce Huff goes down, it's not like the Eagles just said, you're going to play Chuck Harris here.
Starting point is 00:25:50 No, they played jail ton. When they miss some time, when they miss some safeties, they put Tristan McCollman there. There's, they haven't been afraid. even at wide receiver. You think when they had injuries at wide receiver, what did they do last year? They went and they signed Julio Jones.
Starting point is 00:26:07 What did they do this year? They rolled with Johnny Wilson. So, you know, there's a reason why Quinyan Mitchell is starting. Cooper DeGine is getting the playing time. He did once he got healthy. The Eagles have not been afraid to play these younger players. So that stands out to me. Nick didn't say it was deliberate.
Starting point is 00:26:26 This is me editorializing. I think it is. Nick was asked a good question today about the G.1 Hertz is the decrease in passing attempts this year. You know, it's a hundred fewer passer attempts compared to 2022. Nick said some of it has to do with the situations of the game. You know, there have been times they haven't had to pass the ball in the fourth quarters of games. You can say the same thing about 2022, of course.
Starting point is 00:26:52 He said that the, he said when they're in four minute, you know, they're going to run the ball. There have been times like the New Orleans game when they're in two-minute offense. and J-Wan needs the past the ball. The reality is this is SACON's been so effective, number one. Number two, there really has been a concerted effort since the by-week to reduce
Starting point is 00:27:12 turnovers, right? Don't put the ball up there as much. It's been drilled into J-Lenland, but it's also the way they're calling plays too. So even though Nick didn't say that the turnover reduction was a factor here, I imagine that has something to do with it. That was actually a follow-up question there.
Starting point is 00:27:27 and when you look at simply the way Nick talks about Jalen, he keeps emphasizing efficiency, not counting stats, but efficiency. And Nick's point is that you can't get the point without good quarterback play. I understand we're all watching this and saying the quarterback play needs to be better, but they are getting good quarterback. I'm good. I'm in the United States still trying to set up my home studio.
Starting point is 00:27:54 We've been saying, oh, you're, hey, the passing offense, whether it's Jalen, whether. it's the plays, whatever it is, it needs to be more efficient if they want to get to where they want to get to at the end of the year. And while I think that needs to be the case, they are faced with the team that they ran for 300 yards against this week to get to the NFC championship game. Do you think this is a game where they're just going to line up behind this offensive line and just try and pound Seekwon? I do, but I think this is a game where Sean McVeigh and Chris Schuylis and defensive coordinator with the Rams are going to say we're not
Starting point is 00:28:25 going to let Seaquin beat us. Now, of course, you all remember. This is so fun. And like I love to like, I'm getting feedback on, I'm getting feedback in my mic here. The, you all remember that Rams game when I think Sean McVeigh was being interviewed at half time and said that they need to come out and force Eagles off the field. And then the first drive was, it was a long run by Saquant Barkley.
Starting point is 00:28:51 Right. So when you see that, yeah, Vigals have been able to run against anybody. That, that's, that's been a staple. I do think they're going to lean on the run game. But you've got to think here, AJ Brown had 100 plus yards against the Rams at first meeting. It was only on 20 plus dropbacks that J.1 Hertz had. That A.J. Brown, a little weather spoon matchup,
Starting point is 00:29:12 that's inviting for the Eagles. That's been inviting in the past. And I think you'll see them try to take advantage of that. I'm expecting a better performance from AJ Brown. That's fairly obvious. He didn't have a big performance last week, of course. But I'm expecting, it wouldn't be surprising to me. if AJ's over 100 yards this week.
Starting point is 00:29:29 So, Zach, what do you make of AJ? Last week, I know Fran has pointed out, typically does a little better versus man than zone, and Devante's probably a little bit better versus zone. Did you sense a, I don't know, when I saw him moving, he didn't look near 100%. Is there any worry in your mind that he's more gimpy than maybe people think or suspect?
Starting point is 00:29:54 Well, people should suspect and think that he's dealing with the knee injury, because he's dealing with an knee injury. It's real. And look, the Eagles practice in an hour over across the street, the stadium, I'll be there.
Starting point is 00:30:06 It would surprise me, I shouldn't say surprise me. I would say the odds are probably better than 50-50 that AJ is not practicing today. I think they're going to manage AJ's work during the week and get him to Sunday. I still think AJ Brown, that I don't want to give a percentage.
Starting point is 00:30:23 I'm on the doctor. AJ Brown at less than 100% is better than most percent. is better than most receivers at 100%. But AJ is dealing with something. If you talk to him, I've talked about this a number of times, he'll tell you everyone's dealing with something this time of year.
Starting point is 00:30:39 I think AJ's dealing with something more than other players are. But I don't think it's affecting him from being the player that he is and that he's going to be my guess on Sunday. So, Zach, they are back at the link for a second straight week. they are back at the link for the second straight week. It is cold out there, so I imagine that the ground might still be frozen,
Starting point is 00:31:02 or perhaps they just, perhaps it's like superstition. They had three good practices last week. You saw the way they played late. They'll get those police escorted buses. We'll drive over there to take our photos and videos of J.O. and Hertz stretching for about five minutes, but yeah,
Starting point is 00:31:18 they will be practicing at the link the next three days. So they push the schedule back, actually. So they're not on the practice field until three, 30, interestingly similar time to around when they'll play on Sunday. So, Zach, when you hear a polar vortex and the Rams coming to Philadelphia on Sunday, chance it could get a little colder over these next couple days. What do you think? What's a polar vortex do for you?
Starting point is 00:31:47 Well, I think it helps the Eagles, right? I think the Eagles are a team that can play cold weather football. They can run the ball. They're great at their tough physical team at the line of scrimmage. even if the polar vortex has not been here for the past month and a half, they're used to playing in the cold, they're used to practicing in the cold. It's a different situation, of course, for the Rams.
Starting point is 00:32:06 We spoke about it the other day is that Matthew, or, I'm sorry, Sean McVeigh coach teams are three and three in outdoor games under 40 degrees. That's, if you look, Sean McVeigh's career record, it's certainly better than 500, right? So, yeah, this is now some of those games, are Green Bay, of course, playing in Green Bay, and it's hard to beat the Packers anywhere. But I think this certainly favors Eagles.
Starting point is 00:32:34 The Rams not just being a West Coast team, but they are a dome team. They're kicking a cross-country flight on a short week after playing a neutral-site game. And they have to be ready for a tough physical game. That's going to be the big message from Nick Siriani behind the scenes. It's about the toughness. It's about the physicality. is make the Rams feel the cold. So how do I personally feel about it?
Starting point is 00:33:02 I'm grateful that I'm in a press box as opposed to outside. I think my father-in-law and my son are going to be at this game. Oh, nice. He'll be sitting outside. They'll probably be wrapped up in a towel. Reads a football guy. He won't feel it. No, he wants snow football.
Starting point is 00:33:17 You know, when it was snowing last Monday, the first thing he said is, is let's go outside and play football. Yeah. I'm saying I have to prepare. I have to prepare for a show. Vincent didn't give me the day off. He just gave me a remote show.
Starting point is 00:33:30 So I, but yeah, no, my son's going to love that. And I think it's going to be cool for the fans, but just wrap up because it's going to be cold out there. Yeah, last one for you, Zach. It is Fran Duffy. Mach 1.0 out today. Four die-hards.
Starting point is 00:33:51 We have a limited time. Awesome deal going on. $4 a month, get you full access to Fran Duffy's mind. My question, because I'm sure you've already consumed it, Fran has the Eagles picking 28th. Why does he hate them? Why are they not picking 30 seconds? Well, first off, let me just say to our viewers.
Starting point is 00:34:11 Our viewers know this. I'm really excited that more viewers and readers and listeners are going to be coming in. Fran is one of the best threat analysts. anywhere, like not just in Philly, anywhere in the entire country. And there's things that because of just the nature of where he came from, he was kind of restricted in terms of what he was able to completely put out there. I hope our viewers and listeners and readers know how lucky they are
Starting point is 00:34:41 that we have one of the preeminent draft insider or draft analysts, insiders, working for this network. That mock draft today was awesome. Why I see him at 28th? I think he just went based on D. the season finished last year. I didn't ask him about that. He seems like he hates the Eagles.
Starting point is 00:34:58 He doesn't believe in them. I mean, that's my interpretation. No, you have to go based on what the draft order would be on the day of publishing. He has them taking the tackle from Minnesota. A player, a player. Ersary? I, I, yeah, ursary. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:16 Yeah, I know how to spell it. I'm not attempting the first name. Yeah, something I'll be, I'll be, I'll be working on the next next few months. I think it's going to be tackle or edge rusher. I agree. This is a strong class for both tackle and edge rusher. So I know there's Eagles fans who might want like a tight end like Tyler Warren.
Starting point is 00:35:36 I think that would be maybe, I think tight end would be more of a place to look in the second round. I think the line is scrimmage, tackle or edge rusher, if you just look at the players within, you know, plus or five, plus or minus five picks of where the Eagles are picking in France. mock, I think you could certainly see the Eagles going in that, in that direction. But I'm so pumped that, that, that we have friend, not just doing mock drafts and draft analysts and draft analysis on all phti.com, but a draft show on all city as well. Yeah, it's pretty great stuff. Exciting times for diehards. And it's a great time to hop in now, you know, a new introductory rate. It's not going to be around forever. So you can get all of that. Plus, writing and Les Bowen's writing and
Starting point is 00:36:24 some of the best writers in town here for just $4 a month. I mean, that's a cup of coffee. So it's a no-brainer. Zach will let you go. We got Vinnie Curry coming up. Appreciate your time. And we will speak soon, my friend. Yeah, speaking of a diehard,
Starting point is 00:36:40 I got a story coming out soon on Nolan Smith. I can't wait to read this because he's become one of my favorite players this season. Really has, yeah. Yeah, I think his perspective here is something that Eagles fans and people from Philly can really get behind. It's kind of about where his perspective and his toughness comes from.
Starting point is 00:36:59 So you can read that hopefully tomorrow morning, maybe this afternoon on all-P-H-L-Y.com and some other good stuff coming as well. Yep. Great stuff, Zach. We'll talk soon. See you, ma'am. Thanks, guys.
Starting point is 00:37:10 See, Zach. He's the best. All right, we got Vinnie Curry coming up here in a couple minutes, and we've got a touch on the Tim McMahon's story and a couple other things. Well, at first, we're going to tell you about some of our friends here at P-H-L-Y. And that's our presenting sponsor, Bet365. You can find out why.
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Starting point is 00:39:37 Winter weekend getaways and family affordability await in both Valley Forge and just all of Montgomery County, PA. And Jamie, as a Monco native, you're a Monco resident. I am a Monco native for most of my life. I feel like I have the credibility on this one. So much stuff to do. Valley Forge and Monco have so much to offer, like must-see historical sites, tons of family interactions, a vibrant art scene, outdoor activities, shopping, and more. Just 18 miles away from downtown Philadelphia.
Starting point is 00:40:08 And, Jamie, there's so much stuff to do. Do you have kids that are looking to do something during the winter? Just come on over to Spring Mountain. Spring Mountain. I love Spring Mountain. Maybe in a few months, you're looking to play some golf. and there are over 20 public golf courses in Montgomery County, including some of my favorites, Jeffersonville.
Starting point is 00:40:24 Great course. I think that is my favorite. But Turtle Creek, Westover, great courses that I have played some great bang for your buck. And if you're looking for a little bit of culture, I mean, you can head to Valley Forge National Historic Park where George Washington stayed. You can see all that good stuff. Or maybe you just want to go shop. Maybe at a big place, the biggest place of all, the KOP Mall,
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Starting point is 00:41:26 And, you know, golf course-wise, I'd put it up against like almost any county around. They have some phenomenal golf courses. I have lost many a golf ball in Monco. I always used to laugh with my friends. I was just such a jerk. I was like, man, I love some Schuylkill Valley golf. I don't even think that's what it's called. That's great.
Starting point is 00:41:45 All right, let's welcome into the show. Super Bowl champion. He's with us every Eagles game day. The one, the only, Vinnie Curry. What's up, Vinnie? Well, what's up? How you're doing, man? We back in pickup line today?
Starting point is 00:41:58 No, you know what? No, yeah, Bible study today. So, so 315 a day. It's going on. Yeah. Well, Vinnie, I want to get your thoughts because the new weather report for Sunday says we could have possible snow
Starting point is 00:42:14 starting at 2.30 in the afternoon. When I say Eagles and Snow Game, what comes to mine here? Matthew Stafford. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Snowball. Vinnie, what are your specific memories from that game?
Starting point is 00:42:34 Oh, man. Like, that game was just so much fun, man. And to witness, you know, LaShawn McCoy make history was even crazy. I felt like he was the only person not slipping. Yeah, I remember. I remember, didn't he change his cleats at halftime? Was that something that all of you guys had to do to try and figure out how to play?
Starting point is 00:42:53 Because I remember that. Yeah, for a lot of us, it still ain't, it still ain't help because, man, he was just playing like a creative player. Yeah. So Vinnie, Matthew Stafford, you mentioned him. He's kind of hard to kill. He never seems to let his team fall too far out of it. He's got comebacks in the back pocket.
Starting point is 00:43:15 His arm talent is elite. what is the game plan going into a game when you have to face Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh's offense? I think the Eagles are going to have to really play their game. You know, I think the back end where, you know, I think Vic is going to have to,
Starting point is 00:43:32 you know, kind of zone them up because if you try to do too much, thank God that we're not like a crazy blitzing team because I feel like for Matthew Stafford's whole career, I feel like when you blitz them, that's what great stuff happens, you know? And I feel like, you know, know, if you go watch the last game, I feel like the interior guys dominated the whole entire
Starting point is 00:43:54 game. I felt like, you know, sweaty and BG had a good game, but now BG being hurt and Nolan being on fire the way he's been on fire. I think with that back in a little bit, you know, just give it a little bit of time. Maybe I hit you two, the front guys got to do what they got to do. You mentioned Nolan Smith. I just feel like that play that he made on Jenkins. Obviously, he didn't know Jenkins was going to get injured. But just like setting the tone with that level of physicality. I mean, it just feels like he has been doing that for, you know, two, three months now at this point. And you just know every game, whether it's against the pass, against the run,
Starting point is 00:44:31 like he's going to be one of the most physical guys on the field. Jamie will tell you, man, I've been sitting on the table for my boy. Yeah. Like, I'm beginning of the season, I'm throwing this is going to be a break out. Yeah. You were like, he's close. He's close. And then when it happens, I think everybody's going to be sitting there like, oh, man, man.
Starting point is 00:44:51 I'm happy for him, man. He's playing out of his mind. He's playing at a high, high level. If he's stacked another one this weekend, I think we're, like I said, we're looking at a superstar in the making. So, Vinnie, yesterday, Vic Fangio alluded to the opportunity Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has this weekend. As somebody who grew up a fan of the Eagles and knowing and loving the Axeman like we all did, how cool of a storyline is this?
Starting point is 00:45:17 The hometown kid getting thrust into a possible starting position in the playoffs at home with the champs to go to the NFC championship game. Do you understand if he makes a great play and hit the axe? Oh, my God. You know how crazy? The place is going to Iraq. I'm going to start crying. Dude, the place is going to Iraq, bro.
Starting point is 00:45:40 You want to talk about momentum and energy and bringing juice. That's how you bring the juice. All right. So if you're a big fan, you go. He's that tall. Oh, if I think I'm blitzing him first. I was going to say, are you, are you firing one up to get the stadium involved? Bro, I'm telling you, when he, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when,
Starting point is 00:45:58 when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, celebration, the place is going to erupt. All right. All right. So, let's, uh, when Noah Curry is playing in the NFL in, like, 12 years and he's playing for the Eagles. And there's a playoff game on the line. what advice is Vinnie Curry giving to Noah Curry leading up to a playoff game? Hey yo, my man, you in Philadelphia.
Starting point is 00:46:22 Don't be looking to me. Don't better I turn the ball over. You better than I turn the ball over, man. When you ass won't be able to go to no gas station, no Walmart, no Target. That's the best I can give you, man. Don't turn the ball over. That's great.
Starting point is 00:46:41 Vinnie, this Eagles defense. a really good job against this Rams offense. I mean, we were talking, I feel like a couple months ago, we were talking about the same things with Matthew Stafford and the Blitz. What can they take from that game? And I guess, like, the thing that I'm a little worried about is the Rams, very good coaching staff. They have good players, Pooka and Akua on the outside as well.
Starting point is 00:47:00 Like, how do you think they're going to be able to try to adjust to move the ball a little more consistently? Because they really, they really only finished with like 13 points in that game. I know they had a garbage drive at the end. But the Eagles defense, as that game went on, started to get a lot of confidence and played really well against that team. Right. If you remember, though, that's when they,
Starting point is 00:47:19 that's when they really, really started to jail, you know, brushing one another, you know what I mean? Like I said, fuck up, my memory showed me correctly. Well, Mel Wayne was dominated. The game had two sacks. That's what you think you can double team, Jalen Carter, but you can't. Sweaty had a sack.
Starting point is 00:47:37 Brandon Graham had a sack. Now, you're coming in this week. This is a whole totally different front for mentally, physically and where they're going right now. You know, and honestly, I just felt like there's, you're going to have to scheme things up. Matthew stuff going to have to get the ball out of his hand really, really fast.
Starting point is 00:47:58 They're going to get the ball out of his hand really, really fast or try to take the rush by running the ball, you know. But if the Rams go down, quick, like if they get behind, you know, the scoreball or the sticks quick, I just don't see them. falling out of a hole. So Vinnie, on the other side of the ball, Sequin Barclay, you know,
Starting point is 00:48:19 is capable of gashing anyone in the league. Is this a game when you kind of think of it in your mind's eye here? Like, is this a big Sequin Barclayor game or is this more of a game where Jalen Hertz is going to have to to just, you know, frankly, be better than he was last weekend.
Starting point is 00:48:35 Which kind of way do you see this going? I mean, when it comes to playoff times, you know, I just, just get out of there with the dub, and no matter who game it is, you know, but I feel like Sequant took their heart, you know, the last time this team was matched up. So I want to say that it will definitely be collectively,
Starting point is 00:49:00 you know, if you try to stack the box, now it's time to show them, you know, that 11 is always open, maybe like 7-11, you know what I mean, the Slim Reber of the guys. And I'm expecting a big game out of Dallas. Yeah, okay. Yeah. Dollar's got to have, he got to have a big game, man.
Starting point is 00:49:17 After that beast mode last weekend, let's keep it going. That was crazy. That was nasty. So sticking on that side of the ball. I told people, if I seen you a dollar's got a gift or a mean, that means leave me alone. Vinnie, sticking on that side of the ball, this Rams pass rush nine sacks against Sam Darnold on Monday night. What have you seen from them? I mean, if you look at their stats over the last month, like a lot of nine.
Starting point is 00:49:44 point games for the opposition, a lot of single digits. What did you see from them in that game? Why were they so successful? Man, they were scheming it up, man. They did a lot of stunts. You know, when you go back and watch that film, did a lot of stuff to keep some things up. But if you're asking me, am I worried if I'm,
Starting point is 00:50:01 if I'm starting those guys? No, I'm not worried. It's a different deal playing against this season line. Yeah, for sure. If you go, because just watching the film, right, they was going down, four down. They was going five down. and when it was giving the ball of Sacon,
Starting point is 00:50:17 the guards had a defensive tackle about six or seven yards driving them, bro. Like, it was like bulldozing. Like, called a plow man. You know, it was just, everybody got to get thrown out the club, you know? So, you know, if that's what you're going to scheme up and do, somebody will get air hold. Yeah, I mean, the blocking on the Seekwan touchdown run
Starting point is 00:50:41 right after half time of that game was like picture perfect. Like, they had three guys. Dickerson moved the linebacker, like, 10 yards down the field. Yeah, it's really impressive. Yeah, you know what I mean? And then it's just, Jamie goes back to the time. Like, when I was like, damn, man, we really got the Rams. He said one of the Rams.
Starting point is 00:51:00 I'm like, thinking about it. And I'm like, well, they got a scheme that defense line up, you know. And if you try to blitz, you know, that's when, you know, the game goes into Jalen. Jailen, his most generally got time to run around a little bit. He's going to find somebody. All right, Vinnie, before we get your Eagles prediction here, I want to run through the three other games of the weekend and let us know who you got.
Starting point is 00:51:22 The weekend kicks off with Texans at Chiefs. Big Red gets the buy hosting a home playoff game. Who you got in this one? Your boy Domingo versus Andy. This is personal for you. Yeah, man. Oh, man. I got Houston.
Starting point is 00:51:44 2117. Yeah. All right. Next up Saturday night. This is a big one for Eagles fans. If you think they're winning, the commanders at the lions. I think Vinny's feeling upset Saturday. He's like me.
Starting point is 00:52:07 He fears Jaden Daniels. You know what it is is when you're like, he's so talented, but is he enough to be? I'm going to Washington. Wow, the upset in Detroit. And then after the Eagles game, the game of the weekend, Noah Curry is going to be fascinated by this one. Lamar Jackson versus Josh Allen, Ravens Bills. Who you got?
Starting point is 00:52:38 I got the Ravens. I got the Ravens by about 10. Ooh. All right, Vinnie. Now it's Eagles, Rams prediction time. Who you got for the good people? Philadelphia, baby. What's the score? Um, I'm, um, let's go 20, 2414. Ooh, another standard day for the D. Yeah, yeah. All right. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:53:10 I do, man, because I'll tell you what, for the whole, so when they come to playoffs time right now, like, like, like, Puka, like, Kuan. It's all, like, you're going to have to, you know what I'm saying? So now all eyes is going to be on that game. And like the matchups across the board, how you not bring your, popcorn and you know to this to this movie right here i can not pull up a front row seat yeah sunday is just like incredible football saturday's okay but sunday's incredible i mean from eagles rams i'm thinking about that that i'm gonna go to detroit in that washington game too i'm gonna go
Starting point is 00:53:44 detroit okay all right all right the upset has been revoked uh viny great stuff we will see you on sunday for game day uh can't wait to watch the game with you man and until then uh be safe and we'll see you then. Man, thank you guys for having me. See you guys this weekend. Always a blast. See, Vinnie. See ya. There he is the great Vinnie Curry. He went with the commander's upset and then he revoked. He was picking three road teams and then he was like, yeah, that might be a little bit too bold. Yeah. Sunday, you talk about like football porn. I mean, Eagles, Rams in a potential snow game in South Philadelphia and then into Ravens Bills. So the Eagles. That is awesome. James, the Eagles need to win for a lot of reasons, but I can't be pissed off watching that.
Starting point is 00:54:26 classic matchup right after. I need to be happy and ready to enjoy some football. Eagles, don't do it to me. Don't do it to me. Yeah. Mory's yams are back. wants to know if he missed Zach's feet. Is that a slipper comment, Julia? Yeah, okay.
Starting point is 00:54:42 Yes, you missed Zach's feed, but hopefully you caught Vinnie Curry there. Let's get some thumbs up for Vinnie here in the chat. All right, Rich, we have a couple things to run through here. One, I didn't want to get out of here without giving you the floor to rip on the NFL rules and Matthew Stafford from Monday night because there was an egregious play in the game on Monday.
Starting point is 00:55:03 He looked like, you know what he looked like throwing that ball, Jamie? He looked like Salt Bay with the salt. That was what constituted the throw. You got to drop it off the forearm. The play I'm talking about was in the first half where you're sprinkling off the forearm. You're more well studied in the salt. Yeah, I kind of hate that guy. Yeah, me too. I could just make a quick reference to it. But, oh, man, the Vikings, they run back what they thought was a fumble, and then they look, and at the last second, as Stafford is going down, he doesn't even move his arm, Jamie. He just went like this, and apparently Nakuwa was in, kind of in the area on the throat. So it ends up being nothing. It ends up just being an
Starting point is 00:55:41 incomplete pass. And you might say that's a smart play. I hated that so much. It felt like a play that a grifter, like James Hardin, in the NBA would do. Oh, yeah. Yeah, an honorless James Hardin, or who was the king of that? Was it? I used to always rip him on radio. Not Hardin. Oh, Chris Paul, because he kind of invented the jumpback jumper. It's honorless basketball. What Matthew Stafford did on Monday was honorless football.
Starting point is 00:56:07 Anti-competitive BS. Yeah, yeah, really, really terrible stuff. Anyway, just, I mean, that should just be, the ref should be able to just call that a sack them. Because why wouldn't any quarterback at the last second before they're getting sacked just like go like this and hope, you know, or running back is standing there who's blocking or something. And when you're the Vikings and you have such a terrible game as they did and getting sack nine times and all of that, like, who's to say that that momentum doesn't entirely change the game?
Starting point is 00:56:35 Yeah. You know, like there is inflection points of games where stuff changes. And that could have been one for them to get, you know, a free seven points in a game like of that magnitude. Anyway, that bothered me. Wasn't it going to change the outcome of the game? Probably not. Obviously, if it was a fumble, it might have. I'm just like, can we at least call that grounding?
Starting point is 00:56:54 Can we call that a sec? So to surmise that, Rich said Matthew Stafford plays honorless football. All right. Jalen Mills, the green goblin, the man who boxed out Julio Jones and got them to the Super Bowl
Starting point is 00:57:08 all those years ago, came up with his predictions for this weekend as well that we just asked Vinnie. Would you like to guess who Jalen Mills has at playing in the championship weekend? You can kind of see it there.
Starting point is 00:57:20 I don't know how good your eyes like. I can't see it. It's kind of like on those those eye charts that's like the bottom line. I'm overdue for a, I can't really make it out. All right. Lions versus Eagles,
Starting point is 00:57:30 KC versus Ravens. I mean, I think that's the safest route. Yeah. You know, the problem is I don't really believe in this KC team, but they continue to win.
Starting point is 00:57:40 They continue to win and they're going to be rested. They're going to be very well rested. And Houston, I really don't believe him. Yeah. So, David,
Starting point is 00:57:48 beating Justin Herbert, that fraud. Yeah. He is, and to everybody that's been watching on TV. We thank you for hanging out with us. If you want to continue watching the show, head over to all p.h-l-y.com. And you should grab a diehard membership while you're there because Fran Duffy's mock draft is out and it's well worth the $4 a month, not to mention everything else you get
Starting point is 00:58:08 with it. And then the Super Bowl, the Green Goblin has the Ravens versus the Eagles. That would be a lot of fun. Would be a lot of fun. We already saw that match up. I would hope it would go the same way, James. The chaos sicko in me would love to see a Bill's Eagles Super Bowl in New Orleans. Like the earth might just implode. That would be absolute chaos. I would say New Orleans is not ready for it, but they've seen some parties down there. Yeah, they have Mardi Gras every year. They're certainly ready for it. Yeah, it might be the right place for that to happen. Yeah. Around that time of year. Although dealing with an Eagles, Bill, Super Bowl, and then Marty Grah in short order.
Starting point is 00:58:51 That might even test the good folks down there. Throw a jazz fest in the mix and it's wild. All right, we did want to mention real quick. The Tim McManus article today on ESPN. We both read it before the show. Tim, LaSalle College High grad, rich, great guy. A really good piece on Nickson. Just like Abdul Carter, by the way.
Starting point is 00:59:11 Yeah. And did you see it's... Is excited about that? I need, you know, like... I mean, the Eagles aren't going to get them. Well, he said yesterday that his absolute judgment... dream would be to play for the Eagles. Well, maybe in five, seven years, sure.
Starting point is 00:59:23 Yeah, I mean, maybe I'd prefer going to get Miles Garrett as the bridge tab dual Carter to your point and just sign them in free agency because there's no chance you're getting them in the draft. Yeah, that's my point. Unless you moved up. He's going to be a top five pick. Definitely top ten. He's probably going to be somewhere in that four to ten range for sure.
Starting point is 00:59:39 But phenomenal player. I saw Trott Jr. Prep LaSalle games, you know, with Marvin Harrison Jr. and McCord and McCord's, you know, going in the draft this year. I saw Zaire Franklin play in high school. I saw Abdul play in high school. So I love when the PCL kids
Starting point is 00:59:54 get to move on to the big stage. But yes, Abdul quarter would be phenomenal. I love that kid. Let's actually I have Fran's draft right here. I didn't actually pay attention to where he has him going. I would imagine what in that 4 to 7 range somewhere? It just seems
Starting point is 01:00:11 like it's not a great draft class overall. That's what he keeps. Fran has him going number 4 to New England. So when you see him pretty much wrecked the game against Notre Dame, I know Notre Dame ended up winning that game, but he was doing it with one arm, basically. Yeah. Man, that's pretty impressive. That was a, in a week draft, that feels like a top five player.
Starting point is 01:00:28 He increased his draft value. You wish he was like a little bit bigger? Yeah. That's a little bit of the worry. But, you know, we've seen players of that archetype do well. Sure. I mean, we're seeing it right now. Yeah, Nolan Smith is, he's become one of my favorite Eagles.
Starting point is 01:00:41 I can't wait to read Zach's story on him. But Tim McMahonis released the article today on ESPN and it was kind of a deep dive into Nick Siriani and his relationship style of coaching now as the CEO coach. Rich, your takeaways, and then I'll, you know, I'll contribute here. I mean, and I think the big thing, Jamie, is handwritten notes. I love this. Handwritten notes that are delivered whenever a player hits a certain milestone,
Starting point is 01:01:08 like Isaiah Rogers starting his first game after he sat out a couple years. Yeah, Jordan Myelotas was when he got voted team captain. Kobe Dean when he was starting to play well. So behind the scenes, Nick Siriani, he writes handwritten notes and he delivers them to these players. Interesting tidbit behind the scenes. Yeah, I really like it. Isaiah Rogers said he carries a letter with him in his bag and reads it before every game. That's nice.
Starting point is 01:01:32 And basically the story kind of deep dives the personal relationships that Nick takes on with his players. And the story kind of started out with a Jordan Maya Lata anecdote where Nick said, hey, stop up to my office and see me. And Jordan's first thought is like, oh man, am I in trouble? Did I have a bad practice today? Like, what is this? And he goes up there and, you know, Nick pulls him in and was like, how's your dad doing? Because he learned that Jordan's dad actually had a heart attack on the flight home to Australia
Starting point is 01:02:04 from the Super Bowl a couple years ago. And, you know, sat him down and just wanted to make it like a space where Jordan could unload and talk about frustrations or whatever. and he was just checking in on him. And Jordan said, I would do anything for Nick Siriani. That level of connection to have with the head coach is rare and special. And I thought it was a really cool piece into Nick Siriani's mindset. And being that CEO coach, Tim points out in the story,
Starting point is 01:02:32 kind of frees him up a little bit to manage those types of relationships. And I think that's part of the secret sauce here with the Eagles. That stuff behind the scenes is stuff that we're not privy to when we are complaining about his fourth down calls and his sideline outbursts. But yeah, I mean, it was a good look into, it seems like he is nailing that stuff and he does put a lot of thought into it.
Starting point is 01:02:55 There was another part of the article, Jamie, that I wanted to bring up because I thought it was a moment that went a little bit under the radar because people weren't feeling that good about the birds. It was the press conference before the week five game. And it was, nobody cared about it for good reason. The Phillies were in the playoffs. The Eagles had just gotten their buck,
Starting point is 01:03:12 and their butts kicked in Tampa, the idea that we would be here with the Eagles as huge favorites in the divisional round. Like, nobody would have thought that at that time. I mean, we were spending on our Wednesday pods every week. We were spending 45 minutes basically diagnosing Nick Siriani and what was going on with him. Anyway, Jalen Hertz had a press conference where he was asked about Nick. And the quote was, I'm happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind, trying to get this thing right.
Starting point is 01:03:41 I got a ton of confidence in him. I got a ton of confidence in what he brings in everything that he's been able to accomplish. Now, obviously, like, reading too much into one Jalen Hertz press conference is probably a fool's errand. There have been other times where if we were applying that same standard, you'd be like, are he and Nick that good of friends?
Starting point is 01:04:00 That one really stood out to me, though, because that was a time when, you know, they really did need to band together. They had just had, you know, a pretty rough start to the year. Jailen was turned the ball over like crazy. left and right. It was, it's really, when you look back on the season, it's really incredible how much they got it together after the buy.
Starting point is 01:04:19 Surviving that first month was very important. And look, coaching is a lot of it, inserting Cooper DeGine and what Zach was talking about. That was a big part of it. Yeah, that was a huge part of it because Avanti Maddox was getting picked on. But I do think one of the things the Eagles as an organization do best is self-scout and correct mistakes quicker than a lot of teams in the NFL. and, you know, I think realizing that, yeah, we can play the youth and not get killed, as Zach talked about earlier, is a big part of that because, I mean, look at the youth for this team.
Starting point is 01:04:52 And Nolan Smith probably should have gotten a little more time at the end of last year when things were falling apart. So I think that's a good acknowledgement of, you know, something they could have done better. And they implemented it almost immediately. So kudos to the Eagles. Yeah. All right, Rich, before we get out here, I had one funny observation. from your newsletter today. And if you haven't signed up for Rich's newsletter,
Starting point is 01:05:14 absolutely do so on all p.hly.com. It's free. Won't cost you nothing. Your recap of the 2001 Rams Eagles game, the thing that just, I just kind of went like, wow, is your observation that almost every snap was under center
Starting point is 01:05:32 with the greatest show on turf and how far the NFL has come in just over 20 years. It's like a totally different game. It was so wild. And I mean, obviously, like, you understand that rationally. Sure. That back then they were much more under center. But you're watching on one side of the ball.
Starting point is 01:05:48 You're watching the greatest show on turf. You're watching Kurt Warner throw the ball to Isaac Bruce and Marshall Falk and Tori hole. Tori holt with his jacked up hand catching all those passes. His hand is worse than Baldies. Yeah. Yeah, that thing is really jacked up. But it still worked. He could still catch.
Starting point is 01:06:03 He was nasty. So that's on one side. And then on the other side, you have the Eagles who were not the prolific offense they would come to be under Donovan. But you have freaking Andy Reid calling those plays. And it looks like, I mean, it just looks like it's 100 years ago compared to the Kansas City offense. She's running now with, you know, the pistol and all these plays. Like I went to another YouTube tab, Jamie. And I opened up, I just opened up like Kansas City in the Super Bowl last year.
Starting point is 01:06:28 And I was like, oh my gosh, this looks completely different. And that's probably why Andy Reid is going to become, you know, if not the greatest, the second greatest NFL coach of all time is his adaptability. Yeah. Yeah. Like, and it's kind of what Mike Tomlin. I don't know if you saw the Mike Tomlin shifting into Doc Rivers meme that was going
Starting point is 01:06:46 around. Yes. Very funny. The big thing that Steelers fans and a lot of NFL fans are kind of like ripping Mike Tomlin for is still coaching it today like he did in 2010. And, you know, look, changing and adopting is, uh, or adapting is the key to coaching. Like, if you're not changing, you're dying. Totally.
Starting point is 01:07:08 And the other element from. that game that I wanted to bring up that always stood out to me. Jim just brought it up in the chat. What up, Jim. How did N.D. Kalu miss that block? I know. I don't know, Jim. I don't know. That would have been like one of the great plays in Eagles history. They probably would have returned that for a touchdown. Andy Kalu was one of those guys that like never really like dominated a like a stat sheet per se, but he was always like, he would have some highlight plays. Yeah, he was always good for like those one or two big kind of like momentum plays every once in a while. Indy Kalu was good.
Starting point is 01:07:40 Yeah, he's down in Houston now. I used to have him on the radio occasionally. Oh, okay. Yeah, good dude. The other part that was funny about that, I was rewatching the game and John Madden, Andy Kalu was number 94. Yeah. And John Madden was like, Freddie Mitchell almost blocked that pun.
Starting point is 01:07:56 Freddie Mitchell was 84. Freddie Mitchell and Andy Kalu, their body touch is not even close. Why would Freddie Mitchell be blocking a pun too? I don't think he ever did that as well. I don't know. I think it was a little easier to, to call a game when there wasn't social media. Sure.
Starting point is 01:08:12 Calling you out for every mistake. Completely put you on blast for making that mistake. Yeah. Look a little violations. Greg in the chat with the comment. Lemon pie. I have no idea what that is in regards. Tasty cakes.
Starting point is 01:08:24 Ooh. Favorite tasty cake. What's yours? I have two. I have butterscotch crimpits. I like. That's probably mine. And I like peanut butter candy cakes.
Starting point is 01:08:30 But I also think those are, those might be the two most popular. Yeah. Well, they're popular because they're great. Yeah. The candy cake, I prefer in the fridge.
Starting point is 01:08:40 Your thoughts on room temperature versus fridge? I like both. But yeah, the fridge is good. My dad always had like, you know, he'd go to like Acme or Wawa or whoever's having the tasty cake pie special. And he would always have like six pies on top of the fridge, just like at all times. He was a big tasty cake pie, man. Now, the season, I think it actually might be my favorite. It's a seasonal tasty cake.
Starting point is 01:09:02 But the witchy treats that come out like every October, it's basically the crimpet with the black. black chocolate frosting and the orange sprinkles on it. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The witchy treat, chef's kiss. Those are good. Yeah, so Tasty, you should get on board with us here, PHLY, and advertise. Just throwing that out there. We like your product.
Starting point is 01:09:21 A lot. All right, that's going to do it for us here today. To everybody that hung out with us, we thank you and appreciate you for your time before you get out of here. Let's hit that thumbs up or a little heart in the chat or tell a friend or family member to subscribe to us here at PHLY. because we're going to be around doing this show, Rich, for another five or six weeks. I just learned that today. Yeah. After, you know, Broad Streets right there.
Starting point is 01:09:46 We'll maybe do a show on Broad Street somehow. The parade will be on Wednesday. Yeah, parade will be on Wednesday. And that's our day. So we'll be coming here. So I'm looking forward to this show continuing for many, many weeks as Eagles are marching their way to New Orleans. We'll be here. The best Eagles coverage in town was Zach, Bo, and Fran.
Starting point is 01:10:05 Me and Rich like to contribute and try to help out a little bit. They'll be here the next two days. Yeah. So make sure you're tuning in every day at 2 o'clock. We got some special Eagles stuff happening. And it's going to be a great and fun weekend ahead. I know it. And don't forget, pre-half-time post-game on Sunday.
Starting point is 01:10:21 Make sure you're hanging out with us and getting the best coverage in town. To everybody, have a great rest of your Wednesday. And we will see you soon here on the P.HLY Eagles podcast.

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