PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - With Jaelan Phillips and Nakobe Dean, have Philadelphia Eagles found Super Bowl blueprint?

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

It is the story every single week for the Philadelphia Eagles. The defense, with the emergence of Nakobe Dean and acquisition of Jaelan Phillips, is trending back toward Vic Fangio’s dominant unit that led the Eagles to a Super Bowl last year. And yet again, the high-priced Eagles offense continues to struggle even as the Eagles sit at 8-2 on the season. Can the Eagles get back to a Super Bowl with this blueprint? Rich Hofmann and Jamie Lynch discuss on the PHLY Eagles Show, as Bo Wulf also sits down with Eagles safety Reed Blankenship and ALLCITY NFL insider Adam Hoge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello, everybody, and live from the Xfinity Studio, it's the PHLY Eagle Show presented by Bet365 and Ashley Furniture. My name is Rich Hoffman. Happy Wednesday, everybody. you know Wednesday means myself and my friend here, Jamie Lynch. Hello. We have an action pack show for you today. We have Bo Wolf also sitting down with Reed Blankenship and Adam Hogue,

but Jamie and I will mostly be here to talk about, well, James, it's the same story every single week. Yeah. The Eagles defense is trending in a place where kind of feeling like 2024. You know, it's funny. People always say it feels like, and then they'll pick a year, maybe 30 years in the past, 40 years. No, it feels like last year, actually.

Yeah. This is what it feels like. And the offense, yet again, disappointing. But, James, how you feeling? Feeling mostly good. Yeah. Mostly good. So let's preface this entire show saying I'm 85% feeling good.

I do think the offense is still salvageable. I think you've seen some encouraging things recently, maybe not this past week. But the scope I keep looking at it through is the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers are both very competent, good defenses. And the offense struggled. The defense, our defense, on the other hand,

was good enough to get you those victories. So the Dallas Cowboys defense is coming in and maybe while improved, I do think it's a little bit of an opportunity for a slump buster. So we've said that before. Yeah, we have. But I think these last two defenses

were very good defenses. and the Eagles' offense struggles, hopefully look a little bit more in perspective a couple weeks from now, and it's not continuing in a downward trajectory. That's a positive way to look at it. That's kind of how I'm doing it. Like, we're spoiled these days, right? Like, we're 8 and 2. We'll talk about that in the next segment.

I think that's an interesting conversation to be happy. Okay, but let's start with the positive because I think, like you, I'm feeling pretty darn good about this Eagles team, And that's because I'm feeling great about this defense right now. Yeah. The last two weeks, two touchdowns, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Look, I think Sunday's game for anybody who was there at the link, it was windy, it was cold. I do think you need to view it through the lens of, okay, yeah, the Eagles defense definitely got a little bit of a boost where Jared Gough missed a couple throws because it's windy and because it's cold.

Sure. And so maybe Jalen Hertz also missed a couple throws as well. It just doesn't look as pronounced with him. Jared Goff, you can kind of see him. Feels like he's throwing a ball with his little small hands into a monsoon whereas jail nerds, I don't know. It looks normal, but he's just missing throws at that point. He was still dealing with the same elements.

But the Eagles defense. They had Jared Goff seeing ghosts out there. They did. He was horrified. And this is what goes to him, like, kind of being mid. Like, you can be top five in several statistical categories and, you know, EPA per dropback and all this stuff. if you take away Jamir Gibbs

and David Montgomery from the Detroit Lions Jared Goff is as average as average comes. Yeah. Yeah, no and they absolutely dominated him in that game. It was awesome. It was so great to watch it. I don't think, Rich, you've watched a lot of Eagles football in your life. Have you ever recalled a game where there was five

past bat downs from defensive tackles? Like, that was unheard of. Like, just dominating him. Yeah. No, and I mean, Jordan Davis, after the game, he talked about how Clint Hurt, basically put them through that drill where they said, hey, Jared Gough's got a little bit of a lower release point.

We are going to make that a focus in this game. And then he and Jalen Carter go out and get five-pass bat-downs. Unbelievable. Now, I will say, Jordan Davis winning NFC defensive player of the week for three past deflections, I'm thrilled for him. Jordan Davis, I love good things happening to him. He seems like a really good guy overall. Definitely got on the Peloton this year and worked.

I think he had one. tackle in the game, though. So, look, I think that was sort of, hey, we got to give the Eagles defense its props, and we're going to give it to Jordan Davis. But again, like, you have the entire defense chipping it, right? Jordan Davis, a guy who snaps have gone down in recent weeks, you would say, he makes a legit impact on the game. Adori Jackson, a guy who has struggled the entire year. You know, he's been in and out with Keeley Ringo. They've sort of traded bad play. They've traded a few injuries. And this was, I know he got beat by Jameson Williams on the one long play, but this was much better than C's get degrees that we heard from

earlier in the year, from Adori as well. So let me ask you a question, just an overall defensive question. What is your favorite element of what this defense is doing right now? I was actually thinking about this earlier today. To be honest with you, I think it's Nacobie Dean right now. If you've watched this show before, and by the way, let's get a little action there on the thumbs up button on the YouTube page, help us out there. Do it, do it for Nicobi. Do it for Nikobe. Do it for Nikobe. And Patelers. Yeah. I love Quinyon Mitchell dearly. I consider him a family member. That's how much I love the man. I'm always going to be impressed by him. I think what Jalen Phillips is brought to the team and having BG back and just like

getting Nolan Smith back, all great things. But what really has jumped off the page at me the last two weeks is Nikobi Dean should not be this good coming off of that surgery. What he did on Sunday, I think Fran tweeted it out it was a three-play stretch it was the same three-play stretch where he covered Jemir Gibbs downfield on the wheel route unbelievable

this guy should not be able to do that he is not only like the leader of the defense you were down in the locker room and you were around his locker for the scrums you see firsthand the respect he has in that locker room like he is a leader he is people he is somebody that people follow somebody that people listen to.

Even when I asked BG about him in studio the other day off air, I was like, man, Nekobi, like, this is freakish. He was like, boy, like he got like excited and smiled. He's like, like, BG was like glowing about him. Like, yeah, like he shouldn't be doing what he's doing. So Nicopi

Dean is just blowing my mind. It also leads to a very interesting offseason decision that I don't envy Howie Roseman about at all in terms of the Nikobe Dean, but he is, he is knocking my socks off, as they say recently. Me as well.

That was one of the top things. I have a couple of things that have really been fun over the past couple weeks. And one B was Nikobi Dean. Just, it's like unprecedented to come back from that surgery and be, like, faster? I can't believe it. You mentioned the reps. So the two reps in short succession where he chases Jemir Gibbs on a wheel round. And by the way, Jamir Gibbs, one of like the shittiest, fastest.

There was a play where Jemir Gibbs broke off. I think it was a long run or a pass play or whatever. And it was like a 40-yard pass play. I was impressed that the Eagles were able to run him down. Like, Reed Black and Chip, who Bo is going to talk to in a few minutes for everybody. Like the fact that he cut Jemir Gibbs off at the sidelines, and look, Jemir Gibbs did the Reggie Bush cut back and still got another 25, 30 yards, or whatever. But the fact that that wasn't a touchdown when he got in the open field,

I was like, that's a win for the Eagles defense because that guy moves in a way that it's just very rare. And I would also add Jameson Williams to that list too. Because Nikobe, so he stays with Jemir Gibbs on the wheel route, like legitimately stays with him. Wasn't like, oh, Goff had him open. No, he was not open.

And then a couple plays later, he gets Jameson Williams on the crossing route. Jameson Williams is even faster than Jameer Gibbs. You saw him run away from a Dory Jackson. Like the Lions have two legitimate game breakers with their speed. And for Nikobe Dean to just not only read, those plays perfectly and understand

where he needed to be. But also execute it like, it doesn't surprise me that he knew where to be on those plays. No. But the combination of that and his ability to just keep up with these guys and not get beat, it's pretty wild. And then obviously he has

the other huge play where he blitzes and he just rocks David Montgomery. Second straight week, Nikobe Dean on a linebacker blitz up the middle. This is something that he did a lot last year. as well, where he destroys the running back. And Jamie, you mentioned that I was down in the locker room.

You can see it when Nikobi Dean is at a scrum. Not a huge dude for a linebacker. Somebody just put in the comments, Adams, exploits. It says, Nicopi Dean is 511-230. He's just built like a brick. So he is, yeah, he is a little bit. Dude, his traps, the video you sent that we tweeted out, I couldn't stop staring at his traps.

It reminded me like to Keo Spikes. I didn't realize how yoked up he was. He is yoke, but he's only 5-11. He's not a big guy. and his ability to just, man, if you block him with a linebacker, you, or sorry, if you block him with a running back, you have no shot. And David Montgomery is another, you know, kind of brick s house.

He is the thunder in their thunder and lightning thing. And Nacobie made him look like, I don't know, like an eighth grader, like a JV football player. It was pretty crazy. And Gough actually, I think unlike Jordan Love, he at least was like, all right, I'm just going to go down because this could be the second straight week where he gets a strip sack. So Niko, you're right.

It's basically unprecedented for him to make this move. And it does make me wonder a little bit about the resource allocation where there's two things. You can look back and say, hmm, could you have jumped Kansas City and drafted Josh Simmons in the first round? I don't know. Obviously the Eagles made that weird trade to trade up with them.

I'm going to assume if the Eagles said we're going to go offense, Kansas City still would have drafted them. But you could have traded with somebody else a few spots ahead of Kansas City. Certainly with Lane. and the injury and the uncertainty of the future that does, you know, kind of bounce around the brain cage a little bit. Well, and look, I love Jihad, and I think he's going to be good. I think he's already, frankly, pretty good.

But I think he's getting phased out. Like, you're seeing his snap count decrease now. You are. Because Nikobe has been that good. And look, I think when you look back at the Eagles, like, you're playing the hindsight game. Sure. The Eagles could not have known that Nikobe would have been. been this good at that point. That is a

serious surgery and he frankly like when he was good in past years didn't win with athleticism quite as much so you wondered like man if he takes a little bit of a step back athletically what type of player is he well actually he's just better so that was an unlikely outcome

if we were doing the show in March or in April that's something that would not have even crossed our minds at that point no but it is here and so you mentioned the second point here is do you let Nikobie out of the building after this year? I'm not sure you can. Like, the way I've heard BG talk about him

and I've heard the exciting mics talk about him. He's a leader, man. Yeah, like, I think this is his defense. I don't think you can let that guy leave. Take a little off. Zach Bonn's play. Doesn't have to call the plays, too. Yeah.

I don't think you can let him leave. But to your point, Rich, we grew up and linebackers were a sieve in this town for a long time. You had trot, you had Seth, but like, you know, and there was some guy, I'm not trying to discredit everyone. I loved Carlos Simmons, Willie T. was there. But, like, for the most part, it was one good guy.

And then back in the old days, there was three, and usually two of them. Like, we're trotting out, you know, 390-pound LaVan Kirkland in NFC championship games. Like, linebacker is a position that hurt us. Casey Matthews in his little arms. There's just been so many swings and misses now to have an embarrassment of riches at the linebacker position is like unheralded territory for for eagles fans so it's it's kind of a tough one to process because you're right you can't put that much resources and allocation

in the linebacker but it's sure fun to have it yeah so so nate in the chat says that he's gone he's awesome but you can't keep everybody there is the injury history too like you can't overpay for a guy that has been healthy one almost one full season well and i think that unfortunate for him that likely could be the case when you look at all the players that the Eagles are going to have to pay down the line and the fact that they have Jehad Campbell who is a good linebacker at this point.

And cheap for four more years. But the fact that Nikobie Dean has made this even a conversation early on is pretty wild. And, you know, I always say, right, most teams play two linebackers. I know the Lions play more base than most teams in the league,

but most teams play two linebackers. That's 64 starting linebackers in the league. I said when the Eagles were struggling at this position, there are not 64 starting caliber linebackers. in the league. Like, they're just, each team just does not have two players that are, you know, of, like,

like they're actually additive in helping you. You're just trying to get by with the other guy. You mentioned some of it passed the Eagles names. They would have fit into that element. I think the Eagles were going for, for a while, like, hey, can we just get one decent linebacker and one guy who's,

you know, kind of towards that lower tier, but that's okay because other teams have to work around them as well. They have three of, I mean, the way Nacobi is playing right now, They clearly have two of the best 10, 15, something like that. I don't know.

I don't watch linebackers. But Jehad Campbell also, who's not playing, really, is not that far back. No. I mean, I think the combination of the two of them is probably the best linebacking duo in Eagles history. And then you throw in, like, in years past, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is a competent linebacker for the Eagles. Like, historically, if you're having that guy on the field is your second or third linebackers. Too many penalties on special teams.

Well, yeah. Come on. Back to back. Come on, Trott. That's prep football for you, really. Yeah. Well, this year. By the way, LaSalle beat I'm a tape on their way to a state title, hopefully. Professional football, yeah. That's bad.

So, like, it's crazy how good the linebacking position is on this team. But Nicopi and Zach Bonn is just, it's fun to watch. BG, there's a new show tomorrow Unblocked with Brandon Graham and Boe Wolf. Make sure you check it out. But one of the things I asked BG and Bo to do this week was there was the footage of BG where he kind of stunted with Morrow and they got the fourth down stop. It was the first of the five fourth down stops on Sunday. And BG read it like perfectly.

And I was like, Bo, you got to talk to BG about this, like have him talk through the film and talk about diagnosing the play and what he saw. And BG right away was like, yeah, watch, Zach Bond comes down to me, second level, gives me a tap on the hip, tells me this and this is what he's seeing.

Boom, reads it perfectly. BG swaps out, Morrow over, makes the tackle, Zach fills. Awesome. And it was just like an awesome, awesome fourth and one defensive play. And it came from Zach Bonn, reading diagnosis and communicating it to the defensive line. And it was, it's just, it's really cool to watch this defense right now. It feels stark how well coached and how well schooled the defense is. Vic Fangio, just built that man a statue compared to the offense.

And there are a ton of examples of the defense just being super. smart where you have Jalen Carter on that fourth down stop. You have Ojimo the week before on the fourth down stop. You have Jordan Davis taking the coaching point and just batten down a million passes. You have Nkobi and you know just Zach Bonn

reading absolutely everything. And I wonder like the thing that I don't really care because we can just give them all credit and call them all smart is how much of that is Vic and how much of that is that they have just some super smart football players on defense. It's probably Coop as well. I think the position that he

plays requires just a ton of football IQ and he has that as well. Yeah, I mean, I think it's an equal split between Vic and Howie and when I say Howie, I mean, putting, yeah, the player, getting these players on the field. But I said Sunday, Rich, like Vic Fangio might be the coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles that I have the most confidence in ever. Yeah. I don't, like, Jim Johnson's teams, they used to let up 27 points in a playoff game. They would let up 20 plus points Like, more often than memory probably allows you to recall, it feels these Vic defenses hold good offenses to under 14 points with regularity. I would like somebody who probably studied it a little closer because I'm mostly a kid,

teenager during the Jim Johnson years. You weren't breaking down DeNez's stats back in 97. Danes was not offering those stats. But it felt like those Eagles teams had one button for the most part, which was Blitz, which was awesome. I loved watching it. And for the most part, the Eagles had a lot of success. They, you know, they ran screens on offense.

They passed the ball all the time on offense. And then they blitz like crazy on defense. But you're right. This Vic defense, it just feels different, more flexible. More dominant. More flexible. Like they don't have just one pitch. They have multiple pitch.

So the pitch that I love to, and this will close our segment here, is that the thing that the Vic Fangio has going from, the, I know we have the grabby grabies on. I love the grabby grabs. money. The simi-simmies that Vic Fangio is cooking up on on these games. Well, simi-simi, y'all. The simulated pressures are just, you don't know where the rush is coming from. Like, he is getting a blit. He's getting the effect of a blitz while only sending four guys.

And you just, you just don't know where that rusher is coming from. Like my favorite rep from the game was the play where Jalen Phillips gets the sack. But the way he starts that play, he basically chips Amman Rae St. Brown. and then goes in while Jalen Carter gets manhandled by two guys and draws a holding penalty because he's just awesome and then Jalen Phillips runs in for an easy sack. It's just you don't know where the blitz is coming from. I mentioned the Nacobi sack.

They just, they drop Jalick's hunt, you know, former safety, go play a little bit of coverage. And then Nicopi just runs free against a running back. So Vic Fangio is cooking up pressures from all over the place. He's mixing in, like he's not predictable. It's not the same thing. You can get it from a, like, and this is a credit to the defensive line. You can get it from a four-man rush.

You can get it from a simi-sim. You can get it from an... Sometimes a blitz. Yeah, sometimes a blitz. Like, you're right. Like, this defense, I think, has potential to be and stop me if this is a hot take. Has the potential to be as good as last year's, but maybe, like, one of the best ever. Back to, like, the Reggie White, Buddy Ryan days.

And that's a big statement. Yeah, I mean... Because, I mean, you're talking about a defense that you're talking about a defense that should have won this franchise of Super Bowl on how good they were. Unfortunately, Buddy just neglected the offense and had a quarterback that would leave $100 bills in the back of playbooks. But is that what Drew McMahon would do? So that story from Draft Day is based on Randall Cunningham.

Oh, Randall did that. Yeah. They used to put some dollar bills and check to see if it was flipped through. Randall was like, I got this. He's like, I'm the human highlight real. Don't worry about it. But yeah, like this, they have potential to be like historically. great. They're unbelievable. And I think

one of the more encouraging things, too. I know Adori gave up one big play the other day. He played pretty good. But the fact that you're getting like a level of competence from him is a huge development. Like Fran had the play the other day, the grabby grab that Vic threw the changeup and you know, he usually plays

that cover six, which means he basically rotates the coverage to Adori. And that's where the Eagles live most of the game. On that key third down where he breaks up the past of St. Brown, no, they rotated it to Quinyan side and Adori holds up and as the change up like I think

Dan Campbell was expecting the coverage to go the other way and Adori with the benefit of Vic making a great call and sort of fooling them holds up one on one against St. Brown. So that's been awesome. There's nothing about this defense. I'm just really enjoying everything. I'm really thoroughly enjoying everything about this

defense and Quinyon Mitchell if we're talking about like historical greatness within the organization I mean, Quinyan is playing at a rate where maybe, perhaps, the best cornerback, like going to be up there with Eric Allen? They just leave him on the backside of those coverages, and he has to make some very difficult plays, like covering some of those in-breakers,

and he's just doing it every single time. Like, I'm on Ross St. Brown is not an easily quieted wide receiver. You didn't hear squat from him on Sunday. No. Like, Quinyon Mitchell is his hit list of top wide receivers is ridiculous. So you have defensive line greatness. You have some line backing greatness. And then you have some greatness in the secondary.

And you have a mastermind pulling the strings of all of it. Yeah, this is a fun time. Yeah. Okay. So that was a lot of fun talking about the Eagles. Yeah. Let's just keep talking about the fun stuff. And, well, we are going to keep talking about the fun stuff.

Did you see Reed's announcement yesterday? Yes. And I believe the upcoming interview with Bo. was done before Reed's announcement. Yes, it was. But congrats to him. So we're going to kick it to the Bow Wolf interview with Reed Blankenship after we hear from a few of our friends.

And guys, whatever the moment, it is never ordinary at Bet365. Bet365 has 90 million users worldwide and live streams over 780,000 events each year. And guys, the thing that I love about Bet3 It's the early payout offer with the Bet365 early payout offer. You're a winner if your team goes up by 17 points with an instant payout on straight bets and parlay selections marked as winners. Download the app and use code P-H-L-Y-365 and say that we sent you.

And guys, you can do those early payout offers in hockey and basketball and all sort of sports. And we have some breaking news from Bet365 as well. New customers now get $150 in bonus bets. you bet $5 win or lose, sign up and use the code P.H.L.Y. 365. Deposit 10 bucks and place a bet for $5 to get $150 in bonus bets, regardless of if your bet wins or loses. Bonus bets can be used on the spread, totals, player props, futures, and more. Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at bet 365. You must be 21 and over and physically located in PA. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and once help, call 1,800 gambler. I told you last week,

Doll hands, Jared Goff. He said, come over. Watch the cow game with me. I'm in town. We're, you know, we're staying somewhere. I went over. It was a disaster. Guy didn't know what he was doing.

Couldn't even get the, he was fumbling the streaming services, dropping the remotes, throwing picks. His setup was a total disaster. I felt like I was fan-fished. And that's because he didn't have Xfinity. It's rule number one of being a football fan. You get the best service.

And if you call yourself a football fan, you got to have Xfinity. Because it's the ultimate sport. forward destination you can find the best games your favorite teams all in one place it's next level you want to talk quad box yeah they got the quad box for you it's the perfect fan flex all the action plus the best picture with uh sound enhanced with 4k so clear it feels like you're in the stadium you can get four games going on you get live stats right there at a button on the remote next game day make sure that big fan isn't a big fail learn more about it at xfinity dot com deck prescott

is going to fan fail. Xfinity. Imagine that. Restrictions applying. Requires multi-view Xfinity 4K capable TV box. Welcome back to the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast. And presented by Bucci Jewelers.

It's time for us to catch up with Reed Blankenship. Reed, how are you? I'm great. The dance moves. I'm glad somebody recognized it. I mean, come on. I got to get a little credit. Absolutely.

I mean, you shut down one of the best offenses in football, five fourth down stops I think you deserve to dance trying to audition for the dancing with the stars so I'm joking another like Super Bowl trip

will get you on on like high enough on the on the celebrity meter to qualify let's let's talk about you know what let's start with the fourth down stops because it was so cool

in this game five of them is there anything like different about a fourth down play for you guys do you feel any differently about those or do you get like more juice from from stopping someone on fourth down yeah i'd say the the juice level you know raises a little bit because we feel like it's a uh i don't know it's like a punch

it's like a slap in the face saying that we can get you on this you know like um because you feel at times defense it could probably relax you know it's fourth down you know who knows um but no i mean i feel like we stay consistent through it all and we took that you know that disrespect and we We handled it pretty well. In re-watching them or in the moment, did you have a favorite of the five? Honestly, I can't remember all. I can remember three of them. I can't remember all five.

I mean, there's the Red Zone one, which is probably the biggest high stakes. The Red Zone, right? Yeah, the Red Zone was probably the best one. That one or the punt. The punt one is the favorite to me, because it's like, you, really it's it's an example of not only are we winning on the field but we also kind of won during the week too because we were prepared for this we absolutely we didn't relax you know and especially you think the defense is going to relax when the punt punt team got there it's not

oh they didn't talk about this during the week they're they're not going to know this but no we we we uh we knew that all week we knew that they were going to go for it eventually but i didn't know they're going to go for it pretty much every time how did that uh how does that call come in do you, do you, like, see Clay saying stay on the field? Yeah, some, some scenarios, obviously the first thing that I do is look straight to Clay because he's usually, you know, right at the ball, right at the line of scrimmage. And it's either, you know, these day or he'd bring it out the punt return team. But, you know, he did a great job communicating that.

And all the guys that stayed on the defense, because it can be a little head ticket times, you know, and we go over that every, every Saturday walk through, you know, whatever package we're in, who's coming. coming out. And I'm glad everybody was paying attention. So just in general to take a step back. I mean, you guys are coming off the two best defensive performances you've had all season and against two of the better offenses you face this year, especially this last one against the Lions. What is, aside from getting Jalen Phillips and getting Nolan back and getting BG back and Nicole be playing as well as he is, is there anything beyond that that is allowing you guys to click the

whether you seem to be. I think we just understand that we're playing as a unit as like a one minded body, you know, and like we don't care who gets to credit. We don't care who makes the plays. We're just having fun, you know, and that was what I was telling everybody like on the sideline after the game. It's just, we just need to stay tight, you know, stay tight. And whatever happens, happens, man. Like, let's just have fun. And, you know, we ended up smiling the past couple games because we went out, went out there and did our job. up. So, like I said, we just need to keep having fun with it, you know. It's funny. We recorded the episode of Unblocked with Brandon Graham this morning, and he was saying

the same thing about how you really do feel it on the sideline. Everybody is so happy for someone else to have made a play. That sort of leads through it. And I'm also curious about, aside from how physical you guys are, it is also pretty clear from watching just how you say that one, everybody moving as one thing, how smart you guys seem to be on the field. And it's hard from the outside to know how much of that is coaching versus you guys just happen to have a lot of guys in the field who have really high football like you where do you sort of fall on that yeah i mean i think it's both um we have the coaches in the room that allow us to be who we are um i mean you guys zagvonne and kovine they're really smart players you got the guys up front

they're really smart and you got the back in i mean we kind of just like i'm mixed together um we have great relationships with the coaches and you know we get along and like i said, like, I have confidence in guys doing their job, you know, and there's one time when Jaylon Phillips was there, I'm like, oh, my gosh, is he not going to hear me make this check because, you know, this is his second game and he turned around and actually made the check to me. I'm like, okay, so there you go. I said, we're balled in.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if this is your second game or not. You're bought in. And, you know, you just love to see it. That's fun. I mean, we know Nicopi's playing at a high level. Did you know that he could run with Jemir Gibbs and Jameson Williams? Did not.

I did not. There's a handful of people probably could do that. But Nikobe Dean was not in my handful group. Let me just say that much. But man, I guess it was the adrenaline. And, you know, this is, he's like, this is my job. And I ain't going to have any help right here. So it's life or death.

But, man, he's been bawling. So I'm so happy for him. And I love the, you know, it's hard to imagine winning in a more demonstrative way. than sacking the quarterback with his own player. It's crazy. I mean, you're talking about physical. I mean, that's insane. How did Gibbs's speed look out there?

Yeah, dude's fast. No doubt about it. We missed, I don't know, however he tackles on like two of those plays. And it's just like the amount of speed that he has and then can stop on a dime and just completely flip field is just insane. And, you know, forcing it for us, you know, we're taught to run to the ball. and have the guys that can do it. So the cavalry is coming.

We just didn't know where it was. We just had to make them keep cutting, and somebody was going to get them down. All right. Let's flip forward a little bit to the game on Sunday against the Cowboys. You have played against Dak several times, obviously. He is known as very much a pre-snap, really good at reading defenses. Do you view this as one of the more difficult chess matches that you guys have?

Yeah, absolutely. And I don't know what people's thoughts are about that. He's a really good quarterback. Um, I remember, you know, when we played in the first time, he checked like three or four times based on what he was seeing. And as a defensive player, you know, you're watching a play clock. He's like, when's this guy going to get his final check? Because he went from the shotgun back to under center, back to the gun. And you're like, man, this dude's checking three or four times. And we only showed a little bit of a rotation, you know. And, uh, like I said, he's a really smart quarterback. He knows what he's doing. Um, it's a pretty much a high powered off. in. So, um, it's going to be a challenge, but, you know, we're, we're confident and we're excited to go up against them again. I don't imagine that your, your weekly routine changes too much based on the quarterback, but when you know that there is a guy who has that kind of pre-snap ability, are you like studying extra hard? Are you thinking about even more when you put your

head down on the pillow? Like, yeah, I mean, you know, it's just like that every week. Um, we, we try to keep everybody, treat everybody the same, obviously, but, uh, Yeah, I mean, it goes back to like studying you and like how are you reacting to certain things. What do you see? Why is he checking out of it? What am I doing to make him check out of things? So it's more of kind of studying you and what you did the past game to see if you can manipulate them a little bit more. Okay.

All right. Last thing, let's let's talk a little Thanksgiving coming up next week. What's like, first of all, what's your go-to side? Go-to side. I would say Sweet potato casserole Okay, marshmallows on top Marshallows on top

The whole shebang Okay, I like that Now let's do another I want you to invite Two teammates To like your Thanksgiving table But you can't pick Cooper How'd you know

It was gonna be my first guest That's crazy Okay, I got them right here I say I'm gonna say A.J. Brown And then Saquan Barkley How come? Because they're hilarious

Seiquon's hilarious, especially. Some conversations could be had, some funny conversations could be had at the dinner table with Seekline. Plus, you're doing a good job here. Like, both of them have been on the podcast. So, like, they scratch your back, you scratch theirs. That's good. Hey, it's all that matters, man.

All right. Thank you so much. Read Blankenship. Look forward to this week's episode of exciting mics. Thank you to Bucci Jewelers for bringing us this segment. And we'll be back with more on the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast. And guys, it's thanks. Thanksgiving next week, but the whole holiday season is coming up.

So if you're going to have some people over for Christmas, New Year's, whatever, holiday steals are here at Ashley Furniture. It is the perfect time of year to get your home ready for the season and save big while doing so. And Ashley, they have stunning dining sets for all your holiday feast to super cozy sectionals, cozy season, everybody, perfect for movie nights, and they have everything that you need. to make this season magical. We all know that feeling. You walk into a jewelry store,

you're trying to find that perfect something for that perfect someone in your life and all of a sudden you're going, I have no idea what I'm doing in here. What is all this stuff? What's the difference between these diamonds? What if she doesn't like it? It can be stressful.

And that's why Joe and Michelle over at Bucci's jewelry and design has been a game changer. They make the whole process seamless. From the minute that you walk in, you're treated and you feel like family, and they'll listen to you, and they'll help you figure it out. See what they love, learn what their team can design for you right there, something custom in-house. No pressure, no pushy sales vibe, just good people who love what they do, and the end result, something that you're going to be proud of this holiday season, and they'll never forget about it. So next time, you need that perfect piece.

Go see Joe and Michelle at Bucci's jewelry and design. 30 plus years in the game voted Philly's number one jeweler year after year. Over 1,000 5 star reviews speaks for itself. Check them out at Bucci Jewelers.com and tell them that P.HLY sent you. And guys, Ashley, the more that you shop, the more that you save with up to 25% off storewide, or you can take advantage of Ashley's special fine. financing with five years of no interest. Like I said, it's the holiday season coming up.

You're going to want to have people over, and Ashley is where you need to shop for that. You could discover great deals in store and online. And one other thing I would say, too, get in on that Ashley Fancave contest at Ashleyfancave.com. It's free to join and enter that contest, only at Ashley. All right, welcome back to the P.HLY Eagle Show. My name is Rich Hoffman. Jamie Lynch is here with me. Nunya says Jamie's dressed like he's at Home Depot shopping for paint.

And I am dressed like I'm at a little league game. I don't know if I like that. I don't know why I wouldn't be at a Little League game. Well, you know, it might be at a Little League game in the near future. The guy who's at adult cheerleading competitions. I was going to say Reed Blankenship, but yeah. Oh, yeah. Sorry.

Anyway, forget that. Congrats to Reed. We did that interview with Bo, where a lot of fun stuff with that. Thanksgiving and the defense. Reed, after it was over, it wasn't, I don't want to put this on Bo because no, he didn't know, this wasn't announced. Yeah, the timeline six. Reed and his wife announced that they are expecting.

I believe it's their first child. Yes, first one. Congrats to Reed. It's the best club in the world. So welcome. You're going to be a great dad, I'm sure, Reed. But congratulations to the blanket ships. I like that you tried to set me up with the segue.

Very nice segue to Reed and his wife having a baby. And I went, Bill Belichick adult. Do we have the picture? Because I feel I haven't seen it yet. So we get a little live reaction to it. Do you want to fill people in on the story since I missed this one? Maybe we can do that in overtime. In overtime?

Yeah. Or whatever. We'll say that. That's a little tease, as we call it, in the biz. Okay, let's talk about something else that's a little bit screwed up, and that's the Eagles offense. No. Jamie, it's just weird.

It's the same story every week. And I think the tenor of the coverage after this game, I do think the defense, has been so awesome against two very talented offenses, you know, playing them outdoors and conditions that we might expect to see in January in a playoff game and rising to the occasion, you know, they struggled. I mean, the fact that this defense, just a little over a month ago,

I mean, that Giants game at MetLife where they looked completely lost, like the fact that they rose to this level, I think they deserved probably the bulk of the conversation and just being excited about them and excited about the possibilities and all of that. But it's the same story every week. You know, the offense was extremely underwhelming. And, you know, it's something where I'm curious what you think about this

because it feels like there has been a sentiment among, I'm going to call it back in my day sort of fans. Back in my day. Well, some of the older fans say, hey, what are you complaining about? They're eight and two. This is some of the best football we've ever seen. And that's objectively true. You win every single week.

But it kind of bothers me a little bit because this is the most expensive offense in the league. I was just going to say, yeah, it's a very simple explanation as to why it's justified to be frustrated with it. And you're touching on it right now. And it's just, I don't understand why you can't have like a, you don't just need to have a one track mind. You can hold two thoughts at once where, hey, this is great. Like, very good chance that we're doing. post-game shows into deep January at this point. I would think so.

Maybe into February if everything breaks right. But the offense is underperforming. And I think that's very clear. Like the defense gave them unbelievable field position the entire game. And they struggled for a multitude of reasons. But the idea that you can't be frustrated at that, that's annoying to me. Yeah. No, I think you're right in that take.

It's the most expensive offense in the NFL. And they statistically rank like in that 28 to 31 ring. and almost like all the important categories. That's a problem. When Jeffrey Lurie and A.J. Brown have to get together at Big Dom's guidance to talk about the issues, and I say issues for the podcast listeners in quotations. We had a great breakdown from E.J. last week telling us how, yeah, they exist, but do they actually permeate in the locker room?

I don't think it's as big of a deal as maybe it was made out to be Sunday evening when some reports went out. That being said, I don't think it's nothing. You know what I mean? I think there's clearly frustration from A.J. Brown. The reason they're reports is that the offense sticks. Yes, that's where it comes from. And so people need to fill in why the offense states is. It is a reality.

Just because you don't want to talk about it, just because sports radio bastardizes the conversation and 610, you know, like just because of that, like, don't let that distract you from, it's a real issue. Yeah. Like, it's clearly a real issue. You have A.J. Brown going on Twitch channel. and complaining about it. Was he forced on Sun, force fed on Sunday to kind of help calm the waters? Optically it looked like it.

I can't like prove it, but it just felt clunky. It doesn't feel like, you know, the Fran Duffies of the world, the De Nezes of the world, some other people out there have done more extensive breakdowns

as to why it's clunky and maybe some of the routes being run and all of that. But there's clearly, there's clearly an issue and when you do try to get on the ball it doesn't come in like a natural type of way it's coming in what

optically appears as a force-fed way and that's not fun either so like they have to figure it out I believe they can figure it out and then there's also the issue of how much meat is Jalen Hertz actually leaving on the bone every week internally

my gut tells me there's more meat on the bone that they're seen in film sessions than we know about. He has not played while the last couple weeks. No. And look, when they go into these film sessions, the team sees that. And if guys are wide open on first and second reads,

I think Jalen Hertz is a risk-averse quarterback and he doesn't maybe rip it at times when it needs to just be ripped. No, that's clear. And I think that... There's a bouncing act there. Yeah, absolutely. And there's a reason he's 33rd in the NFL right now

in interception. yeah because no they're not turning the ball over at all but and that's one of his qualities but at the same time he probably doesn't take some of the risky chances he needs to take to make an a j. Brown happy look I think there's a million things going on I think that's part of it I think the interior of the offensive meat on the bone meat on the bone meat on the bone Dave P just continue but the offensive line to your point is leaving more meat on the bone with with the run blocking like the interior of the line they're just not getting the same level of push that they got in last year.

I'll add another one too that we probably haven't talked about a lot too. You know, as frustrated as A.J. Brown is, I kind of feel like he's lost a step. Completely agree with you. It's just, I, and look, I understand it's a hard thing to look at because A.J. Brown

was never a guy that was going to win with speed and route running. Like, he's a guy who's just going to beast you at the catch point. And run away from you when he has the ball as well. I feel like he's taking a step back. I mean, Devante has clearly been their best receiver so far this year. I hope that changes at some point.

So there's a lot of things going on for sure. But I think to just pretend like it doesn't exist and say, oh, well, they're winning. It's like, you were here for 2023. And I understand this is different than 2023 because the defense was a disaster down the stretch. But yeah, I think expecting, wanting, hoping for a little more on the offensive side of the ball is completely fair. So you mentioned the predictability and the routes that. they were running.

Somebody was asking for the professor's cliff notes. He is a beautiful mind. Like the deep dives that the professor goes into is, I've never seen anything like it. No, the Friday pods are so good. I feel like so prepared for the game listening to Danes. But so Dana is kind of, there was a stat that was tweeted out. I believe it was by Brendan Deegg yesterday. And people sort of ran with it, including Dana's.

And thank you to Lindsay for putting it up right now. It's the NFL, the most hitch routes by any pass catcher in the league run per game. Number two in the league, Dallas Goddard, 9.44 per game. Number three in the league. So two of the top three guys in the league, Devante Smith, 9.1 hitch routes per game. And I was actually a little surprised, A.J. Brown was so low. Yeah. Because I feel like whenever the all 22 comes up and you're watching the grabby-grabbies,

he's running a hitch route to nowhere, he is ranked number 16 in the league with 7. 0.56 hitch routes per game and that data was provided by True Media and also Brendan Deegh. Yeah, I mean, it's just the whole Nixiriani thing. A wise man avoids all extremes. Yeah, I saw the next gen, you know,

route tree breakdown from last year compared to this year with in terms of A.J. Brown in particular. And Kellen Moore was very good and used A.J. Brown in a variety of ways. When you look at the Kevin Petulow route tree for A.J. Brown from this past week, compared to last year, it's very

boring. It's very vanilla. I'm not going to pretend to be a Fran Duffy of the world where I'm breaking down the all-22s, but I can see what these guys provide. Yeah, it needs to be better. It needs you need a change of pace. You need a different pitch. You need something off-speed

here. You got to see the ball go through the hoop at some way. And you're just not really getting it in the passing game right now. So, Dan, is, again, the fact that Nick Siriani said, a wise man avoids all extremes, there's like a million examples of their like the most extreme team in the league. Maybe just punt the ball

Nick's and stop being extreme in that regard? He loves extremes. Like Nick's he lives with extremes and here's another one that Danes has. The Eagles are running more hitch routes than any team in the true media database since 2012. What? So it's like they live on the extremes. Now

by the way, if you made me guess I think I think Jalen Hertz likes hitch routes. I think a lot of the problems are this offense and maybe puts, I don't know Petulow and Jalen's personal relationship, like if he has his ear and is influencing Patulow's play calling. But I think a lot of the problems with the offense are things that Jalen Hertz does and doesn't want to do. Yeah. And look, I think,

I don't know this, but like a hitch route, like a player's coming back to the ball. You can, you can see his numbers. I feel like it might be a little safer than, uh, than a crosser. like a crosser, a safety might be able to jump that one. You might not see the linebacker dropping in to a certain spot. So maybe there's some of the turnover avoidance is being baked in to those routes, but they're running too many of those. And you know what they're doing, again, to use your term, they're leaving meat on the bone when it comes to, they're not getting any yak.

No, were they second worst in the NFL in yak? They have A.J. Brown and Devonte Smith. A.J. Brown. And Dallas Goddard is also a pretty good yak guy in terms of tight Like, A.J. Brown literally throws people off of them. Like, get the ball in his hand somehow and figure out a way for him to make a play with the ball in his hand. Like, this guy's a physical freak. Patrick Certain was on his podcast with Devante Smith being like, A.J. Brown's one of the strongest receivers I've ever seen. Like, his hand strength alone was just like making me feel like a little child out there. Let that man get some yak. Well, and that's when I said, like, AJ Brown, maybe he's lost a little bit of a step. He could still be in a little. Awesome. Oh, absolutely. Like, he has a laws of that in these things, for sure.

So, yeah, it's frustrating. And, you know, you had, do you call him Ocho Cinco or Chad Johnson? I refer to him as Ocho. Maybe is the official, is the official name, Chad Ocho Cinco? I think it's Chad Ocho Cinco, yeah. You know, he, like, survives on McDonald's? I was just about to bring this up. That's one of my favorite things I've ever seen in Hard Knocks.

This was in the middle of Chad Johnson's prime. It might have been a little late. It was the Bengals Hard Knocks in 2009, I think it was. And Chad Johnson, he eats McDonald's for every single meal. Every meal. He, like, lives on McDonald's. He was such a star. That was, like, that's maybe one of my favorite Hard Knocks moments until Joe Shane

took the throne. Yeah. By the way, the Hard Knocks trailer is out. Oh, is it? Yeah. So that's, I think it's starting up maybe in a week or two. So maybe A.J. Brown is just doing this for the locker room drama. So there's some good HBO footage.

storylines to go with. I don't know. Well, they're not going to be able to keep up with Chad Johnson. Yeah, I mean, this was a problem. It was the nightcap show last night with him in Unk, Shannon Sharp. And basically, Chad Ochosinko said, yeah, I can tell exactly what route

AJ Brown is going to run based on how he lines up. He said, I'm not even studying the tape. If I can do that, what are teams that are studying the tape doing? and like can he diagnose every single like if we actually put him to that test would he get everyone right? No but I think he's a guy who knows

what predictability looks like for sure and obviously was a great player in his own right. That's a problem though yeah I think it's a problem and you know I know Fran and Danez have talked about on formations and setups and like knowing what

like there is a predictability to this offense and that's a Nick Siriani and Kevin Petulow problem there's Jalen its problems, but I think that predictability is a coaching issue. And Kellynne Moore wasn't really predictable last year. Now, granted, the offensive line was getting the running game going in a much more dominant fashion than this year, but you've got to figure it out.

You have to, because you're very capable of winning a Super Bowl still because of how great this defense is. And for our diehards, Les Bowen has a piece on the site. He is just sick of Patulo, and I got to say, don't disagree with him. When I watch those press conferences, I'm like, man, what is going on right now? Yeah. He's like, yeah, you know, when we're good, we're good. And, you know, sometimes we get a little out of our way and we're behind the sticks.

It's like, man, like, it's not that hard. You have Sequin Barclay, A.J. Brown, Devante Smith, Dallas Goddard. Real quick before we send it to break, what's your gut say about Lane? Do you think he plays again this year? I thought it was very... Without having any medical knowledge here, just... Well, it seems like the team wanted to get the word out that, not that they're back up, but sorry, when I say we get the word out,

I always say that we're back up. No, get the word out that Lane was going to try and play again this year and that this was going to be a four to six week injury. I will say listening to Baldi on Cuz's show yesterday, that didn't make me feel great. No, no. And Baldy was over in the barn, I believe, yesterday. He's very close.

He even said with Anthony's show, like, Lane was texting me from the training. So if you guys missed it, Baldy basically said that it's not common for guys to just rest this thing for four weeks, six weeks. Usually it requires some surgery and usually they're able to come back and play at a pretty high level. But it seems like Lane is going to try and gut this thing out. So the one thing I will say about Lane is that he is, his pain tolerance is extremely high. If you remember, I think he had, it was an abdominal injury at the end of the 2022 season, believe it was the Christmas Eve game against the Dallas Cowboys.

He gets hurt. They had a couple games left in the season. He skips both of those. They obviously get the first round by that year. They are the number one seed. And then he played three pretty good games. Obviously, the offense functioned quite well in the Super Bowl that year. Lane was very injured.

And it was, yeah, so I hope that he can do the same thing all over again. I mean, we know there's the Lane Johnson stats, 15 and 23 without him. Now, I will say, they've played it. He's been on the Jason Peters playing a little bit this year. He's missed a lot of snaps in four separate games this year. He had the neck issue for like two straight weeks where... Landon Dickerson's played more snaps in him this year. That's quite missing games, right?

Like he's played in every game, but he's also missed a lot of time and he's dealt with a bunch of injuries. So look, it's a huge deal. Obviously, we hope Lane will get back. I will say, though, man, the offense has just been so bad that I think, like, look, Fred Johnson came in for the second half of that Rams game and it functioned great. the best A.J. Brown looked all year. So I feel like Fred Johnson is perfectly fine for at least

a few weeks here. And against some bad defenses, particularly the one you're going to face this week. We'll talk about that after our break here. Like, I just think they have such bigger issues. I'm not ready to even think about Lane. I know. It's just like the thing that's hanging in the back of my mind, like, man, please be okay. Because the Super Bowl odds obviously take a massive blow with what happens in a couple weeks. Yeah. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with it. Okay, so we will talk a little bit about the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. We will also have an interview with Bo and All-City NFL insider Adam Hogue.

But first, we're going to hear from a few more of our friends. And guys, do not let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code at p.hly at monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. So what does Monarch do? They save you money. You know how stressful the holiday season can be between travel, gifts, hosting, entertaining, you name it. It's easy to lose sight of your money and financial responsibility at this time of year. I mean, you go to the mall a couple Saturdays, and then you just don't know where all of that stuff went.

So right now you could be checking your holiday spending category to make sure you don't start the new year with a debt hangover. Don't leave money on the table. It's easy to get complacent at this time of year. And it's not like with Monarch, you have to track every single dollar, but ignoring your finances entirely can cost you. And Monarch is beloved by users and experts. It's not just another finance app. It's a tool that real professionals and experts actually love.

So don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code pHly at Monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at Monarch.com with code PHLY. The thing I love about Mando is it's a full body deodorant. Yeah, we're talking pits, balls, thigh folds, belly buttons, butt cracks, and feet. It was created by a doctor who saw firsthand how men's B.O. levels were being mistreated and misdiagnosed. And it's clinically proven to block odor all day and control it for up to 72 hours. That's why Mando's new on the scene and just dominating the men's deodorant market.

You can put it everywhere. solid deodorant sticks, which is formulated and powered by mandilic acid to stop odor before it starts. There's spray deodorants. There's wipes. All their products are baking soda free and paraben free. You can choose from a variety of great sense like bourbon leather, clover woods, Mount Fuji, or pro sport.

And it's clinically proven to control odor better than a shower with soap alone. 12 hours after a shower, guys, you'd be stinking a little bit. That grundle odor level reaches a five. out of 10. With Mando, the average grundle odor level, zero out of 10. That is a good thing. Starter pack, perfect for new customers, comes with all those things. Cream tube, solid stick, two free products of your choice, and a special offer for our listeners. New customers can get 20% off sitewide with our exclusive code. Use code PHLY at shopmando.com for up to 20% off sitewide and free shipping. Shopmando.

dot com please support our show and tell them that we sent you because mandos got you covered with deodorant plus sweat control say goodbye to sweat stains and hello to last long lasting freshness and welcome back to the p hl y eagle show presented by bet three six five and ashley jamie it's a cowboys week how great is brand and graham's hat awesome yeah so the story behind it because he walked in the other day and i was like dude your hat kind of went viral the Sixers game like what's the story behind it he's like oh I just bought the patch off of Amazon and had custom job yeah he's like I had somebody sew it on for me I was like it's a custom made hat I was like that's even better BG knows how to play the hits in the city if anybody

if anybody didn't see it yeah he basically he bought a cowboy's hat which is hilarious that Brandon Graham bought a cowboy's hat and then I guess he so he got somebody to sew the the patch over it to say you know I don't like the cowboys so it's awesome yeah It's, look, big week, Cowboys get a win over the. Yeah, George Pixons and C.D. Lamb are nasty. Well, I do think it'll be a good matchup on that side of the ball. I mean, it's one of those where it's strength against strength, weakness against weakness when the Eagles offense plays the Cowboys defense.

By the way, are we going to get a Chip Kelly return to the link? Because, man, that team stinks. Yeah. That would be interesting. Jack Prescott playing good defense not playing good he's having a nice year he's having a nice year

doesn't matter because their defense sucks if you want to discredit him and say it's not really high stakes ball that's fine he's playing pretty well this year yeah he's playing fine but I still I still expect him to like have a hilarious turnover I just there's certain quarterbacks

I'll just never really buy as like big game quarterbacks like Jalen Hertz is proving it But, like, we've talked about it, like, Sam Darnold and the Jared Goffs of the world. And, like, Dack's kind of in that category where, like, I recognize you're good, but I don't believe in you, ultimately. And Dack, until proven otherwise, is in that category for me of just, like, middle level, yes, you're good, but you have hilarious turnovers at bad times. And your defense sucks, and the Cowboys. Look, they're better.

They are. But until Dack Prescott proves it to me on a big stage, I'm never going to buy it. Eagles are only three and a half point favorites this week. Yeah, I mean, it's one of the best offenses in football right now, you know? George Pickens is a problem. I thought that was a sneaky good pickup by them in the offseason because he's just a little bit of a psycho. He's a crazy person. He's a crazy person, but he's supremely talented.

And I guess people around the league were like, oh, if Mike Tomlin's getting rid of him, like what's really going on behind the scenes, like maybe it's a bigger problem. Maybe he's a perfect fit for Dallas. Crazy meets crazy. You know, they always say steel meets. steel on steel. Maybe it's just crazy on crazy down there and it's a good combo. Especially if he's your number two receiver, although he had some good game. CD's been out for

a decent bit of this year. And we're headed to overtime. You see CD said he spends I just saw it yesterday. I think $1.3 million a year on his body and recovery efforts. That's wild. It's a LeBron-esque number.

Yeah. Did you ever believe LeBron's numbers or do you think they're overinflated? I thought that he would always He said that he spent a million dollars. He did. Yeah. Do you believe it? Yeah.

Yeah? I don't know. Like I understand he... I think there's a little bit of a try hard stolen valor to all that. I understand he won the genetic lottery probably in terms of how he can recover, but the fact that he's as old as he is and has played as many minutes and like we're just hearing about something like sciatic. Like I thought that would be three or four years ago at this point.

Yeah, VG shared a picture the other day on Anthony's show of a 35-year-old NBA player from like the 80s. Like I had like Homer Simpson like balding head syndrome and he's like LeBron James is like eight years older than this guy in this photo and it is pretty funny to think about. Yeah. I think some of those numbers though like C.D. 1.3. Well, especially if LeBron's spending only one.

Like get whatever he has to. Like knock that down a little bit. Yeah. So Eagles at the Cowboys this week. I believe it's another Kelly Green week as well. Yes. Five and O in the Kelly Green. It's a nice uniform matchup against Dallas on the road.

Yeah, and Grace mentions that one thing about LeBron, he loves lying. There was also the story. How much you reads? Russell Westbrook about, I think it was like, he said Goodfellows was his favorite movie or something. And he's like, Russell Westbrook got mad. He's clearly never watched Goodfellers. And I always love. I'm butchering that story a little bit, but it's something.

Yeah, yeah. And there's always the online very funny pictures of like him reading a book and it's like always on the same page. Sure. Or like every time he's on like an elliptical or a bike. there's a book and he's like barely reading it, you know. What do you think, by the way, of... I was in the gym the other day, flex. Whoa, big flex.

I can't, I honestly don't think I can say I've been in a gym in a long time, so good for you. Well, there was somebody on the treadmill who was, it was a woman, she was doing a light jog reading a book like in her hands. At a light jog. That's crazy. I thought it was insane.

I mean, obviously I couldn't do it because then I'd just start sweating like crazy. But the idea of being able to like retain that? No. All I can think about while running or exercising is how miserable I am running and exercising. Awful. Like that's all my brain is capable of ow my ankle hurts

my shins hurt. Ow, when is this over? How far have I ran? How much more time? What's my calorie counter? Like that's all I can think about is like how quickly is this over? Well and all I can think about since doing that is this lady reading like a pretty heavy book too. It was like a hard Back?

Like a hardcover book. Was it Bjorn's? It might have been. No, no. I think it was even bigger than that. It was absolutely crazy. I mean, I would like to read, you know, a curated history of the Philadelphia Eagles while on the treadmill. Get that wherever books are sold.

Yeah. But it's insane. Yeah, that was crazy to me. That's wild. Yeah. So, anyway, that's all I've been thinking about over probably the past week or so besides the Eagles great defense and their poor offense. Yeah.

hopefully this Cowboys defense sucks and hopefully A.J. Brown and Jalen Hertz and DeVante Smith go out there and light them up. I ultimately, since it's like kind of our gut reaction how we feel about the game, Bo asked me Sunday prior to the game. He's like, how do you feel about this Lions game? And I was like, I have a hard time picking against the Eagles right now

because they're just finding ways to win, mostly because of the defense. But I can't pick the Cowboys to beat the Eagles this Sunday, even if I feel like it. You know what I mean? Like the Eagles just figure out a way. They've lost like four games in the last like 27 months or something.

Yeah, I do think the offense, like we talked about last week how they were going to have to score points in that game and the Eagles defense deserves a lot of credit because they didn't really have to score points in that game. That's it. They're going to have to score points in this game. Because like the Dallas Cowboys, I think,

are going to hit 14, 17, 20, something like that, should be plenty if the Eagles can hold them to that number for the Eagles offense against that terrible, awful Matt Eber-Flew's defense. But in fairness, that defense now, it's a long time ago, it's week one, but after that lightning delay, they didn't do anything.

No, not at all. And that was a sign of things to come where they just go three and out for a full hour of game time. So hopefully we don't see that this weekend. Peter in the chat says hopefully it's not one of those trap games. I think it is, this is kind of, one of those games that could fall into that category a little bit with Lane being out, you know, the offensive line's going to be a little

depleted, but they're not going to lose in Kelly Green to the Cowboys? You would not think so. Oh. Anyway, we will, you'll be back for the show on Sunday, right? Yes, we will be here, Vinnie Curry in the house. Make sure you join us, 425 this Sunday, right? Four 25. Game of the week.

Does that mean we get Aikman doing a Cowboys game? No. Or no, that's Monday night. So that's a Buck and Brady. They are getting my boy, Tom Brady this week. Boy, Tom Brady, gross. So Jamie will be with you on Sunday. I believe we have Fran, Bo, E.J. in tomorrow for Slooper.

And then Day Niz will be in on Friday. And then coming up tonight, we have a flyer show at 4 p.m. Thank you, Lindsay. And then Devon and I, we got you for Sixers rappers. Raptors again. I have no idea who's going to play for the Sixers tonight. But, hey, Sixers have been fun, and Devon and I will be talking about it. Hopefully, honestly, just hopefully it's another close game.

They play a close game every single time they play. Every single game. Yeah. Yeah. So that'll be good. I'm going to go take a nap and then we're going to talk some hoops. Are you? Late afternoon nap?

Yeah. Why not? How long? Not too long because then you don't want to get too tired. Probably in like the 30-minute range, maybe. So Sunday night into Monday, because, you know, the girls, they wake me up at 645. I got to bed at 255. after the Sunday night

I'd made that mistake Monday I got home and I was like girls you can watch TV let's just like cuddle I just need to like lay down how long did you nap for probably like close to two hours because my wife let me and then I couldn't fall asleep later it was a disaster and it's also brutal when you wake up you're so tired yeah

it was a total disaster it feels good in the moment when you go to sleep for sure but you do kind of have to power through maybe we can make that a branded segment at some point I don't know The cat nap of the week, get some energy drink tie-in as well. Okay, that is enough for us.

We do have an interview, Beau. He's just, I mean, he's the best interviewer in the city. He's everywhere. It's very clear. He is talking with all-city NFL insider Adam Hogue, and that is going to take us to the end of the show. So for now, Jamie and I, we're going to say goodbye to you. We want to thank Lindsay again for helping us out behind the scenes, as always.

And I will say, just to wrap up the show. show, as always. We love you. Welcome back to the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast joined now as we are every other week by the great Adam Hogue, our All-City NFL analyst. Hoag, how you doing? I'm good, Bo. Hey, we're getting closer to this Black Friday. I know. We're not going to get to talk next week. So maybe we should spend some of this to preview that. But, you know, here's my first question for you is we are so inside of the the Eagles mess here eight and two best team in the NFC everybody hates each other it's it's a classic situation here in Philadelphia what is what is your view of the Eagles from

the outside and I guess especially the Eagles offense well first of all it's just it's confusing to me a little bit because like we even had we had baldy on our show yesterday and we're like like what's going on here with the Eagles like you're just keep winning games defense is good. I don't really understand why there's all this drama, but it is the NFL. Usually this type of drama pops up when you're, you know, not winning games. But, you know, the Eagles have high expectations. They're coming off a Super Bowl. So I get it. I do find it a little funny, though, because it just, it's, it seems like everybody should be happier than,

then certainly the whispers sound like, uh, the actual. happiness level is. And I get it. There's a lot of miles to feed and offensively. It has been a struggle, especially the last couple weeks. But usually in the NFL winning cures all that. Right. I definitely feel like the fact that this much, there is this much concern and whispers about people not getting along and all that happening while you've won four games in a row. That is concerning going into the, you know, the crunch time of the season. post Thanksgiving. No doubt about it.

The flip side to it, and listen, we've been, we've been thinking about this and living in it for a long time. I mean, they are now through the difficult part of the schedule, just opponent-wise. So it's cowboys, it's bears, no offense to the bears, but that's probably the, you know, one of the bigger games left. And then you've got Raiders, commanders twice, at the bills, but it's week 17.

Game might not even matter at all. So that is part of it. The other part of it is, I mean, yes, they are eight and two. They should be happier. but they are also a below average offense, to put it kindly, even having Jalen Hertz and A.J. Brown and DeVante Smith and Sequin Barclay and Dallas Goddard and a very good offensive line. They are underperforming on offense, no doubt.

And the one thing that I've been, you know, I was talking about on the show yesterday, is this team is so loaded with elite players, you know, credit to Howie Roseman for putting that together. All of these guys, to get to that level of being an elite player, you have to be be wired in such a way that you are like a little bit off like and and you are you're just you're not a normal person right and so of course all of these guys being together for for this long it's going to it's going to lead to some contention that doesn't mean that it should continue to bubble out and yet at the same time i do feel like they deserve some credit for you know every team has

stuff going on in the locker room for them to be able to navigate that and still win on sundays they deserve some credit. Right. And I think the question here becomes, and you see this with teams that are able to, you know, not just win one Super Bowl, but put together,

you know, a run of three, four years where you might not win it every year, but you're in it or you're at least in the NFC championship game. You know what I'm getting at here. Well, is this a team that is just sort of waiting for December? Yeah.

You know what I mean? Like where, all right. Let's put all this behind us. Let's go play our best football, put it all together. And I still think that that's completely on the table for this Eagles team, especially when you consider how good their defense is, how well coached it is that you kind of feel like is going to be a constant throughout the rest of the season and into the playoffs. And that's going to always give you chances to win. So if you can put some of the egos behind you on the offensive side of the locker room and, and, and, and, and, you know, just do enough, then obviously this roster, this team, especially the defense is good enough to make another Super Bowl run. What's your, what's your macro 10,000 of a view of Nick Siriani? Um, he, he's, uh, I think he's a good coach. I think he's confusing at times.

And, and, uh, and, and, and he's, entertaining too i'll put it that way like i enjoy the shots the the coach shots when you're watching an eagles game and you just don't really know what you're going to get um you know local connection to i'm a big hockey guy the black hawks the fact that he nick felino dressed up as nick seriani and he returned the favor a few days later and dressed up as nick felino i thought is that's like that's somebody who's you know he's down the earth he's got a sense of humor. He's not taking things too serious.

I like that quality in a head coach because some of these guys in the NFL are just way too high, strong. Yes. So I think overall I like Nick Siriani. So put me in the Nick Seriani fan club, but I can also understand why if you're an Eagles fan watching this week to week, you can get frustrated. Yeah.

I think that was a measured take. Where do you have the Eagles in the power rankings this week? I haven't finalized them quite yet. It's usually what I do. Wednesdays, but I think they should still be right there at number two, which is where I had him last week. Look, I think the Rams right now are the more complete team. They're, you know, I don't think their defense is quite as good as this Eagles defense, but offensively, I don't think there's any question. They're also clicking on a higher cylinder than, than the Eagles are right

now. So it doesn't mean it won't change, but I think if you actually look at, you kind of start to finish consistency wise. And obviously, you know, I'm sure somebody watching this right now. Yeah, both the Eagles beat the Rams. I get it. That was a while ago. And the Rams certainly had the Eagles on the ropes in that game. Um, and it was one of the crazier finishes of the season. So I would love personally, I mean, I would love that to be a rematch in the playoffs. If, if we can sign up for that, I think it'd be a really, really good game regardless of what round it falls in. It could potentially be the NFC championship the way the seating looks right now. Um, and that's the type of thing where, uh, you know, if I'm the Rams, I probably

would prefer to have home field advantage in that game instead of having to go out to Philly and in play in the January weather. But you know, I think right now it's that's not a hot take to say the Rams are more complete team than the Eagles. But I could also still see it flip flopping by the time they could potentially play each other, you know, two months from now in a in a high stakes playoff game. Yeah, you could look forward to a bunch of rounds of all of the Sean McVeigh, Vic Fangio storylines coming to Roost in the NFC championship game like, oh, the finally another matchup with with everything on the line. Well, we kind of had that on Sunday too. I mean, look, Vic Fangio is like Jared Goss

kryptonite. Yeah. You know, I had I had Bears fans reaching out to me saying this reminds me of the 2018 game when the Rams came to Soldier Field and and they couldn't, they couldn't move the ball. Well, yeah, Jared. And that was what Bill Belichick stole and used in the Super Bowl that year to beat the Rams. I mean, literally, with an extra week of prep, took Vic Fangio's game plan from that game and used it to win the Super Bowl. And the Rams couldn't do anything in that Super Bowl. So, you know, whether it's against Sean McVeigh or it's against the Lions and Jared Gough, hey, if I'm the Eagles, right? Like, I feel good about having that in my back pocket.

You know, in those, those are two potential NFC championship matchups that are out there. And that's why every time I come on with you, I sing Vic Fangio's praises because he deserves it. All right. We will, we will dangerously overlook the Cowboys for a little bit and talk. Let's talk a little bit of Eagles Bears here. I mean, how good are you guys feeling over there? Three wins in a row. First place in the division.

This is, this is uncharted territory. It is. And it's, so you look at it two ways and I, you know, the national perspective and I get it is to say, you know, the Bears for real. I think like even the Vegas odds makers only have them at like a 56% chance to actually making the playoffs. Okay. The schedule does get harder. There's no question. But I mean, the other way to look at it if you want to go glass half full is that, you know, every single week, if you're really watching every snap, the bears have left a lot of things out there on the table.

Like they've, to their credit, they've jumped out to leads. in most of these games what they're missing is the ability to put teams away in the third quarter kind of like before after half time and into the third quarter they've kind of really struggled in what I always call the middle eight of the game

kind of those last possession before halftime last possession coming out of half time there was a stretch of four weeks where they had a minus 34 point differential in that part of the game so it just goes to show you it's a big reason why

remarkably they've already tied the NFL record for most come from behind wins in the final two minutes in one season. They have five of those wins where they've been trailing in the last two minutes and have won the game. So it's something to hang their hat on. Caleb Williams has been clutched. He's earned the Iceman nickname here in Chicago and for good reason. But I think the next step would be, you know, you could just put these teams away in the third

quarter and earlier in the game and and not have to worry about all these, you know, dramatic endings. So I think that's really the big question. I think the bears are a good team. Can they become a better team, which Ben Johnson's been talking about all season, about how and he's been he doesn't even like say like, hey, it would be ideal for playing our best football in December. He's basically said since the start of the season, we're going to be playing our best football in December. It's kind of more of a matter of fact. So we'll see. I mean, those are big words, but if they do that, and I actually think this game against the Eagles will be a, you know, big measuring stick because it'll definitely be their, their toughest game

that they've had in quite some time. So you go into Philly, even if you don't win, like how competitive are you? They went into Baltimore a few weeks ago. That was their last loss. And Lamar Jackson wasn't even playing in that game. And they missed out on their opportunities to really seize that game. And they ended up losing by, was it like, 14 points or something like that. So that'll be a big test in Philly next week. Matchup wise, where is the defense week if the Eagles are thinking about that that game plan? Well, they don't have a consistent pass rush. Montes sweat has not been the highly paid pass rusher he's supposed to be. Now, he's been okay. He did just have a stretch of four games in a row with a sack.

but when you're getting paid $100 million over the course of four years they're asking you to consistently be somebody who's commanding double teams and at least occasionally wrecking games that's not really who Montes Sweat is or has been they've been banged up on the other side a couple guys out for the year

so they're relying on a young young guy in Austin Booker who's fast and Twitter who's and Twitchy as a pass rusher, but not necessarily strong enough to be, you know, holding up in the run against the run. I like that. So, yeah, he's solid, but, you know, they, they're kind of piecing this thing together. And what you're, what you're going to see from Dennis Allen is simulating pressures, you know, uh, Chauncey Gardner Johnson is, CJ Gardner Johnson is third on the team in sack.

bow he's been on the he's been on the team for three weeks and he is third on the team in sacks so that that gives you an idea of what they've had to do to kind of generate some pressure um and you know I'm sure he'll be fired up to go up against the Eagles the big question is but will they have either Kyler Gordon or possibly even Jalen Johnson back by that game I think it'd be more likely the Packer game after that but um they did open up the practice window on Jalen Johnson who is their best defensive player he's a genuine blue chip cornerback who's only played a handful of snaps this season so that could boost things as well all right well we look forward to getting more into the matchup next week hoag thank you so much we will uh

talk to you soon enjoy thanksgiving you too beau talk soon Thank you.