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Football at Four: A Look Into Eagles Injuries+Matchups vs. Commanders · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Football 4 powered by the Inside the Burns podcast. It's
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  Speaker 1: brought to you by the Fanatic Sportsbook at Ocean Casino
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Resort in Atlantic City. The best place for game days,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: including tonight. It's the NBA Cup with the Sixers. The
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Sixers play tomorrow night as well. Really, tomorrow evening, 6 o'clock.
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  Speaker 1: Weird time for the Sixers on Saturday. And then it's
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  Speaker 1: Sunday night football, and the Eagles injury report is out,
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  Speaker 1: and there is five players that will miss the game
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  Speaker 1: on Sunday night. Many of them, three of them, are starters.
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  Speaker 1: One of them, Britton Covey, the punt returner, so we'll
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  Speaker 1: see who the punt returner will be in the game next.
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  Speaker 1: and Jonathan Jones some depth at corner. Adam Kaplan is here.
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  Speaker 1: What will the Eagles offense look like this week without
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  Speaker 1: two players on the injury list? Adam, Devontae Smith has
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  Speaker 1: been ruled out, as has Dontavian Wicks. So two of
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  Speaker 1: their starting receivers are out as well.
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  Speaker 2: Mike, so just like last week, they only dressed four receivers.
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  Speaker 2: So the guys who will play the most will be
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  Speaker 2: Darius Cooper and Mekhi Lemon. And then Hollywood Brown will
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  Speaker 2: come off the bench, and hopefully they'll finally get a
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  Speaker 2: deep throw to him. It's been well covered. And Elijah Moore,
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  Speaker 2: that's pretty much it. Now, they may add, they have
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  Speaker 2: until tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern to add another receiver. Like,
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  Speaker 2: Eric Azucama could be one of those guys who's a
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  Speaker 2: former draftee of the Dolphins. But as far as punts, realistically,
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  Speaker 2: it's probably going to be Makai Lemon, who's done it
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  Speaker 2: before not a lot, but he's done it before. He's
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  Speaker 2: got your hand. He just, at this point, and Elijah
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  Speaker 2: Moore can do it, too. At this point, they're not
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  Speaker 2: Britain Covey. Britain Covey's one of the better punters in
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  Speaker 2: the NFL. Whoever has, whoever's going to have the job,
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  Speaker 2: just secure it. Just don't fumble it. It's a shame, Covey.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Phil, position matters, Mike. That's actually a bigger
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  Speaker 2: loss than people think, not having Britain Covey. On kick returns, too, remember,
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  Speaker 2: he's taken over as their main kickoff returner, too.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the injury report with Smith and Wicks and Covey, yes,
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  Speaker 1: so that's... Two starting receivers, and Covey, big time on
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  Speaker 1: special teams. The other guy is Jihad Campbell, who has
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  Speaker 1: been ruled out. We'll talk about the impact there on
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  Speaker 1: defense because I think they were kind of switching– linebacking
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  Speaker 1: roles to begin with there. But what does the offense
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  Speaker 1: look like this week? I thought there was a question
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  Speaker 1: in the presser today for Nick Sirianni about Barkley. That
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  Speaker 1: was well-worded. And Nick actually acknowledged that was a good
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  Speaker 1: way to ask if Barkley was going to play. But
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  Speaker 1: he was listed as limited today. Does it look like
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  Speaker 1: he will play in the game on Sunday? And if not,
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  Speaker 1: or if so, what does the running back spot look
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  Speaker 1: like Sunday night?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, he'll play. He'll start. Now, he has no game
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  Speaker 2: status designation, which means he's been cleared to play. Now,
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  Speaker 2: here's the thing with pitching about barclay last week or
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  Speaker 2: hate against alice a money that it took a couple
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  Speaker 2: of the game after ten theft in play get which
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  Speaker 2: is his position because uh... i'm guessing sort of like
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  Speaker 2: an overcompensation of the hamstring in the back could remember
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  Speaker 2: heat about it that the back it's get back to
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  Speaker 2: keep track of what's in it up because you saw
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  Speaker 2: on on the other people watch the game it was
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  Speaker 2: on the bike to look at the hamstring that it's
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  Speaker 2: back here at his back a little bit so What
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  Speaker 2: they did was smart. They kept him off his feet Tuesday, Wednesday,
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  Speaker 2: and Thursday. He got a light work in today. Barks
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  Speaker 2: something in pregame warps. He's going to play. The only
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  Speaker 2: question is how much does he play? For people who
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  Speaker 2: play fantasy, I have him in two of my three leagues.
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  Speaker 2: I'm playing him because he's a threat to do well
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  Speaker 2: at any time. Now, I want to clear something up.
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  Speaker 2: People are going crazy over this, like how the Eagles
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  Speaker 2: signed Jaden Blue off their practice squad and not Mitchell.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah Mitchell will be brought off the practice squad tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: He'll be either elevated or signed. He'll be the main
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  Speaker 2: backup to Barkley. People are just, they're just not understanding
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  Speaker 2: the way it works. I wouldn't pay any attention to
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  Speaker 2: the transactions in terms of who is brought up first.
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  Speaker 2: It's irrelevant. Mitchell is the backup to Barkley for right now.
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  Speaker 2: And if something happens to Barkley pregame, it'll be Mitchell.
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  Speaker 2: who knows his scheme really well. He is here specifically
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  Speaker 2: for the zone scheme that the Eagles run on offense.
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  Speaker 1: Now, we looked at wide receiver because those two guys
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  Speaker 1: have definitively already been out, so we'll see more of
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  Speaker 1: Lemon and Darius Cooper there. I guess you said Hollywood
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  Speaker 1: Brown could be in the mix as well. What does
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  Speaker 1: this offensive line, do we get two weeks in a
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  Speaker 1: row of the same line, Adam?
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  Speaker 2: Yep, here it is. Left to right, Jordan Mailata left tackle.
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  Speaker 2: Landon Dickerson, he made it. He's clear to play as
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  Speaker 2: their left guard. I like the way he set this up,
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  Speaker 2: Drew Kendall. Yes, he's back for the second straight week
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  Speaker 2: at center. Tyler Steen's your right guard. And Markel Bell
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  Speaker 2: is really coming on. Greg Cosell on the Inside the
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  Speaker 2: Tape show this week said he's actually playing really well
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  Speaker 2: after a rough start. They're your starters. Fred Johnson's your
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  Speaker 2: top backup offensive tackle. Willie Lampkin is your top backup
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  Speaker 2: interior lineman. And that's really it, Mike. And Dallas got
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  Speaker 2: it by the way's back. The protection, Mike, before we
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  Speaker 2: talk about anything else, was really good on Monday night.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think we could talk about that enough. People
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  Speaker 2: don't seem to understand that. It was Tanner McKee who
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  Speaker 2: was wildly inconsistent. That was the problem.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, real quick on Markel Bell. Jeff brought him up
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  Speaker 1: on Wednesday as well when we were talking about Bell.
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  Speaker 1: And I guess everybody's already thinking about the draft and
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  Speaker 1: what do you look at. Is Bell a guy they
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  Speaker 1: think can be their right tackle next year?
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  Speaker 2: Well, they drafted him specifically because they wanted him to
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  Speaker 2: replace Lane Johnson. Now, remember, he's a left tackle in college.
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  Speaker 2: As we reported at the time, teams did not see
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  Speaker 2: him as a left tackle. They didn't think he was
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  Speaker 2: athletic enough. He had a great size. He's got to
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  Speaker 2: rebuild his body offseason. He's got to get stronger and
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  Speaker 2: redistribute his weight a little bit. But he's getting there.
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  Speaker 2: You give Chris Cooper credit and Greg Austin, the assistant
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  Speaker 2: line coach, give those guys credit. As much criticism as
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  Speaker 2: they've gotten, They're starting to develop Markel Bell. That's a
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  Speaker 2: good story.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Let's look at this Commander's team in this
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  Speaker 1: Eagles game here. By the way, as Adam mentioned, the
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  Speaker 1: five guys out, Campbell, Covey, Jonathan Jones is the other guy,
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  Speaker 1: Devontae Smith, and Wicks. They have all been listed as out.
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  Speaker 1: Ja'Cory Bennett is questionable. Barkley was limited today. Jalix Hunt limited.
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  Speaker 1: And Mauro Ojimo also limited today. They all expect to
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  Speaker 1: play in the game. So it looks like the Eagles
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  Speaker 1: getting a little healthier here. Let's go to the challenges
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  Speaker 1: of playing this commandant. We saw them a couple of
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  Speaker 1: weeks ago. They won the game. So what are some
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  Speaker 1: of the challenges playing them this time around?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting. So Terry McLaurin had knee surgery today.
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  Speaker 2: He's out for the season. He's obviously the best receiver.
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  Speaker 2: So what they're going to do is they have a
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  Speaker 2: Trelon Burks, the former Titans first-round pick, and Stephon Diggs
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  Speaker 2: as their starting receivers. When they got 11 personnel to
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  Speaker 2: be Antonio Williams, he did great against the Eagles in
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  Speaker 2: Week 1. They're very excited about him to be their
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  Speaker 2: slot receiver, and he's going to be a factor. And
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  Speaker 2: by the way, you're going to see him matched up
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  Speaker 2: a bunch on Diggs and Antonio Williams. You're going to
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  Speaker 2: see Cooper DeGito on those guys. So Cooper's got to
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  Speaker 2: play better. He's not had a good season, let's call
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  Speaker 2: it like it is. At tight end, his Chigga Conquos
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  Speaker 2: look great. He had a hamstring injury earlier this season.
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  Speaker 2: And the last two games, he's been healthy. He looked
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  Speaker 2: great before their bye. John Bates is the wide tight end.
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  Speaker 2: They'll play a lot of 12 personnel, which is two tenants,
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  Speaker 2: two receivers. Now, here's where the Eagles have an advantage.
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  Speaker 2: The Eagles' defensive line versus the Washington offensive line. Remember
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  Speaker 2: Brandon Coleman, who's filling in these number 74 left tackle?
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  Speaker 2: He was a left tackle college, but he's too short.
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  Speaker 2: They moved him to right tackle two years ago. Remember,
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  Speaker 2: they traded for Tunsell, who's out for the season, because
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  Speaker 2: Coleman wasn't good enough. And Chris Paul is a great
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  Speaker 2: run blocker. He's number 75. He's their left guard. Not
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  Speaker 2: great pass protection. They've not done well with either Nick
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  Speaker 2: Allegretti or Lucas Patrick, who's been on seven teams at center.
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  Speaker 2: They're really good on the right side with Sam Cosby
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  Speaker 2: and Josh Carnley. The short running back, Ja'Cory Krosky-Merritt, is
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  Speaker 2: on injured reserve, so it's going to be Rashad White.
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  Speaker 2: You guys remember him from the Buccaneers and uh... to
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  Speaker 2: often that were the journeyman running back to a little
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  Speaker 2: help and third down but they just black juice of
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  Speaker 2: running back without crafty merit mike uh... they'll act out
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  Speaker 2: of christian daniels he's helping out he was phenomenal against
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  Speaker 2: the forty nine or she got it the game for
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  Speaker 2: the by he brought them back in that game he
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  Speaker 2: was not the problem that defense did not play well uh...
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  Speaker 2: they will talk about their defense in a minute but
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  Speaker 2: that their their action team that that The Eagles' defensive
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  Speaker 2: line and their pass rush, they've got to win up front.
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  Speaker 2: If they don't win up front, Mike, they may lose
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  Speaker 2: this game.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's funny because, Adam, we were having this
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  Speaker 1: conversation about seven weeks ago, and we said, well, the
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  Speaker 1: Eagles should really win the battle up front. They've got guys,
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  Speaker 1: and they did not win that battle. And that really
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  Speaker 1: was a microcosm of what's going on this season.
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  Speaker 2: It has, Mike. And, look, Jonathan Goodhart is hurt. He's
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  Speaker 2: playing with a bad ankle. He has not been healthy
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  Speaker 2: since the trade. shoulder surgery, the pectoral strain, now the
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  Speaker 2: ankle sprain. I mean, you can't make it up. You
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  Speaker 2: mentioned Jihad Campbell's got two injuries. One is brand new.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, Trotter will start for him. Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
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  Speaker 2: and Jack Vaughn. Jugg Hunt's playing with two injuries. Evacatee
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  Speaker 2: out of Temple University, as you know, in Penn State.
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  Speaker 2: He's playing better. He's getting better. And Nolan Smith, Mike,
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  Speaker 2: with a concussion. They're just not... They've got to get
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  Speaker 2: a pass rush, Mike. And, you know, Vic Sancho, he's
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  Speaker 2: blitzing more. They're not getting home. They've got to be
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  Speaker 2: a little bit more creative to get to the quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: It's not going to be easy, Mike. It's not going
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  Speaker 2: to be easy.
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  Speaker 1: Not going to be easy. Let's take a look at
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  Speaker 1: the Eagle defense and how they match up against this
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  Speaker 1: commander offense, which, as you mentioned, is losing McLaurin here.
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  Speaker 1: I thought, you know, I watched them. They had a
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  Speaker 1: bye last week. The 49er game, too. It was a
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  Speaker 1: Monday night. It was a primetime game, maybe Sunday night.
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  Speaker 1: Jaden Daniels shot out of a cannon, though, when you get...
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  Speaker 1: some pressure on him, he will get out of there,
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  Speaker 1: and that seems like a big challenge.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, with his feet. You wonder if they're going to
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  Speaker 2: spy on him with Zach Vaughn. I know they've done
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  Speaker 2: the spy before now. We already talked about the front.
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  Speaker 2: It's got to win up O'Jomo, Davis, and Carter. And
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  Speaker 2: Byron Young, when he comes in as their first tackle
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  Speaker 2: off the bench, they've got to win. Maybe they'll use–
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  Speaker 2: Vaughn is a really good blitzer. Maybe they'll use him
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  Speaker 2: to blitz more. Now, on the back end, I'll be
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  Speaker 2: interested because Terry McLaurin is out. How they choose to–
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles are generally a highly zoned structure on the
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  Speaker 2: back end. And remember, as you mentioned, Jonathan Jones will
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  Speaker 2: not be playing with their third corner. Now, the question
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  Speaker 2: for the Eagles is, What will they do if Willard
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  Speaker 2: or Mitchell can't play, if something happens in the game,
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  Speaker 2: what will they do? To me, they're probably moving DeGene
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: back to corner because you can't put Witt Ringo in defense.
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  Speaker 2: You just can't. He's basically a special teams player only.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Mack McWilliams is like the forgotten man. Andrew and I
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: were talking about that. It's like the guy doesn't exist.
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  Speaker 2: So they just don't. Without John and Jones, Mike, they're
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  Speaker 2: a little bit thin at corner. Although they did resign
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Sean Wade as a taller corner, as a journeyman corner.
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  Speaker 2: He was with them in training camp. He's now on
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  Speaker 2: their practice squad. I'm not too worried about it, but
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: you make a good point about Daniels.