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Eagles Training Camp Is Almost Here! (PST Episode 624) · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:43
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, the longest
0:47
Speaker 1: running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world, twelve
0:50
Speaker 1: years strong. We got a great show coming your way
0:52
Speaker 1: this week. Lots of Phillies talk on the agenda. We're
0:56
Speaker 1: also going to be diving into some Flyers talk now
0:58
Speaker 1: that they have re signed cam your to an extension.
1:02
Speaker 1: Len and I are gonna be diving into some Philadelphia
1:04
Speaker 1: Union talk as they are now not the number one
1:09
Speaker 1: ranked team in the Eastern Conference, but still still doing
1:13
Speaker 1: good things this season. Then we're gonna get into a
1:15
Speaker 1: bunch of Eagles talk. So yes, my friend Len Hunsicker
1:19
Speaker 1: with us now. Buddy, good to see you on our
1:22
Speaker 1: screens here for those watching on YouTube, for those listening
1:27
Speaker 1: on audio, we got Len Hunsicker here, Buddy. It's been
1:29
Speaker 1: like a month man, good to see.
1:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's been a minute or two. So yeah,
1:34
Speaker 2: happy to be back.
1:35
Speaker 1: Were you on vacation at all? You were on vacation
1:37
Speaker 1: right at one point I think it.
1:39
Speaker 2: I think at one point was on vacation and then
1:42
Speaker 2: there was just like work stuff because my yeah, that's
1:44
Speaker 2: what was just bonkers. So yeah, fortunately this week is good.
1:49
Speaker 2: I should be around next week if you need me, So, yeah.
1:53
Speaker 1: Two weeks in a row.
1:55
Speaker 2: Huh, I know, right.
1:56
Speaker 1: How about that? Right? Look, folks, you know we were
2:01
Speaker 1: doing good stuff here at the PSD podcast show. You
2:03
Speaker 1: know that, right. You know we've got our we got
2:05
Speaker 1: our base of listeners from an audio perspective. We're just like,
2:09
Speaker 1: we actually got to like one hundred subscribers on YouTube
2:12
Speaker 1: this past week, Len, and then it went down to
2:15
Speaker 1: like ninety nine today and I was like, I was like,
2:17
Speaker 1: ah right, he can't exactly. I gotta tell you though,
2:21
Speaker 1: in all honesty, how it got. We hit something like
2:25
Speaker 1: thirty something subscribers in a day. And it was because
2:27
Speaker 1: of Kelly Hinkle. I swear to god it was because
2:29
Speaker 1: of Kelly. She's so freaking awesome, awesome. We had such
2:33
Speaker 1: a great discussion, folks, go back listen to the Table
2:35
Speaker 1: Talk interview show with Kelly as we were dissecting the
2:39
Speaker 1: uh this was the Table Talk show from last week actually,
2:41
Speaker 1: where we were dissecting the Flyers post draft stuff going
2:46
Speaker 1: on with that team, Danny Brier and stuff. It was
2:48
Speaker 1: really great. I know we didn't have a chance to
2:50
Speaker 1: talk about it. Lynn. We are going to get in
2:52
Speaker 1: some Flyers talk maybe we can dive into it a
2:54
Speaker 1: little bit and get your thoughts as well. But everybody
2:57
Speaker 1: really quick, Philadelphia Sports Table at gmail. If you'd love
3:00
Speaker 1: to reach out to us on anything here at the show,
3:03
Speaker 1: we'd love to read your email here on the show
3:05
Speaker 1: and respond to it. I know I usually put that
3:08
Speaker 1: up a little later during the show, but I wanted
3:10
Speaker 1: to get that out there to everyone right off the bat.
3:13
Speaker 1: And also, if you can like this video, we'd appreciate it.
3:15
Speaker 1: Subscribe as well. Let other folks know that the Philadelphia
3:19
Speaker 1: Sports Table podcast show is on YouTube. So let's let's
3:23
Speaker 1: get into this. Let's get into this show and talk
3:26
Speaker 1: about this. Philadelphia Phillies team. Got a great text from
3:29
Speaker 1: you today where you're like, stayed up all last night
3:32
Speaker 1: watching the Giants and watching the Phillies. That Phillies leading
3:36
Speaker 1: the Giants. They were leading them like three to one
3:38
Speaker 1: from my recollection, and then an inside the park home run,
3:43
Speaker 1: and yeah, it was just crap the bed. Oh my god,
3:46
Speaker 1: those are the games that stick with.
3:48
Speaker 2: You, like it was just the way it ended, yeah,
3:53
Speaker 2: and how it ended. I sat there for like five
3:57
Speaker 2: minutes just like and didn't say I just couldn't believe it.
4:01
Speaker 2: And I have not had a reaction to that, to
4:04
Speaker 2: a Phillies game like that since Joe Carter and Mitch Williams.
4:08
Speaker 2: That was the last time I just sat there in
4:11
Speaker 2: stun silence after a Phillies game. But I was just like,
4:16
Speaker 2: how does it end like that? You're at three to one,
4:19
Speaker 2: one out in the bottom of the ninth. Yes, and look,
4:26
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, but you're Yeah, Jordan Romano. I mean, I
4:30
Speaker 2: don't care who you trade him to, and I don't
4:33
Speaker 2: care what you trade him for. Yeah, yeah, No, it's
4:38
Speaker 2: the era A I think is like almost seven. Yeah,
4:42
Speaker 2: you know, he came in with got two outs in
4:45
Speaker 2: the eighth inning, he came out in the ninth, and
4:47
Speaker 2: as soon as he gave up that lead up, leadoff single,
4:50
Speaker 2: I said, boy, here we go, because you know, and
4:53
Speaker 2: I'm going to try and do talk about baseball without
4:56
Speaker 2: standing like an eighty year old man here, which is
4:59
Speaker 2: harder for me to do. Years go on. But like
5:02
Speaker 2: heaven forbid, we pitch more than an inning. Yeah, I know,
5:06
Speaker 2: as I can't do that, Like I just I don't understand. Yeah,
5:13
Speaker 2: this is where baseball they can't they can't, they can't
5:16
Speaker 2: throw get two guys out, go to the dugout, keep
5:21
Speaker 2: your arm warm for like fifteen minutes, and go back
5:24
Speaker 2: out and close out the game. It's just not humanly possible.
5:27
Speaker 2: And I don't know, like I know that the Phillies
5:31
Speaker 2: are kind of bereft of bullpen options at this point. Yeah,
5:34
Speaker 2: but he Romanto at this point has to be like, no,
5:41
Speaker 2: you can't, you can't anymore with him.
5:43
Speaker 1: It's it's a great segue. It's a great segue into
5:47
Speaker 1: the first topic with regard to the Phillies that we
5:49
Speaker 1: wanted to get into, just reflecting on this season, which
5:52
Speaker 1: then allows us to then reflect on the recent off season.
5:57
Speaker 1: It just appears, and hindsight's always twenty twenty, you know,
5:59
Speaker 1: and we don't a crystal ball of what's going to
6:01
Speaker 1: happen in the futures. But it appears as though the
6:03
Speaker 1: Phillies Lend didn't do enough with the bullpen.
6:06
Speaker 2: In you know, the guy I'm complaining about was their
6:09
Speaker 2: big offseason acquisition, exactly exactly like he was the guy,
6:14
Speaker 2: and you're you're bringing in a guy. So my guess
6:18
Speaker 2: is that whatever was ailing him last year, and they
6:21
Speaker 2: said they gave him the clean bill of health. The
6:23
Speaker 2: Blue Jay said no, he's good. The Phillies, I guess
6:26
Speaker 2: they their doctors probably checked him out and said, no,
6:28
Speaker 2: he's good. I I can't believe that this guy who
6:32
Speaker 2: a couple of years ago was a two time All
6:34
Speaker 2: Star now is completely healthy and if he's pitching like this, Yeah,
6:39
Speaker 2: and because and you look at you look at you know,
6:43
Speaker 2: at that pitch at the end of the game that
6:45
Speaker 2: was dead center. I mean like the location. Yeah, he
6:50
Speaker 2: throws hard, but the location is right down the middle.
6:54
Speaker 2: That Patrick Bailey's guy that's sitting in like a buck
6:56
Speaker 2: ninety And it doesn't matter if you put it on
6:59
Speaker 2: a te right in the middle of the plate.
7:01
Speaker 1: Same thing.
7:02
Speaker 2: Right before that, there was a comebacker that almost took
7:05
Speaker 2: Romano's head off. Again, same spot, dead in the middle
7:08
Speaker 2: of the place. It's basically like putting a ball on
7:10
Speaker 2: a tee and saying hit it because it's right in
7:13
Speaker 2: the sweet spot. Yeah, and he did it twice in
7:15
Speaker 2: a row, and the last one is what you know,
7:17
Speaker 2: lost the game for them.
7:18
Speaker 1: Yeah.
7:19
Speaker 2: Fortunately they came back today. They won thirteen to nothing.
7:21
Speaker 2: They killed them, Yeah, which which is great because that
7:25
Speaker 2: to me and specifically Bryce Harper, it was really nice
7:29
Speaker 2: to see him finally since coming back from from injury
7:33
Speaker 2: have a good game. It could just because ever since
7:36
Speaker 2: he's been back, it's just looked like he's not like
7:39
Speaker 2: just timing wise or whatever it is. It looked like
7:42
Speaker 2: he just wasn't there yet. So hopefully today was the
7:46
Speaker 2: beginning of him being back to the guy we expect
7:49
Speaker 2: him to be.
7:50
Speaker 1: Yeah. Again, like reflecting on what the last offseason was
7:54
Speaker 1: and where this team is at today, you talked about
7:57
Speaker 1: the bullpen. I mean, look, look look at the outfeel
8:00
Speaker 1: as well, Max Kepler. I mean, I think a lot
8:02
Speaker 1: of us had high hopes for him, but we see
8:04
Speaker 1: what the type of season he has had. But I
8:06
Speaker 1: do wonder because like a lot of us at times
8:09
Speaker 1: are really hard on this team, but I wonder if
8:11
Speaker 1: we should given their record and their standing in the
8:14
Speaker 1: NL East and Major League Baseball overall. At this point,
8:17
Speaker 1: I feel like it's one of those situations where this
8:19
Speaker 1: team could be so frustrating during the course of a
8:21
Speaker 1: couple games and then they can absolutely kill it for
8:24
Speaker 1: a period of time. The hot and cold aspect of
8:26
Speaker 1: this Phillies team, it makes me think like is it
8:29
Speaker 1: really bad? No, it's not bad, But I feel like
8:32
Speaker 1: in wish that in certain areas it was a little
8:35
Speaker 1: bit better.
8:36
Speaker 2: I mean sure, and that's gonna be something all year long.
8:39
Speaker 2: And you mentioned the two spots that maybe in the
8:43
Speaker 2: trade deadline they're going to look at, which is bullpen
8:45
Speaker 2: and outfield, specifically centerfield. So yeah, I mean, I would
8:50
Speaker 2: imagine bullpen is probably gonna get the majority of the
8:54
Speaker 2: of the attention from Dombrowski. I think he knows he's
8:57
Speaker 2: got to get one, maybe two new arms in there
9:01
Speaker 2: that Rob Thompson can eventually trust, because at this point
9:04
Speaker 2: I would rather throw a rookie out there in the
9:06
Speaker 2: ninth inning than Romano. I really would. My faith in
9:11
Speaker 2: him is just non existent. So get somebody else in there,
9:15
Speaker 2: or trade for guys and that you may eventually grow
9:18
Speaker 2: to trust, and then you can you can go from there.
9:22
Speaker 2: Centerfield is another interesting thing. I just I'm kind of
9:27
Speaker 2: beginning to whenever I think about it, I'm doing the
9:29
Speaker 2: thing again where I like, am I overvaluing the prospects
9:34
Speaker 2: that they have? Am I overvaluing Painter and Crawford and
9:37
Speaker 2: Aiden Miller? Because I saw, like ESPN ran a story
9:42
Speaker 2: the other day of like okay to get like Paul
9:45
Speaker 2: schemes from the pirates, which of these deals would work,
9:47
Speaker 2: and another one was to get Byron Buxton from the Twins.
9:50
Speaker 2: Which these deals would work, and it was the Phillies
9:53
Speaker 2: deal was the one they selected, but it was giving
9:55
Speaker 2: up Painter and Crawford and I think eight Miller. So
9:59
Speaker 2: just clean out the farm system for Byron Buxton, who
10:03
Speaker 2: now good player, but he's hurt all the time, and
10:06
Speaker 2: it's like, no, you're out of your skull if you
10:09
Speaker 2: do that. I'd rather just bring Crawford up exactly.
10:12
Speaker 1: And that's what that's what Eric you were saying last week.
10:15
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean bring.
10:17
Speaker 1: Him up and see if you got something there before
10:19
Speaker 1: the trade deadline.
10:20
Speaker 2: I know you you know, as an organization, you sometimes
10:24
Speaker 2: tend to worry are we putting too much on this
10:26
Speaker 2: kid too soon? But I mean, I don't know.
10:30
Speaker 1: The situation is what it is.
10:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, why not give it a chance. He's proven at
10:34
Speaker 2: every level that he's capable. Give him a chance. Yeah,
10:39
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, what's the worst that going to happen?
10:41
Speaker 2: I said it, he does poorly and you send him
10:44
Speaker 2: back down to get more seasoning.
10:45
Speaker 1: Right, exactly exactly. On one of our recent shows, talking
10:49
Speaker 1: to one of our guests, land I was talking about
10:51
Speaker 1: the fact that Dave Dombrowski did not make a move.
10:54
Speaker 1: He did not move Andrew Paynter last year. And yes,
10:56
Speaker 1: I know, Painter was coming off Tommy Johns stuff like that,
10:58
Speaker 1: you know, miss missing last season, but didn't trade Andrew
11:02
Speaker 1: Paynter last year, didn't trade Justin Crawford last year. What
11:05
Speaker 1: makes us think that this year is any different. If
11:07
Speaker 1: he didn't do it last year, why in the world
11:10
Speaker 1: would he do it this year. But I think when
11:12
Speaker 1: it comes to the other prospects though, within this farm system,
11:16
Speaker 1: you know, yes, perhaps maybe Mick Abel, maybe Jeane Cabrera,
11:22
Speaker 1: maybe Aaron Escobar, Eduardo Tate, you know, perhaps these guys.
11:28
Speaker 2: Maybe I think Tate is kind of on that level
11:32
Speaker 2: of guys they don't want to trade. I think, I mean,
11:36
Speaker 2: they have levels of guys that they're maybe more willing
11:38
Speaker 2: to trade than others. I think Tate is closer to
11:41
Speaker 2: that Painter Crawford tier than you might think.
11:45
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, but I think there are farm system pieces
11:50
Speaker 1: that they could trade in order to get that bit
11:54
Speaker 1: of an upgrade that they do need. Because again, this
11:56
Speaker 1: is not some flailing team by any stretch. But there
12:00
Speaker 1: are the yes, but there are those moments when you're like, man,
12:04
Speaker 1: if they just had a little bit of another little
12:08
Speaker 1: piece in the bullpen to help. But the way that
12:10
Speaker 1: things are structured nowt like you were talking about earlier.
12:12
Speaker 1: You know, one inning for this guy, one inning for
12:15
Speaker 1: this guy. You know, if they can get that one
12:17
Speaker 1: piece that provides more stability, then maybe you do give
12:22
Speaker 1: up perhaps a Mick Able and maybe an Aaron Escobar
12:26
Speaker 1: who knows.
12:27
Speaker 2: Yeah so, and that I'd be willing to do. But
12:30
Speaker 2: those pieces, I don't know if they get you what
12:33
Speaker 2: you want? Right, so, yeah, because you got to give
12:35
Speaker 2: something to get something. So chances are if the Phillies
12:39
Speaker 2: do something and it's significant, it's gonna be something that hurts,
12:44
Speaker 2: and it's something that we're gonna be talking about on
12:46
Speaker 2: the show, like, oh man, did we did we just
12:50
Speaker 2: give away somebody that's it's gonna it's gonna hurt a
12:52
Speaker 2: couple of years down the road, right right, I think
12:55
Speaker 2: that's gonna happen.
12:56
Speaker 1: Yep. All right, Well, so just quick notes for some
12:59
Speaker 1: folks in case issue had not heard. Aaron Nola, as
13:02
Speaker 1: we know, has had a rib fracture. He's thrown some
13:05
Speaker 1: bullpen sessions, going to go to clear Water for the
13:09
Speaker 1: All Star break. Also, only two Philadelphia Phillies were selected
13:13
Speaker 1: to the National League All Star Team, Kyle Schwarber and
13:17
Speaker 1: Zach Wheeler. Pretty interesting. I thought there may have been
13:20
Speaker 1: another individual here there that may have been selected. Land.
13:25
Speaker 1: I don't know if you want to get into any
13:26
Speaker 1: of that, but I just want to do they've gotten.
13:29
Speaker 2: I can give you three guys right now, you could
13:32
Speaker 2: Trey Turner, yes, Christopher Sanchez and Rangersrez. All three of
13:37
Speaker 2: those guys merit conversation in terms of inclusion into that. Yeah,
13:43
Speaker 2: I don't know how you have a first place team
13:45
Speaker 2: that only has two guys going in the game.
13:48
Speaker 1: It's really bizarre. Trey Turner's now that to me is.
13:52
Speaker 2: A little suspect.
13:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, he ask me.
13:54
Speaker 2: Absolutely, Now, I mean, I think you're going to see, Okay,
13:58
Speaker 2: this guy's hurt or this guy can't go for whatever reason.
14:01
Speaker 2: I think the Phillies will get a third via an
14:03
Speaker 2: alternate thing somehow, some way. But it's just the on
14:07
Speaker 2: the surface, the like, really, two guys for first for
14:10
Speaker 2: a first place scene?
14:11
Speaker 1: Okay, whatever, yeah, exactly, Yeah, all right, Well, buddy, do
14:14
Speaker 1: you have anything else for some Phillies talk here as
14:17
Speaker 1: we are going to be moving along and getting into
14:19
Speaker 1: some Flyers talk.
14:21
Speaker 2: No, no, I'm good for now.
14:23
Speaker 1: Okay, sounds good. Well, let's uh move on to the
14:26
Speaker 1: diving into some Philadelphia Flyers talk here, because the Flyers
14:29
Speaker 1: have been in the midst of their redevelopment and redevelopment
14:33
Speaker 1: there I've got I've got too much community development on
14:35
Speaker 1: my mind here as I'm a public official here, they're
14:38
Speaker 1: in the midst of their development camp. But the real
14:41
Speaker 1: news this week was when uh Cam Yorke got his extension.
14:46
Speaker 1: What does this mean for the team and their future here? Look,
14:52
Speaker 1: I heard about the extension len and I was very
14:55
Speaker 1: very happy about it. Uh and and I think when
14:58
Speaker 1: you dive into the comps to see if whether or
15:01
Speaker 1: not this is a fair contract, I think it is.
15:04
Speaker 1: Cam York. He's twenty four years old. And by the way,
15:07
Speaker 1: the contract is five years, uh five point one five
15:11
Speaker 1: million dollars on average per year. You look at guys
15:16
Speaker 1: like Alexander Romanov who had eight year contract at six
15:20
Speaker 1: point twenty five million. Kevin Ball has a six year
15:25
Speaker 1: five point three five million. He's twenty five years old.
15:28
Speaker 1: So the comps are kind of there, and I think
15:31
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I think he grades
15:34
Speaker 1: out well. Cam York really does grade out well when
15:37
Speaker 1: it comes to looking directly at the comps in terms
15:41
Speaker 1: of the guys that I just mentioned, and overall, I
15:44
Speaker 1: think this is good for the Flyers rebuild. I think
15:47
Speaker 1: he's gonna be that solid you know, it's gonna be
15:51
Speaker 1: that solid defenseman, you know, not not necessarily a top defenseman,
15:55
Speaker 1: but I think he's part of this second absolutely absolutely,
15:59
Speaker 1: but part of the core moving forward. I liked it.
16:01
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts.
16:05
Speaker 2: I guess it's a fair deal for him, so good
16:08
Speaker 2: on him for getting paid. I will say that I
16:11
Speaker 2: was not impressed with him at all last year, and
16:16
Speaker 2: he is going to be one of the guys that
16:18
Speaker 2: I'm looking at this year to say, Okay, you got paid.
16:22
Speaker 2: You didn't like Tortorell. He's gone. All your South California
16:26
Speaker 2: buddies in Zegris and Drysdale are now here. You've got
16:29
Speaker 2: your little comfort cocoon here. I want to see something
16:33
Speaker 2: this year because I don't really nothing comes to mind,
16:38
Speaker 2: like I don't see anything remarkable about his game that
16:43
Speaker 2: I've seen thus far. You know, I'm not expecting him
16:47
Speaker 2: to go out there and became mccarr. I know that's
16:49
Speaker 2: not realistic, but I just haven't seen anything where it's
16:54
Speaker 2: been like, oh yeah, Cam York Like he's been just there,
17:00
Speaker 2: likes to me. So, I mean, he got his money,
17:06
Speaker 2: they got rid of the coach he didn't like, and
17:07
Speaker 2: they all his friends are there. If it doesn't happen
17:10
Speaker 2: this year, you know, or or in the next couple
17:13
Speaker 2: of years for him in terms of like really stepping
17:16
Speaker 2: his game up, when's it going to happen. Because they've
17:19
Speaker 2: done that, you know, They've given him everything you could
17:21
Speaker 2: want as a player. So I want to see some
17:24
Speaker 2: steps forward from him this year. Yeah, that is so.
17:27
Speaker 2: I don't want to make it sound like I'm down
17:31
Speaker 2: on him, but yeah, I mean he's a guy that
17:33
Speaker 2: if they're going to take a step forward, and I
17:35
Speaker 2: know they want to take a step forward and really
17:37
Speaker 2: push for a playoff spot this year, he's going to
17:40
Speaker 2: have to be one of those guys that we see
17:42
Speaker 2: a little bit of a leap from.
17:43
Speaker 1: I I got I do. I get where you're coming from.
17:47
Speaker 1: I what I like about it is I think his
17:49
Speaker 1: ceiling is so high. I think he has raw talent
17:52
Speaker 1: to deliver that breakout type of year, whether it's whether
17:56
Speaker 1: it's this coming year, maybe in a couple of years.
17:58
Speaker 1: He did score ten goals thirty points at the age
18:01
Speaker 1: of twenty three. And again I think, I really and
18:06
Speaker 1: maybe we're hanging out. Maybe some of us who like
18:08
Speaker 1: this this deal a decent amount, are hanging our hats
18:12
Speaker 1: on the fact that John Twrtorella is not here anymore.
18:14
Speaker 1: And that relate that he doesn't have to try to
18:16
Speaker 1: cater to a coach that really does that he doesn't
18:19
Speaker 1: care for coach really doesn't care for him as well.
18:22
Speaker 1: You know, that means something, It really does. That means
18:26
Speaker 1: how often do we talk about player coach relationship and
18:29
Speaker 1: what that means to productivity playing the sport? You know
18:32
Speaker 1: what I mean? I mean, maybe the Flyers just don't
18:35
Speaker 1: think he's maybe going to be breaking whatever that breakout
18:41
Speaker 1: might be. Maybe they maybe they're thinking that, uh, you know,
18:46
Speaker 1: for all of his raw puck skills, Uh, he's never
18:50
Speaker 1: grated out as a great puck mover by certain micro stats.
18:53
Speaker 1: But I think this deal also potentially makes him tradable
18:58
Speaker 1: down the road too, you know.
19:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, And as the company but it's going to Yeah,
19:04
Speaker 2: you know, I think the deal is only going to
19:06
Speaker 2: look better. You know, guys are going to continue to
19:07
Speaker 2: get paid, and it's going to make his deal look better.
19:10
Speaker 2: So yeah, and in terms of like if down the
19:12
Speaker 2: road he is a chip that you want to trade,
19:15
Speaker 2: it'll be a lot more palatable, you know, in a
19:18
Speaker 2: year than it is now. I'm not that it's exorbitant now,
19:22
Speaker 2: but it'll look even better as guys continue to get paid.
19:25
Speaker 2: So yeah, understand that. I just want to see more
19:29
Speaker 2: from him. Because you talked about ten goals at twenty three,
19:32
Speaker 2: and he had four goals at twenty four, you know,
19:35
Speaker 2: so you know, if you want to, you know, talk
19:37
Speaker 2: about the stats, they were, you know, four four goals,
19:40
Speaker 2: thirteen assists last year in what like sixty two games.
19:44
Speaker 2: I think it's just I gotta see more, That's all
19:47
Speaker 2: I'm saying.
19:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think what's really interesting is like now that
19:52
Speaker 1: you know the forester and wrist, the line in injury situations,
19:58
Speaker 1: neither guy looks like they're going to be ready for
20:00
Speaker 1: for Game one at this point, based on points, based
20:03
Speaker 1: on reports. It does complicate the picture, you know, of
20:07
Speaker 1: what the defensemen are going to be looking like on
20:09
Speaker 1: this team. I mean, look, even removing these two guys
20:13
Speaker 1: on the roster, placing both of both of them on
20:15
Speaker 1: the ir Flyers still have twelve healthy forwards, six healthy
20:19
Speaker 1: d men, and enough cap space for maybe one more
20:22
Speaker 1: call up. Very doable. But they still have Ellis on
20:26
Speaker 1: the books at this point.
20:28
Speaker 2: It really is well, I mean that's just long term
20:31
Speaker 2: injury reserve. I mean that's yeah, I know, I mean
20:34
Speaker 2: he's never he's never going to play for this team. Yeah, yeah,
20:39
Speaker 2: so I'm I'm not even he He was out of
20:43
Speaker 2: my mind like two years ago.
20:45
Speaker 1: I know, I know.
20:46
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's just amazing.
20:48
Speaker 1: It's amazing we're still saying his name at this point.
20:50
Speaker 1: But like I look, when it comes to the Cam
20:51
Speaker 1: York extension, I think when you're looking at the Flyers
20:56
Speaker 1: off season where it is right now, Len, I don't
21:00
Speaker 1: really think it's the end of the front office and
21:02
Speaker 1: Danny Brier's off season, but I think there's a pretty
21:06
Speaker 1: good chance that this could be it. Perhaps, you know,
21:09
Speaker 1: and this is.
21:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was the last big, yeah piece of housekeeping
21:13
Speaker 2: they had to do.
21:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, yep, all right, uh, but you got anything else
21:16
Speaker 1: for any Flyers talk before we head to our break here.
21:20
Speaker 2: Well, I just wanted to ask you, yuh, you know,
21:23
Speaker 2: are are you are you going up to uh Penn
21:27
Speaker 2: State in the fall now to see uh that that
21:30
Speaker 2: number one pick of next year, Gavin McKenna.
21:33
Speaker 1: I may have to. I may have to.
21:35
Speaker 2: And they're still talking. Maybe Martina will go to Penn State. Yeah,
21:38
Speaker 2: I mean that that could. And I think the kid
21:43
Speaker 2: that the defenseman that Columbus draft to, Jackson Smith, is
21:46
Speaker 2: also going to be at Penn State, so that they
21:49
Speaker 2: might I mean not far. That might be a good
21:54
Speaker 2: thing to just go up and catch a game up there,
21:56
Speaker 2: and you see.
21:56
Speaker 1: We should we should do that, dude, I'm serious, if
22:00
Speaker 1: specially if Porter Martona is up there, if he goes
22:02
Speaker 1: to Penn State, dude, let's do it. Let's do it.
22:05
Speaker 1: I would love that. I would love nothing more than that.
22:08
Speaker 1: We went to a Penn State game one one time
22:10
Speaker 1: before and it was pretty fun, even though.
22:14
Speaker 2: Yeah we had terrible seats.
22:15
Speaker 3: Yah.
22:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll have to do a little bit better there
22:18
Speaker 2: next time.
22:18
Speaker 1: All right, Again, we'd love to hear from you, folks,
22:21
Speaker 1: Philadelphia Sports Table at gmail dot com. We'd love to
22:23
Speaker 1: read your email here on the show. And respond to it.
22:25
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts about the Flyers, the Phillies, what
22:27
Speaker 1: is going on in the world of Philly sports. We'd
22:30
Speaker 1: love to hear from you, and we would also really
22:33
Speaker 1: enjoy and appreciate you following us on the socials out there.
22:37
Speaker 1: We are on Twitter, slash x, We're on Instagram. Search
22:43
Speaker 1: us out on various social media sites. If you're on YouTube,
22:46
Speaker 1: you got the sites the social media sites and handles
22:49
Speaker 1: rate in front of you. If you're listening on audio,
22:52
Speaker 1: you know you can follow us on the Twitter slash
22:54
Speaker 1: x at Philadelphia PST. We're over on Instagram. Search out
22:57
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Sports table there and to like and subscribe
23:02
Speaker 1: if you're watching on the YouTube. So with that being said, folks,
23:06
Speaker 1: we're gonna take a break and when we get when
23:09
Speaker 1: we come back, we got a bunch of Eagles talk
23:11
Speaker 1: we're gonna be getting into and some Philadelphia Union talk.
23:14
Speaker 1: We'll be back in just a bit. All right, We
23:18
Speaker 1: are back and uh len the Philadelphia Union here. They
23:23
Speaker 1: have dropped their second game in a row this past week.
23:27
Speaker 1: I mean, there's still a resilient group of guys. Uh
23:31
Speaker 1: and and unfortunately they're down to uh They they were
23:35
Speaker 1: they have been at the top of the Eastern Conference
23:38
Speaker 1: for most of the season at that number one spot.
23:40
Speaker 1: They've dropped to number three, and uh, I guess the
23:43
Speaker 1: question you know, wanted to bring up is what they're
23:47
Speaker 1: gonna focus on now? You know, are they going to
23:49
Speaker 1: focus on chasing a trophy in the Open Cup or
23:53
Speaker 1: try to stay strong within the within the confines of
23:58
Speaker 1: Major League soccer here. So it's it's interesting how you know,
24:03
Speaker 1: it was it Columbua or no, Nashville. It was Nashville.
24:06
Speaker 1: I think think that they just fell to Ye, yeah,
24:09
Speaker 1: Nashville s C. It was a hard fought battle, but
24:13
Speaker 1: because of a penalty, uh late late penalty, it really
24:16
Speaker 1: it really cost them. But again they are number three
24:19
Speaker 1: now in the Eastern Conference, still having a pretty good season.
24:23
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts here, buddy, in terms of, you know,
24:25
Speaker 1: if they should be chasing that trophy in the in
24:28
Speaker 1: the Open Cup or should they really just try to
24:30
Speaker 1: concentrate on, you know, what they've got going on strong
24:33
Speaker 1: within Major League soccer here.
24:36
Speaker 2: I mean, it's the interesting thing about about soccer and
24:41
Speaker 2: one of the things that that I like about it
24:43
Speaker 2: is it's just like imagine, you know, the Eagles. Yeah,
24:46
Speaker 2: they're they're fighting for the NFC East, but there's also
24:49
Speaker 2: this other competition that's like you know out there that
24:53
Speaker 2: they're also doing that, like imagine trying to uh, you know,
24:56
Speaker 2: divide the attention there.
24:57
Speaker 1: Right.
24:58
Speaker 2: It's just such a strange thing that you know, as
25:01
Speaker 2: you're getting into soccer, it's just one of those things
25:03
Speaker 2: that you that the being pulled in different directions is
25:08
Speaker 2: an interesting thing to me. I mean, anytime you have
25:11
Speaker 2: a chance to get hard where you go for it.
25:13
Speaker 2: The Open Cup is something that's been you know, a
25:16
Speaker 2: part of American soccer for you know, decades, so you know,
25:21
Speaker 2: it is a I know MLS is trying to maybe
25:24
Speaker 2: move away from the Open Cup, but you know it
25:26
Speaker 2: still would be you know something for the trophy case
25:29
Speaker 2: that you know, supporter shield trophy is probably getting a
25:32
Speaker 2: little bit lonely there, so it'd be nice to have
25:34
Speaker 2: something to go with it, you know. So yeah, I
25:38
Speaker 2: think it is a priority for them. You know, that
25:40
Speaker 2: game is a ways off. I don't believe it's until
25:42
Speaker 2: like mid August, I want to say, August thirteenth against
25:47
Speaker 2: New York Red Bulls is the quarterfinal of the of
25:50
Speaker 2: the Open Cup. So you know, they've got stuff on
25:52
Speaker 2: their plate. In the meantime, they play the Red Bulls,
25:55
Speaker 2: I believe, on the twelfth, so you know, maybe that'll
25:58
Speaker 2: you know, not that these teams are familiar with each other,
26:01
Speaker 2: but maybe it'll help them kind of figure out how
26:04
Speaker 2: they want to attack, you know, come that tournament game.
26:07
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean to me, I think that they're
26:12
Speaker 2: relatively safe at this point in the you know, in
26:15
Speaker 2: the standings in the East, So I don't know, why
26:19
Speaker 2: not why not try to get that trophy?
26:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Look, the Red Bulls have not won against
26:23
Speaker 1: the Union since twenty nineteen, though they they earn themselves,
26:28
Speaker 1: draw three of their last four trips to Subaru Park.
26:32
Speaker 1: So the Union, I mean, they're going to be bolstered
26:35
Speaker 1: by the return of Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel from
26:39
Speaker 1: international duty with the US men's national team. So I
26:43
Speaker 1: think it's going to be a pretty good matchup. And
26:46
Speaker 1: I think with regard to the Red Bulls, I think
26:51
Speaker 1: I think the Union'll be able to turn things around
26:53
Speaker 1: against them.
26:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a it's a match I expect them to win,
26:57
Speaker 2: and like you said, getting those guys back, it's it's
27:00
Speaker 2: not just them I mean, any team that you know,
27:03
Speaker 2: basically plays in any league has guys that are going
27:06
Speaker 2: to you know, to their national teams and dealing with
27:09
Speaker 2: that kind of thing. So you know, how deep is
27:12
Speaker 2: your team, how deep is your is your system that
27:15
Speaker 2: you can you can have guys come up. So yeah,
27:18
Speaker 2: but having Quinn Sullivan and Harriback will be a gigantic
27:22
Speaker 2: help and I think it'll definitely bolster the team going forward.
27:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, Lan, I wasn't planning on talking about it necessarily
27:28
Speaker 1: with regard to our soccer discussion here, but you know,
27:31
Speaker 1: I've since we've been talking about the union now for
27:35
Speaker 1: for some time, you know, every now and again when
27:37
Speaker 1: you're on the show, put a topic on to talk
27:39
Speaker 1: about with regard to the Union, I've been learning a
27:43
Speaker 1: little bit more about the US men's national team, and
27:46
Speaker 1: it really appears these guys aren't aren't the best crew
27:49
Speaker 1: of soccer players. Man, there's yeah, I mean, man, oh
27:54
Speaker 1: my gosh, it just it.
27:56
Speaker 2: Feels I don't know, if you're talking about like Polisic
27:59
Speaker 2: and the whole thing of like, you know, him wanting
28:03
Speaker 2: time away from the from the the men's team because
28:05
Speaker 2: he's so busy playing with AC Milan and stuff like that. Yeah,
28:10
Speaker 2: I mean this this recent Gold Cup tournament, it doesn't
28:13
Speaker 2: feel like they had their their best squad. Yeah, their
28:19
Speaker 2: most talented players. So yeah, I mean, I I don't know.
28:24
Speaker 2: I mean I these other nations don't seem to have
28:27
Speaker 2: this kind.
28:28
Speaker 1: Of problem exactly.
28:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.
28:30
Speaker 1: I talk with friend Washington, and he's like, he said,
28:34
Speaker 1: exactly what you just said. He's like these other nations,
28:37
Speaker 1: they don't seem to have any issues at all.
28:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, which which sucks because you can't tell a guy
28:44
Speaker 2: like Polisic, Okay, go screw you know, we don't need you,
28:48
Speaker 2: because it's not like you've got this, you know, whole
28:52
Speaker 2: list of great players behind him that like, Okay, we
28:55
Speaker 2: can get Ridio and just plug this guy. There'll be
28:58
Speaker 2: no drop off. I mean, you know, he is playing
29:01
Speaker 2: in Europe for a reason, He's playing for big clubs
29:04
Speaker 2: for a reason. I mean, he is probably the most
29:07
Speaker 2: talented player of his generation. I think that's very fair
29:11
Speaker 2: to say. So, yeah, you want a guy like that there,
29:16
Speaker 2: you know. So yeah, the fact that he's not there
29:19
Speaker 2: to me and I get it. I get that. You know,
29:22
Speaker 2: you're tired and stuff like that, and you know you
29:25
Speaker 2: have club commitments. But you know, you're not the only
29:28
Speaker 2: guy out there that's trying to balance this. So you know,
29:32
Speaker 2: if these other players can do it, and also other
29:35
Speaker 2: players that quite frankly are higher profile than you, Yeah,
29:40
Speaker 2: why can't you? I mean that. Yeah, it's kind of
29:44
Speaker 2: damning to me. I would be if I was part
29:48
Speaker 2: of that US men's program. I would be pretty down
29:51
Speaker 2: on him.
29:51
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, having some questions for sure, asking some questions.
29:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.
29:55
Speaker 1: So all right, well another union talk. From here on out,
30:00
Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about the Philadelphia Eagles because we
30:02
Speaker 1: are getting ready for Eagles training camp to start in
30:05
Speaker 1: about a week and a half. Players are going to
30:08
Speaker 1: start reporting on July twenty second. I just want to
30:12
Speaker 1: give our thoughts about this upcoming season. I'm gonna be
30:15
Speaker 1: talking to our good friend of the podcast from the
30:18
Speaker 1: Lockedown Eagles podcast, Lou Debass, and we're gonna be diving
30:22
Speaker 1: into some training camp storylines and we're also gonna get
30:26
Speaker 1: in some regular NFL storylines as well. But I'm something
30:31
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask to ask Lou and talk to him about.
30:33
Speaker 1: Lenn Is that like it really does seem like seem
30:35
Speaker 1: like the NFC this year is like the Eagles to lose.
30:39
Speaker 1: You look at teams like the Rams, who I do
30:41
Speaker 1: think are gonna be a good team this year, but
30:44
Speaker 1: really with a with an aging quarterback in Matt Stafford,
30:49
Speaker 1: you've lost some talent as well. I guess you never
30:53
Speaker 1: count out Sean McVeigh, but what are they gonna really
30:55
Speaker 1: do in the NFC East? And then the forty nine Ers,
30:58
Speaker 1: they're not gonna be the same type of team. The Commanders,
31:00
Speaker 1: I think are going to take some steps back, and
31:03
Speaker 1: the Lions, I don't know if they're gonna be the
31:05
Speaker 1: Lions from last year. I just you get the feeling
31:08
Speaker 1: with coaches leaving that organization and you know the specialness
31:14
Speaker 1: of what last year was for that team. Maybe people
31:16
Speaker 1: are saying the same thing about the Eagles too, that
31:19
Speaker 1: they're not gonna be able to replicate what they did.
31:20
Speaker 1: But I think it's the Eagles conference really to lose
31:23
Speaker 1: this year. I'm just I'm so excited to get back
31:26
Speaker 1: into football and to have, you know, whether it's a
31:29
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, whether it's Penn State here and what they're
31:32
Speaker 1: gonna be doing. We talked to Mike Raymond from Fox
31:34
Speaker 1: Sports Radio to Leis Valley this past week on the
31:36
Speaker 1: show about the upcoming Penn State season and then with
31:40
Speaker 1: this Eagles season, I'm just I'm really excited about where
31:43
Speaker 1: this team could potentially go again and could it actually
31:46
Speaker 1: happen where they could repeat. I don't know, I'm getting excited.
31:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, And don't get me wrong, I'm very excited for
31:52
Speaker 2: the Eagles as well. But I just to write off
31:58
Speaker 2: all the other teams in the NFC seems I don't
32:02
Speaker 2: mean to write them off wildly short sighted.
32:04
Speaker 1: No, I know, I don't be I maybe I'm sounding
32:07
Speaker 1: like I was writing them off. I just don't necessarily
32:09
Speaker 1: know how strong they're gonna be because I still have
32:11
Speaker 1: I have questions about those teams because of what they lost.
32:15
Speaker 1: And yeah, look, the Eagles lost the Eagle's key safety. Yeah,
32:18
Speaker 1: they lost a key safety. They lost a key defensive
32:21
Speaker 1: tackle too, that has been very solid over the course
32:24
Speaker 1: of these past few years in Milton Williams. So yeah,
32:27
Speaker 1: I I look, Eagles lost some folks too, And there's
32:30
Speaker 1: probably probably folks out there saying the same thing about
32:32
Speaker 1: the Eagles. No, they're gonna regress, and Saquon Barkley's not
32:34
Speaker 1: gonna be able to do what he did last year,
32:35
Speaker 1: and that's probably all true too, but.
32:38
Speaker 2: That that to me, I was singing about that a
32:40
Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago of like that Saquon Barkley had
32:46
Speaker 2: just one of the most transcendent seasons you could ever
32:49
Speaker 2: hope to have as a running back. Yes, so I'm
32:52
Speaker 2: imagining world where he rushes for thirteen hundred, fourteen hundred
32:56
Speaker 2: yards this year, and they was like, oh, what's wrong
32:59
Speaker 2: with Saquon? Yeah, you know, he's not He's not rushing
33:01
Speaker 2: for two thousand yards or just something ridiculous like that. Like,
33:05
Speaker 2: I mean, he's a guy that if I did, you know,
33:10
Speaker 2: fantasy football, yeah, I'd be interested in him. But if
33:13
Speaker 2: you think he's going to go two thousand yards back
33:17
Speaker 2: to back, like you're banking on that, I just think
33:20
Speaker 2: you're you're setting yourself up for disappointment because it's just
33:25
Speaker 2: that was that was a once in a in a
33:28
Speaker 2: in a career absolutely, you know season, and that was
33:32
Speaker 2: a season that you know happens maybe once in you know,
33:36
Speaker 2: I mean in a decade, you know, for any you know,
33:39
Speaker 2: for the entire class of running backs around the league.
33:42
Speaker 2: I mean, that was just I don't know if we're
33:44
Speaker 2: going to see anything like that again as Eagles fans, Yeah,
33:47
Speaker 2: I mean that was just it's hard to put into
33:51
Speaker 2: words how good he was last year. So I mean,
33:55
Speaker 2: from that end, you can't help but wonder if if
33:58
Speaker 2: there's going to be a step back, and because the
34:01
Speaker 2: Eagles were sent a run oriented team, if he doesn't
34:04
Speaker 2: put up that you know that level, does that affect
34:09
Speaker 2: the Eagles offense then? And they were so you know,
34:12
Speaker 2: run oriented. You know, I'm not one of these people
34:15
Speaker 2: that's down on Hurts. I'm waiting ESPN right now is
34:18
Speaker 2: doing their top ten at each position. Yeah, and I
34:21
Speaker 2: can't wait until you get to the quarterbacks because I
34:24
Speaker 2: want to see how they're going to have the guy
34:25
Speaker 2: that just won the Super Bowl not being their top ten, right.
34:28
Speaker 2: I can't wait to read that article and just roll
34:31
Speaker 2: my eyes. But I but yeah, I have a feeling
34:34
Speaker 2: this might be a year where maybe Jalen Hurts has
34:37
Speaker 2: to throw the ball a little bit more than he
34:39
Speaker 2: did the year before, which I'm fine with because he's
34:42
Speaker 2: got a J. Brown, he's got DeVonta Smith, and he's
34:45
Speaker 2: got Dallas Goddard, and he's got Saquon Barkley to throw
34:48
Speaker 2: the ball to. H He's still got all these these
34:50
Speaker 2: weapons at his disposal.
34:52
Speaker 1: I just.
34:55
Speaker 2: Last year was just so unbelievable. I just I would
35:00
Speaker 2: love it if they could replicate it. But to expect
35:03
Speaker 2: it is almost unfair.
35:06
Speaker 1: It is it is absolutely unfair. And look, you make
35:09
Speaker 1: such great points there, but something that I'm gonna be
35:12
Speaker 1: looking at and maybe we'll get a better sense of
35:15
Speaker 1: it during training camp. But for the season overall, something
35:18
Speaker 1: the Eagles did last year that they have never done
35:22
Speaker 1: was take their two first their two picks, the first
35:26
Speaker 1: two picks of the draft, and those guys were starters
35:29
Speaker 1: throughout the season and major contributors on a Super Bowl
35:33
Speaker 1: winning team as well.
35:35
Speaker 2: And you can expand that out to the top three
35:37
Speaker 2: picks when you got in the playoffs. And Jelex Hunt
35:39
Speaker 2: absolutely as he was in that Super Bowl game. Yeah,
35:42
Speaker 2: I mean absolutely.
35:43
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if because of that success, because of how
35:47
Speaker 1: those rookies were able to develop and the coaching staff
35:50
Speaker 1: was able to really help them along the way too,
35:52
Speaker 1: what does that mean for Jihad Campbell. You know at
35:55
Speaker 1: Alabama he had one hundred and seventeen tackles, eleven and
35:59
Speaker 1: a half tack for a loss. If five tack Uhia
36:04
Speaker 1: five sacks, two force fumbles, two pass breakups, you know
36:08
Speaker 1: in his last year there so and also Andrew mccouba.
36:13
Speaker 1: I mean in the safety position. Eagles haven't drafted a
36:16
Speaker 1: safety and like forever in the top top three rounds.
36:21
Speaker 1: You know, could he also be a starter and contributor
36:24
Speaker 1: as well like those two guys. I'm really gonna be
36:27
Speaker 1: looking forward to seeing how the coaching staff, defensive coaching staff,
36:31
Speaker 1: Vic Fangio uses them right out of the gate. What
36:34
Speaker 1: type of talent do they have. Is it raw talent?
36:36
Speaker 1: Is it talent like Quinon Mitchell and like Cooper Degen
36:38
Speaker 1: where they can get him right on the field and
36:41
Speaker 1: they can be contributors. Like I'm gonna be really interested
36:43
Speaker 1: to see that.
36:44
Speaker 2: Was Campbell did. Was he Is he coming off an injury?
36:47
Speaker 2: Is he recovering from something?
36:48
Speaker 1: Yeah? He is.
36:49
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I'm just seeing him coming into camp and
36:53
Speaker 2: you know, physically I'll be kind of keeping tabs on that, yees,
36:58
Speaker 2: because you just worry that's something like that could delay
37:01
Speaker 2: his you know, just just getting in the swing of things,
37:05
Speaker 2: you know what, you don't want him, you know, especially
37:07
Speaker 2: as a rookie. You know him kind of falling behind
37:10
Speaker 2: a little bit, especially for a guy that you know, yeah,
37:13
Speaker 2: you're gonna see a lot of him with Bonn, I think,
37:15
Speaker 2: you know. So, yeah, I think they're expecting him to,
37:19
Speaker 2: you know, be a guy that comes in and makes
37:21
Speaker 2: big plays for them and as a hardcore defensive contributor. Early. Yeah,
37:25
Speaker 2: I do think they expect.
37:27
Speaker 1: That he did. He had a torn labram he unfortunately
37:30
Speaker 1: was not able to really you know, make that good
37:33
Speaker 1: first impression at the off season workout to do to
37:36
Speaker 1: recovery from that. But he's gonna he's definitely gonna have
37:41
Speaker 1: some work to do in training camp if he wants
37:43
Speaker 1: to start week one, which is which I think is
37:45
Speaker 1: a possibility. And let's not forget the story of Jeremiah
37:49
Speaker 1: Trotter Junior too, because Bonn and Trotter Junior they were
37:52
Speaker 1: getting first team reps during OTAs.
37:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, so yeah, it'll be interesting to see who kind
37:58
Speaker 2: of plugs in where they're And yeah, those those first
38:01
Speaker 2: two picks, Campbell and Macouba, you know, can they slot
38:07
Speaker 2: in in the same way that Mitchell and Dejane did
38:09
Speaker 2: last year. That's I mean, if you can do that
38:13
Speaker 2: most years and have your top picks come in and
38:18
Speaker 2: contribute at that level most years. I mean it's talking
38:23
Speaker 2: about a strategy. Yeah, that really keeps the machine going.
38:26
Speaker 2: I mean you really can just you know, afford to
38:28
Speaker 2: lose guys and you'll just fill it right back up afterward,
38:31
Speaker 2: you know absolutely. I mean, if they could do that,
38:34
Speaker 2: that's a dream right there.
38:35
Speaker 1: I'd love it. I'd love it. Well, I think that's
38:38
Speaker 1: going to do it for us here. Before we go
38:40
Speaker 1: to break and get to what we're throwing down on
38:41
Speaker 1: the table, our interview with Lou Debassi from the Lockdown
38:43
Speaker 1: Eagles podcast. Buddy, do you have any final thoughts before
38:47
Speaker 1: we head out of here this week?
38:50
Speaker 2: No, I do not. I was trying to think of
38:51
Speaker 2: something snarky to say, but I got nothing.
38:54
Speaker 1: You got nothing? All right? Sounds good, folks. Again, Philadelphia
38:57
Speaker 1: Sports Table at gmail dot com would love to read
38:59
Speaker 1: your email here in the show and respond to it
39:01
Speaker 1: with regard to the Eagles. What you're looking forward to
39:03
Speaker 1: this upcoming season? Are there any storylines that you are
39:06
Speaker 1: particularly following. We'd love to hear from you. So we
39:10
Speaker 1: are going to take a break and we get back.
39:12
Speaker 1: Got a great interview and discussion again with Lou Debasse
39:15
Speaker 1: from the Locked On Eagles Podcast. We'll take that break
39:18
Speaker 1: more Eagles talk when we come back.
39:22
Speaker 2: And now on the table.
39:26
Speaker 1: And joining us this week from the Locked On Eagles Podcast.
39:30
Speaker 1: I listen on Apple Podcast and subscribe and follow there.
39:34
Speaker 1: You should as well on whatever podcast platform you are on.
39:38
Speaker 1: We have got our good friend Lou Dbasse again from
39:41
Speaker 1: the Locked On Eagles Podcast. Buddy, I'm excited about this
39:44
Speaker 1: upcoming Eagles season. But first and foremost, thank you so
39:46
Speaker 1: much for taking the time to jump on the show
39:48
Speaker 1: this week.
39:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, Jeff, I always appreciate coming on the show talking
39:52
Speaker 3: ball with you. I am too, But I'm not gonna lie.
39:55
Speaker 3: I love being the defending champs, and I know once
39:58
Speaker 3: the season starts, like yeah, it's a whole new journey
40:01
Speaker 3: and that kind of run, like the magic of twenty
40:03
Speaker 3: twenty four is over in a way, And I just
40:05
Speaker 3: remember how fast Super Bowl fifty two went from being
40:07
Speaker 3: a year ago to three years ago to now like
40:10
Speaker 3: almost a decade ago. So I am kind of sad
40:13
Speaker 3: at the same time, this offseason is coming to an
40:15
Speaker 3: end because you're the champs and right now, like the
40:17
Speaker 3: last team he played was still Super Bowl fifty nine.
40:19
Speaker 3: You know what, I mean.
40:20
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I completely get where you're coming from and where
40:23
Speaker 1: the expectations are for this Eagles team offensively, defensively this season.
40:27
Speaker 1: There's a lot that we're gonna be dissecting, of course,
40:30
Speaker 1: within these next few weeks, in the hopes, in terms
40:33
Speaker 1: of dissecting all this, that the Philadelphi Eagles are gonna
40:36
Speaker 1: get back to the super Bowl at the end of
40:37
Speaker 1: the day, and we're gonna be we're gonna talk about
40:39
Speaker 1: like the chances of that first here. We're obviously gonna
40:42
Speaker 1: get into some Eagles talk here, folks, but we're also
40:45
Speaker 1: wanting to get into some overall NFL storylines to start
40:48
Speaker 1: us off here, because there has been one particular storyline
40:51
Speaker 1: that has just been in my crawl so bad, lou
40:54
Speaker 1: and it's the Aaron Rodgers situation year after year, team
40:59
Speaker 1: after team well, I shouldn't say team team necessarily. He
41:02
Speaker 1: has been, of course with the Green Bay Packers forever.
41:04
Speaker 1: He was with the New York Jets last season, and
41:07
Speaker 1: and of course we know when he his Achilles tour,
41:11
Speaker 1: you know, it was a terrible moment for he and
41:12
Speaker 1: his career. But now he is going to be a
41:15
Speaker 1: member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, And I wanted to get
41:18
Speaker 1: your thoughts on this because, for the life of me,
41:21
Speaker 1: I just cannot figure out why the Pittsburgh Steelers would
41:24
Speaker 1: go in this direction when they know Aaron Rodgers is
41:27
Speaker 1: at the end of his career. His performance over these
41:30
Speaker 1: last few years, of course, has been on the decline.
41:32
Speaker 1: And I guess the overall questions are, why does an
41:36
Speaker 1: organization like the Steelers decide to do this? And like,
41:40
Speaker 1: what's the plan of action for quarterback in the future,
41:43
Speaker 1: because it's like, it's like it seems like they do
41:46
Speaker 1: not have a good solid plan of action for one
41:48
Speaker 1: of the most important positions in sports. I don't know,
41:50
Speaker 1: what are your thoughts here? Am I just being a
41:52
Speaker 1: little too nippicky about this here? As as a football fan?
41:56
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts? No?
41:58
Speaker 3: I completely agree with you. I think the Pittsburgh Steelers
42:00
Speaker 3: are one of the two most delusional franchises in the
42:04
Speaker 3: NFL right now. And the other one is in the
42:06
Speaker 3: NFC East and it's the Dallas Cowboys. It's these two
42:09
Speaker 3: teams that are still living off their past success of
42:12
Speaker 3: winning Lombardes. In that past success, like that ego of
42:16
Speaker 3: those championships have almost been the reason both of those
42:19
Speaker 3: teams are stuck in the purgatory they're in right now.
42:23
Speaker 3: Like the Pittsburgh Steelers think that they are truly Aaron
42:28
Speaker 3: Rodgers away from being a super Bowl contetitor, when in actuality,
42:33
Speaker 3: that idea of their just a couple players away every
42:35
Speaker 3: single year and their refusal to just hit the reset
42:38
Speaker 3: button is what in fact is keeping them from winning championship.
42:42
Speaker 3: Like the Pittsburgh Steelers, they think they're almost too good
42:44
Speaker 3: to rebuild. It's like, we're the Steelers, we don't rebuild,
42:46
Speaker 3: we would do things like everybody else, we win championships.
42:49
Speaker 3: That mentality, in fact, is what is stopping them from
42:52
Speaker 3: winning championships. And I think Aaron Rodgers that move is
42:55
Speaker 3: just another manifestation of that Steelers ego, Like they still
42:58
Speaker 3: think they're the team from fifteen years ago that is
43:01
Speaker 3: winning a super Bowl and they haven't been that team.
43:04
Speaker 3: And I don't know, like since twenty sixteen when they
43:07
Speaker 3: get we're in the AFC Championship, they're not close.
43:09
Speaker 1: Close to ten years.
43:09
Speaker 3: I also think they're gonna be worse this year, yea yeah,
43:12
Speaker 3: And I think the roster is worse this year. I
43:14
Speaker 3: think Aaron Rodgers can't carry as much as justin Fields
43:17
Speaker 3: or Russell Wilson last year. I honestly think they're going
43:19
Speaker 3: to be worse off this year, and I don't think
43:20
Speaker 3: they make the playoffs.
43:21
Speaker 1: I don't think they do either. It's just absolutely baffling,
43:24
Speaker 1: and I think it's such a great point you make
43:26
Speaker 1: that this is a team just like the Dallas Cowboys,
43:28
Speaker 1: just living in the past, trying to make it seem
43:31
Speaker 1: as though there's some sort of relevant team. And it
43:33
Speaker 1: really brings me to like what the NFC is going
43:36
Speaker 1: to look like this year. I mean, when we look
43:38
Speaker 1: at the NFC in general, we know the Eagles, they're
43:40
Speaker 1: slated to be one of the top teams in the conference.
43:43
Speaker 1: I mean, I I see the Lions potentially taking some
43:47
Speaker 1: steps back this year, possibly the forty nine ers. They
43:50
Speaker 1: seem to be a team that is maybe going through
43:53
Speaker 1: some pain this year as well and possibly well into
43:56
Speaker 1: the future too, especially with that brock Perty contract. What
43:59
Speaker 1: that does to the rest of the team. I question
44:01
Speaker 1: how good the Los Angeles Rams may actually be this
44:05
Speaker 1: year as well. Although you never want to count out
44:07
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh, how weak is the NFC in your opinion?
44:12
Speaker 1: Low it does it seem like the Eagles or that
44:15
Speaker 1: this conference is really the Eagles to lose? What are
44:17
Speaker 1: your thoughts?
44:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the Eagles are clearly the cream of
44:20
Speaker 3: the crop in this conference. It's interesting because I think
44:23
Speaker 3: the AFC is more top heavy with like real legit
44:25
Speaker 3: Super Bowl contenders. Yeah, because that's where all the quarterbacks are.
44:28
Speaker 3: It's the Chiefs, it's the Bills, it's the Ravens. I
44:30
Speaker 3: think the Bengals will be back in the mix this
44:32
Speaker 3: year with Joe Burrow. Even the Chargers to a degree
44:35
Speaker 3: are getting better every year, and Justin Herbert's one of
44:37
Speaker 3: those guys. So I think the AFC has more like
44:40
Speaker 3: true championship contenders, Yeah, Whereas I think the NFC it's
44:43
Speaker 3: not as top heavy because, like you said, after the Eagles,
44:47
Speaker 3: it's who is this Detroit team without Ben Johnson, without
44:51
Speaker 3: one of their starting offensive lineman, Like, is Jared Goff
44:53
Speaker 3: gonna turn back into a pumpkin? The Commanders last year?
44:57
Speaker 3: Was that a legit team, like a Final four caliber
45:00
Speaker 3: team or do they obviously you know, exceed expectations. You know,
45:04
Speaker 3: the the Rams, I think are the second best team
45:06
Speaker 3: in the NFC, but they have a lot of questions too,
45:08
Speaker 3: so it's not as top heavy with Super Bowl contenders.
45:11
Speaker 3: But I will say I think it's a deeper conference
45:13
Speaker 3: from the perspective of like that second and third tier,
45:16
Speaker 3: the teams that are fighting for you know, seeds four
45:19
Speaker 3: through seven. Yeah, there are a lot of teams in
45:21
Speaker 3: that mix that have much better rosters than the AFC.
45:24
Speaker 3: There's more of a drop off after you get through
45:27
Speaker 3: like four to five teams. So I think it's a
45:29
Speaker 3: competitive conference. I think there's a lot of teams that,
45:32
Speaker 3: you know, with young quarterbacks that will be battling for
45:34
Speaker 3: a playoff spot. But yeah, outside of like the Rams, Lions,
45:38
Speaker 3: and honestly, at that point, those are the only two
45:40
Speaker 3: teams that I'm like, I don't most say scared of,
45:42
Speaker 3: but I think we'll really push the Eagles this year.
45:45
Speaker 3: Even Washington. I do think there's a regression coming. So
45:48
Speaker 3: that's kind of in the long form rant way of
45:51
Speaker 3: saying I think the NFC, I think it's definitely weaker
45:54
Speaker 3: at the top compared to the AFC.
45:55
Speaker 1: Absolutely. All right, well let's dive into some Eagles talk here.
45:59
Speaker 1: Really I wanted to bring you on, Lou because training
46:03
Speaker 1: camp is going to be here soon. It's going to
46:05
Speaker 1: be here before we know it. And we look, we
46:07
Speaker 1: know who the starters are going to be on the
46:09
Speaker 1: offensive line. We know these guys, you know, possibly with
46:13
Speaker 1: the exception maybe of right guard. But I think the
46:15
Speaker 1: conventional wisdom is that Tyler Steen probably going to be
46:19
Speaker 1: the starter. Then again, we thought he was going to
46:21
Speaker 1: be the starter that many of us did heading into
46:23
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty four season. Mackai Becton took the reins
46:26
Speaker 1: for the entire season. But I have been thinking a
46:30
Speaker 1: lot of in terms of the depth with this offensive line.
46:33
Speaker 1: If Lane Johnson, who's getting up there, if he's injured,
46:36
Speaker 1: You've got Landon Dickerson who's dealt with some injuries here
46:38
Speaker 1: and there, or even Jordan my Lot if they go
46:41
Speaker 1: down for any extended period of time this coming season.
46:44
Speaker 1: How do you think this Eagles offensive line depth is
46:47
Speaker 1: really going to be looking this year? What are your thoughts?
46:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, I do feel like the is kind of similar
46:52
Speaker 3: to the ref of roster when you talk about depth,
46:56
Speaker 3: because it's younger, it's cheaper. It has to be that
47:00
Speaker 3: when you're paying the you know pretty much every starter
47:02
Speaker 3: is getting top ten money and so on. Defense, you're
47:06
Speaker 3: anticipating eventually you're gonna to pay Jayalen Carter. You paid
47:08
Speaker 3: Zach Bonnet top five contract. Naturally, your depth has to
47:11
Speaker 3: get younger, but naturally that also comes with less experience.
47:15
Speaker 3: It's more of a projection. I think it's the same
47:17
Speaker 3: thing with the Eagles offensive line, Like can Jeff Stotlin
47:20
Speaker 3: turn Kenyan Green into his next reclamation project? Like Mackay
47:23
Speaker 3: Beckton last year? Can he turn one of these Day
47:25
Speaker 3: three picks into a legitimate player like he did Jordan
47:27
Speaker 3: may Alatta. Can Drew Kendall be this versatile center guard
47:30
Speaker 3: kind of tweener? Cameron Williams, some people thought if he
47:33
Speaker 3: came out of Texas next year, he'd be a rounds
47:36
Speaker 3: one through three kind of prospect. Miles Hinton is a
47:39
Speaker 3: massive human being with a lot of great traits, but
47:41
Speaker 3: he's definitely raw. You know, It's a lot of again young,
47:45
Speaker 3: inexperienced players. But I like the idea of giving Jeff
47:48
Speaker 3: Stoutlin the higher sealing, lower floor players because outside of
47:52
Speaker 3: like one or two players like a Chance Warmack and
47:54
Speaker 3: a Jaymon Brown, those are the only two guys that
47:56
Speaker 3: can ever think of that haven't had success in Stoutlin University,
48:00
Speaker 3: so it is an experience, but I'm kind of excited.
48:03
Speaker 3: Like they took three offensive linemen on Day three this year,
48:06
Speaker 3: I think it's considering their track record, almost a slam dunk.
48:10
Speaker 3: One of them are going to be at least a
48:11
Speaker 3: legit backup, and you do have Matt Pryor to just
48:14
Speaker 3: in case two, who has a lot of starting experience,
48:17
Speaker 3: so they kind of, you know, cover themselves with that
48:19
Speaker 3: veteran move as well.
48:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be real interesting to see how all
48:22
Speaker 1: of this plays out in camp, for sure. I also
48:26
Speaker 1: wanted to talk about the depth at another position here
48:28
Speaker 1: because from the running back standpoint, obviously, Saquon Barkley is
48:33
Speaker 1: going to be getting the lion's share of the snaps
48:35
Speaker 1: and opportunities just based on what he did last season,
48:38
Speaker 1: his role, who he is as a talent in this
48:41
Speaker 1: league and for this Eagles team. But I do wonder
48:43
Speaker 1: how perhaps aj Dillon and Will Shipley might be used
48:48
Speaker 1: this year, that is, if they're going to be on
48:49
Speaker 1: the team to start the season, which I imagine that
48:51
Speaker 1: they probably will. So wanted to get your thoughts low
48:55
Speaker 1: on the depth at the running back position, what we
48:58
Speaker 1: might see what we might not see. What are your thought?
49:01
Speaker 3: I really like aj Dillon's style of play for the
49:05
Speaker 3: Eagles backfield because I think this year they are going
49:08
Speaker 3: to obviously the offense is still going to run through
49:10
Speaker 3: Saquon Barkley, especially at the end of the year in
49:12
Speaker 3: the playoffs. Yep, you know they're still gonna be I think,
49:14
Speaker 3: the most run heavy team in football. But you can't
49:17
Speaker 3: have Saquon had that historic usage rate he had last
49:19
Speaker 3: year all year long. Again, like, you can do it
49:22
Speaker 3: at the end, but he will not make it through
49:24
Speaker 3: a whole nother year. Yeah, doing that with his injury history.
49:27
Speaker 3: So if you want to keep him fresh for the playoffs,
49:29
Speaker 3: they have to throw more number one, but number two,
49:31
Speaker 3: they have to use the other guys in the backfield more.
49:33
Speaker 3: I think Will Shipley's going to have the second most
49:35
Speaker 3: touches because he has that receiving ability that aj Dillon
49:39
Speaker 3: does not. But I like the idea of in case
49:41
Speaker 3: Saquon needs a spell, In case he does get injured,
49:44
Speaker 3: Will Shipley can't be in RB one, like, I just
49:47
Speaker 3: don't think his body can handle that kind of workload.
49:50
Speaker 3: So I like the idea of bringing in a bigger
49:52
Speaker 3: and more powerful style in aj Dillon to compliment what
49:55
Speaker 3: will Shipley is now what I will say. At the
49:57
Speaker 3: same time, AJ Dillon had a neck in last year
50:00
Speaker 3: that kept him out pretty much, I mean, all the
50:02
Speaker 3: entire season. So could he be this years of shod
50:05
Speaker 3: Penny where it's like a former big name first or
50:08
Speaker 3: second round pick that we all know when he ends
50:09
Speaker 3: up not doing anything like That's a possibility, but I
50:12
Speaker 3: do like the style of player that he is. I
50:15
Speaker 3: liked the mentality the Eagles brought in with Dylan. Keep
50:18
Speaker 3: an eye out though, for undrafted rookie Montreal Johnson. I
50:21
Speaker 3: really do think he's interesting from the University of Florida.
50:24
Speaker 3: Could he be this year's like Corey Clement or a
50:26
Speaker 3: Josh Adams type. Keep an eye out for him. But
50:28
Speaker 3: I think they have some interesting players for sure.
50:30
Speaker 1: It's gonna be interesting to watch these guys during training camp.
50:33
Speaker 1: And again, folks, we're talking to lou Dbasi from the
50:36
Speaker 1: Locked On Eagles podcast. You know we love our locked
50:39
Speaker 1: on network here at the PSD podcast show, Luke, can
50:41
Speaker 1: you tell everybody where they can find you on the
50:43
Speaker 1: socials out there and just on the web if they
50:45
Speaker 1: want to get in touch with you.
50:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, So you can hit us up on x
50:49
Speaker 3: at Lockdown Birds or at dbassee can always message us
50:52
Speaker 3: on our YouTube community page as well, Locked Down Eagles
50:55
Speaker 3: our YouTube channel. You can find Locked Down Eagles on
50:57
Speaker 3: all podcast platforms as well. Right now, we're doing three
50:59
Speaker 3: to four shows a week, so that's technically my break,
51:02
Speaker 3: and then Monday through Friday we're back daily and a
51:05
Speaker 3: couple of weeks in training camp because yeah, so like
51:07
Speaker 3: I'm an offseason mode right now, but I'm still doing
51:09
Speaker 3: three to four a week, So I'm just an addict
51:12
Speaker 3: talking birds, Jeff, So, I.
51:13
Speaker 1: Absolutely and you're fantastic. You've been doing it for so long.
51:16
Speaker 1: Keeping up the great work, my man. Absolutely. Well, let's
51:19
Speaker 1: shift over to the defense here, Lou, because I am concerned,
51:24
Speaker 1: and you know you hear it within an Eagles nation
51:25
Speaker 1: every now and again, concerned about the safety position. You know,
51:29
Speaker 1: we talked about it a few weeks ago on this
51:31
Speaker 1: podcast platform. I mean, I'm concerned with certain teams that
51:34
Speaker 1: the Eagles are going to be playing this year, whether
51:36
Speaker 1: it's the Bucks, the Chiefs, the Lions, even the Commanders,
51:39
Speaker 1: who have some pretty solid wide receiver cords. Some speedy
51:42
Speaker 1: wide receivers that are really going to be able to
51:44
Speaker 1: you know, maybe perhaps take the top off you know,
51:46
Speaker 1: this Eagles safety unit. I'm wondering, are you as concerned
51:50
Speaker 1: about it as I am? If so, what's your level
51:52
Speaker 1: of concern? What are your thoughts with regard to the
51:54
Speaker 1: Eagles safety position and how it could be. I don't
51:57
Speaker 1: want to necessarily say an achilles heel by any but
52:00
Speaker 1: definitely a weaker aspect of this defense.
52:04
Speaker 3: I definitely was could I was more concerned in March
52:07
Speaker 3: when they traded away CJ. Gardner Johnson. I was not
52:10
Speaker 3: happy with that move. I thought Garter Johnson was the energizer,
52:14
Speaker 3: bunny like kind of the spirit of that defense. And
52:17
Speaker 3: the last time they lost Chelsea Gardner Johnson or CJ.
52:19
Speaker 3: Gardner Johnson in twenty twenty three, that defense wasn't the
52:23
Speaker 3: same without him, like without that kind of swagger, without
52:26
Speaker 3: not just like his energy. But the guy had six
52:29
Speaker 3: interceptions in twenty twenty two. He had six interceptions in
52:31
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four. That's a lot of turnovers leaving your defense.
52:34
Speaker 3: They did not replace him well. Terrell Edmunds did not
52:37
Speaker 3: pan out, Kevin Byrd did not pan out that really
52:41
Speaker 3: helped in or hurt the defense regressing in twenty twenty three.
52:44
Speaker 3: So I was nervous, but I will say Drew mccooba
52:48
Speaker 3: in the second round was a real big confidence booster
52:51
Speaker 3: for me. Obviously, he's a rookie and we don't know
52:53
Speaker 3: what we're gonna get, but I think he's very similar
52:56
Speaker 3: to CJ. Gardner Johnson and his vision and zone coverage.
52:59
Speaker 3: I think he is a ball hockey. Had five interceptions
53:01
Speaker 3: out of Texas last year. I think he's actually a
53:04
Speaker 3: better man coverage safety than both Gardner Johnson and Sidney Brown,
53:08
Speaker 3: who is his competitor this year in training camp. So again,
53:11
Speaker 3: it's like a lot of positions here. It's more of
53:14
Speaker 3: a projection. It's younger and experienced players there. But the
53:18
Speaker 3: Eagles haven't taken a safety in the first two rounds
53:20
Speaker 3: before this since Jae Kwon Jarrett in twenty eleven. Yeah,
53:23
Speaker 3: this is a significant investment in a versatile player and
53:26
Speaker 3: I think it's going to pan out. DeVante Smith was
53:27
Speaker 3: asked at his softball charity event what player has impressed
53:31
Speaker 3: him the most so far during OTAs, and he said
53:33
Speaker 3: the rookie from Texas and he was talking about Drew mccuba.
53:36
Speaker 3: So again I think it's will. I would rather still
53:39
Speaker 3: have Chauncey Garner Johnson in Philadelphia, But between Acuba and
53:43
Speaker 3: Sidney Brown, I feel like one of them is going
53:45
Speaker 3: to pan out. Like those are two players with a
53:47
Speaker 3: really high ceiling in my opinion.
53:48
Speaker 1: I'll tell you the CJ. Gardner Johnson carousel man, what
53:51
Speaker 1: a tease that's been. When he was initially in the
53:53
Speaker 1: NFL draft, I wanted the Eagles to get him. They didn't,
53:56
Speaker 1: went to the Saints. I was really wanting them to
53:58
Speaker 1: draft him. Then he comes to the Eagles, then he leaves,
54:02
Speaker 1: Then he comes to the Eagles again. Now he's leaving again.
54:05
Speaker 1: It is It is one big tease with CJ. Gardner Johnson.
54:08
Speaker 1: I don't like it. I'll tell you right now, he'd
54:09
Speaker 1: better come back.
54:10
Speaker 3: It's like that friend that you've hung out. You can
54:12
Speaker 3: hang out with in small doses, like right, you can
54:15
Speaker 3: go to the bar for a couple hours, like all right,
54:16
Speaker 3: I've had my fix in this guy for a couple
54:18
Speaker 3: of weeks. I'll see you soon.
54:20
Speaker 1: Exactly.
54:20
Speaker 3: He's not an everyday one of the core guys, right,
54:23
Speaker 3: I bet CJ. Garnol Johnson will be back in twenty seven, exactly, exactly.
54:27
Speaker 1: You're gonna have to bring him back, howie, if you're listening,
54:29
Speaker 1: and I know you're not, but just bring him back
54:32
Speaker 1: and he'll have.
54:32
Speaker 3: Six picks that year. He'll want more money and yes,
54:35
Speaker 3: you know, always welcome, and then he's gone again.
54:38
Speaker 1: Absolutely all right, Well, just a couple more topics I
54:41
Speaker 1: wanted to dive into with you here, lou and in
54:44
Speaker 1: terms of well, no, actually this is the last one.
54:46
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, last topic we're going to be getting into,
54:48
Speaker 1: and it's the pass rush. This Eagles pass rush, I mean,
54:52
Speaker 1: last season we saw such great things with it. They
54:55
Speaker 1: had one of the best pass one of the best
54:58
Speaker 1: pass rush defenses in the league last season. A lot
55:01
Speaker 1: of that was just due to just some incredible play
55:03
Speaker 1: up front. Yes, even from guys like Josh Sweat who
55:06
Speaker 1: are not here anymore, Milton Williams as well, who has
55:09
Speaker 1: moved on to the New England Patriots. If I'm not mistaken,
55:14
Speaker 1: I think we need to see a lot of that
55:17
Speaker 1: same pass rush dominance and dominance from the defensive line
55:21
Speaker 1: this year. If the Birds went a head back to
55:23
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl, quite Frankly, I think that's gonna be
55:25
Speaker 1: a key component in aspect of, you know, how the
55:29
Speaker 1: season goes and can really help set the tone early on.
55:33
Speaker 1: Do you think the Eagles pass rush and the defensive
55:36
Speaker 1: line in general can be as prolific as it was
55:39
Speaker 1: last season with what they have right now?
55:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't want to sound like I'm a broken record,
55:45
Speaker 3: but it's less proven than in the year's past, including
55:48
Speaker 3: last year. This is honestly like the most risky, like
55:52
Speaker 3: low floor, high ceiling defensive line Howie Roseman's ever put together.
55:55
Speaker 3: Normally he likes proven players here, he doesn't really have
56:00
Speaker 3: that outside of Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter, and even
56:02
Speaker 3: Nolan Smith only had one breakout year. He's got a
56:05
Speaker 3: lot of projections, like can Jalox Hunt take that year
56:08
Speaker 3: two step that Nolan Smith did, Ken Morojoma build off
56:11
Speaker 3: of what he did last year, Ken Azizo Jala stay healthy.
56:15
Speaker 3: Is Joshua Uch gonna ever get back to that player
56:17
Speaker 3: with the Patriots in twenty twenty two that had over
56:20
Speaker 3: ten sacks? He had double digits that season as a
56:22
Speaker 3: former second round talent. It's a lot of projecting, but
56:26
Speaker 3: I think between all of those guys combined, at least
56:28
Speaker 3: a few are going to pan out, and Jalen Carter,
56:30
Speaker 3: I think is maybe the best defensive tackle in football.
56:33
Speaker 3: I think Nolan Smith's going to become somebody that gets
56:36
Speaker 3: ten plus sacks every single year. So I think it's
56:39
Speaker 3: going to be I would say, equally as good as
56:42
Speaker 3: the regular season last year. I know, Josh Sweat almost
56:44
Speaker 3: won Super Bowl MVP, and Bilton Williams dominated in that
56:47
Speaker 3: game too, So Recncy bias, Like the last image of
56:50
Speaker 3: those guys we had was them being legends in a
56:53
Speaker 3: championship game. But if we actually put things in perspective
56:56
Speaker 3: of who like Josh Sweat was in twenty twenty four, Yeah,
56:59
Speaker 3: he led the Eagles and with eight but I thought
57:02
Speaker 3: he was an inconsistent player last year. Like, I don't
57:04
Speaker 3: think it's a really high bar for Jayox Hunt to
57:07
Speaker 3: match who Josh Sweat was, or at least one of
57:09
Speaker 3: those guys. Yeah, you know, you know, or release matches
57:12
Speaker 3: production by like seventy five to eighty percent at a
57:14
Speaker 3: much cheaper rate. So those guys were really good for
57:17
Speaker 3: the Eagles last year. But I think sometimes people got
57:19
Speaker 3: carried away this offseason with acting like the Eagles lost
57:22
Speaker 3: Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith right, whereas they lost Milton
57:25
Speaker 3: Williams and Josh Sweat. Good players but not great. Yeah,
57:29
Speaker 3: I think with all the guys Ojoma Hunt, Ojala Uce,
57:33
Speaker 3: Jordan Davis.
57:34
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask you about Jordan Davis too, because
57:36
Speaker 1: I think sometimes he could shuff. Yeah.
57:39
Speaker 3: Right, So of those five guys, we don't think two
57:41
Speaker 3: of them can be good next year, I think they
57:43
Speaker 3: will be. So I think it's an interesting position though,
57:47
Speaker 3: for sure, because again how he has never really taken
57:49
Speaker 3: this approach, but it worked last year, so maybe it'll
57:51
Speaker 3: work again.
57:52
Speaker 1: What are we going to see from the Eagles pass
57:53
Speaker 1: rush in training camp? It's going to be interesting for
57:56
Speaker 1: sure again, folks. Lou Deviassi from the Locked On e podcast, Buddy,
58:01
Speaker 1: it was great talking to you. Thanks so much for
58:02
Speaker 1: taking the time come back jump on the show with me.
58:05
Speaker 1: I'd love to have you back on Talk More Birds,
58:06
Speaker 1: Talk More NFL.
58:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's do it. Jeff appreciate it as always.
58:10
Speaker 1: And that's gonna do it for us this week. Make
58:13
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58:16
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58:19
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58:28
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58:31
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58:34
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58:37
Speaker 1: great week. We'll catch you next time.