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The DiCecco Daily: Bad News For Eli Stowers, Elevations For Eagles Vs. Commanders · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on, everyone?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Welcome into another episode of the Checo Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco,
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com. This is going to be
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: sort of an abbreviated podcast. There's not a ton to
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: get into with the game just hours away. I think
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: we've kind of covered all the angles here, but I
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: do have some Eagles news because on Saturday afternoon, they've
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: downgraded tight end Eli Stowers to out for tomorrow's game.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: He had the hamstring injury, but add a quadriceps injury
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: to that, and they also placed him on injured reserve.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: In addition, the Eagles have elevated wide receiver punt returner
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Britton Covey from the practice squad for the Commanders game.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: So with Eli Stowers, the way I understand it is
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: that he had discomfort in his leg.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: He made that known. They had imaging and.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: That's what it revealed, the quadriceps strain. So he's on
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: injury reserve now. This is going to be a multi-week injury.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: It's going to require some time to work his way
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: back in the rehab process. So that leaves the Eagles
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: with Dallas Goddard, Johnny Munt, and EJ Jenkins at tight
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: end for the Eagles on Sunday, which in this offense,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: you would think that you need a little bit more
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: bodies there. to support their heavier packages. But we've talked
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: a lot about this. This tight end position is not
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: great right now for the Eagles because you have someone
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: in Dallas Goddard who last season had 11 touchdowns. He
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: was fantastic in the red zone and all that, but
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: he's a year older and he definitely took a step
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: back last year as a blocker, even the year prior.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: And they don't have a built-in option if he were
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: to go down in game or play should something arise
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: to fill in and be a combo tight end. So
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: you can block a little bit, but you can also
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: be a receiving option. And Johnny Munt was a fine
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: third tight end. He's now cast into that number two
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: tight end role. He's caught just 74 passes in his career.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: He's a blocking centric tight end. He would not be the,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: a suitable replacement for Dallas Goddard, even in an interim situation.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: Or even in game for that matter.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: One, he's hugely important to what the Eagles are going
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: to do in the run game as an inline blocker,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: but also he just hasn't been featured all that much
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: as a receiver in his career. He's also a little
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: bit of an older player as well. He has a
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: defined role, but stepping in and being a pass catcher
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: is not one of them. EJ Jenkins is someone that
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: is another player with tremendous blocking prowess. I've noticed him
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: take a big leap forward this summer. He was really
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: proficient in that area last summer as well. Big-bodied guy, physical,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: plays with an edge.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: You like that.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: But he has just one career reception for seven yards
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: and a touchdown. He's had some drops over the past
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: couple of summers. I think he offers a little bit
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: more as a receiver. Well, he offers more than months,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: but I think he offers a little bit more as
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: a receiver than what he's shown. But now all these
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: games count, and this is not the time where if
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: you're the Eagles, I can't imagine you want to try
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: out certain players. Hey, let's see if we can toss
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: him some passes and incorporate him in the passing game.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: It just seems like they're missing an option there, a
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: clear-cut answer. As a receiving tight end, and for me,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: you know, Zach Ertz, he's out there. There's, you know,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: the Eagles admire Zach Ertz. He has a lot of
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: history here. He's close to Harold Carmichael's receiving record or
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: one of his records. And I think he would make
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: a lot of sense as a complementary option.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Who can still run routes.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: He can still catch the football and knows how to
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: find the soft spots and coverage. He's a savvy player
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: and he would be a really good locker room addition.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: That's just me spitballing right now. That would be a
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: logical solution, but I do imagine that they're not finished
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: adding to that tight end room. I would imagine that
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: they want to keep four of those guys, but in
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: this particular situation, you want to strive for balance and, and,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: With Stowers, look, I mean, he wasn't really ready to
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: contribute anyway. But in essence, he was a receiving option.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: He was someone who can help as a receiver. Now,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: I've made it clear that I didn't believe that he
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: was ready to help in the early going.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Of the season.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: He's probably someone that's going to take some time. Now
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: he's going to be on the shelf for some weeks
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: now as he recovers. But I think you still need, no,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: I don't think, they need to add A tight end
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: who can step in and be a pass catcher, be
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: a competent fill in if anything were to happen to Goddard.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: And really, they need one anyway, just for balance purposes,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: because you have one who is a well-rounded, fairly well-rounded.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: I mentioned the blocking, but then you have the two
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: blocking guys. And I think that that really needs another
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: receiving option. Now, let's not forget, Grant Calcaterra is on
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: injured reserve right now. I believe it's short-term IR. He
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: still has his locker with all the active roster players.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: So that could potentially be an option down the line
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: if they want to buy themselves some time, I think.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: The external route would probably.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: Be a way to go, and we'll have to wait
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: and see what the Eagles decide to do. But that's
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: the current status there as it pertains to the tight
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: end position. And then with Britton Covey, presumably he's going
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: to be up to return punts and. I say that
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: because the Eagles already have six wide receivers on the
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: 53-man roster. Adding a seventh just to add depth, that receiver,
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: some experience doesn't make a.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Lot of sense.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: They don't have a proven commodity as a punt returner.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: Makai Lemon has repped there. Other players have repped there, but...
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: Britton Covey is the sure thing. He's someone that if
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: you put back there, he's going to make the correct decisions.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: He's going to field balls cleanly when he does decide to.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: And he's always going to put the offense in the
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: best field position possible. And in that role, to me,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: I feel like that takes some time because you have
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: to make split decisions.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: You have to.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: have a good feel for, for punters and what they
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: like to do. You have to have a really good
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: feel for your return units. And this is something that
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Makai Lemon, when he was on the shelf, he was,
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: Spending most of his time trying to get up to
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: speed with the offense. And then you add this on
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: his plate. It's not as simple as you just plug
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: somebody back there and they can return punts. Britton Covey
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: can break it down for you like no one I've
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: ever heard do that. He's very diligent behind the scenes.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: There's a reason why he's been able to hang in
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: the NFL as long as he has as an undersized player.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: He's incredibly sharp defensively. He prepares, and this is someone
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: who used to draw up his own punt return schemes
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: when he was in college. I wrote a story about
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: that called Smart Returns, and this is someone who there's
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: a lot of confidence and trust in, and he's done.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: It for a long time for the Eagles.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: By the way, he's not wearing number 18. That number
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: now belongs to rookie quarterback Cole Payton. Burton Covey is
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: now wearing number 85.
• 7:52
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• 10:38
  Speaker 2: first couple of games were pretty sloppy. You want to
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: make sure that you have all your I's dotted and
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: T's crossed.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: And then maybe down the.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: Line you start to work Makai Lemon in that role.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: This is just how I would probably approach it. And
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: it's a lot to put on the plate of a
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: first-round pick who missed a large chunk of training camp
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: with an injury when you have big plans for him offensively. Now,
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: those big plans may not come to fruition early on.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: But I do think that the Eagles are going to
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: find ways to get Makai Lemon the ball, manufactured touches,
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: play-action boots, where he had some success in the latter
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: stages of training camp when he returned to the field.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: And he's someone that you want to get the ball
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: in space and then allow him to take advantage of
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: his run-after-the-catch ability.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: But he'll be involved. I just don't know how much.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: But you take all that into account, the last thing
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: you probably want to do is overload a player who
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: had to do a lot of cramming just to get
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: up to speed and add the return element to it,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: especially when you haven't done that in the NFL before.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Britton Covey just gives you a little bit more stability
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: back there, and he's going to make those right decisions.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: And you certainly have that area of the game accounted
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: for when you have someone.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Like that there.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: A reminder, every player on the practice squad is eligible
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: to have three elevations. And then once that third elevation
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: is up, the team would have to make a decision.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Do we sign this player to the active roster? Or
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: do we just go with another option and use them
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: for three elevations and kind of go that route?
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: I've seen teams adopt different approaches. Depends.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: And with Covey, they eventually signed him to the 53.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: They had Xavier Gibson, who they had on the active roster.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: And then Xavier Gibson's back. So they have two punt
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: return options on the practice squad, Britton Covey and Xavier Gibson,
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: and Covey gets the nod.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: No surprise there.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: I've mentioned to keep an eye on that in my
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: podcast this week.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I've written about it.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: I've talked about it over the air, and so I
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: think that that makes a lot of sense, especially when
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: special teams is sort of the equalizer in these early
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: season games where you don't really know what it any
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: given team's all about, and you want to make sure
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: that you're doing everything you can to guard against giving
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: somebody an edge in even the smallest capacity.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: So those are the updates for the Eagles, and they will.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: take on the Washington Commanders tomorrow at 425. I can't
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: wait to get down there.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: I'm very regimented. I'm a creature of habit.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: I'll get there probably four and a half hours before
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: the game.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I like to get settled. I like to watch pregame warm-ups.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: As far as the inactives, it's a tough call because
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: there are some that I'm pretty confident in. Like, I
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: don't think Michael Morris is going to suit up for
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: this game. I don't think, I mean, you look at Well,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Grenard's not going to play in this game. He's already
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: been ruled out. Mack McWilliams, maybe, as that extra corner.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: They have six. He doesn't really help on special teams,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: or at least he hasn't. That might be someone who
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: makes some sense. Maybe an Elijah Moore. You have six
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: wide receivers. Covey gives you seven. Elijah Moore would be
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: someone that would make a lot of sense not to
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: have up on this particular game. And then one of
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: the quarterbacks, you know, one is the emergency quarterback. And
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: then I imagine that Cole Payton is not going to
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: be active, but you never know. He got special teams
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: reps in the preseason finale.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Who knows? So just stuff I kick around.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: I'll probably spend way too much time thinking about this
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: before I, you know, once my head hits the pillow
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: and that's kind of how I'm wired.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: I think about all these different scenarios. I think about.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Certain, you know, I think about transactions, I think about inactives,
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: I think about the 53rd player on the roster, the
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: 70th player, if we're looking at the practice squad, and
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: it's just, it's something that I will never get over.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I pride myself on doing.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: That, and I'm kind of odd in that way, but
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: I think it's helped me really just get a really
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: firm grasp on the team and provide you guys with
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: Information on players across the board, practice squad included. And
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: with that, that is going to do it for this
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: episode of the Checko Daily. I'm Andrew DiCecco, and the
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: next time I talk to you will be after Eagles
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: Commanders later on Sunday.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: Take care.