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Football at Four: Updating Eagles Injury Situation and More · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: And Football at four is powered by the Inside the
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  Birds podcast. It is brought to you by the Fanatic
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  Sportsbook at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. I'll forget
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  where there every Monday. Go there this football season. It's
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  the place to be the gallery go to Ocean Go
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  for the Win. For more info, visit oceanac dot com.
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  Andrew to check oh for the Inside the Birds podcast.
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  Inside the Birds dot Com is here for today's Football
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  at four. It is a rematch of the Super Bowl,
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  which the Eagles won forty to twenty two overall. This
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  is the eleventh Super Bowl rematch in the following season,
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  the third straight year it has happened, actually, by the way,
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  and the defending champions are seven to three in those
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  ten rematches. And let's bring in Andrew to check. Oh.
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  We saw these two teams in February. It was not
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  a fair fight, Andrew. How different are the two teams
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  this time around? They're facing in week two as opposed
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  a little deeper in the year. But how different are
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  the Eagles and the Chiefs.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not loving the Week two matchup. It sort
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  of takes away the luster, the allure of this game. Mike,
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  But This is a different Kansas City Chiefs team, and
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  it's a different Eagles team, as you might expect than
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  the ones that met in Super Bowl fifty nine. I
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  don't know that Kansas City has the same offensive firepower
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  that they once had. Now they do have Patrick Mahomes,
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  and as long as Travis Kelsey's there, they're going to
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  find ways to move the football. Isaiah Pacheco a good
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  downhill running back that I think adds an interesting element
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  to their offense. But even defensively, they're not quite what
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  they've been. I'm expecting this to be sort of one
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  of those games where Patrick Mahomes looks to try and
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  test the Eagles second level and really even the third
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  level with the safety play which with Kelsey, and try
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  to get some of those offensive weapons going. Jehad Campbell,
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  I thought, had a really good game against Dallas and
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  that had a nice play down the seam there on
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  Brevin span Ford the tight end down the field, and
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  I think they're going to try to find ways to
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  pepper his side of the field with Travis Kelcey. But
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  I get the sense that Jehi Campbeill be ready to
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  answer the bell.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you look at Travis kelce recording a receiving touch
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  on consecutive games dating back to Week seventeen last season,
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  and he was a guy last week had a big
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  play there. You'll see how the Eagles match up with him,
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  because I want to kind of zone in on that.
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  Do you think that Kelsey is still their best offensive
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  weapon in the past game, they don't really have that
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  stand out wide receiver with a couple of injuries.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, so I think that that kind of paints
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  the picture of the state of the Kansas City offense.
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  Travis Kelcey, to answer your question, he is still the
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  focal point of that passing attack and I'm expecting him
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  to be force fed with targets. Again. They still have
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  Patrick Mahomes and he's kind of like Houdini back there.
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  He can find ways to maneuver the pocket. I mean,
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  they do have the RPO game, the boot game, and
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  they can. It's an offense that is multiple, so you
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  have to always account for that. But the passing game
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  starts with Travis Kelcey, and if I'm looking at it
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  from just a matchup perspective, I would imagine that they're
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  going to try and test your hot campbell and coverage
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  and Drew mccooba and Sydney Brown as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, obviously Dori Jackson had his struggles last week,
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  and do you anticipate Andrew, I know what Vic Fangio
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  said on Tuesday. Does Dori Jackson get another full gain
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  to prove himself or do you think this is a
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  game where they start to phase him out and maybe
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  phase a guy like Jaquorian Bennett in.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's a great question, and Vick Fanjaiel on
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  Tuesday said right now, yes, he is the Eagles starter
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  at corner. That if depending on how you interpret that,
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  that leaves it fluid and they could obviously change, But
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  Vick Fangaiel, a couple of weeks ago, Mike mentioned that
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  whoever was that cornerback to oppositely QUINNYA. Mitchell was going
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  to get sort of a long leash. Now we'll see
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  how long that leash could be if a Dory starts
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  to have some more struggles to start the game. But
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  I think the right decision would be to plug him
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  in as the starting corner. There's been a lot of
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  folks who are willing to give grace to a lot
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  of the other players on the team because the first
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  four weeks of the season more or less is an
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  extension of the preseason. So if you're going to give
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  grace to others, I think a Dori Jackson deserves that
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  as well. The Eagles haven't had well. They don't play
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  their starters in the preseason, so there's very limited opportunities
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  for them to get game reps with one another training
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  camp as a different ballgame. So yeah, I think you
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  put them out there, you try to keep some sort
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  of continuity. You put Drue mccooba back there as well,
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  and try to get that secondary in place for a
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  second consecutive game and see how they fare. Now, I'm
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  not suggesting that if Dori Jackson isn't struggling that they
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  should turn that they shouldn't turn to Jacoreyan Bennett. You
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  have to see what he can do as well, especially
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  if you're not getting the production from that spot. Before
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  you go out and look elsewhere down the line before
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  the trade that lined, I think they have to see
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  what they have in Jacorey and Bennett first. But yeah,
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  I would start at Dory Jackson.
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  Speaker 1: Sunday, all right, Andrew to check us with his football
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  at four A big factor in the game in the
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  Super Bowl obviously was the Eagles pass rush, but they
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  didn't blitz. Forty two dropbacks sacked six times. No blitzes
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  in the game, but two and a half by Joshua
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  two by Milton Williams. They're not here anymore. Can the
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  Eagles have to seem a similar game plan get to
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  Mahomes without blitzing.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. With Jalen Carter in the mix, that obviously changes
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  this dynamic and the whole complexion of the Eagles defense
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  pushing the pocket from the middle, moving him off his spot,
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  forcing him to be hasty with his reads. But I
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  mean the pass rush in totality, it turns at the
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  edge rushers. They do leave something to be desired. It's
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  something that we've talked about dating back to training camp,
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  even before training camp. I'm bullish on the two starters
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  and Nolan Smith and jaloks Hunt, but they just signed
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  it in the league in his eleventh season right now
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  to bolster that group because they weren't getting enough inspired
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  play from josh who I thought had a good opener,
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  aziz O Julari obo Okoronkwell, and they're trying to fortify
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  that area that's gonna be key. But I think Jalen
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  Carter rather opens things up for everyone to really feast.
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  So it's kind of hard to really base the the
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  edge rusher group without Jalen Carter in the mix. In
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  a game setting, I think you're going to see a
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  lot more pressure on the homes and that's gonna have
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  to be key to get off to a fast start
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  offense defensively.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Andrew, like, I don't know how much of the
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  Pro football focused numbers you're into or take stock in,
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  but josh ushe was the number one pass rush win
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  rate guy this past weekend, and Nolan Smith was in
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  the top like ten as well. So does that tell
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  a better story that the Eagles pass russ was better
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  than maybe the Naked Eye says.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean there is something to be said for that.
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  I don't weigh the PFF grades too heavily. I kind
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  of go based off the tape and what I've seen,
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  But I do believe that that the Jalen Carter effect
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  is obviously very real and you're going to see other
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  players be able to reap the benefits as a result,
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  because teams have to account for Jalen Carter I thought
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  josh Hushe, to your point, just based solely on the
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  eye test and not looking at any other metrics, had
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  a good game, and he didn't play a ton, So
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  sometimes I think that skews the numbers. He didn't play
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  a ton. The Eagles don't use a lot of rotation
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  in terms of their edge rushers. But when he was
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  out there, I saw the first and explosiveness that you
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  were hoping to see that josh Ushe of twenty twenty
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  two perhaps, and Nolan Smith I thought had a better
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  game than Jayalox Hunt and the opener, but that's gonna
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  I think the more reps that that group gets, that
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  young contingent of Nolan Smith and Jalox Hunt, the more
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  reps that they get, the better they're going to be
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  and the faster they'll play, and they'll have a different
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  ways to combat offensive tackles. So I'm not necessarily worried
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  about that, and I do think that Jalen Carter and
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  having that full complement of defensive lineman should open things
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  up for them as well.
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  Speaker 1: You anticipate Zadarius Smith having a big role. How do
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  you kind of view him in that signing and fitting
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  in here well?
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  Speaker 2: Minor role to start. Yesterday, he mentioned that he hadn't
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  put pads on since January eighteen. Seemed to be chomping
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  at the bit. Of course, that was in the playoff
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  game with the Lions when they lost at the Commanders.
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  But what I think is going to happen is it's
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  going to take maybe a I do think he's going
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  to play Sunday, but I think it may take a
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  little bit of time for him to get fully onboarded
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  into the finer intricacies of that defense. And yes, this
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  is a player who on a six different team, He's
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  played a lot of different schemes. But I still think
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  that you have to account for that quote unquote ramp
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  up period. He mentioned that he was a little bit
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  winded during individuals yesterday, but then once they got to
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  team period, he was rounding back into form. So he's
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  a veteran, he'll be ready to go. I just don't
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  think initially right off the bat, he's going to play
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  a ton, But when the dust settles, he's going to
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  be the Eagles third edge rusher, and I do believe
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  have a pretty prominent role.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, Andrew, Let's flip over and look a little
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  bit on the offensive side of the ball here. Dallas Goddard.
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  Obviously on the injury report, there's some thoughts that he
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  may not be able to play. How big of a
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  loss would that be. He did have seven catches in
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  the game on Thursday night.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's a big loss. For if he
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  can't go, that's going to be a big loss. I
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  feel like we say this every year, but it felt
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  like we were primed for the Dallas Goddard awakening and
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  we still very much well may see that. But to
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  not have him we talked about seven targets, seven receptions,
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  forty four yards. He was building on that training camp
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  chemistry with Jalen Hurts. He adds another dimension to the
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  passing attack because you have to be mindful of the
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  middle of the field. Thought Jalen Hurts showed some willingness
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  to throw the ball over the middle of the field
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  in between the hashes there and Dallas got it is
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  going to be a big part of that. But to
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  not have him there, now you're looking at Grant Calcatira,
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  who is a five pass catcher, doesn't give you much
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  as a blocker. He's played plenty over the years because
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  Goddard Smith's time. But then you have Kylon Branson who
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  can be a movable piece offensively. They don't have a
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  third tight end. They have a couple on the practice
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  squad and Cameron Latsu, who by the way, is wearing
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  number thirty six now and EJ. Jenkins. So that yeah,
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  I mean, I think from a passing game perspective, Grand
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  Calcata is going to be able to be just finding
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  a spot filling, but they're going to miss the blocking
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  prowess in the overall well roundedness of Dallas Goddard's game
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  if he can't go Andrew.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously Bigsby's here as well, another running back, but that
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  means Shipley's out now not a big role. But does
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  Bigsby step into the Shipley role? Does Dylan get bumped
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  up and have a bigger role? How do you read this?
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  Tank Bigsby trade in the impact he might have for
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  this offense in this team.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so kind of similar to Darius Smith. I'm expecting
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  initially Aj Dillon to take on a more expanded role,
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  but eventually have that become Tank Bigsby because he just
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  gives you more dynamic qualities. He's someone who has two
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  years remaining on his contract, so he's going to be
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  part of the team for the foreseeable future. That's why
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  they gave up what they gave up to get them.
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  But you know, we're joining the team with just a
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  handful of days to go. I'm not so sure that
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  it's realistic to expect an expanded workload from a running
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  back perspective, but Mike, I am expecting him to get
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  the looks as the primary kick returner along with John Metchi.
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  But Tank Bigsby, that's one of his allures is that
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  they're going to explore that area of his game. So
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  for a week two I would say Aj Dillon, we'll
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  see more of a workload out of the backfield, But
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  eventually Bigsby and when everything, when all players are fully healthy,
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  I would expect will Shipway to still be the two
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  because he just adds something different in terms of the
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  receiving element.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you know, you saw right off the
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  bat in week one Andrew the effect of new kickoff
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  rules and why a guy like Bigsby was probably targeted
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  by Philadelphia.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I always say like that was part of it.
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  But you don't give up a fifth and a sixth
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  round pick purely for a kickoff returner, obviously having two
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  years remaining on this rookie deal, and he's a player
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  who is younger and has similar dimensions or as similar
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  skill set. I should say to aj Dillon, so that
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  you know you're looking towards next year. You have Saquon
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  Barkley willship Way in Tank Bigsby. That's a pretty good
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  staple of running backs. I think it was also made
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  with that in mind. But also you're right, Mike that
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  that that inside zone look that you get on kickoff
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  returns that the Eagles run it and getting that downhill
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  approach I think is certainly something that Michael Klay seemed
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  excited about, the Eagle special teams coordinator, and the I
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  mean that that the Eagles are looking to really maximize
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  that role. It's not just because of the new kickoff rule.
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  There's ways that you can have an advantage and field position,
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  and they're going to leave no stone unturned and doing
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  that in Tank, bigsh He's going to be a big
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  part of it, all right.
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  Speaker 1: Last one, we're looking at the offense here, Landon Dickerson.
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  He was back at practice, he was on the injury
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  report as a limited participant, but losing him would be
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  probably a big blow. He's, you know, obviously a key
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  cog in there, but Brett Toath would he be the
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  left guard if they could not, if Dickerson could not go,
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  Where do you expect Dickerson to give it a go?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, at Thursday. We're at Thursday right now, so I'll
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  have to see how the rest of the week plays out.
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  But right now, I mean Landon Dickerson as tough as now.
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  It's just when you think that he may be sidelined
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  for a few days or even a game, he gives
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  it a go. So as long as he's out there
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  in a limited capacity, he doesn't have any setbacks leading
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  up to the game. I'm expecting him to give it
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  a go. It's certainly encouraging to see him out there Wednesday,
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  and yeah, if he can't, Brett Toath would be the
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  logical replacement. You saw that the Eagles in game solution
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  was Brett Toath in the opener. And he's a veteran,
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  he's entering his he's in his seventh NFL season and
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  a trusted option for the team and Jeff Stotlin. He's
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  really taken to Jeff Stotlin's coaching. So for a game,
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  or even a handful of stabs in a pinch, I
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  think Brett Toath would be the guy.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, Super Bowl rematch. Of course you could listen
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  to it right here on ninety seven three ESPN Football
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  at four Andrew to check O, what is the biggest
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  key in this game that you have your eye on
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  this week? Eagles Chiefs the rematch.
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  Speaker 2: Bearing down on Patrick Mahomes and not allowing him to
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  create yards with his legs, but also not making the
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  same mistake that the Dallas Cowboys made, Mike and having
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  contained with your past Russ, not getting too wide because
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  that's where you tend to surrender bit those big plays
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  that that's going to be paramount playing discipline and fundamentally
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  sound against someone like Patrick Mahomes who could make a
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  ton of plays outside of structure.
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  Speaker 1: We'll keep an eye on that. And of course, Andrew
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  to Checko on the guys football at four. All next week,
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  we're getting you ready for Chiefs this week, Rams next week.
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  Pretty big game. The loser, Chiefs would go to zero
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  to two. Philadelphia has to follow up with the Rams
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  and the Bucks. Big game for both these teams on
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  Sunday in Arrowhead. Listen to it all right here on
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  ninety seven three ESPN. That's Andrew to Checko and you
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  can listen to him on the Inside of the Birds podcast.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Bud, Thanks Mike.