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The DiCecco Daily, Part 2: Bold Predictions For Eagles Vs. Niners Playoff Game · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome into another edition of the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: check o'daly. It's Andrew to Checko here, Eagles beat reporter
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: for insidethebirds dot Com, and we have an official game
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: status for Eagles forty nine ers Sunday at four twenty
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: five at Lincoln Financial Field, Officially listed as questionable tackle
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson with the foot, outside linebacker as he's o
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Jalai hamstring, and offensive lineman Brett Toath concussion Now. Tot
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: was out there today practicing in a limited capacity, which
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: is good because he missed Wednesday and Thursday with the concussion.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: As he was in protocol.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson was limited for all three of the Eagles
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: practices this week.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Friday.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: You were probably hoping to see him be full go
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: to feel really confident about his ability to bounce back
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: in a big way the foot injury. I'm expecting him
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: to give it a go. That's the expectation. We'll have
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: to wait and see what's in the cards Sunday. But
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: as far as he's Ojalari, his twenty one day practice
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: excuse me, practice window is opened and so he's practicing
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: with the team now, but he can't participate in any
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: game situation, he won't be on the roster unless he's activated.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: So there you have it. That is your official game status.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: And while we're at it, I'll give you the Friday
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: practice report. Limited tackle Lane Johnson foot, offensive lineman Brett
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Toth concussion, full go tight end Grant Calcatara ankle, defensive
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: tackle Jalen Carter, hip, linebacker Nakobe Dean hamstring, guard Land
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: and Dickerson rest, safety Marcus EPs concussion, tight end Dallas
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Goddard knee, outside linebacker as he's hamstring, and outside linebacker
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Jalen Phillips ankle. So it's important to note that we
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: didn't get it chance to speak to Lane Johnson or
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Jalen Carter this week because both players they didn't speak
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: for two reporters this week, so we don't have any
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: clarity as to how Lane's handling the injury, the rehab process,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: how practice went for him this week, or anything like that.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: As for Jalen Carter, we don't have any additional information
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: about the hip injury or anything to that effect, So apologies,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: I don't have anything additional to be able to give
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you guys on that. But let's get to the forty
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: nine Ers practice report here.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Listed as questionable.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Wide receiver Jacob Kllen calling hamstring, linebacker Luke Gifford quadricep,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: cornerback Ernardo Green ankle, wide receiver Ricky pearsall knee ankle,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Defensive lineman Keon White groin, hamstring, tackle Trent Williams hamstring,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: linebacker d Winter's ankle. We'll find out ninety minutes before
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the game for some of those key players like Ricky Piersaw,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: like Trent Williams. Of course, the forty nine Ers are
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: a vastly different team without Trent Williams in the lineup.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: He's pretty much the equivalent of what Lane Johnson is
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: to the Philadelphia Eagles. And man, are the forty nine
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Ers really banged up at linebacker. I just mentioned d
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Winters questionable, I mentioned Luke Gifford questionable, and they have
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Eric Kendricks, they have Kaizer White. You know, they're just
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: really depleted in that area. So if you're the Eagles,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: that would be an area that I would look to exploit.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: But I like where the Eagles are at from a
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: health perspective. I wrote about this in my practice report
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: today that it shouldn't be taken for granted that twenty
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: one of twenty two starters are available for the Eagles
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: to play, the one player being safety Drew mccooba, who
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: of course is on injured reserve with a fractured angle,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: but a lot of experience across the board too. Look
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: at the Eagles starters aside from Jalen Phillips, Adri Jackson and.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Who else, Tyler Steen.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: I mean a lot of all of their starters played
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl started in the Super Bowl. Even
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Tyler Steen played in the Super Bowl. Let's not forget
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: that there were seven snaps that Kenny Pickett played, and
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: presumably I'd have to go back and look, Tyler Steen
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: was part of the reserve reserves who got in in
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: the late game situation. So I think playoff pedigree counts
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: for something. And so I go into this game and
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: I feel a little bit more confident than I probably
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: would ordinarily given the ineffectiveness of the Eagles offense for
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: much of the season. But I look at the playoff experience.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts is six and three in the postseason. This
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: will be his tenth postseason game. He's been in, you know, period,
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: in two Super Bowls, one to one was the MVP.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: This is a quarterback who knows what to expect. He
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: tends to elevate his performance when the stakes are highest
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: for whatever reason. He said, you have it in you.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: And he can't necessarily quantify where the clutch gene comes from,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: but he thrives in those moments.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: And when you have a quarterback, when you have a.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Head coach, when you have a team that is prepared
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: for what to expect in the postseason, they know how
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: to balance out the week. They know how to structure
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: the week so that it optimizes rest and also gets
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the adequate amount of work. And I just think that
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: there's something to be said for that, and therefore there
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: should be a lot.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Of confidence for this Eagles team.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: And let's not forget this defense should give you all
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: the reasons you need to be optimistic about this wildcard
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: matchup where versus the San Francisco forty nine ers. Yes,
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: they have Kyle Shanahan and his system is intricate.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: It's elaborate.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: It forces defenders to have quote unquote good eyes, which
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: is something that I heard a lot this week from
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: different defenders. You have to have good eyes when you're
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: facing a Kyle Shanahan offense. But you look at this
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Eagles defense across the board, they are equipped to.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: Overmatch what the forty nine ers have.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey effective receiver and runner, just a tremendous football player.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Getting him to the ground when he's in space is
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: going to be paramount, and that's where I think someone
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: like Nikobe Dean comes into play. And as far as
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: the secondary goes, this pass rush has dialed up a
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: lot of pressure and it's alleviated a lot of burden
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: from the back end.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: But the forty nine ers.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Even if the Eagles aren't able to generate a lot
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: of pressure, don't have a ton of optionality in terms
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: of skill, wide receivers, skill players. You look at Juwan Jennings,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: there's they're just really bagged up there. Kendrick Bourne, we'll
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: see about Ricky Piersaw. Obviously, George Kittle is going to
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: be a focal point in the passing game, especially in
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: the short to intermediate levels where he's so effective at
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: using his body and his frame and creating yards after
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: the catch.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: Bringing him to the ground again going to be paramount.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: You always have to be mindful of the razzle dazzle
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: that accompanies a Kyle Shanahan offense, and Brock Purty for
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: whatever reason, gets slighted around the NFL.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: I've seen nationally. He's a good quarterback.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: He's a solid quarterback who does a really good job
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: navigating the pocket.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: He's not a runner.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: He's not going to wow you with his legs and
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: be able to pick up yours and chunks like let's say, really,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: when you look at all the quarterbacks in this in
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: this NFC playoff picture, Caleb Williams would be the only
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: one who can sort of do that. But brock Purty
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: is really slippery in the in the backfield, and that's
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: where when you have a chance to bring him down,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: you gotta wrap him up.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: You got to bring him down.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: But I do believe that Vic Vangil will dial up
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: some well timed pressures and I'm gonna say that Nikobe
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Dean gets home and brings down Brock For a quarterback.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Sack had four sacks in the regular season. Such an
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: effective blitzer times it well reads and diagnoses its smart,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: intelligent football player.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I can't speak highly enough.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: And having him on the football field where his instincts
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: are going to take over and compliment what Zach Braond
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: brings the Eagles. That's an imposing second level. And I
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: think Nikobe gets a sack. And I'll give you another
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: bold prediction. And I predicted this before the Chargers game.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I said at Dori Jackson would get an interception. It happened.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: But I just get the sense that Brock Purdy, when
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: he does have time, certainly not going.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: To throw in the direction of Quinna Mitchell Cooper Degen.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: I think a Dori who has gotten his hands on
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: some footballs for some pass breakups when the passes have
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: come in his direction of late, I think he comes
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: up with an interception in this game.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Those are my two bold predictions.
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• 12:19
  Speaker 1: We'll see what happens in terms of practice squad elevations.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Obviously Charlie Hewlett, the long snapper, will be one of them,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: and the fact that Grant Kakata was full go it
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: would lead you to believe that they're okay there in
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: the tight end department. Otherwise I would have said EJ. Jenkins,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: But I think Patrick Johnson because all of the elevation's
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: resets when you get to the postseason. I think Patrick Johnson,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: his ability to give them some depth off the edge,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: but most importantly and prominently his ability to help on
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: special teams.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: And that's especially critical.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: Because the forty nine ers have a pretty good special
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: teams unit. They have Sky More who's been really effective
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: as a returner. And I think you want to make
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: sure you cover all your bases when you're looking at
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: this game plan, and I think Patrick Johnson would be
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: a really good fit. So I would say Charlie Hewlett
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: and Patrick Johnson. Those would be my two selections. The
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: ones obvious, but my gut tells me Patrick Johnson would
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: make a lot of sense, and we'll find out Saturday
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: at four o'clock. And my final score prediction. I don't
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: usually do these, but I've been asked a lot this week,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: and so giving it some thought, I have the Eagles
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: winning this game twenty four to sixteen, and they move
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: on to the second round of the NFL Playoffs. It's
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: going to be a lot of fun to cover this game.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: The link will be absolutely electric. The weather, you can't
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: ask for better weather, at least the way that it
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: looks right now for early January. And so the stage
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: is set. We'll see what the Eagles can do, but
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: that's going to do it. For this edition of the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: check Odely, I'm Andrew to CHECKO and I'll catch you
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: on the next one and