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Football at Four: Updating Eagles Camp Battles and More · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Josh Nik filling in for Mike Gill here on the
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  sports Bash Football at Forward powered by the Inside the
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  Birds podcast, as it always is every day here on
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  ninety seven three ESPN. Eagles Bengals Tonight covers begins to
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  six thirty pm and Melo Rasa Mike Quick calling all
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  the action for preseason game number one here on ninety
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  seven three ESPN, and right now joining us as he
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  does each Thursday, Andrew the checko inside the Birds dot Com.
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  He covers the Eagles all throughout the year, and he
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  is keeping a close eye on the different position groups
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  tonight in preseason game number one.
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  Speaker 2: Andrew, welcome in. How you doing today?
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  Speaker 3: Hey, Josh, I'm doing well. How about yourself?
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing good because we actually have football on the
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  field and it's not just conjecture we've been doing for
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  the last several months.
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  Speaker 2: So for you, Andrew, I know that you know these
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  are the kind.
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  Speaker 1: Of games all the ramp up is for, right, all
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  of the you know, you do all the studying of
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  the draft, you do all the analysis of these guys
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  in training camp, but now we get to see them
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  in action. So let's focus on some of the position
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  groups that we need to keep an eye on tonight.
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  Speaker 2: I wanted to start with a guy that you're very,
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  very familiar with.
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  Speaker 1: For those who've been following you on Inside the Birds
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  dot Com, on the Inside the Birds YouTube, in all
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  the different places you can get Inside the Bird content,
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  A guy that you have gotten to know is Will Shipley.
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  This is going to be a unique opportunity for him
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  to cement himself over the next month between preseason training
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  camp intersquad practices. So for you, what should the audience
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  keep an eye on when Will Shipley is on the
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  field tonight.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Will Shipley adds another dimension to this offense. He
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  has a lot more juice than the other two players
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  in that backfield, and he's really good at catching the football. Now,
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  the question becomes where is he in terms of past
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  protection And that's something that I asked the Eagles offensive
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  course do nator Kevin Patulo about the last time he
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  was available, and that until you see it in a game,
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  it's really difficult to make that assessment. So I'll be
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  keeping an eye on that because for Will to be
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  the number two running back obviously and see a more
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  meaningful role, obviously, you need to be able to acquit
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  yourself well in pass protection and earn the confidence of
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  the coaches. So that's what I'll be keeping an eye on.
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  And I think he's going to see a lot of
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  run tonight.
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  Speaker 2: You mentioned what the pass protection.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously that was something that Kenny Gainwell was somebody that
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  was used a lot in that capacity.
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  Speaker 2: Do you believe they're looking at Shipley.
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  Speaker 1: Just as a guy that is going to be the
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  new Kenny Gainwell or do you think he could have
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  a maybe a different type of role behind Saquon Barkley.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Kenny Gainwell there was unique in the sense that
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  the Eagles trusted him and he was there too and
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  four minutes back, and he was able to do a
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  lot of things in terms of short yardage despite not
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  having the biggest frame for the position. But Will Shipley
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  is a player who offers a lot more explosiveness and
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  he's an even better receiver, and you can move him
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  around formations. I think he can get a little bit
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  more creative and how he deploy will because of his
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  unique skill set. But so I think you might see,
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  let me use a little bit differently. But again, what
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  Kenny Gagwell was able to do very well in terms
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  of In addition to being the two and four minute
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  running back and catching the ball reliably and sure he
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  orders was he was pretty solid in pass protection. So
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  a lot of this is tied to Will's ability to
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  take that next step forward in his progression and showcase
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  some improvements in pass protection before we are able to
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  determine what role he may take on this year.
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  Speaker 1: So with Andrew di Checko at Andrew di Checko on
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  the Twitter next platform of course inside the burs dot
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  com for all of his Eagles coverage, the next position
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  we keep a eye on tonight, Andrew, And I'm not
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  sure why more people haven't talked about this, honestly, but
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  I'm curious about tight end because every single year Dallas
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  Godder missed time. Nothing against him, but he has not
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  been the He has not been the example of great
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  health at times. Right, He's been banged up every single
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  year this offseason. You sign Kylin Granson, you broad in
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  Harrison Bryant, you already have Grant Calcatara. I know EJ.
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  Jenkins is down there in camp. So for you, what
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  are you looking at from the tight ends tonight?
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  Speaker 3: You know, I'm looking to see somebody really step up
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  and make some noise here because in training camp it's
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  been a mixed bag. Harrison Bryant hasn't really flashed like
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  we were expecting to see because he had in the past.
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  Kylon Grantson, I think of that group has has made
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  the most impression, the most impressions throughout camp, and he
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  does have a wide range skill set where he can
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  be an h back. You can line him up in
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  the backfield, you can line him up out wide. He's
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  also a really good special teams player. But and then
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  aj Jenkins says he missed a couple of days with
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  a hamstring and then he caught a couple passes in
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  team drill, So no one's really emerged from the pack there.
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  That's where the games are going to be the ultimate
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  separator in my opinion. But I've always been at the
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  belief that they could be vuying for a position that
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  may or may not even exist. I'm also sure the
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  Eagles would even carry that many tight ends on the
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  roster because they had a lot of success last year
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  carrying two and then elevating one from the practice squad.
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  But of that group, I think Kylon Grantson's kind of interesting.
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  Speaker 1: So let's say, for example, I'm just putting out a
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  scenario and I think that's what's going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: But you mentioned with the practice squad.
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  Speaker 1: Is there a scenario where maybe the opening day tight end, right,
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  you know for Thursdayday when the Eagles play the Cowboys
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  that you talk about, Goddard, cal Katara and then Ranson
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  might be the three tight ends and then maybe a
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  fourth guy would go to practice squad.
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  Speaker 2: Is that what you're thinking.
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  Speaker 3: No, I mean, I'm even thinking that they might carry two, oh, okay,
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  fifty three and then maybe one or two on the
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  practice squad and then elevate depending on the matchup.
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  Speaker 2: Gotcha.
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  Speaker 3: You can get a guy like an EJ. Jenkins, who's
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  a good blocking tight end at six with six two
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  hundred and sixty pounds. Granson is a movable piece that
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  I think could really fit in and give Kevin Petullo
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  some optionality. So it all depends. I think it'll be
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  matchup dependent.
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  Speaker 1: Andrews look it over to the defense because with the
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  trading of Thomas Booker this week, we all have all
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  talked about, well, what does Bennett mean to the cornerback position? Well,
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  what about what it means for defensive tackle. And I
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  know a guy that someone like you is going to
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  keep a very close eye on, is Gabe Hall. Tell
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  the audience about who Gabe Hall is and why he
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  is a guy people need to keep an eye on tonight.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I've said this a few times since the
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  trade happened, But if you're the Eagle, if you don't
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  move off of someone like Thomas Booker, the fourth a
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  player who likely would have made the team and been
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  the fifth defensive tackle, maybe even been the fourth to
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  start while ty Robinson continues to grow, unless you're confident
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  in the development of ty Robinson or Gave Hall. Because
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  Byron Young's another young defensive tackle, but he's working through
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  a groin injury and he was when the trade was made.
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  So that to me suggests that the Eagles are seeing
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  what I've been seeing through the ten practices, and that
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  Gave Hall has flashed. He's been in the backfield a
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  couple of different times. He's six foot six, two hundred
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  and ninety five pounds, He's a rangy guy, athletic, and
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  I think that he's made a noticeable difference in year two.
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  He didn't really flash a ton last preseason, but I
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  think that he gives the Eagles some optionality there. He
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  can play any position on the defensive line, and he's
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  had a good camp, and he's a cost effective He
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  has a cost effective contract with it, which also helps
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  as well being a second year.
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  Speaker 1: Player aside from the Hall obviously, I know Moro Jomo's
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  got in a lot of hype, but what about Ty Robinson?
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  Talk to us about what you want to see from
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  Ty Robinson. He's a guy that a lot of people
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  loved when the Eagles drafted him.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I've gotten so many questions recently about ty Robinson
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  because I understandably a lot of folks are curious about him.
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  And my answer is always, you know, in the beginning
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  of camp, he didn't really stand out in any way
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  go to or bad. But the more reps that he's received,
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  the more confidence he seems to be playing with. He's
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  picking up on the techniques that are being taught by
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  defensive line coach Clint Hurt, and I do think he's
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  gonna play a ton in the preseason, which should go
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  a long way and better assessing where he is at
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  this stage. And again, you don't trade someone like Thomas Booker,
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  who is already ready to step in there and play,
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  and he was having a good camp. If Robinson's development
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  isn't on schedule, or gave Hall for that matter as well.
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  So he's coming along nicely and it's been a little
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  bit more gradual. He hasn't had the flashy plays, but
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  you can definitely see the noticeable growth. Practice to practice.
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  Speaker 1: The file position with Hill for football at for four
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  positions to watch for tonight when the Eagles take on
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  the Bengals. You can hear the game right here on
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  ninety seven three es being Andrew Checko from Inside the
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  Birds dot Com and the Inside the Birds podcast on
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  the line with us Andrew.
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  Speaker 2: Let's get to the safety position no more. CJ. Garner Johnson.
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  Speaker 1: You have to find somebody else to play next to
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  Reblankenship again for a third straight year. There's a lot
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  of interesting candidates. You drafted Drew mccouba, You already have
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  Sidney Brown in the building. Andre Sam is a guy
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  who knows the Fangio system, and then you have Lewis Scenes.
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  So who are the guys you actually expect to see
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  on the field and what are you looking.
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  Speaker 2: For from them?
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  Speaker 3: Andre Sam second year player who was undrafted last year.
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  He knows the system from being on the Eagles practice
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  squad last year. He's had a nice camp and I
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  think that he's actually a player that everybody should be highlighting,
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  because I mean being in the meeting rooms with safeties Coacht,
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  Joe Casper, CJ. Gardner Johnson was pretty much a big
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  brother to him. They trained together the offseason leading up
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  to the twenty twenty four season, and so presumably he
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  has a better perspective on what to expect here in
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  year two, and he's playing a lot faster, with more confidence.
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  He's carrying himself better. And Tristan McCullum is another player
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  that Vic Fangio mentioned for being another name in that
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  safety competition. Now it really is going to be a
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  two person battle between Sidney Brown and Drew mccooba. But
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  Sidney Brown's had kind of a quiet camp, hasn't done
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  anything good or bad. I think that he's playing a
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  lot more restrained, which is what you want to see.
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  And I'll be keeping an eye on seeing how much
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  more poised he is, I guess, back there and playing
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  within the confines of that defense. And also I'm not
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  sure if we'll see Drew mccooplin in Game one because
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  he's still working his way back from the shoulder, but
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  he's making encouraging signs in that return. But that's a
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  player that I fully expect to start. And then the
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  reserve positions being between Andre Sam and Tristan McCollum, which
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  is which are two guys that everybody really should be
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  keeping an eye on in this game because they both
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  had some bright moments in training camp.
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  Speaker 1: D Also, Tristan McCollum was a guy that Fangio had
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  mentioned in previous press conferences as a guy to look
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  at as part of that safety group. He was a
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  guy who came into games last year for the safety position.
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  So in your mind, is McCollum maybe like a dark
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  horse to be a guy that maybe slides in there
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  because of his experience last year, not.
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  Speaker 3: As a starter, but as somebody who I think could
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  really be a depth piece here, and he is really
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  good on special teams. I feel like a lot of
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  folks have sort of written off Tristan McCollum, or they
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  maybe have a perception because of the lasting memory of him,
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  you know, trailing on that touchdown the Super Bowl. But
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  he can absolutely play and I've seen and I've talked
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  to Tristan many times over the past couple of years,
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  gotten to know him. Smart player, really takes to the position,
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  takes to the coaching, and hones in on the fine
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  details of that position. And he's a player that Vick
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  Vangio trust because he is assignment sound. Maybe doesn't make
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  the flashy or explosive plays that someone like a Sydney
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  Brown or Drew mccoobla can make, but there's something to
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  be said for a player who is fundamentally sound and
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  you know where he's going to be, and he knows
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  where he needs to be on a given play. So
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  I would just say I would just caution folks who
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  want to write him off because he's a player that
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  the Eagles like.
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  Speaker 1: Follow him on Twitter x for all of your Eagles
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  coverage at Andrew the Checko all of this coverage Inside
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  the Birds dot com and make sure you like, subscribe
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  and download to the Inside the Bird podcast wherever you
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  get your podcast. Andrew is up there tonight at Linking
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  Financial Field for the game.
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  Speaker 2: Andrew, great stuff today. Appreciate you jumping on. We'll talk soon.
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  Speaker 3: You bet, I have a good one.