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Football at Four: DiCecco's Friday Eagles Notebook · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic,
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  Speaker 3: And Football at 4 is powered by the Inside the
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  Speaker 3: Birds podcast. And, of course, it's brought to you by
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  Speaker 3: in Atlantic City. Of course, we'll be back there on Monday.
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  Speaker 3: We are live at Vettner Social. Having a great time
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: getting you ready for all the weekend, including the football
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: that will include the Eagles and the Titans. Here to
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: break it down with us for today's edition of Football
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: at 4 is Andrew DiCicco is back in the house,
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: and we'll get his thoughts on the Eagles' Week 1
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  Speaker 3: win over the Commanders, his matchups that he's watching in
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: this one, a couple X-Factors, and his pick for the
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: game as we bring in Andrew DiCicco from the Inside
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: the Birds podcast at InsideTheBirds.com right now on a Football
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: at Four Friday edition. Andrew, what's up, my man? Hey, Mike,
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: how you doing? All is good, man, and week two
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: comes quick. It happens pretty quickly. You were at practice
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: this week, and we'll get some thoughts on this matchup,
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  Speaker 3: but take us back real quick what you saw. A
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  Speaker 3: couple highlights of things that stood out to you as
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: you watched that Eagle game on Sunday against the Commanders.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean, I have to think back. It
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: feels like so much time has passed, but I thought
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: the offense early on, you saw some under center. They
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Sort of deviated from that later in the game. There's
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: reasons why the offensive line was not performing at a
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  Speaker 2: very high level. Landon Dickerson in particular. Cam Juergens had
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: a couple holding penalties. They want more power, more inside zone.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: But I thought Jalen Huff played really well in that game.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: And a lot of times he had to improvise, call
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  Speaker 2: his own number to keep the offense on schedule. They
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: were behind the sticks still too much, Mike. They're going
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: to have to clean that up, even against a team
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  Speaker 2: like the Commanders. where they were an inferior opponent, you
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: still can't find yourself behind the sticks. And that just
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: is proof that people aren't immune to falling a little
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  Speaker 2: behind there offensively. So they're going to have to really...
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: learn from that experience, go into week two, and really
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: try to take it to this Titans team because they
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  Speaker 2: have advantages across the board.
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  Speaker 3: All right, a couple areas that a lot of people,
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: let's get your thoughts on the left guard situation. A
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: lot of times the minutiae of left guard doesn't seem
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  Speaker 3: like a big deal, but obviously it was last week.
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  Speaker 3: What do you see happening in that spot? We did
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: see Fred Johnson getting some reps there. I know that
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: Kendall was very coy with some of his answers this week.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: on where he was practicing. Andrew, what will the left
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  Speaker 3: guard spot look like on Sunday?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, my gut tells me that it would be Drew Kendall.
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  Speaker 2: He's someone who was repped there all summer. He was
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  Speaker 2: the first man up. When Landon Dickerson had the two
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  Speaker 2: rest days or when he needed a breather, it was
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  Speaker 2: Drew Kendall who was coming in. And I think he
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: made tremendous strides in training camp. Now he's going to
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: have to go out there and prove it. And there
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  Speaker 2: are other options the Eagles could go with, but my
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  Speaker 2: gut tells me it would be Drew Kendall first. because
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles wouldn't have to alter two positions. But they
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  Speaker 2: also have Cam Juergens there, who has played guard before,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: albeit right guard. And if the Eagles feel more comfortable
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  Speaker 2: with someone who has actually repped there in a game,
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  Speaker 2: certainly Jeffrey Simmons factors into this equation. Maybe he would
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  Speaker 2: make some sense, and you move Kendall to his natural
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  Speaker 2: position at center. I don't get the sense that it
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  Speaker 2: would be Willie Lampkin. I know that Kendall's been ahead
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  Speaker 2: of him all summer, and you want to talk about
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  Speaker 2: someone who hasn't really played– any snaps in the NFL
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  Speaker 2: last week was the first time he's played. And I
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: was on special teams. I think in this game, you're,
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  Speaker 2: you're looking to get your best five on the field.
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  Speaker 2: Drew Kendall spoke about that. Sean Mannion spoke about that.
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  Speaker 2: And if you're doing that, and if you're abiding by that,
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  Speaker 2: I would imagine that that would include, include Drew Kendall.
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  Speaker 3: Andrew to check a football at four here, Eagles getting
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: ready for the Titans. Uh, You just mentioned Jeffrey Simmons
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: and that guard spot. I imagine when there's a couple
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  Speaker 3: matchups that you're watching in this particular game, that one
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  Speaker 3: has to stand out. That one, if it's not, then
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: you can certainly correct me. And any other matchups that
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: you're kind of zoning in on, obviously the Titans are
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: an inferior opponent here, but they are an NFL team. Yeah, exactly.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: They're an NFL team, and the Heat could play a
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  Speaker 2: factor in this game. Sometimes that can act as the equalizer.
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  Speaker 2: Jeffrey Simmons is a dominant force. I think he can
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: be a little bit inconsistent at times, but he does
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  Speaker 2: have the ability to take over games, much like we've
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: seen from Jalen Carter. And I have to imagine that
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Jeffrey Simmons is looking at this Eagles offensive line from
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: an interior perspective and almost salivating at the opportunity. And again,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: the Eagles are going to have, they'll be able to,
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  Speaker 2: they're going to do everything that they can to counter
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  Speaker 2: what he can do. But I have to imagine that
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  Speaker 2: from Tennessee side, they're looking at it, looking at that
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  Speaker 2: as a clear advantage, but I'm curious to see how
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles go about neutralizing him or trying to neutralize him.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: But if you're looking at it from another perspective, another
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  Speaker 2: matchup that I like, or I'm at least intrigued to
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: watch is how the Eagles edge rushers fair against a
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  Speaker 2: pair of tackles that I think that they could, they can,
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  Speaker 2: they can be taken advantage of. I am talking really
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: about Dan Moore, who I believe surrendered eight sacks a
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: season ago. And you want to see more from J
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: looks hunting, Nolan Smith, Vic Fangio made it clear earlier
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: in the week. that the pass rush wasn't good enough,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: and I have to imagine that that's a message that
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  Speaker 2: will be received loud and clear from J. Lux Hunt
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  Speaker 2: and Nolan Smith. They're going to want to go out
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  Speaker 2: there and capitalize on what I believe is an advantageous matchup.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: Andrew, you can look at a matchup that I'm looking at.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: I want to get your take on this as well.
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: Last week we saw Dallas Goddard. I predicted before the
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: season that Goddard would have a really breakout big year
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: as the second option in here. and wondering if that's
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: something that can be a consistent part of the offense,
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  Speaker 3: in your opinion, how they used him last week. Do
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  Speaker 3: you see them furthering him and having him be a
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  Speaker 3: big part of the offense week to week?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so, Mike. And we talk a lot
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  Speaker 2: about Devontae Smith, and he's going to lead the team
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  Speaker 2: in targets, to be clear. The passing game is going
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  Speaker 2: to run through him. But then you get asked a
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  Speaker 2: lot about who's wide receiver two because you're trying to
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: determine what that means in terms of target share. And
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  Speaker 2: for me, wide receiver two is tight end one. That's
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  Speaker 2: Dallas Goddard. I believe that he'll be a consistent presence
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  Speaker 2: throughout the season. It's never been about ability with Goddard.
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  Speaker 2: It's been about availability and of late looking at it
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  Speaker 2: through the lens of last season, he missed just one
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  Speaker 2: regular season game due to injury. And that was week
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  Speaker 2: two against the chiefs. But I look at how Sean
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  Speaker 2: Mannion and the West coast offense in general tend to
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  Speaker 2: fixate on tight ends and get them involved. And you
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  Speaker 2: look at, And I know it's just one game sample size,
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  Speaker 2: but you saw the different route variations. They got him
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: the football and allowed Goddard to take advantage of his
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  Speaker 2: explosive qualities. He can work down the field. He can
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  Speaker 2: run after the catch and bulldoze defenders. And I know
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  Speaker 2: that there's trust and confidence there with Jalen Hurts that's
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  Speaker 2: been established over time. So in an offense where there's
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: so much newness across the board, you like the familiarity
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: that Hurts has with Devontae Smith and Dallas Goddard. So
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  Speaker 2: I imagine that especially in the early going, he's going
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  Speaker 2: to be a consistent presence.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: Any discouragement with Lemons' role in this offense, or do
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: you think that will expand as this year goes on?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it depends on where your expectations were.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, I have watched this team every practice. I've watched,
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: you know, you talk to players, you understand the situation.
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  Speaker 2: So for me, I wasn't going into it with excessive optimism,
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: certainly for week one. He missed three weeks of training camp,
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  Speaker 2: and in a new offense like this where so much
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  Speaker 2: is demanded in terms of mastering the details and the terminology,
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  Speaker 2: it just wasn't realistic that he was going to come
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  Speaker 2: out like gangbusters week one and all of a sudden
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  Speaker 2: rack up 105 yards off six catches and a touchdown. Now,
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  Speaker 2: did I expect him to have a little bit better
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  Speaker 2: of a shelling? Yeah, I did, but... Three catches for
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  Speaker 2: negative five yards is certainly something that you never expect
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  Speaker 2: to see, but they need to find better ways to
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  Speaker 2: get him more quality touches. And if you're going to
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  Speaker 2: throw him those bubble screens or plays off orbit motion,
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  Speaker 2: which I think his second reception was, he got to
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  Speaker 2: block it up a little bit better. But the Eagles
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: are going to get the ball in his hands to
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  Speaker 2: establish that confidence. It just needs to be a little
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: bit better executed. And it's going to take a little
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: bit of time, I imagine, for Makai Lemon to really
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: get back up to speed and make up for lost time.
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: By the way, Andrew Makuba did not practice yesterday. He
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: says he thinks he's going to be. That's a spot
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: they're pretty thin at to begin with. So something to
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: watch there. If you're looking at somebody on the Titans
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: offense that you think might be a problem this week,
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: who's that guy?
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: Maybe Tajay Spears, their second running back. He's a good
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: pass receiver. You can move him around a little bit.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: He's good in the open field. In a game like
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: that where it's hot and effort is going to be paramount,
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: you have to tackle all of your fundamentals that the
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Eagles really prioritize. Getting someone like that to the ground
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: in the third and the fourth quarter, to me, are
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: going to be. something that I'll be keeping an eye on.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I don't know that they have a ton there. I mean, yes,
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: you have Calvin Ridley. You have Carnell Tate. You have
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: Wondell Robinson. So I'm looking at Cooper DeGene in this matchup.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: But you have to look at the quarterback as well.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Cam Ward has been really inconsistent. I liked him coming out.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: I don't know that those players are going to have
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: as big of an impact, certainly with Quinnian Mitchell back
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  Speaker 2: there patrolling the secondary. So I'm looking at a running
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  Speaker 2: back who's sort of a really explosive, dynamic player in
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  Speaker 2: the open field and Tajay Spears.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: All right, Andrew, give us a couple X factors in
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: this game for you. You mentioned the heat, obviously. I
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: was down in Charleston, South Carolina two weeks ago. And
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: let me tell you, when they tell you it feels
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: like 106, they ain't lying. It is hot down there.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: So I would imagine... that's going to be a factor
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: in this game. Other X factors that you have pinned
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: for the Eagles and the Titans on Sunday?
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like Dontavion Wicks and his matchup with Cordell Flott.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Cordell Flott, you may remember, was a corner with the
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: New York Giants, a really just sort of a pedestrian,
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: run-of-the-mill type of corner. He's flashed on occasion, but he's
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: never really been able to be a consistent player. And
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: I think Wicks and Hurts have something brewing there in
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: terms of their chemistry. You saw it last week. I
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: thought Sean Manning gave a really good story of Dontavian
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Wicks in practice running that same route, that same play
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: that he's, that he ended up getting the 64 yard
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: reception on, uh, in week one, he didn't get the
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: ball in practice, but he gave great effort and the
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: ball found them. And so I think you're going to
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: look to, I think it's, it's easy to see the
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Eagles trying to lean into that a little bit, take
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: advantage of that matchup and, that chemistry there. They need
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: another option in the passing attack, and I like Dontavion
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Wicks here.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: All right. We've got the Eagles and the Titans coming
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: up on Sunday right here on 97.3 ESPN. And, of course,
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: the pregame coverage starts at noon. Merrill and Mike have
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: the call. at 1 o'clock. And a lot of people,
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: you look at that number, Eagles on the road here,
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: big road dog in this game for the Titans. But
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: let's get your pick, Andrew. How do you see the
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: matchup on Sunday kind of breaking down? Give us your
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: crystal ball.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Well, I mentioned earlier that the Heat could be the equalizer,
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: and I do believe that, but This Titans team is
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: just not very good, and I have a hard time
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: envisioning them being able to do enough to outscore the
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Eagles here, certainly move the ball against the Eagles' defense
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: in general should be challenging. So I like the Eagles
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: to win this one, and we'll say 27-13.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: All right, 27-13 is Andrew DiCicco's pick here on our
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Football at Four, Sports Pass Live, 97.3 ESPN. Andrew, enjoy
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: all the football, and, of course, we will catch up
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: with you on Football at Four next week, man.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Sounds good, Mike. Have a great weekend.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: As always, Andrew DiCicco here, powered by the Inside the
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: Birds podcast. And you can check out all the Inside
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: the Birds podcasts on all podcasting platforms.