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The DiCecco Daily Postgame Show: Takeaways, Locker Room Intel From An Eagles 27-7 MNF Loss To Bears · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome in to another episode
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: of DiCecco Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter from InsideTheBirds.com.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: It is a little past 2.30 Eastern Time, 1.30 Chicago Time,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and the Eagles just lost to the Chicago Bears 27-7.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: A lopsided loss, one that I certainly did not see coming.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of reasons for that, and we'll get
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: into all that. But man, this game set up to
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: be one in which the Eagles had a clear advantage
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: at the quarterback position with Case Keenum, the third string
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: quarterback of the Chicago Bears, who hadn't played in a
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: game since December of 2023. And He had a strong game,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: one that I really didn't see coming, and he was
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: able to move the ball, and that really revealed itself
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: early in this one. But let's set the scene, because
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: I have to say, out of all of the stadiums
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: that I've been to, and I've been to many, I
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: thought Soldier Field was really cool. You have the downtown
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: backdrop that I thought really... set the scene for this
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: primetime matchup. Just a lot of history there. I'm someone
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: who really respects and has a lot of interest in
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: the history. And I thought that that stadium was awesome.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: I loved the vantage point from the press box. I
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: felt that I was able to really see almost everything
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: that was going on and had a really good angle
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: whether the Eagles were coming towards us or working their
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: way to the opposite side. But, This was supposed to
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: be the quarterback matchup in a primetime setting with Jalen
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Hurts and Caleb Williams. But, of course, Caleb Williams was–
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: he injured himself and he's got the hamstring injury. So
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: it was Case Keenum who got the start. Let's not
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: forget that Tyson Bajent, their backup quarterback, he cleared concussion protocol,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: but he missed most of the week. And Ben Johnson
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: is someone who prioritizes– practice so he didn't get the
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: starting nod but as you'll soon find unless you you
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: know if you didn't watch the game they were in
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: good hands with Case Keenum and so the 38 year
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: old got things started early on the first drive it
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: was an 11 play 66 yard drive it covered six
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: minutes and 13 seconds and He caps it by throwing
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: an 8-yard touchdown to Luther Burden, the wide receiver. And
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: it was kind of off to the races from there.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: And the Eagles did manage to keep Bears running backs
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift and Kyle Menungai in check this time. Remember,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: they rushed for 281 yards the last time these two
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: teams met, and that was Black Friday last season. But,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: I mean, they were unable to contain Keenum and the
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Bears pass catchers. The Eagles also committed three turnovers, interceptions
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: by quarterback Jalen Hurts and Andy Dalton, and a fumble
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: by running back Tank Bigsby. Meanwhile, Case Keenum completed 24
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: of 34 pass attempts for 247 and two touchdowns, and
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: he played such a prominent role in fueling the Bears
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: to victory. But the Eagles also shot themselves in the
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: foot far too often with penalties and turnovers. The tackling
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: was also problematic, and that was also the case last
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: week in Nashville. Pretty spotty. Hertz completed 16 of 25
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: pass attempts for 153 in an interception. Running back Saquon
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Barkley picked up 82 yards on 15 carries, while wide
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: receiver Devontae Smith led all Eagles pass catchers in receptions
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: in six and yards 65. On the defensive side, linebackers
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Zach Vaughn and Jihad Campbell and safety Drew McCuba each
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: combined for nine tackles apiece. A transaction update ahead of
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Monday night's game, the Eagles elevated tight end Zach Ertz
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: and linebacker Chance Campbell from the practice squad, the first
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: elevation for both players. We'll start from the top here,
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: and the opening kickoff featured defensive tackle Ty Robinson in coverage.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Nothing really to elaborate on this one, other than it's
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: not often you see a defensive tackle on kick coverage,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: and he's a new addition to the group. I'm curious
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: to hear what Michael Clay has to say in terms
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: of what factored into that decision this week. I mentioned
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: it was a rough first series for the Eagles defense,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: and that really set the tone for the game. I
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: thought Ben Johnson... called a balanced opening drive for Chicago.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: It kept the Eagles off balance. Marcus Epps started at safety,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: but with the Bears running with some heavy packages, Cooper
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: DeGene logged a handful of reps at safety, and that
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: was the drive that I told you ended with the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: 8-yard touchdown to Luther Burden. But on that play, Luther
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Burden powered through a host of Eagles defenders, led by Epps,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to reach the end zone. So not a great start there.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: And then on the Eagles' first offensive series, the group
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: found something in the running game, with Barkley producing 16
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: yards on consecutive carries. And the first run, a 12-yarder
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: to the left side, was sprung by a Cam Juergens block.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: The drive, however, stalled following a second-and-six play in which
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Hurts was called for intentional grounding that was enforced at
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: the Chicago 40. Now, on that play, tight end EJ
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Jenkins came across the formation to pick up outside linebacker
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Montez Sweat, who had already had upfield penetration and bore
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: down on Hurts to force the throwaway. That was a
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: tough assignment there. and it never really had a chance,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: so that's the reasoning behind that play. The second offensive
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: series began with a 19-yard Barkley run that was called
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: back due to a holding penalty by right guard Tyler Steen.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: It was a needless hold because the play wasn't even
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: to his side. He wasn't really a factor in that play,
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: so kind of an inexcusable penalty to take there, and
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: it set up a second and 20, and then the
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: next play was when Hurts checked it down to running
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: back Tank Bigsby for a play that picked up five yards,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: but Tank fumbled the football at the Eagles 15, and
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Bears safety Xavier Woods recovered at the 15. The fumble
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: was forced by Bears outside linebacker Austin Booker, whom I
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier this week. Jordan Mailata had some complimentary things
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: to say about him being an unorthodox rusher and how
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: it just works for him, and he elaborated on that.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: But that was the Eagles' third turnover in two weeks
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: at that time, and it's atypical for a team that
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: drills and prioritizes ball security as much as any team.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: I didn't notice much of Tank Bigsby in the backfield thereafter,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: though I did observe him repping on the punt team.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Keeping with the running game, I thought Barkley ran hard
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: and looked explosive when reaching the second level. He finished
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: with 82 yards on 15 carries, as I mentioned, but
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: the personality of the game shifted fairly quickly, necessitating a
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: pivot to the passing game. Still, though, if you're looking
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: for a silver lining, the ground game was more effective,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: though the Eagles continue to find themselves behind the sticks,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: which is a troubling trend that has persisted through the
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: first three games. On the second defensive series, Vic Fangio
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: incorporated a bit of a rotation at safety opposite Drew
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: McCuba with Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II, which he
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: did mention last week would be a possibility. That rotation
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: continued throughout the game. It seemed Ben Johnson went into
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: this game with the intent of targeting the Eagles' safeties
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: as Keenum peppered the intermediate levels of the field in
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: the first half in which he compiled 149 passing yards
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and With veteran defensive back Kenny Moore on the practice squad,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: it's hard to imagine he won't factor into the safety
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: equation once he's fully up to speed with the understanding
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: of Fangio's defense. Makuba, who was trailing on that 41-yard
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: touchdown to Bears wide receiver Kalief Raymond, spoke about the
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: play after the game. He said, I got to go back.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I got to go back and watch that. I don't
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: really know what happened for sure, so I can't really
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: say what happened. But as a post safety, it's my
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: job to get him down. Makuba also spoke about the
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: aforementioned rotation beside him and if it impacts him. I
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: still got to do my job regardless of who's out
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: there with me. So, I mean, who's ever out there
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: with me, I still got a responsibility and a job
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: to do, so I'm going to do that. And, I mean,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: I work good with both Marcus and Mike, so it
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: don't even bother me whoever's out there. We're just going
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: to ball. With the game potentially teetering, Jalen Hurts took
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: a nasty shot from Bears linebacker DeMarco Jackson as he
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: reached the sideline and momentarily remained down. Hurts briefly took
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: a trip to the medical tent, bringing on Andy Dalton
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: in what was kind of a bizarre sequence. On the
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: third and two from the Chicago two, Dalton seemed to
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: stare down. Not seemed, he did stare down wide receiver
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Dontavian Wicks in the back of the end zone. Stared
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: him down the whole way, and he was picked off
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: by rookie safety Dylan Thienemann. As a veteran with 169
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: career starts under his belt, it's reasonable to expect Dalton
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: to make a better decision there. And with Barkley finding
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: success on the ground, asking Dalton to throw there was
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: a curious decision. I go back to this summer where
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: neither Tanner McKee nor Andy Dalton really separated. And it
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: seemed like the Eagles just deferred to the veteran there.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: But that conversation. of underscores the situation that never– it
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: never rectified itself. It never came to a conclusion in
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: the summer. No one was clearly better than the other.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: I guess you could say that Tanner McKee pulled away
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: a little bit in the end, but– That's the Eagles'
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: backup quarterback situation. But Dalton spoke about the play after
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: the game. He said they had schemed it up pretty good.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: I obviously didn't see the safety in the middle, and
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: he just read my eyes. My eyes were over there,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: and he made the play. So, again, I can't put
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: this team in that situation, and so costly decision. Following
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: the interception, Dalton mentioned that he apologized to Hurts. He said,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: I was in a bad spot, but I obviously put
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: him in a bad spot, too. Hertz would return on
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: the ensuing series, capping an eight-play, 67-yard drive with a
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: one-yard touchdown plunge just at the buzzer with one second
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: remaining until the break. And it seemed at that time
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: that the Eagles had captured momentum. But as we would
• 11:04
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  Speaker 1: The last time these two teams met was on Black Friday,
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: as I mentioned, at Lincoln Financial Field. and the Bears
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: gashed the Eagles on the ground for 281 rushing yards.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: I thought the Eagles did a nice job bottling up
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: the Bears in this meeting, holding running backs DeAndre Swift
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: and Kyle Menungai to a combined 115 yards on 30 carries.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: The Eagles did a good job with block destruction and
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: rally to the football in the running game. But in
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: this game, the defense allowed 38-year-old Case Keenum, who hadn't
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: started a game, as I mentioned, since December of 2023,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: to establish a rhythm when taking to the air. effectively
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: keeping the Eagles off balance. They did not tackle well
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: in space. And in the passing game, they just weren't
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: able to wrap up ball carriers and get off blocks
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: and some of the things that all of the fundamentals
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: that they preach and that they have historically under Vic
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Fangio have done a really good job. In this game,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: they just weren't able to answer the bell there. And
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: the Eagles were charged with 10 penalties on Monday night
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: for a total of 61 yards. Conversely, the Bears picked
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: up five for 45. And for reference, The Eagles had
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: nine penalties coming into Week 3. The Bears won the
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: time of possession 36-53 to 23-07, and they also picked
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: up considerably more first downs, producing 24 to the Eagles' 14.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Faced with a 4th-and-1 in the third quarter, it appeared
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: the Eagles would attempt a push play, but instead took
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: a delay-of-game penalty, attempting to draw the Bears off sides. Then,
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: down 20-7 on their own 49th, or I should say
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: down 27 on their own 49, which was the down
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: in distance. That was a good spot where the Eagles
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: had been aggressive in the past, and later on a
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: fourth and five, the Eagles attempted to go for it,
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: but Hurts, looking for Smith, was picked off by linebacker
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: TJ Edwards, who read it the whole way. The two
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: appeared to share an animated conversation in the aftermath, and
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: as an aside, I'm curious about the thought process to
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: go for one and not the other, minutes apart, by
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: the way, with the offense in need of a spark.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Apart from another screen that went nowhere, I like the
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: way the Eagles used Makai Lemon, who picked up 19
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: and 13 yards respectively in the intermediate levels of the field.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: And on the 13-yard reception, Lemon showcased some wiggle in
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: the open field. One positive to take away from this
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: game is that Lemon, targeted four times in this one,
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: appears to be carving out a more prominent role. It
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: appears his confidence is growing, and in other wide receiver news,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: it was another productive adding for Devontae Smith. who made
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: the most of his opportunities. Smith reeled in six of
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: eight pass targets for 65 yards, provided a highlight reel
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: reception as well on a second-and-five second-quarter heave in which
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: he out-muscled cornerback Jalen Johnson for a 30-yard gain. He
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: did an excellent job high-pointing the football. But on the
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: screenplay to Lemon, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz highlighted that
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: as a play in which he could have executed better.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: He outlined that himself, and he says... On that play
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: in particular, I should have seen the corner that was
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: covered to the corner. If he sees the bubble screen,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: he's going to be really aggressive on the inside, and
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I kind of took more of an outside release, thinking
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: he was just going to relate to me on the
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: bubble screen, blocking for Makai, and kind of knife the gap.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: And so for me, I've seen that look a thousand
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: times in my career, and I've just got to put
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: the two and two together, that in that coverage with
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: the bubble screen to him, he's not going to relate
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: to my release. Speaking of the tight end position, not
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: much production. from the Eagles' three tight ends. Monday night
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: marked the return of the aforementioned legend Zach Ertz, who
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: pulled in one reception for nine yards. Veteran Johnny Munt
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: tallied a four-yard reception, but outside of that, there wasn't
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: much to write home about. E.J. Jenkins didn't yield a target,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: and while the production in the first game without Dallas
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: got it left much to be desired, I suspect Ertz
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: will become more involved as he logs more practices under
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: his belt. He talked about the emotion of returning to
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: the field for the first time in nine and a
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: half months. A lot of emotions, obviously, he said. Just
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: a blessing to be out there. Last time I was
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: on a football field, really tough injury, really tough rehab,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: really long process. So just kind of the weight of
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: the really past nine and a half months was a
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: little overwhelming, especially with all the Eagles fans and just
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: the reception kind of running onto the field. So yeah,
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: definitely a lot of emotions. And like I said, just
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: a blessing. Where do the Eagles go from here? Well,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: they're going to have a quick turnaround. They're going to
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: have to flush this one, as I heard a couple
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: of players say in the postgame locker room. And they're
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: going to have to quickly prepare for a L.A. Rams
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: team coming in here that has the potential to do
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: some damage. They lost the Denver Broncos in Sunday night football.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: They're going to be looking for. a bounce back situation,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: and the Eagles are kind of on the ropes here. Now,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of common themes that I've noticed from
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: this team, particularly on the offensive side, where they're playing
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: behind the sticks. They're struggling to run the football. They
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: aren't as adept at protecting at the line of scrimmage
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: as they have been, and so they're going to have
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: to get that cleaned up. I read for you the
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: time of possession, the first down discrepancies, and Those are
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: things that aren't just a one-off. They've been common themes. Defensively,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: the pressure has to rev up. They've gotten Jonathan Grenard
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: back into the mix. He didn't really do a ton
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: in this game. I'm curious to see what the snap
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: shares bear out when they come out on Tuesday morning.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: They'll be out by the time you hear this podcast,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: but didn't see a ton from him. J. Lux Hunt,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Nolan Smith as well. I always watch these games back
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: two or three times to get a better depiction as
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: to what happened, but on an initial viewing, the pressure
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: has to be better. They have to do a better
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: job tackling and taking better angles to the ball carrier.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: It seems like they're having some issues there on the
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: back end when it comes to the safety position. Drew
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: McCuba didn't have a strong game. They also didn't get
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: good performances from Marcus Epps in particular, but Michael Carter
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: as well, to a degree. And so that's why you
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: look at Kenny Moore and you wonder what that could
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: mean for him when he gets ramped up enough where
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: they feel comfortable using him. So that's on tape right now.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: So when we hear from Vic Fangio, I really want
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: to hear what his assessment is of that safety group
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: right now. They have a lot of moving pieces there,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: but they need more from that group, and that includes
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: Drew McCuba. I also didn't think Jihad Campbell had a
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: particularly strong game as well, but he's a young player.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: He has had some bright moments this season. I don't
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: think the answer is playing Jeremiah Trotter Jr., to be clear.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: Jihad Campbell is an exceptional athlete. He elevates the ceiling
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: of the defense. He's going to have to play things
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: a little bit better and be a little bit more
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: sound in the tackling and shedding blocks. But he complements
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: Zach Bond in the sense that he just has the
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: length and the range. And Zach Bond can really do
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: anything you ask him to do on the field. A
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: really complete linebacker. But No, I'm not there yet. I
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: am intrigued with what the Eagles did with Makai Lemon.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Use him more as a true wide receiver and scrap
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: those screen passes because they're not working. They're not executed properly.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: They're not blocked up well. And until that becomes the case,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: it's hard to keep throwing your rookie receiver these passes,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: these checkdowns. And the one play, he just got blasted.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: When he's been asked to run routes and get open
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: in the intermediate levels of the field, you look at
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: the 14-yarder against the Titans. I mentioned the 19-yarder and
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: the 13-yarder on Monday night. I think more of that
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: will better serve the offense, but I'm not an offensive coordinator.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Perhaps the screens are drawn up well, and they're just
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: not properly executed. We'll have to hear what Sean Mannion
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: has to say about that, but I don't think they're
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: doing Makai Lemon any favors by asking him to do
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: some of those things, but Those are some of my
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: immediate takeaways from the Eagles' 27-7 loss. That feels pretty
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: weird to say. You don't often see losses like this
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: under Nick Sirianni of that magnitude. So there's going to
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: be a lot of questions to be asked this week.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: But there's also not going to be a ton of
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: time for the Eagles to dwell on what just happened because,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: as I mentioned, they have a pretty tough L.A. Rams
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: team coming to Philadelphia on Sunday. That's going to do
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: it for this episode of the Checo Daily. I'm Andrew DiCecco,
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: and I'll catch you all on the next one.