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The DiCecco Daily: Explaining Recent Eagles Transaction; Assessing Final Camp Practice · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:10
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome into this edition of to check
0:13
O Deli Andrew de Checko.
0:15
Speaker 2: Here a bit of a sad day.
0:17
Speaker 1: It was the final day of Eagles training camp, day eighteen.
0:21
I'm a creature of habit I'm regimented, and training camp
0:26
is always my favorite part of the season for many reasons.
0:29
But as it were, the Eagles practice for about one
0:33
hour and twenty one minutes. It was sort of an
0:35
abbreviated session and lighter, but they got a lot accomplished
0:40
and there were still a lot of takeaways. So before
0:42
we start to look at some of the observations that
0:46
I had from today, we'll look at the first transaction note.
0:51
Ahead of practice, the Eagles signed linebacker Chance Campbell and
0:55
released wide receiver Giles Jackson in a corresponding move. Campbell
0:59
he did practice Wednesday. He's wearing number fifty nine. Just
1:03
some background on Campbell. He's twenty five years old. He
1:06
was a twenty twenty two sixth round pick. He appeared
1:09
in four games with the Titans in twenty twenty three,
1:12
and he spent the twenty twenty two and twenty twenty
1:15
four seasons on injured reserve. Now the signing makes a
1:20
lot of sense the Eagles add another linebacker ahead of
1:25
the final preseason game, and if you look at the
1:28
Eagles linebacker situation right now, Zach Bond's not playing Friday,
1:33
Johad Campbell in all likelihood won't and I doubt the
1:36
Eagles want Jeremiah Trotter Junior out there, So that leaves
1:39
them with Lancetixon, Smilemonden Junior, and Dallas Gant. Campbell gives
1:46
them another body to absorb some of those reps and
1:50
allow the Eagles to keep those three players that I
1:53
mentioned on the sideline and get them healthy and too.
1:57
Speaker 2: Week one.
1:59
Speaker 1: So it's the status report not practicing for the Eagles today.
2:03
It was a pretty lengthy injury report. Wide receiver aj
2:07
Brown hamstring, cornerback Tarique Castro Fields hamstring, safety Lewis Scene groin,
2:15
guard Landon Dickerson knee tackle, Jordan Malatta concussion, quarterback Tanner
2:20
McKee finger, safety Drew mccuba hamstring, cornerback Keeley Ringo, quad
2:26
wide receiver DeVante Smith groin, edge rusher josh Usha groin,
2:31
and wide receiver Johnny Wilson knee slash, ankle. All of
2:36
the aforementioned didn't practice today. I did see Landon Dickerson
2:40
out there on the field today though as a spectator.
2:44
Speaker 2: He was wearing his jersey number.
2:45
Speaker 1: Sixty nine, and there was a point in practice where
2:49
I saw him in Jason Kelcey chatting and taking in
2:53
the session. As I mentioned, mccuba and Wilson sustained their
2:58
injuries during Tuesday session, and Keelee Ringo, however, with the
3:02
quad injury, was a new addition. So this is not
3:07
the best time for never, there's never a good time
3:10
for injuries, but certainly for someone in Keiey Ringo's position,
3:13
where Friday gives him another opportunity to get more reps
3:17
and try to convince the coaches that he should be
3:20
in the contention to be the starter opposite Quinna Mitchell.
3:24
He seemed to have been falling out of the cornerback race.
3:26
It's largely gone to adri Jackson to Corey and Bennett
3:30
still has some time to narrow that gap. But for
3:33
Keilee Ringo, every opportunity is vital, especially when you haven't
3:38
performed well, and you need to make every opportunity count.
3:42
So we'll have to wait and see if he's able
3:44
to get healthy enough to play on Friday, but that
3:49
was one that I found particularly notable. But let's get
3:52
to the observations, and then at the end of the podcast,
3:55
I'm going to talk about a few players that I
3:58
found to be, you know, surprises in a good way,
4:03
pleasant surprises. For training camp, I have a handful that
4:06
I want to get to. But the Eagles opened with
4:10
a walkthrough and that also included some special teams work.
4:14
Some of the names who were on the first team
4:16
kickoff Sidney Brown, Grant Kal Katera, Kylon Grantson, e J.
4:21
Jenkins and Ayah Smith, Tristan McCollum, Jeremiah Trotter, Junior Patrick Johnson,
4:25
Jacorian Bennett, and Will Shipley. This was an interesting part
4:30
of practice shortly thereafter when they started doing individual drills,
4:34
because the Eagles do occasionally we'll run a drill where
4:38
the receivers will be in groups of two and they
4:40
kind of run this assembly line that focuses on bringing
4:44
in contested catches. But one of the highlights was a twisting,
4:47
one handed twirl from rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper. More
4:51
on him later when he was paired with another rookie
4:54
wide receiver in ife Adaie wide receiver Elijah Cooks was
4:58
paired with Aaron moorehead on this drill and he shined.
5:02
He hauled in a one handed catch in his background
5:05
in basketball, really showed.
5:08
Speaker 2: Then A J.
5:09
Speaker 1: Brown started firing off some passes to his receivers.
5:13
Speaker 2: And they were running towards him.
5:16
Speaker 1: He zipped in a pass that was a little bit
5:18
too tall for Cooper, didn't even look like it was
5:20
intended for Cooper, and he just stares the pass down,
5:24
stabs it out of the air. High points. It impressive
5:27
grab and one of a handful of plays that the
5:30
undrafted rookie from Charlatan State made today. During the initial
5:36
team period, the Eagles opening base and they rolled out
5:39
a defense that featured a secondary of Quinn Down, Mitchell,
5:42
and Cooper. Dejeene at cornerback, Red Blanket Chip and Sydney
5:45
Brown at safety. The linebackers were Zach Bond and jahat Campbell,
5:49
and upfront included edge rushers Nolan Smith, Jay Looks Hunt.
5:53
Defensive tackles were Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Morojomo And
5:57
then when the Eagles shipped it to Nickel, Dejeen Mike
6:00
graded to his normal role, which brought on adri Jackson
6:03
to a line opposite Quinyon Mitchell. The second team cornerback
6:07
grouping for those curious, was comprised of Jacoran Bennett and
6:11
fifth round rookie Mac McWilliams, and the second team linebackers
6:15
were Jeremiah Trotter Junior and Smile Manden Jr. On the
6:20
offensive line without Jordan Mylotta, Matt Pryor again filled in,
6:24
and Brett Toth replaced Dickerson as he has since Dickerson
6:27
suffered the meniscus injury. At left guard, the second unit
6:32
was comprised of, and this is going from left to right,
6:34
left tackle Kendall Lamb, left guard Kenyon Green, senator Drew Kendall,
6:38
right guard Trevor Keegan, and right tackle Darien Kinnard. Nice
6:43
day for Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper. There was a
6:46
point in practice where he skied between cornerback Quinyon Mitchell
6:50
and Jahid Campbell to bring in a high ball in
6:52
traffic from Jalen Hurts, and he keeps showing.
6:56
Speaker 2: Up in a big way.
6:58
Speaker 1: He also beat a Dori Jacks a short out route
7:01
inside the left pylon for a touchdown. I don't know
7:05
what the numbers are are going to are going to
7:10
kind of put the Eagles in a conundrum, but they
7:12
do have an influx of players and it does cloud
7:15
as roster status, but Darius Cooper absolutely belongs. He sort
7:20
of found a way to blend the day to day
7:22
consistency with splash plays which put him on Nick Sirianni's
7:26
radar initially, and then it was the consistency, which we
7:30
learned from hearing Nick Sirianni speak Wednesday morning, that that
7:34
really started to grab the attention of the coaching staff.
7:39
If you're listening Tuesday, I mentioned that cornerback of Dory
7:42
Jackson did have a solid showing, but the veteran didn't
7:44
have his best day.
7:46
Speaker 2: On the final practice of summer.
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Speaker 1: He gave up the touchdown to Cooper, which I just
7:49
told you about, but then he allows a catch to
7:52
Johan Dotson on a crosser and then shortly thereafter he
7:56
was flagged for defensive pass interference on Johan Dotson. Big
8:02
day for Jay When hurts I thought he was sharp,
8:05
he was really crisp. There was a play where he
8:08
floated a perfectly placed pass on a crosser towards the
8:13
left corner of the end zone to tight end Grant
8:15
cal Katra for a touchdown. Kal Katara beat Sidney Brown
8:18
on that play. He then took advantage of a mismatching
8:21
coverage on the next play and he floated a pass
8:25
into the back of the end zone to Johan Dotson
8:28
with Zach Bond defending and Kevin Patula, the Eagles offensive coordinator,
8:33
was extremely pleased on the play. He also had a
8:38
nice He had an awkward arm release and it was
8:42
a weird launch point, but he rifled the ball to
8:46
Annyas Smith on an out route for a touchdown. And
8:49
Smith ran a nice route on the play and he
8:52
created just enough separation from Cooper dejen to make that
8:56
play look. Annyas Smith is on the roster bubble, but
9:00
he's had some positive moments in the final practice and
9:04
really his confidence as a whole appears to be growing.
9:08
I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with
9:10
this opportunity Friday night. He's a guy that I will
9:13
have certainly highlighted. The Eagles linebacking tandem of Zack Bond
9:17
and Jahad Campbell is going to be just fascinating to watch.
9:21
Such a dynamic tandem, and they set the tone early
9:23
in the practice session Jahad Campbell's storming through the line
9:27
to pick up what would have been a sack of
9:28
Jayalen Hurts and then Zach Bond completely sniffing out a
9:32
screen to the right to Saquon Barkley and blowing it up.
9:36
Speaker 2: Those two players are all over the field.
9:38
Speaker 1: They have that sideline to sideline range, and they can
9:41
also attack the quarterback and the line of scrimmage. There's
9:45
so many things they can do and gives the Eagles
9:47
optionality and makes that second level of an area in
9:52
which teams are going to have a very difficult time exploiting.
9:55
Kyle McCord, the Eagles rookie quarterback from Syracuse. He was
9:58
in the number two row again for the second consecutive
10:01
day without Tanner McKee, who has the finger injury. He
10:06
tossed an interception for the second time in as many days.
10:09
He was looking for tight end e J. Jenkins over
10:11
the middle, but he instead completed the pass the Jeremiah
10:14
Trotter Junior. Trotter Junior, by the way, made a really
10:18
savvy play in coverage to come up with the interception.
10:21
He probably got it rid of it. The pass a
10:22
little bit quicker than he would have liked to because
10:25
Morojomo just knife past guard Kenyon Green to apply the pressure.
10:32
So that was you know, that was a play that
10:36
he'd liked to see. Kyle McCord, who's a gunslinger, fire
10:39
and in there. But Morojomo, that just really embodies the
10:43
summer that he's had, just consistent interior pressure, being disruptive
10:47
and giving guards no matter who it is, whether it's
10:50
Landen Diggerson or Tyler stein Fits. There's another player that
10:55
I want to mention that I thought had a good summer,
10:58
a good practice, and you're going to see a lot
11:00
of them on Friday evening, and that is undrafted rookie
11:03
running back Montreal Johnson Junior. He missed a chunk of
11:07
camp with the hamstring injury, but he does run with patience, contact, balance,
11:11
notable vision.
11:13
Speaker 2: I like his game a lot. When you look at
11:15
a lot of.
11:15
Speaker 1: The undrafted players in camp this year, he's been one
11:18
that I've been really impressed with.
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Speaker 2: The Eagles also use him as a kick returner as well.
11:23
Speaker 1: Johnson Junior had a quality run on an inside zone
11:27
and he followed it up on the next play with
11:29
a short reception over the middle for a touchdown with
11:31
Trotter Junior in coverage. And I asked Montreal Johnson after
11:36
the Browns game what he was hoping to showcase this week,
11:39
and he said, just versatility and trust me going out there,
11:42
being able to show that they can trust me in
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any position that they put me in on special teams,
11:46
whether it's in pass blocking, catching outside the backfield and running.
11:50
Just being able to build trust. Good stuff there from him.
11:55
Make sure you keep an eye on number thirty four
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Friday evening and then the final play of training camp
12:01
or consecutive completions from quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson to wide
12:05
receiver if a at DIEA. Let's get to some of
12:09
the players who I found to be pleasant surprises, and
12:13
there's sometimes there's a little bit of a twist to
12:15
some of those, because, for example, someone like Gabe Hall,
12:19
the Egle second year defensive tackle, I went into training
12:23
camp listing him as one of my six under the
12:25
radar players to watch. I mentioned to you that I've
12:28
spoke to Gabe a couple of times last season, got
12:31
to know him a little bit, and I had an
12:33
idea of the player that he already was coming in
12:36
from Bailor, so I'm not really surprised, but for him
12:39
that really emerged from that group, so much so that
12:42
it compelled the Eagles to send Thomas Booker, the fourth
12:45
who helped the Eagles in a depth role last year,
12:48
certainly would have made the team to the Raiders in
12:52
a trade, and I think that that really speaks to
12:54
the summer that Gabe has had. He's been disruptive, he's
12:57
pressured the quarterback, pushing the pocket. Lengthy at six foot six,
13:02
can play any position on the defensive line. I think
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he's had a good summer, and so has Ty Robinson,
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the Eagle's fourth round pick, but Byron Young as well.
13:10
But for now, I'm going to highlight Gabe Hall as
13:13
one of my biggest surprises this summer. Another one on
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the defensive side, linebacker Smile Manden Jr. This is a
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player who very early on in camp started getting some
13:25
first team reps. He's athletic, he can cover a ton
13:29
of ground. He doesn't necessarily have the build of a
13:33
player you would expect to play that position. He's linear
13:36
in many ways in his build, but you can see
13:40
his experience playing at the highest level of college football,
13:43
manifest in the way that he moves on the field,
13:46
processes things, and can read and diagnose. He was all
13:50
over the field this summer, and I think the most
13:52
memorable play from him may have been when he's stuck
13:55
with Sakwon Barkwey on a wheel route down the left
13:59
sideline and force an incompletion. Just a really impressive summer.
14:04
He had a nice bounce back from that first preseason
14:06
game against the Browns, and he showed more of the
14:09
player that we've seen all summer long on the offensive side.
14:14
Wide receiver Darius Cooper an undrafted free agent out of
14:18
Tarlatan State. Not much was made when he signed as
14:22
an undrafted free agent, and every single day he made
14:26
a play. The moment was never too big for him.
14:29
He proved that he belongs and Nick Sirianni on Wednesday
14:33
morning spoke about the splash plays that he made to
14:36
get on the radar, But then it was the consistency
14:39
to continue to produce every single day become a trusted
14:42
target for your quarterbacks. In the preseason opener, he had
14:46
six receptions for eighty two yards and a touchdown. I've
14:49
seen a lot of receivers, flash and training camp over
14:51
the years, and a lot of times that doesn't always
14:54
correlate into regular season success or even staying power on
14:57
the fifty three man roster. But I'm here to tell
15:00
that I believe that Darius Cooper can absolutely play and belongs.
15:03
Speaker 2: On a fifty three man roster. I've seen enough from him.
15:07
Speaker 1: I've seen his approach, I've seen how he attacks the day,
15:11
and there's something to be said for being able to
15:13
make it through training camp and not just be a
15:15
flash in the pan, show up every day with the
15:18
purpose of making the most of your opportunities, so much
15:21
so that later on in training camp he was getting
15:24
first team reps.
15:25
Speaker 2: He was developing a rapport with Jaywen Hurts.
15:27
Speaker 1: Now, obviously not having aj Brown and sometimes DeVante Smith
15:31
impacts that, but that the Eagles try to work him
15:35
in on special teams as a gunner, as a kick
15:37
returner on kickoff that tells you that they're trying to
15:41
find every reason to keep Darius Cooper on the roster.
15:46
Another player that I thought had a really strong summer
15:49
is wide receiver Johan Dotson. Johan Dotson throughout the summer
15:55
has been steady he's had sure hands, He's run crisp routes,
15:59
and the chemistry between Dotson and Jaylen Hurts has been
16:03
fascinating to watch develop throughout the camp.
16:07
Speaker 2: Now I'm trying to rack my brain.
16:09
Speaker 1: I don't even know if there was a pass that
16:11
I can think of that Johan Dotson didn't come down with.
16:14
Speaker 2: But he can run all the routes.
16:17
Speaker 1: He's approaching practice each rep with more confidence, He's playing faster,
16:24
and you're able to see what a full offseason can
16:26
do to a player. And that's why you never want
16:28
to rush to to make a conclusion on a player
16:33
without context. Because he arrived to the Eagles two weeks
16:36
before going to Brazil, then he had to sort of
16:40
be shoehorned into the offense and it didn't look like
16:42
until later in the season that he became more comfortable.
16:46
But I just thought that he's run some really good routes,
16:49
whether he's working with Jayleen Hurts Tanner McKee, he catches
16:52
everything thrown his way, and I the biggest part of
16:56
this is the chemistry and Halex Jalen Hurts and seemed
17:02
to be for Dotson, knowing that he put the work
17:04
in and seeing it pay off on the practice field,
17:07
He's been a nightmare for defensive backs. Maybe hasn't had
17:11
a lot of explosive plays, but he's been a chain
17:13
mover intermediate short passes. There's been the occasional time where
17:17
he will get vertical, and he's.
17:19
Speaker 2: Seen a ton of volume.
17:21
Speaker 1: I don't keep track of training camp targets or anything
17:25
like that, but I have to think that he's up
17:27
there in terms of the players who were most targeted
17:30
this summer.
17:32
Speaker 2: I have to give another.
17:35
Speaker 1: Mention to a defensive player who I found to be
17:38
pretty surprising in a good way, of course, and that
17:41
was linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Junior.
17:44
Speaker 2: Jeremiah Trotter Junior.
17:45
Speaker 1: Came into training camp having only played one hundred and
17:47
four defensive snaps. He was put in a position with
17:50
Jah hot Campbell working his way back from the labroom
17:53
that he had to start alongside Zach Bond. And he
17:56
is undersized and has some physical limitations, but he makes
18:01
up for it with play recognition, the ability to read
18:04
and diagnose the instincts. I've also seen him develop in coverage.
18:09
So while he may not have the build of the
18:13
prototypical NFL linebacker. This is a smart, savvy, instinctive football
18:18
player that every single day he made a play plays
18:22
during a running back in coverage, storming through the line
18:25
and getting after the quarterback, defending the run with a
18:30
lot of grit and purpose. I just thought that Jeremiah
18:33
Trotter Junior has a consistent and strong summer and deserves
18:37
a mention here. I don't know what the situation will
18:39
be come Week one. The best linebacker pairing is Johdd
18:44
Campbell and Zach Bonn, but Jeremiah Trotter Junior definitely opened
18:47
some eyes. The sample size in the regular season where
18:50
accounts is obviously limited, but if this is any indication
18:55
of what he can do or provide to a defense,
18:59
he has a lot to offer and he definitely showed that,
19:02
so he certainly deserves a mention there. Another player that
19:07
I'll give a nod to is Sidney Brown, the Eagles
19:12
third year safety. Sidney Brown hasn't played a lot of football.
19:16
He played just seventy nine snaps last season, mostly a
19:19
special teams player.
19:21
Speaker 2: Was a third round pick.
19:22
Speaker 1: Had the knee injury at to end his rookie season
19:24
that deprived him of the full offseason and the early
19:27
part of his second season, so it's kind of hard
19:30
to fully assess what he can provide to a defense
19:33
and how he's actually going to fit in a.
19:35
Speaker 2: Vic Fangio defense.
19:37
Speaker 1: But Sidney Brown has been a steady player all summer long.
19:41
He hasn't necessarily made the big play that sticks out
19:44
in my memory, but he also hasn't given up anything egregious,
19:47
anything that really pops out, and certainly hasn't been something
19:50
that was a trend.
19:52
Speaker 2: Now.
19:52
Speaker 1: I do have questions as to how he's ultimately going
19:55
to fit in a Vicvangio defense. But for someone who
19:58
took the lion's share of the first team reps all
20:00
summer alongside Reed Blanket Ship, I thought he was ready
20:04
for the moment and didn't squander his opportunity. Obviously, the
20:07
Eagles drafted Drew Mkooba in the second round and that
20:10
could also impact things. But for Sidney Brown, who was
20:12
an unknown entity, you didn't really get a chance to
20:16
see him in.
20:16
Speaker 2: The Vic Fangio defense.
20:19
Speaker 1: I thought he showed well and didn't really do anything
20:22
to lose the spot with the first team. He didn't
20:25
do anything necessarily to keep that spot, but there was
20:28
a practice. The second joint practice versus the Browns that
20:31
I thought best encapsulated what Sidney Brown is all about,
20:35
because that's the way the practice script went. It was
20:39
a lot of running in the interior from the Browns
20:42
in the red zone, and Sidney Brown is at his
20:44
best moving forward, attacking downhill, and he was popping those
20:48
running backs. And you see the physicality in confined spaces,
20:52
like when Harold Fannin Jr. The tight end caught a
20:54
short pass along the sideline and Sydney shoots in there
20:59
like a heat's missile and delivers a crunching hit.
21:02
Speaker 2: That's what he can provide.
21:04
Speaker 1: But I think he deserves a mention for someone who
21:08
capitalize on his opportunities, and I wouldn't play him Friday Night.
21:13
I think if you go in with the mindset of
21:16
Drew mccooba has the hamstring, Sydney Brown has perform well,
21:20
he's going to have a role this year.
21:21
Speaker 2: I don't know that you can put him out there.
21:23
Speaker 1: So those are my mentions for players that I went
21:26
into training camp maybe with questions or having not even
21:29
given much of a thought to that I thought really
21:32
helped their cases in a multiple ways. Well, that's going
21:36
to do it for this twenty twenty five Eagles training
21:39
camp coverage. Again, I appreciate those who read the work
21:43
on Inside the Birds dot Com, who listen to this podcast,
21:46
who have listened to my Eagles analysis on ninety seventy
21:49
five The Fanatic, All of you are much I appreciate
21:53
that very much, and much more to come. The Eagles
21:55
are back at it Friday evening at MetLife versus the
21:59
j and I will have all of the coverage on here,
22:03
the check Odaily, and Inside the Birds dot Com and
22:07
I look forward to providing you coverage all throughout the
22:09
twenty twenty five season. That's gonna do it for me
22:13
for now, and I'll catch you on the next one.