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The DiCecco Daily: What I learned From Eagles Locker Room Access Leading Into Opener · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: What's happening in Eagles fans? Welcome into another edition of
0:12
the check O Daily. It's Andrew Decheco and we are
0:16
days away from the Eagles season opener. You can hear
0:19
the excitement in my voice. Regular season football is right
0:22
around the corner, which means that will be the banner
0:25
unveiling for the Eagles, although today Nick Sirianni mentioned that
0:30
the Eagles won't be out there for that, but they
0:33
also weren't out there for the twenty eighteen unveiling either.
0:36
Speaker 2: For a perspective, But.
0:38
Speaker 1: Let's get right to the Tuesday injury report, and then
0:41
I kind of want to discuss some of the different
0:43
things that I learned over the past three days at
0:45
the Overcare Complex talking to different players not practicing on Tuesday.
0:50
Quarterback Tanner McKee, he's still sidelined with the right thumb injury.
0:55
Speaker 2: Full participants defensive tackle.
0:57
Speaker 1: Jalen Carter, shoulder, Guardland and Dickerson, back safety Drew mccouba hamstring,
1:04
outside linebacker josh Usha groin. So obviously it wouldn't appear
1:09
that Tanner McKee's going to be available Thursday evening. Not
1:13
really a surprise if you've been following along from my
1:16
observations in practice, he was doing everything with his left hand,
1:20
handing the football off while the other quarterbacks were throwing,
1:23
and just being really cognizant to not affect his right
1:27
hand in any way. And the further along we got
1:31
it just became more and more apparent that Tanner just
1:34
wasn't going to be available, and that really was the
1:36
expected outcome even a couple of weeks ago.
1:39
Speaker 2: We'll see if it lingers a game or.
1:41
Speaker 1: Two, but it shouldn't have that much of an impact.
1:44
It shouldn't extend too much further into the season. But
1:48
without Tanner McKee, that now means that Sam Howell, who
1:52
was acquired in that trade of course about ten days ago,
1:55
elevates to that number two role, and then the Eagles
1:58
have some interesting decisions to make in terms of elevations.
2:02
So the way I'm forecasting it right now, punt returner
2:06
would be a logical elevation, and the Eagles added Britain Covey.
2:10
As I mentioned to the practice squad, he has a
2:14
wealth of experience doing that. The team is very comfortable
2:17
with him handling that role, So that would be one
2:20
of the players that I would look at as a
2:23
logical fit in terms of this week's game day elevation.
2:26
And then it gets really interesting because you look at
2:28
the quarterback position. The Eagles opted not to sign Kyle
2:33
McCord to the fifty three just for this week. They
2:36
ended up signing Kenyon Green, the guard off the practice squad.
2:40
So if the Eagles were to elevate Kyle McCord, and
2:43
it seems likely that they would, you would think because
2:46
I'm not so sure you want to go into a
2:47
game with just two quarterbacks, one of them being someone
2:50
who's still learning the offense. So if they do elevate
2:55
Kyle McCord, they have to make him part of their
2:58
forty six active players. They're not able to kind of
3:02
make him the emergency quarterback, but that's a move that
3:06
would make some sense as well. You can also look
3:09
at safety, but Drew mccuba, as I mentioned, is back
3:12
in the fold. So the Eagles have three safeties read
3:16
blanket Chips, Sydney Brown, and Drew mccuba three traditional safeties,
3:20
and they also have Cooper Degene who could serve that.
3:22
Speaker 2: Role as well.
3:23
Speaker 1: So I'm not so sure that they would have to
3:25
elevate someone like a Marcus Epps. But if they want
3:28
to use Cooper Degene in a certain way and not
3:31
have him back there as a safety, maybe Marcus Epps
3:34
is one of the two players who are elevated.
3:36
Speaker 2: But it's something to think about.
3:37
Speaker 1: You can certainly make a case for all three, but
3:39
I think McCord and Kubby make the most sense for
3:43
obvious reasons here, and the Eagles have enough bodies there
3:47
at least in theory at safety, so that I thought
3:50
that that was an interesting conversation to have because they
3:56
can go a lot of different ways with it. But
4:00
we'll have to wait and see how everything shakes out
4:03
there we have we'll learn that they can elevate them
4:06
up to about four PM, I believe on Thursday, which
4:08
is game day, so much too is still a little
4:14
bit of time for them to figure it out. But
4:17
talk to a number of different players this week, Ty Robinson,
4:21
and this is I'm just not going in any particular order,
4:24
but he was issued Brandon Graham's locker. Brandon Graham was
4:28
stationed in the same locker for fifteen years. And I
4:32
asked Ty Robinson, you know, I'm sure you've been asked
4:34
about this or told this over the past couple of days.
4:38
Speaker 2: But I mentioned that that was Brandon Graham's locker.
4:41
Speaker 1: Had you have any interaction with him, and he mentioned
4:43
that he popped in to the team meetings on Tuesday
4:47
and he said, you know, hopefully he can kind of
4:51
soak up some of that knowledge. But Ty Robinson, while
4:54
we're on the subject of defensive tackles, that's a player
4:57
that had some nice moments in training camp, though I'm
5:00
not one hundred percent sure that he would be active
5:02
on game day. Vic Fangio on Monday mentioned that they're
5:06
going to have five players active, and for me, I
5:09
would imagine those players would be Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis.
5:13
Speaker 2: Moro Ojama. Then you have Gabe Hall and Byron Young.
5:17
Speaker 1: Byron Young could be the backup nos, which is what
5:20
Thomas Booker the Fourth was able to do. He may
5:23
even be fourth in the pecking order right now, at
5:25
least in my estimation. That's just kind of my read
5:27
on it. And Gabe Hall has the length and he
5:31
can really be that interior force. I just think both
5:33
of those players are probably more NFL ready and able
5:37
to contribute on game day than Ty Robinson. But Ty
5:41
Robinson is coming along nicely. As I mentioned, he had
5:44
some nice moments in the preseason. He had some nice
5:47
moments in training camp, but I just feel like Byron
5:51
Young and Gabe Hall are just probably better equipped to
5:53
help them for Week one. That's not to suggest that
5:56
Ty Robinson won't be active week one or helped the
6:00
team in the immediate future, but that's just kind of
6:03
my read on it right now.
6:05
Speaker 2: I was able to.
6:05
Speaker 1: Catch up with running back Will Shipley and Will and
6:09
I spoke briefly in training camp, but we were able
6:12
to have a nice conversation for really the first time
6:15
since the end of last season when we did the
6:18
final Rookie Diary episode. Will got married over the off season.
6:22
I asked him what it's been like being a married man,
6:25
and he's just so happy about it. He went to
6:28
put Takana for his honeymoon and just really happy for
6:33
him and his wife. He also told me, and we
6:36
refer back to a conversation that we had. I guess
6:40
it was that final day during cleanout when I asked
6:43
him what was going to be one point of emphasis
6:46
for him going into the off season, and he mentioned
6:49
past protection. He's always very self aware, and I know that.
6:52
As soon as he mentioned that, it triggered something in
6:55
my mind because talking to him all season, he fixates
6:58
and obsesses over the details and he tries to make
7:02
that into a strength. So whatever that is, he attacks it.
7:05
And he looked a lot more refined in that area
7:08
this summer, at least to my eye. And he told
7:10
me that he was training at XPE in Fort Lauderdale
7:13
with Tony Vallani, and he also mentioned that he was
7:16
tight with mark Ingram. Tony was, so he was able
7:19
to kind of sit down with them both, and mark
7:21
Ingram really helped him in terms of pass protection, specifically
7:25
about positioning and how do you have a hand placement
7:29
and things like that, and he really feels like it's
7:33
made a big difference in his game. I talked to
7:36
him about the vision on kickoffs and things like that,
7:39
and the Eagles have pretty much an inside.
7:42
Speaker 2: Zone return scheme.
7:45
Speaker 1: It really should lend itself to some big runbacks, whether it's.
7:48
Speaker 2: Will Shipley, AJ Dillon whomever.
7:51
Speaker 1: If they put Van Sumer in back there, whoever they
7:55
put back there.
7:55
Speaker 2: The point is is that they have.
7:58
Speaker 1: The personnel in place and the scheme in place to
8:01
really block it up. And Will mentioned that he's a
8:04
little bit lighter this year compared to last year. I
8:06
think he said he was about two oh eight, and
8:09
he was really gearing up last season to play special teams,
8:13
but this year he's taking on more of a role offensively.
8:16
At least that's the way that it appears. He's the
8:18
number two running back behind Saquon Barkley, so Will Shipley
8:22
should have a larger role. And he did look noticeably
8:25
faster than me and quicker in his cuts and things
8:27
like that. He also mentioned that, you know, I got
8:31
to stay faster because I'm still kind of kicking myself
8:34
over getting honked down from behind in the NFC title
8:38
game when he had that breakaway run. I think it
8:39
was about fifty seven yards and I asked him, I said,
8:42
do you get a lot of grief about that?
8:44
Speaker 2: He said, oh, yeah, I do.
8:45
Speaker 1: And I still personally maintained that he was looking up
8:48
at the JumboTron and focusing on protecting the football and
8:51
he's like, yeah, yeah, That's what I'm going with too,
8:54
So really good to catch up with Will. He should
8:56
have a big season both for turning kicks and as
9:00
the number two running back behind Saquon Barkley. I'm really
9:02
curious to see if they get the ball in his
9:04
hands as a receiver. We don't often talk enough about
9:08
how intelligent he is in terms of just football.
9:11
Speaker 2: IQ.
9:12
Speaker 1: Saquon Barkley even went as far as to say that
9:15
he believes that Will Shipley is the smartest back in
9:18
the room, and then how pissed off that makes him
9:20
because he's so smart. But there were a number of
9:23
young players who named Will Shipley as somebody who was
9:27
a primary resource. Montreal Johnson Junior, he was a running
9:31
back in training camp. How Will helped him came when
9:34
it came to route running. Shan Derek Powell, another running
9:37
back who was with the team in training camp, He
9:40
mentioned that he would text Will and would Will and
9:43
him would get together and they would watch film together,
9:46
and he really showed him how to watch film like
9:48
a pro and and kind of took him by, you know,
9:51
took him under his wing. And I always saw Will
9:53
talking to him after practice and things like that. Just
9:57
a really good student of the game and somebody who
9:59
just has a really strong understanding of the finer details
10:03
of that position. And there's a reason why I believe
10:07
he was a Red Star player for the Eagles, if
10:09
I'm correct on that coming out of last year's draft.
10:13
Just he checks off a lot of boxes and he's
10:15
been a really good influence.
10:16
Speaker 2: It wasn't just running backs who he helped.
10:19
Speaker 1: Also, Darius Cooper mentioned will Shipley as a player who
10:22
really helped him sort of navigate training camp and help
10:26
him in certain areas of his game. So that's what
10:29
he brings to the table behind the scenes. In case
10:33
you haven't heard or haven't checked it out yet, my
10:35
Rookie Diary series will be with Eagles cornerback Mac McWilliams
10:39
the Eagles fifth round picking out of UCF and it
10:43
was a great conversation, highly intelligent, charismatic. I'm really enjoying
10:49
my conversations that I've had with Mac and I look
10:52
forward to bringing you those in written form on Inside
10:55
the Birds dot Com and in podcast form each and
10:58
every week, taking you through his rookie season through his eyes.
11:04
I also had a chance to catch up with wide
11:06
receiver Terriss Marshall.
11:08
Speaker 2: He's a veteran.
11:08
Speaker 1: I kind of walked up to him and asked him
11:10
about the dynamic of the wide receiver room and his
11:14
role in particular sort of being that veteran in there
11:17
who has a rapport with aj Brown and DeVante Smith
11:20
and can also bring some of the younger players along.
11:23
And he talked about just taking advantage of the opportunity
11:27
and in the way that he worded it.
11:29
Speaker 2: Was almost like accepting my role.
11:31
Speaker 1: And that's something that Nick Sirianni has been adamant about
11:34
from players one through seventy, owning your role and accepting
11:38
it and carrying it out to the best of your ability.
11:42
It kind of ties in with what he said about
11:45
not everybody everybody's role was important for not everybody's role
11:48
was the same, but everybody's role was vitally important to
11:52
the success of the football team. And I think someone
11:54
like Terris Marshall, he's operating a little bit behind the
11:57
scenes on the practice squad, but his ability to kind
12:02
of play that Paris Campbell role where you're bringing some
12:05
of those young receivers like a Darius Cooper or an
12:08
Elijah Cooks or whomever is on the practice squad, I
12:13
think that that is a really wise addition to the
12:18
practice squad because he can help and he's played in
12:21
the NFL.
12:21
Speaker 2: He has over eight hundred.
12:22
Speaker 1: Yards receiving in his career in a touchdown, and he
12:25
was a high draft pick. So you want those kind
12:28
of guys in the room because all they do is
12:31
strengthen it. From a different perspective, had a nice conversation
12:36
with Egos defensive end Azizo Julari, asking him, really, what
12:40
does he like about this defense and how does that
12:43
really accentuate what he does well? And he mentioned it's
12:46
versatility and how the players in that scheme get to
12:50
drop and rush and he's capable of doing that. Talking
12:55
about the acclamation period, he said, I'm just taking it
12:57
one day at a time, and then alluded top reps,
13:00
reps stacking up, and as those reps stack up, you
13:03
continue to learn and catch on quicker, and that was
13:06
kind of evident to me. Towards the end of the summer.
13:09
He had a relatively quiet start and middle portion of
13:12
training camp, even in the preseason, but in that finale
13:17
and towards the final couple practices, you started to see
13:20
things slowly come together. There's also a really strong rapport
13:25
between Azizo, Jalari, josh Usha and Ocaronquell, those three edge
13:32
rushers who have played a lot of football in the NFL,
13:34
and he mentioned that we all work together, we trained together,
13:38
we talked to each other every day, and they kind
13:41
of grab things off of each other based off their
13:44
respective games and try to improve their game. And he
13:47
really referred to it as a brotherhood. And when I
13:50
heard Obo talk about that last week, that was something
13:53
that was kind of evident to me, or at least
13:55
it piqued my interest, because you have three players from
13:59
different teams who have logged a ton of snaps in
14:01
the NFL, and they're behind two young players and trying
14:05
to find their place in this rotation, and they've they've
14:08
formed a pretty close knit bond, which I found to
14:11
be kind of unique. And then I finally I asked
14:14
him about his impressions of Nolan Smith and Jay looks
14:17
Hun and he said he was he was beaming when
14:20
he said they could run all day.
14:21
Speaker 2: They've got all the athletic traits you can think of.
14:23
Speaker 1: They're rangey, they're versatile, they're quick, they're twitchy, they compete,
14:27
and they go every day and their energy is there
14:30
every day.
14:31
Speaker 2: And that is a common theme.
14:33
Speaker 1: Whenever the names of Nolan Smith or jaywicks Hunt come up,
14:37
you often hear players talking speaking those terms, and for
14:41
as he's o JILARI he was.
14:43
Speaker 2: He lit up immediately when I asked him that question.
14:47
Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier that Britain Covey returned to the Pholadelphia Eagles.
14:51
He's a member of their practice squad right now. He
14:53
said that he thought until the last minute he was
14:56
going to make the rams active roster when he didn't,
14:59
and he he didn't move. He hadn't moved his family
15:03
out to la yet. But he mentioned that if given
15:06
the chance on any practice squad to choose from, he
15:08
would choose to return to the Eagles, a place that
15:11
knows him and they know what he's able to do.
15:14
Speaker 2: He said.
15:14
Speaker 1: He greeted Jalen Hurts with a big hug, and when
15:17
he was talking, he said, I love this place.
15:19
Speaker 2: I love being here. And as he was sort of.
15:23
Speaker 1: Saying that, Dallas Goddart walked by and he said, we
15:26
love you Covey. I mean, there's an obvious affinity that
15:31
the players have for Britain Covey.
15:34
Speaker 2: So he's a welcome edition back into the locker room.
15:37
Speaker 1: And he's charismatic, he's insightful, he's smart, and he approaches
15:43
the art of punt return as such as an art.
15:48
He also mentioned that he added three pounds and I
15:51
circle back with him on Tuesday and I said, you
15:54
said you added three pounds. What does that put you at?
15:56
And he said puts him at one seventy six, And
15:59
you know, we kind of to share a laugh there.
16:01
But he also talked about the injury and if you remember,
16:04
he heard his shoulder against the Saints and he came
16:08
back from that and then he suffered the neck injury
16:10
against the Ravens. But it was an injury that carried
16:14
over and lingered. He tried to return early and that
16:16
it lingered again. He mentioned that a doctor told him
16:19
he needed a full four to five months to let
16:21
it heal, but he wasn't letting it happen because he
16:23
kept trying to come back from it and it wasn't
16:26
until June that he felt one hundred percent. He also
16:29
added that it was a combination of the neck and
16:31
the shoulder. He said, when he broke his shoulder, it
16:33
had an effect on the nerves all in the area.
16:36
Nerves need time. It was a break and the nerves
16:39
that resulted as from that break, and it did not
16:42
require surgery.
16:44
Speaker 2: This was fun.
16:45
Speaker 1: He mentioned he had a baby girl since he's been away,
16:48
and it was also cool to learn from Sean McVay
16:51
and believes that there's a ton of crossover typically between
16:56
offenses in the NFL, but that mcveigh's is unique and
16:59
does have much crossover and he was excited to share
17:02
that with the guys as how he said it. And
17:05
then finally punt return, which is his art. That's what
17:09
he's been able to really establish staying power in this league.
17:13
Speaker 2: But you know, honing in on that craft.
17:15
Speaker 1: Let's not forget he averaged fourteen point four yards per
17:18
return in twenty twenty three, but he mentioned that it's
17:20
a mental thing. It's not about getting better physically as
17:23
a punt returner. It's about getting your unit.
17:25
Speaker 2: On the same.
17:26
Speaker 1: Page, Kenyon Green was a player who I mentioned was
17:30
signed to the fifty three man roster earlier this week,
17:33
and I asked him where does he feel he's improved
17:35
the most this summer, and keep in mind he missed
17:38
some time with the shoulder injury, but he said playing
17:40
with my hands more and getting off the ball faster.
17:43
He also mentioned that Jeff Stoutlin what he learned from
17:47
him and how that helped his game directly was getting
17:50
off the ball faster. So Kenyon Green joins the fifty
17:53
three man roster. He's a player who had twenty four
17:56
years old. He has the first round pedigree. Maybe there's
18:00
a team that was looking at him and that compelled
18:01
the Eagles to get him on there and continue that development.
18:04
But we'll see. That's an interesting player for sure. Didn't
18:09
quite have the summer that anyone expected, but I still
18:13
think there's something there and leave it to Jeff Stotlin
18:16
to get the most out of it. And I do
18:19
believe that when you have someone with that kind of
18:21
ability who's played in twenty seven games, started twenty three
18:24
in his career, it's been injured at times and hasn't
18:27
necessarily lived up to his first round billing. But this
18:30
is the place for Kenyon Green to continue his development.
18:33
Speaker 2: If not here, then where Marcus Apps returns.
18:38
Speaker 1: And Marcus Apps originally joined the Eagles in twenty nineteen.
18:42
Via Waivers started on the eagles twenty twenty two Super
18:45
Bowl team opposite CJ. Gardner, Johnson Steady. Just a poised
18:51
player assignment sound That's exactly what Vic Vangio tends to
18:56
look for. But he also suffered an injury where he
19:00
suffered an ACL tear back last September, and he mentioned
19:04
that it wasn't easy. He gained a lot of respect
19:06
for anybody who's ever had that injury and had to rehab.
19:09
He said it was a real grind, but he wasn't
19:12
necessarily feeling He was feeling better physically as camp opened,
19:16
but he did mention that the difference in doing drills
19:19
and getting on the field and working through it and
19:22
get there's a difference between doing drills and getting on
19:25
the field and actually working through it and getting your
19:27
feeling cadence back, you know, just feeling better in the
19:31
scheme and getting more reps, and how that allowed him
19:35
to get his groove back. In terms of this defense,
19:39
he said he wouldn't say that it was particularly super challenging,
19:42
but anytime you're in a new defense, there's new terminology.
19:45
Some things may be similar, but details may be different.
19:47
Come down to it typically can cut down to fine
19:51
tuning the small things so that you can eventually play
19:54
fast and play at a high level. That was some
19:56
of the things that Marcus EPs shared when I had
19:59
a chance to.
20:00
Speaker 2: Talk to him. I talked to him.
20:01
Speaker 1: I believe it was the first day at locker room availability.
20:04
And he's also had a nice relationship with Reid Blanketship
20:09
and Nick Sirianni mentioned that Reid Blankenship shared how much
20:12
Marcus Epps helped him in his development and learning the scheme.
20:15
They did overlap during Blankenship's rookie season, but I asked
20:19
Marcus about that. He said, having a rookie like him,
20:21
he made it easy because he came in, he grinded
20:24
it out, and he was one of those guys that
20:26
it was just always putting in the work and always
20:29
wanted to learn. It was never an issue with him
20:31
having to get him going or anything like that. So
20:33
when you got a young guy like that, it's easy
20:35
to just help him out any way you can, because
20:38
that's what they want. They want to learn and they
20:40
want to grow. Marcus Aps is reunited with Red Blankenship
20:44
here in Philadelphia, and I asked him about his return
20:47
to the Eagles, because presumably Marcus had other opportunities. But
20:51
here's what he had to say. He said, Honestly, I
20:53
came back because it just felt right. The opportunity was there,
20:57
it felt right, and it feels great to be back,
20:59
and it just feels like I'm where I'm supposed to
21:01
be right now at this point in my life and
21:03
at this point my career. So that was the biggest
21:06
thing for me. Marcus Epps is back in the fold.
21:09
And for a player who's played and I think he
21:14
started forty five games, I mean that significant amount of
21:20
experience that this has now been added to a pretty
21:23
young safety room. But what I like about Marcus Epps
21:26
and why I think that that kind of fits the
21:28
mold of what Vic Fangio typically looks for is the
21:31
fundamentally sound nature of the way that he plays the position,
21:35
the assignment, sound, the discipline.
21:37
Speaker 2: Nick Sirianni referred to him as a sharp guy.
21:40
Speaker 1: So you're getting someone who's played in eighty two games,
21:44
started forty five, and he's stashed there on your practice
21:47
squad and can be ready at a moment's notice. Remember
21:51
in that Gannon defense, that Jonathan Gannon defense, which was
21:54
sort of an offshoot of a Fic Fangio defense. That's
21:58
why you heard him say it wasn't anything super challenging,
22:01
but the different intricacies you have to take into account.
22:04
But he has some experience and understanding of what's expected
22:09
or what that position entails within that particular scheme. I
22:14
also had a nice conversation with Eagles offensive lineman Brett Toath.
22:19
I always, I've really enjoyed my conversations with Brett because
22:23
he puts a lot of thought into your question, and
22:26
he always takes the conversation a bit deeper or offers
22:29
something particularly profound.
22:31
Speaker 2: Which I appreciate.
22:33
Speaker 1: So I asked him going into year seven, Brett, what
22:37
have you learned about yourself? And he said that I
22:39
worry about a lot of things that I can't control.
22:42
I overthink a lot more than I should, and just
22:45
be where my feet are. Those are some of the
22:48
things that he's learned about himself. And remember, he's been
22:50
on and off the roster. He spent time with the Cardinals,
22:53
he was on the Panthers practice squad for some reason.
22:57
I know on the outside there is a perception, for
23:03
whatever reason, about his ability as an offensive lineman, but
23:08
I think a lot of that is is not true.
23:13
I don't think that's accurate, and he does a lot
23:15
behind the scenes to make sure that he's furthering the culture.
23:19
I've written a story about this it's still pinned on
23:21
my ex profile at Andrew Decheco, but I felt it
23:25
was important to do that because he's been around for
23:28
a while. But he's also seen players like Jason Peters
23:31
and Brandon Brooks and Jason Kelcey and all those different
23:34
types of players Isaac Sayamalo come up through the ranks.
23:38
Speaker 2: And they showed him the way, and now he's able to.
23:41
Speaker 1: Pass that on to make sure that that same culture
23:44
is being upheld. And I see the way that he
23:46
interacts with a young player like Drew Kendall who lockers
23:49
to his left. There's a respect and almost like an appreciation.
23:56
Speaker 2: For the way that he entered the NFL.
23:58
Speaker 1: And he cited his professionalism and how much he cares
24:01
about the job and wants to be great at a
24:03
certain area. We'll ask questions so that that's I mean,
24:07
Brett is a good leader and he earned his spot
24:10
on the fifty three man roster. But I asked him,
24:13
how do you combat the first part of what I
24:16
mentioned that he worries about a lot of the things
24:18
that he can't control and overthinks a lot more than
24:20
he should.
24:20
Speaker 2: And he said it's tough. Still a day to day basis.
24:24
Speaker 1: He mentioned how stressful the profession is and that there's
24:27
a lot of anxiety and anxiety in it, and just
24:30
know that confidence stems from your preparation. Confidence comes from
24:34
how you perform on the field and kind of finding
24:36
that confidence, especially in a role like an offensive lineman,
24:40
from the guy next to you. Then I asked him,
24:43
Brett on the field, where do you feel like you've
24:46
improved the most at this stage of your career and
24:48
he mentioned being able to.
24:49
Speaker 2: See stuff faster.
24:51
Speaker 1: He said, I feel like it's not talked about enough
24:54
at the professional level, and then he referenced something that
24:57
Mike Trout said that he felt his performance shine best
25:00
when he could slow the game down, and that stems
25:02
from preparation, knowing what a team does. Tendencies are pre
25:06
stat reads and defenses and what they give you or
25:11
the pre stat reads the defenses give you, and once
25:13
you have a feel for the game, you're able to
25:16
execute it. And just having that confidence and trust in
25:19
what you're seeing and what you're and just going And
25:22
that's something that he mentioned in training camp, and and
25:25
circle back on that that I do notice that when
25:28
I watch Brett go to work, you see a lot,
25:33
a lot more. I don't want to even say confidence.
25:34
I would say he's firing a lot faster. He's just
25:38
a lot more sure of what he's doing and trusting
25:41
in what he sees. And I think for me that
25:44
that's something that's been evident and it's it's kind of
25:46
unique to see because Brett's been around for a number
25:49
of years and you see the progression every year, so
25:52
it's kind of cool to see everything take shape as
25:56
it did. It also spoke to quarterbacks Tanner McKee and
26:01
Sam Howe. First of all, Tanner McKee, he mentioned that
26:06
the injury happened when he had a guy wrap around
26:08
and unfortunately hit it on someone's helmet. This is back
26:11
in training camp said it's kind of unfortunate, but things happen.
26:14
He just got a roll and in the meantime, he said,
26:18
I'm trying to work out and keep the shoulder good
26:20
and keep everything ready to roll so that when I'm back,
26:23
I'm not taking any steps backwards.
26:28
Speaker 2: In terms of.
26:29
Speaker 1: Sam Howe has about his first week and he said,
26:32
obviously it's been a crazy last week or so. He's
26:35
fortunate to come to a place where he's had so
26:37
much help mentioned how great the coaches have been as
26:40
well as Tanner McKee, Jalen Hurts, and Kyle McCord. Also
26:43
referenced the resources people putting in time with him and
26:47
helping him spend a lot of time trying to get
26:49
caught up, and he mentioned, this is a nice quote.
26:52
I feel like I'm in a good place, and I
26:53
feel like going into Thursday, I'll be ready to go.
26:57
Speaker 2: Added that he spent some late nights here.
26:59
Speaker 1: Talking about and overcare complex of course, and he's been
27:03
taking every walkthrough rep, every rep and practice very seriously
27:07
and doing a lot of extra things on the side
27:09
because his reps are going to be extremely limited obviously
27:12
going into Thursday night. But then I also asked him
27:15
about what his perspective is having been a starter and
27:20
now being in a new environment in a new role,
27:23
and if that took any getting used to, and he said,
27:25
it's all about mindset. Mindset is everything. You got to
27:28
look on the bright side of it, I'm in a
27:29
good organization. He mentioned how well ran the organization is
27:33
from top down and cited the opportunity and he said,
27:36
I'm at a point in my career where i feel
27:38
like I'm still getting better and just trying to get
27:40
better and be ready for this next opportunity, for his
27:44
next opportunity if it comes. He said, he's also learning
27:48
about the culture here and just trying to soak in
27:49
as much as you can. Kevin Patulo mentioned that, and
27:56
this is his word that Howe has been awesome in
27:59
what he's been learning, you know, behind the scenes and
28:02
trying to get caught up the speech as quickly as possible.
28:05
He goes quarterback Jay when Hurts mentioned something interesting when
28:09
he spoke on Monday, and in one of his answers,
28:12
he said, contribution over credit and he attributed that to
28:16
something that Nick Sirianni said, So that really tracks with
28:21
everything that Nick Sirianni has been about the culture that
28:23
he's established here. If you go back to his quote,
28:27
you can't be great without the greatness of others or
28:29
tough detail together.
28:31
Speaker 2: That's something that.
28:32
Speaker 1: He really believes in and with conviction. And he was
28:36
asked about that on Tuesday, about the origins of it,
28:39
and he mentioned, well more or less trying to find
28:42
a different way to say some of those similar phrases
28:46
so that you know it stays fresh. But to a
28:48
larger point, Nick Sirianni often talks about accepting your role,
28:53
obsessing over it, whatever it may be, whatever size it
28:57
may be.
28:57
Speaker 2: That role, however significant.
28:59
Speaker 1: But we also spoke about while everybody's role is not
29:03
the same, everybody's role is vitally important to the success
29:07
of the football team, or some variation of that.
29:10
Speaker 2: But driving the point home that focus.
29:14
Speaker 1: On your job and everybody will be better for it,
29:18
and you're taking all of the stats and personal accolades
29:22
aside and instead you're doing what you have to do
29:25
for the greater good of the football team. And the
29:28
best example of that is what Jayalen Hurts has done.
29:31
He's someone who always cares about winning and will do
29:33
whatever it takes to win. But for Nick Sirianni, there's
29:39
a strong culture that he's established here in Philadelphia that
29:43
it continues to manifest itself whenever you hear someone like
29:47
jaywhen Hurts say allude to.
29:49
Speaker 2: It, or Jordan Mylotta or whomever.
29:52
Speaker 1: And when you're able to sort of galvanize players one
29:58
through seventy and they're all shared daring a similar sentiment
30:01
and your your convictions and your principles and your values,
30:05
and they resonate with an entire locker room, especially from
30:09
some of the preeminent players that are continuing to make
30:12
sure that that culture is maintained. That that is immensely
30:16
strong leadership and something that I believe that Nick Sirianni
30:20
deserves a lot of credit for and I don't believe
30:22
that he gets enough credit for doing so.
30:25
Speaker 2: But those are just some of my musings here.
30:28
Speaker 1: I'm rambling, But hope you enjoyed this episode of The
30:31
Czecho Daily and I'll catch you on the next one.