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Football at Four: Should The Eagles BUY, SELL or HOLD at NFL Trade Deadline? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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Speaker 1: Football at Four powered by the Inside the Birds podcast.
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Speaker 2: It is brought to you by the Fanatic Sportsbook at
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Speaker 2: Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
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Speaker 1: And the Eagles buy, sell, or hold. The trade deadline's coming.
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Speaker 2: They got a game on Monday night that could determine
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Speaker 2: what kind of trade deadline this could be. Adam Kaplan,
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Speaker 2: Football at Four from the Inside the Birds podcast, which
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Speaker 2: you can get on all podcasting platforms, is here for
0:26
Speaker 2: our Friday edition of as the birds get ready for
0:29
Speaker 2: the boys. And, of course, it's an important game for
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Speaker 2: both teams, Adam. But, quite frankly, the big picture for
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Speaker 2: both these teams looks a little bleak. So they could
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Speaker 2: be looking at the trade deadline.
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Speaker 1: How are you, man?
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Speaker 3: Good to talk to you. So, Mike, the reason why
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Speaker 3: I wanted to talk about this is because this has
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Speaker 3: come up. Well, our Patreon group has talked about it.
0:48
Speaker 3: We've talked about it Wednesday or this past week and
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Speaker 3: kind of the way Howie Roseman thinks. And I know
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Speaker 3: how other GMs. uh... told me when they have courses
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Speaker 3: with them and on on art really on our youtube
1:01
Speaker 3: challenges come up repeatedly this week we had a lot
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Speaker 3: of the couch itself so the thing is that the
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Speaker 3: tough thing is is ok look right right now because
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Speaker 3: ur uh... essentially came to have to back the first
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Speaker 3: place right but they haven't had a giant yet but
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Speaker 3: they're they're gonna play it they've got three nfc schemes
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Speaker 3: in a row we know it's gonna be hard money
1:22
Speaker 3: that's right you know, Dallas and how they choke and
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Speaker 3: all this. Dallas is way healthier, almost completely healthy compared
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Speaker 3: to the Eagles. So, and by the way, as we speak,
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Speaker 3: I mean, it doesn't sound great for Dallas Goddard or
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Speaker 3: Devontae Smith. We'll learn more tomorrow. Tomorrow's the last day
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Speaker 3: of practice. We'll probably know about 1 o'clock, 1.30. Practice
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Speaker 3: ends early tomorrow. It's a short practice. So, you know,
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Speaker 3: if they lose that game, go 2-5, what do you do?
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Speaker 3: This is not, they haven't been in this situation since 2020,
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Speaker 3: where they were dreadful, but obviously they have a better
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Speaker 3: roster now, just hurt. This is not the expectation, Mike,
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Speaker 3: for them to be in this spot.
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Speaker 2: Well, they were 2-5 in Sirianni's first year, but they
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Speaker 2: were able to simplify the offense, hand the ball off,
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Speaker 2: and then they had Jalen Hurts, who ran for nearly
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Speaker 2: 800 yards that season.
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Speaker 1: So you had a dual-threat quarterback and a running game.
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Speaker 2: If they go 2-5, they can't have a come-to-Jesus moment
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Speaker 2: and just say, you know what we should try to do?
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Speaker 1: Let's try to run the ball because they can't do it.
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Speaker 3: I know, Mike. It's crazy. If Barkley has a setback
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Speaker 3: before the game and can't play, Damian Pierce has no
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Speaker 3: juice at all. He just doesn't. He doesn't really fit
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Speaker 3: the scheme, to be honest with you. I mean, he's
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Speaker 3: trying hard. He's pass-protected okay. But this is a train wreck,
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Speaker 3: so if they lose this game, Mike, then they'll have
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Speaker 3: two games before the deadline. Look, if they go one
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Speaker 3: and two, I know Howie doesn't like to do things
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Speaker 3: like this, but I would put them, and I'll know
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Speaker 3: more closer, I'll get a better idea from talking to
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Speaker 3: other teams about where the Eagles are, but I would
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Speaker 3: think he would be in sell mode. Now, the question is,
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Speaker 3: who is he selling? That's the thing, and what the
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Speaker 3: interest level is going to be for a lot of
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Speaker 3: these players.
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Speaker 1: All right. Right.
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Speaker 2: There's a lot of buzz out there. I was looking
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Speaker 2: at the athletic yesterday, had 50 players that could be traded.
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Speaker 1: I think five of them were Eagles, by the way.
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Speaker 2: Moro Jomo, Moro Jomo, Dallas Goddard, Landon Dickerson, who was
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Speaker 2: a woolen was another one. I probably think of the
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Speaker 2: other one, but there's at least four right there that
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Speaker 2: they mentioned.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, Jomo would yield a first-round pick, and more probably.
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Speaker 3: He'll sign a massive deal, could be upwards of around
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Speaker 3: $ 27 to $ 30 million a year. He's had a phenomenal year.
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Speaker 3: The problem is they're such a bad team, it's been
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Speaker 3: lost in the soft, so to speak, but he's really good.
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Speaker 3: It's almost hard to believe he was the seventh-round pick
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Speaker 3: in 2023, but he's had it for a big payday now. Mike,
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Speaker 3: here's the thing about trading some of these guys away, right?
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Speaker 3: traded trading away al skyler well if he's thirty he
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Speaker 3: turned thirty two in january it's the future with people
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Speaker 3: so you did you know you could give you the
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Speaker 3: eagles you have no problem moving him uh... recall a
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Speaker 3: total one-year deal so you have no problem moving in
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Speaker 3: but here's the problem on the other side it is
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Speaker 3: going to replace them but you don't have that got
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Speaker 3: cooper to gina's not a quarter that fit that you
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Speaker 3: clearly to put him at one to be treated with
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Speaker 3: a nickel or safety so that that position next to
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Speaker 3: quinnian mitchell would not be solved Well, it's not really
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Speaker 3: stopped anyway because he's not under contract, but that's the
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Speaker 3: thing that Howard's going to have to answer. But you
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Speaker 3: do have one thing I will tell you. With Lemon,
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Speaker 3: I know he needs to do better, but he did
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Speaker 3: miss a Chuck DeOssie. Smith will be here. Devontae will
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Speaker 3: be here long-term. But Kyle Lemon's going to be here
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Speaker 3: for a while. Don Kiffin would just look good. They
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Speaker 3: need one more guy. They need somebody who could get downfield.
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Speaker 3: That's how he's got to get done in the draft.
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Speaker 3: We know that he's got to... Do a semi-rebuild on
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Speaker 3: the offensive line. We'll have to invest in that in
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Speaker 3: the draft. They're going to have a lot of draft picks,
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Speaker 3: by the way. This is why you trade away players,
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Speaker 3: because you want to get draft capital. Then they have
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Speaker 3: to get someone for Jomo. They don't have anyone to
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Speaker 3: replace him, Mike. And then at corners, I mentioned that's
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Speaker 3: up for grabs. And also safety. Next, Drew McCuba. Drew McCuba,
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Speaker 3: they need to find that guy. So that's the thing.
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Speaker 3: If Howie does sell, and I just gave you kind
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Speaker 3: of what we're looking at next year, they've got a
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Speaker 3: lot of needs for the future.
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Speaker 2: You know, it's funny you say that because we did
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Speaker 2: talk about yesterday, if they had a top, you know,
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Speaker 2: five pick, where do they look? You know, because, you know, realistically,
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Speaker 2: I mean, the running back situation, you're not going to
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Speaker 2: draft a running back in the top five, probably not.
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Speaker 2: Wide receiver is the best player in this draft. Are
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Speaker 2: you going to draft another wide receiver? You're not going
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Speaker 2: to draft a tight end at number one, I mean,
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Speaker 2: the top five. You do have a left tackle. You
5:53
Speaker 2: drafted a right tackle, but I would imagine you could
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Speaker 2: probably say, okay, I would get a tackle– and maybe
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Speaker 2: replace Bell, you're not going to generally draft an interior
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Speaker 2: offensive lineman in the top five. So if you even
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Speaker 2: have a top five pick, it's like, what area would you...
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Speaker 2: Where would the team kind of even look? That's where
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Speaker 2: they're in a weird spot.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, they are, because... You know, Hurts now, Mike, is
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Speaker 3: signed through 2028, so he's got, after the season, two
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Speaker 3: years left, he's got about $ 24 million fully guaranteed of
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Speaker 3: the $ 51. 5 million that's due. And honestly... his agent, Nicole Lynn,
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Speaker 3: is going to probably want something cleaned up there if
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Speaker 3: they don't move him. And then if Howie decides that,
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Speaker 3: he'll explore trading hurts. Then it becomes a major priority.
6:40
Speaker 3: Then it's quarterbacks always going to be number one in
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Speaker 3: this building. It's quarterback first and offensive line and defensive line.
6:47
Speaker 3: That's why they've been so successful. More often than not,
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Speaker 3: since Jeffrey Lurie bought the team and brought in Joe
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Speaker 3: Banner as his president in 1994, because he knew the
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Speaker 3: way that the Niners built it. They modeled their franchise
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Speaker 3: after what the 49ers did, talking to Joe about it
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Speaker 3: many times. So they've got a lot of work to
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Speaker 3: do here. These next three weeks are going to be fascinating.
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Speaker 3: There is a school of thought, which I didn't mention, though, Mike, that, okay,
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Speaker 3: so let's say they win this. Okay, let's say they
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Speaker 3: surprise us. They go 2-1. They're pushing to win the division.
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Speaker 3: But even if you win the division, Mike, yes, you
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Speaker 3: host a home game. They're not winning Super Bowl with
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Speaker 3: this roster.
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Speaker 1: Right, that's why they're stuck between a rock and a
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Speaker 1: hard place here, right?
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Speaker 3: That's the point. That's why I brought it up. Yeah.
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Speaker 1: And the NFC East is bad, right? We know that.
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Speaker 2: Regardless, Washington's off this week. The Giants are a big-time
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Speaker 2: dog on the road at Houston, and then someone's got
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Speaker 2: to win on Monday night. You know, do you try
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Speaker 2: to win the division and, you know, just see what
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Speaker 2: happens and to say, hey, it was one of those
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Speaker 2: years where we just weren't healthy, right? Because the NFC
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Speaker 2: is so bad, how do you play that? Do you
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Speaker 2: try to bring more talent here?
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Speaker 3: All right, so, okay, let's say they even things up
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Speaker 3: in about three weeks with the Giants, right? But, by
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Speaker 3: the way, they have to get healthier. For Howie to
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Speaker 3: feel confident that they can make a little noise, not
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Speaker 3: so much win the Super Bowl, but have a winning record,
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Speaker 3: win one or two games in the playoffs, They have
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Speaker 3: to be healthier. This isn't saying what's going on, Mike.
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Speaker 3: When you look at all levels of the offense, receiver
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Speaker 3: now is decimated. Smitty back has set back with a hamstring.
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Speaker 3: We'll see if it's going to improve. Don Tavenwick, you
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Speaker 3: saw him turn that ankle. That was bad. The offensive
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Speaker 3: line problems with injury. Running back is destroyed by injury.
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Speaker 3: Edge has got problems. If you've got problems, Mike, that's
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Speaker 3: just a problem. Over the next three weeks, are they
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Speaker 3: going to get a lot of these players back? That's
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Speaker 3: the only way that they can win this division is
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Speaker 3: if they get healthier. And then within those three weeks,
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Speaker 3: if they are 2-1 or shock me and go 3-0,
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Speaker 3: there are so many holes. What are you trading for?
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Speaker 3: I guess you're going to have to trade draft capital
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Speaker 3: if you're trying to win. That changes everything, Mike. If
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Speaker 3: you're trying to win, you're not trading away players. You're
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Speaker 3: trading away future draft capital. That's why to me, Mike,
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Speaker 3: unless this thing looks really good with them turning this around,
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Speaker 3: how will you be a seller?
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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you just said it.
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Speaker 2: I think the big problem here is, Adam, if you
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Speaker 2: bring in veteran players and you try to even make
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Speaker 2: the roster better, I think the one huge lacking spot
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Speaker 2: is McKee, right? I mean, nobody thinks McKee can lead
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Speaker 2: this team anywhere deep into the playoffs, even if he
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Speaker 2: plays okay. I just think that's where everything is held up.
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Speaker 2: Nobody buys that Tanner McKee is going to all of
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Speaker 2: a sudden Nick Foles this team into the Super Bowl.
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Speaker 3: Yes, but let me say this. Last week was his
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Speaker 3: first start, and he did have a healthy wick until
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Speaker 3: he got hurt. in the game. And Smith, with Devontae Smith,
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Speaker 3: whatever he could give them, obviously they hooked up on
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Speaker 3: that big-time touchdown. But here's the problem, Michael. Let's say
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Speaker 3: that they're making a run. They get 10 wins. Shock me,
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Speaker 3: they get 11 wins, and McKee's obviously still starting. They
10:15
Speaker 3: don't have a running game right now. That's why I
10:17
Speaker 3: just don't see any way they can do this without
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Speaker 3: a running game. You've got to have some semblance of
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Speaker 3: a running game. And because of what's behind Barkley, and
10:24
Speaker 3: it's clearly not work with Damian Pierce and others, it's
10:27
Speaker 3: hard to imagine they could turn this around. I mean,
10:29
Speaker 3: the defense has been fine, solid, nothing special. Nothing special,
10:34
Speaker 3: let's be honest about it, because of the pass rush.
10:36
Speaker 3: It's not very good. Fangio had it. He almost split
10:39
Speaker 3: 40% of the time last week. Why? Because they couldn't
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Speaker 3: get home with their group, and the show beat up there.
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Speaker 3: It's why I just don't see how in the world
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Speaker 3: they're going to get this thing turned around. I mean,
10:49
Speaker 3: could they be your 8 or 9-win team? Yes. But that,
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Speaker 3: to me, is not what you want to achieve. And
10:54
Speaker 3: there have been a couple people tag me on Twitter,
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Speaker 3: and a couple were really thoughtful. Why do you aspire
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Speaker 3: to be 8 or 9-win, or even 10-win? You're not
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Speaker 3: going anywhere with that. You might as well trade away
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Speaker 3: the assets in terms of veteran players, who particularly you're
11:08
Speaker 3: not going to resign. That's the point, Mike. Guys, you
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Speaker 3: know you're not bringing it back. We didn't mention Nolan Smith.
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Speaker 1: Nolan Smith, by the way, was the fifth guy on
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Speaker 1: that list.
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Speaker 3: Oh, he was?
11:16
Speaker 1: Okay.
11:17
Speaker 3: So Nolan Smith is on a contract. They rolled over
11:19
Speaker 3: his fifth-year option, which is fully guaranteed. He's just an
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Speaker 3: okay player. He's had a big injury history. Why not
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Speaker 3: move him? He has no future. He's not that good
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Speaker 3: of a football player. So it is going to be–
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Speaker 3: I'm glad we brought this up today, Mike. Let's watch
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Speaker 3: what happens over the next three weeks. You're going to
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Speaker 3: be bringing this up again to you probably in two weeks, Mike.
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Speaker 3: This will be way hotter in a couple weeks, but
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Speaker 3: I want to get this on your radar.
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Speaker 2: And I'm glad you did. We've got a couple minutes
11:41
Speaker 2: left with Adam Kaplan here. You know, you're going to
11:43
Speaker 2: get Kendall, looks like it's center, Landon Dickerson back at guard.
11:46
Speaker 2: You know, what's Dickerson's future? I mean, do they look
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Speaker 2: to replace him? What's Kendall's future? Do they like him
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Speaker 2: as the guy?
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Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Is Bell the right tackle
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Speaker 1: of the future?
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Speaker 3: Well, Bell, they hope to be, but he's clearly not ready.
12:01
Speaker 3: By the way, Dickerson, you should know, he took a
12:03
Speaker 3: small pay cut this year, but Next year, I'm told,
12:06
Speaker 3: was not changed. The problem, Mike, is that he's making
12:14
Speaker 3: $ 22 million in total cash next year. The third day
12:18
Speaker 3: of free agency in March, Mike, his $ 22 million becomes
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Speaker 3: fully guaranteed. There's no way that he's coming back on
12:28
Speaker 3: that money. There's just no way. He would have to
12:30
Speaker 3: take a massive pay cut. This one has got to
12:32
Speaker 3: be real. This last one is very small. he's just
12:35
Speaker 3: not the same player probably is now at the pectoral
12:38
Speaker 3: injury which we were aware of until they give up
12:40
Speaker 3: a moment report yesterday with it it's just and i
12:44
Speaker 3: know he denied it but i know there are other
12:45
Speaker 3: people talk that the seduction absolute considering it retirement he
12:49
Speaker 3: said no but quite a fake news which i thought
12:52
Speaker 3: was comical uh... whatever but this is just another part
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Speaker 3: of it mike they've got a they've got to do
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Speaker 3: it for my rebuild of the top of the flight
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Speaker 3: at thing about this conversation mike is that as you
13:04
Speaker 3: know i go through this We weren't thinking this way
13:07
Speaker 3: to start the season, were we?
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Speaker 1: No, not at all.
13:09
Speaker 2: You know, and that's the interesting part about this is
13:12
Speaker 2: we weren't thinking this to start the season because, man,
13:14
Speaker 2: their defense. You've got Barkley, you've got Smith, and you've
13:17
Speaker 2: got Goddard. And you still have Barkley, Smith, and Goddard.
13:20
Speaker 2: The problem is the offensive line has been, yes, and
13:23
Speaker 2: Smith doesn't look like he's going to play Monday either.
13:26
Speaker 3: I mean, he has to work tomorrow to play, and
13:30
Speaker 3: it's very disappointing, to be honest with you, Mike. I agree.
13:33
Speaker 3: was not expecting it to kind of look like this.
13:35
Speaker 3: The weather's going to be good. We've got a nice
13:39
Speaker 3: day on Monday. Monday night will be around 60, no rain.
13:43
Speaker 3: It's a shame. This is where we're at, Mike. Before
13:47
Speaker 3: I get out of here, I am still in awe
13:49
Speaker 3: of what the Sixers did last night. In my lifetime,
13:53
Speaker 3: what they pulled off last night, Josh and I were
13:56
Speaker 3: texting before the game. I had a bad feeling. I
14:00
Speaker 3: look right at halftime and I don't know what the
14:02
Speaker 3: hell was said in that locker room, but you talk
14:06
Speaker 3: about halftime adjustments were kind of fake news in the NFL.
14:09
Speaker 3: They weren't fake in this one, man. Unbelievable.
14:11
Speaker 1: Well, Sixers right now, it's funny.
14:13
Speaker 2: It seems that a lot of our listeners have kind
14:15
Speaker 2: of shifted that they're more into the Sixers right now
14:17
Speaker 2: than they are this Eagles season. You have an Eagles-Cowboys
14:20
Speaker 2: game on Monday night football that doesn't have a lot
14:23
Speaker 2: of juice behind it right now. We'll see what happens
14:25
Speaker 2: on Monday. And, of course, we'll have it right here
14:27
Speaker 2: on Football at 4, powered by the Adam Kaplan.
14:29
Speaker 1: Thanks, man.
14:30
Speaker 3: You got it.