Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / ITB: Which Eagles On Offense Are Most On The Bubble Entering Training Camp?
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: Inside the Birds is back. What's going on? Everybody? It's
- 0:14Speaker 1: Jeff Mosher, it's Adam Kaplan, it's inside the Birds. We
- 0:18Speaker 1: are starting to get toward the endush of July, and
- 0:22Speaker 1: we can firmly say, Adam that next week Eagles training
- 0:27Speaker 1: camp will begin. The players will report to the now
- 0:31Speaker 1: called Jefferson Health don't say no, okay, right, Jefferson Health
- 0:34Speaker 1: Training Complex on Tuesday, and I believe the first official
- 0:38Speaker 1: practice will be Wednesday, and then they'll be like three
- 0:41Speaker 1: million off days in between each practice. Now, I mean
- 0:45Speaker 1: I can't, I can't, but it's funny, like the first
- 0:47Speaker 1: week of practice is like three practices. That's that's how
- 0:50Speaker 1: they do the ramp up process.
- 0:52Speaker 2: Yeah, there's you have to have a five day acclaimation period.
- 0:55Speaker 2: That's that's there's no way around it. It has to
- 0:57Speaker 2: it's mandated, has to happen. But talking to Jeff Miller
- 1:03Speaker 2: and his group from the NFL who over see all
- 1:05Speaker 2: the health and safety, you said, the data is so
- 1:10Speaker 2: strong for for no contact in the first five days,
- 1:13Speaker 2: it's like it's credible. Yeah, he has a data. I mean,
- 1:17Speaker 2: you can't argue with the information. I get it, Yeah,
- 1:19Speaker 2: I get it. And by the way, the practices are
- 1:23Speaker 2: very similar, very similar to OTAs. There is limited contact
- 1:29Speaker 2: like there's no contact like an ot as. You're literally
- 1:32Speaker 2: the offensive line are doing like a dance like you.
- 1:34Speaker 2: It's it's hard. It's pretty bad when you give up
- 1:38Speaker 2: a sack of OTAs. But you cannot do anything. The
- 1:42Speaker 2: first day you report, all you do is report, right. Now,
- 1:45Speaker 2: you a test, right, you take the physical exam and yeah,
- 1:49Speaker 2: before the day, right, there was no practice. You cannot
- 1:51Speaker 2: practice your conditioning test. And the next day you practice,
- 1:57Speaker 2: it's light. As a matter of fact. Going back to Novercare,
- 2:01Speaker 2: excuse me, not Novercare. Going back to Lehigh, uh one
- 2:06Speaker 2: year for some reason, I don't know what. I actually
- 2:11Speaker 2: saw one of those workouts. There's the conditioning test. I
- 2:14Speaker 2: don't know why. I don't know how I was there
- 2:16Speaker 2: for something. Is there an interview somebody?
- 2:18Speaker 1: All right, and I was.
- 2:19Speaker 2: Able to watch them do it, you know, whatever? The
- 2:21Speaker 2: going back doing gasers, whatever the hell it is, right,
- 2:24Speaker 2: you know, it's kind of funny. Belichick one year for
- 2:29Speaker 2: they must have on NFI non non football injury, because
- 2:33Speaker 2: what it is is it's certainly not an injury. There's
- 2:36Speaker 2: no list like there's no designation that they could find,
- 2:39Speaker 2: so they just use that non football injury and it's
- 2:42Speaker 2: all because they didn't patch the conditioning test.
- 2:45Speaker 1: Knowing him and you probably had like eighty percent of
- 2:47Speaker 1: the team on it, a lot.
- 2:49Speaker 2: Of players that No, I've never said anything like that
- 2:50Speaker 2: because I remember asking them, like, what the hell, what's
- 2:52Speaker 2: going on here? Oh, it's conditioning test. Yeah, we don't
- 2:55Speaker 2: have there's no other list to put them on so
- 2:56Speaker 2: that they can't practically pass it.
- 2:58Speaker 1: Yeah. I always got to kick when I found out,
- 3:00Speaker 1: and some teams have different specs, but like I remember
- 3:03Speaker 1: finding out what the ego like, if you're an offensive lineman,
- 3:06Speaker 1: you're you're you're not required to run the same number
- 3:08Speaker 1: of gassers or in the same amount of time as
- 3:10Speaker 1: a wide receiver, obviously for physiological reasons, but I always
- 3:13Speaker 1: found that interesting how they separated who has to do
- 3:16Speaker 1: what by position, because you know, I'm sure some receivers
- 3:19Speaker 1: and running backs and corners are like, that's not fair.
- 3:21Speaker 1: These guys they only have to do you know, five gassers,
- 3:23Speaker 1: we have to do fifteen. It's like, well, dude, you
- 3:25Speaker 1: weigh like two hundred pounds less than that guy.
- 3:28Speaker 2: So I mean asking like asking Mark markel Bell, who's
- 3:35Speaker 2: way up there? No, we'll see, you know, he's over
- 3:37Speaker 2: six nine. We'll see what he weighs. Because, as we
- 3:39Speaker 2: hold folks, when he was drafted, the concern that coaches
- 3:43Speaker 2: we spoke with who grated him said his weight is concern.
- 3:46Speaker 2: He was aware of it, like he probud be getting
- 3:48Speaker 2: really good physical shapes. We'll see. Yeah, one of the
- 3:50Speaker 2: many things we'll be looking for when we talk, we
- 3:52Speaker 2: have we'll have a show leading up. We would give
- 3:54Speaker 2: you the top ten things we'll be looking for in
- 3:56Speaker 2: training campus. I was talking our Patreon. We did a
- 3:59Speaker 2: Patreon a livestream on Sunday night, and I told folks,
- 4:03Speaker 2: I mean I shot at the top of my head.
- 4:04Speaker 2: There's no other. Number one, by far is yelling hurts
- 4:08Speaker 2: to the timing too. Number two, which is very important,
- 4:11Speaker 2: is the healthy offensive line Lane Johnson and Jurkins Dickerson. Yeah, yeah,
- 4:18Speaker 2: I mean, now, you know we didn't know this last summer.
- 4:20Speaker 2: Who the hell knew wasn't on our radar. We learned
- 4:22Speaker 2: a lot and everyone did. Everyone did.
- 4:25Speaker 1: Now, what I would really love to see before we
- 4:27Speaker 1: get started, what we're gonna do today, what I would
- 4:28Speaker 1: really love to see is a nice debate NFL style
- 4:33Speaker 1: debate between Jeff Miller and Vic Fangio, who has been
- 4:37Speaker 1: a very proponent of the ramp up period and has
- 4:42Speaker 1: sort of capitalized on some unique opportunities to present that.
- 4:46Speaker 1: For example, is Darius Smith signed with the Eagles. You
- 4:49Speaker 1: guys remember in the middle of the year, right, and
- 4:51Speaker 1: then he played really well in his first game, and
- 4:54Speaker 1: Vic Fangio was like, yeah, shows you how much that
- 4:56Speaker 1: ram ramp up process is really meaningful.
- 4:59Speaker 2: I mean, he actually what he what he did say
- 5:01Speaker 2: is how he there may or may I don't know
- 5:04Speaker 2: if there there's some kind of ramp up period in
- 5:08Speaker 2: regular season, but I don't know if it's the same
- 5:10Speaker 2: as the training camp one. I don't know if the
- 5:13Speaker 2: days are different. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so, But the point is,
- 5:17Speaker 2: as you said, he made a joke of it, but
- 5:21Speaker 2: the data, the Jeff's really he's very accessible, really really
- 5:24Speaker 2: good dude. He's one of my favorite people to deal
- 5:26Speaker 2: with during my time of of you know, asking questions
- 5:29Speaker 2: and calling folks and asking NFL office, Hey, what's what's
- 5:33Speaker 2: the story of this. Dean Vandina was great, and Dean
- 5:35Speaker 2: obviously does a lot of media work, and I think
- 5:38Speaker 2: he was doing work with the USFL. But he's fantastic.
- 5:40Speaker 2: He and remember he was not a football He was
- 5:42Speaker 2: actually a stand up comedian. Those people don't know that.
- 5:45Speaker 1: You freaking forgot that.
- 5:47Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he's got a good good good dude, he's uh.
- 5:52Speaker 2: We actually interviewed him on our podcast or our platform.
- 5:55Speaker 2: We got a little clip out of it many years ago.
- 5:57Speaker 2: So anyway, this show today is interesting. Yeah, this show today,
- 6:01Speaker 2: This show today is gonna be fun. It's it's a
- 6:04Speaker 2: little bit easier, to be honestly than the defensive one.
- 6:06Speaker 2: The defensive one was interesting, but that's gonna be on
- 6:09Speaker 2: Tuesday show, right.
- 6:10Speaker 1: So what we're gonna do this is gonna be a
- 6:12Speaker 1: fun week on ITV because today this podcast and the
- 6:15Speaker 1: next one, as Adam was saying, we're gonna talk about
- 6:18Speaker 1: the player at each position, who is most on the
- 6:21Speaker 1: bubble and why, and then because this episode, because doing
- 6:25Speaker 1: offense is a little bit easier, as Adam mentioned, than defense.
- 6:29Speaker 1: What I'm gonna do, Adham, I didn't tell you I'm
- 6:31Speaker 1: gonna do this is play a little bit of Devil's
- 6:33Speaker 1: Advocate on a few of the ones on offense, just
- 6:36Speaker 1: to kind of get people to see what the picture
- 6:40Speaker 1: might look like and why it could be clouded if
- 6:42Speaker 1: one certain thing happens. So we'll get into that. But
- 6:45Speaker 1: that's a good person most on the roster Bubble Offense today,
- 6:49Speaker 1: Tuesday Defense, and then we're gonna walk down later in
- 6:52Speaker 1: this week memory lane and come up with our what
- 6:55Speaker 1: I call our favorite Lee Heisman's which is, you know,
- 6:58Speaker 1: they won the Lee Heisman Award for being awesome in
- 7:02Speaker 1: training camp.
- 7:02Speaker 2: But really yeah, by the way, you have to clue
- 7:04Speaker 2: nover care too. That's id to added.
- 7:06Speaker 1: We will kill the oh, yes, we will consider all
- 7:09Speaker 1: training camps, but but the award will be the Lee
- 7:11Speaker 1: Heisman because that's just a great fit the Lee Heisman.
- 7:14Speaker 2: Now for the old time Eagles fans, Jeff was not
- 7:18Speaker 2: covering the team's team then, but one of the training
- 7:21Speaker 2: camp legends at Westchester I wasn't covering the team then
- 7:23Speaker 2: was Billy Hess. Billy Hess. Did he go to Westchester?
- 7:29Speaker 2: Did he go to Westchester?
- 7:30Speaker 1: I don't remember, but I've heard the legend of Billy Hess.
- 7:33Speaker 2: Yeah, Billy Hess was kind of like a maybe a
- 7:38Speaker 2: slot receiver. Yeah, I have to Yeah, he was. He
- 7:43Speaker 2: did go he did go to Westchester. Wow, he did
- 7:45Speaker 2: go to Westchester? How about that?
- 7:46Speaker 1: How about that?
- 7:47Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, yeah he was he was a he was
- 7:49Speaker 2: a quickly Yeah he was a little slaught receiver. I
- 7:51Speaker 2: was right, five eight, one seventy five. There you go. Yeah,
- 7:56Speaker 2: so yeah, they look the and I guess my list
- 8:00Speaker 2: on Patreon of like tough five guys who came to
- 8:02Speaker 2: my mind, but they were all offense. I couldn't think
- 8:03Speaker 2: of any defense. We will have them. So that's that.
- 8:05Speaker 2: So let's get roll in here.
- 8:07Speaker 1: Yeah real quick. I do want to plug though, and
- 8:08Speaker 1: that you know, Andrew di Cheko is doing a great
- 8:11Speaker 1: series of quote Lee Heisman's or we call him training
- 8:13Speaker 1: campb ll engends and the last one will be this week.
- 8:17Speaker 1: It is an awesome one. Should I tease it or
- 8:20Speaker 1: should I say who it is?
- 8:21Speaker 2: And people don't give it away? But the last that
- 8:24Speaker 2: the by the way, the cornelist singer one get a
- 8:27Speaker 2: huge number comparefully to the for everything else.
- 8:29Speaker 1: Yeah people, Yeah.
- 8:31Speaker 2: And then Jeremy Bloom Last Friday is available on all platforms.
- 8:34Speaker 2: Jeremy is I know a lot of people were disappointed.
- 8:37Speaker 2: He just never really made it. If smaller guys done
- 8:41Speaker 2: very well in private business. But yeah, he was you know,
- 8:45Speaker 2: Olympic scare punt kickoff returner. He just never really made it.
- 8:49Speaker 2: He was a big hype guy, like people were super
- 8:51Speaker 2: excited about him.
- 8:52Speaker 1: Yeah, you should really listened to that episode because Jeremy
- 8:54Speaker 1: and Andrew really going into why he did not succeed
- 8:57Speaker 1: in football. It wasn't just because he might have been
- 8:59Speaker 1: like small or not that good.
- 9:02Speaker 2: There was a.
- 9:03Speaker 1: Physiological explanation that stemmed from his career as an Olympic
- 9:09Speaker 1: skier and then going back to being football that I'll
- 9:14Speaker 1: leave it to Andrew and Jeremy, but it was a
- 9:15Speaker 1: really awesome episode and really enlightening as to why he
- 9:19Speaker 1: didn't succeed in football, and then also gives you that
- 9:21Speaker 1: kind of like well what if that went through his head?
- 9:25Speaker 1: And then all I'll say for this next one and
- 9:27Speaker 1: last one that Andrew did. It is a former Eagles
- 9:30Speaker 1: running back who was so great in training camp in
- 9:35Speaker 1: the preseason that not only was he someone Eagles fans
- 9:39Speaker 1: fell in love with, but to this day he still
- 9:42Speaker 1: gets Eagles fans writing to him.
- 9:44Speaker 2: Okay, this the only thing I'll give you is I
- 9:51Speaker 2: broke his story when he got cut and the heat
- 9:55Speaker 2: that they literally get mad at me like it was
- 9:56Speaker 2: my fault. I'm just tell you, and I told the
- 9:59Speaker 2: reason why reasons or reason why. And look, I remember
- 10:02Speaker 2: Lorentzo Booker. You go through like so many good training
- 10:06Speaker 2: kip running backs, right, sometimes the roster's too big. You
- 10:13Speaker 2: know you're willing to sneak them through waivers. There's multitutive reasons.
- 10:16Speaker 2: But this one's interesting. And then look you we're gonna
- 10:20Speaker 2: get Rashid Bailey on one of these days, who I've
- 10:22Speaker 2: known for a long time, played delve Alex from here.
- 10:24Speaker 2: He's haven't been doing media stuff now as a CFL champion,
- 10:28Speaker 2: but he did really well by the way in the
- 10:30Speaker 2: CFL after the Eagles cut him. Wow did he right? Yeah?
- 10:33Speaker 1: All right, so yeah, make sure you can't It'll be
- 10:35Speaker 1: on Friday, Friday of the last.
- 10:39Speaker 2: All right.
- 10:39Speaker 1: So this episode the player on the bubble, most player
- 10:43Speaker 1: most on the bubble at each position. On offense, we
- 10:45Speaker 1: start with quarterback and I guess it's obvious in a
- 10:49Speaker 1: non obvious way.
- 10:51Speaker 2: Yeah, this is called Payton. Yeah, Cal Peyton's a guy.
- 10:53Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's it's he's on the bubble because
- 10:59Speaker 2: he needs his major issues with his throw mechanics. There's
- 11:02Speaker 2: talent there, he's an athlete, he's built well, but he
- 11:07Speaker 2: needs major breakdown on its mechanics and parks. Fraser is
- 11:11Speaker 2: going to be charged with it. I mean, this is
- 11:12Speaker 2: his job. He's got to get It's weird throwing motion,
- 11:18Speaker 2: it's hebo escal It's certainly it's close to t but
- 11:21Speaker 2: it's not quite the same obviously, and they have a
- 11:24Speaker 2: similar build of both lefties and the both athletes. And
- 11:27Speaker 2: he has some arm strength. I saw it in OTAs,
- 11:29Speaker 2: but he also has balls that look like it's got
- 11:32Speaker 2: to tail on the back of it. Right, It's a
- 11:34Speaker 2: mechanics So look, remember now, if the Eagles get what
- 11:39Speaker 2: they would be willing to accepting the key, they could
- 11:41Speaker 2: move him. They may have serious leverage at the end
- 11:43Speaker 2: of training camp if a starter gets hurt or you know,
- 11:47Speaker 2: if Juno Smith is not looking good, you never know,
- 11:48Speaker 2: the Jets get involved. So look, he has value and
- 11:52Speaker 2: Dalton will be the backup. Dalton's making four million this season,
- 11:55Speaker 2: he goes home a million and a half, the Panther's
- 11:56Speaker 2: home two point five minutes. All guaranteed. He's gonna be
- 11:59Speaker 2: the roster. Uh. How he's caught a fifth round pick
- 12:02Speaker 2: before he cud he cut the kid who was a
- 12:06Speaker 2: fifth round in twenty eighteen. So oh, Clayton Thorson, Yes,
- 12:11Speaker 2: so there's precedent for it. So think there's a really
- 12:15Speaker 2: bad narrative of how he doesn't cut of straft picks.
- 12:16Speaker 2: That's totally false.
- 12:17Speaker 1: He does. Oh yeah, colbm cord last year. If I'm
- 12:19Speaker 1: not mistaken, Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, six of course he did.
- 12:22Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 12:23Speaker 1: Now when you get into the third and fourth round.
- 12:25Speaker 2: Guy, shake that shake absolutely, I have one. Yeah, that's
- 12:30Speaker 2: that's that's what you could say. Look, uh, Donald Pumphrey
- 12:34Speaker 2: looked really bad. It is his training kit. But one
- 12:36Speaker 2: of the things I like about how he is Yeah,
- 12:38Speaker 2: he'll eventually pull the pull the trick. He'll pull the
- 12:41Speaker 2: cord and say, you know what, I was wrong, I
- 12:43Speaker 2: missed it. But he's going to give the guy a chance.
- 12:47Speaker 2: You know, he's going to give me a guy a chance.
- 12:48Speaker 2: Sometimes coaches want the guy off the roster. This is
- 12:51Speaker 2: the push and pull that GM's have with with coaches.
- 12:54Speaker 2: I have to be willing to say no, no, we
- 12:57Speaker 2: we're in the player development here. REI in As we
- 13:01Speaker 2: told folks when he was hired. The one thing we
- 13:02Speaker 2: heard coming out of the his interviews was he was
- 13:04Speaker 2: very big on player development, and boy that that has
- 13:06Speaker 2: been the case.
- 13:08Speaker 1: Mm hmm. You know now, when I said it was
- 13:10Speaker 1: obvious in a not so obvious way that he was
- 13:13Speaker 1: the player most on the bubble at quarterback Cole Peyton.
- 13:16Speaker 1: The only not obvious about it is you could you
- 13:18Speaker 1: could again Devil's make an argument he's really not on
- 13:22Speaker 1: the bubble in that he could look terrible, he could
- 13:24Speaker 1: fall on his face, he could not hit the broad
- 13:27Speaker 1: side of a barn for two weeks. But he's way
- 13:30Speaker 1: likely to make the team regardless of that, because of
- 13:32Speaker 1: what you just said, the athleticism, the fact that he
- 13:34Speaker 1: use a fifth round pick on him, the fact that
- 13:36Speaker 1: they know that he's a project. They don't want to
- 13:38Speaker 1: let him go.
- 13:39Speaker 2: They know.
- 13:40Speaker 1: It's not like they don't know what they're dealing with here.
- 13:42Speaker 2: All right, he does a ton of upset. But the
- 13:46Speaker 2: problem the thing is when you cut, when you decide
- 13:49Speaker 2: to waive a player, a player that has less less
- 13:52Speaker 2: than four years experience.
- 13:53Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
- 13:54Speaker 2: It's it comes down to this, do we think we
- 13:56Speaker 2: can get it for waivers. There's a very realistic chance
- 13:58Speaker 2: they get him for waivers. I think because he's such
- 14:01Speaker 2: a he's such a project, he's a total project.
- 14:05Speaker 1: We're gonna worry about the bad teams that have bad
- 14:08Speaker 1: fifty threes that are willing to you know, might have
- 14:11Speaker 1: wanted to take Peyton in the same round, didn't get him,
- 14:14Speaker 1: and now they have an opportunity to bring him in
- 14:16Speaker 1: or to get hurt.
- 14:18Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's just he's just so far away, man,
- 14:20Speaker 2: He's just he's so far away. So that's quarterback. That's
- 14:24Speaker 2: that's that would be it for.
- 14:25Speaker 1: Me, all right, obvious one cold Payton all right? Running
- 14:28Speaker 1: back also somewhat obvious. And I feel like it's it's
- 14:32Speaker 1: obvious because more so because of the player and the
- 14:35Speaker 1: scheme they're about to run than if this were the
- 14:39Speaker 1: same kind of accomplished guy and who played in the scheme.
- 14:42Speaker 1: I think you might argue, hey, maybe he can push
- 14:44Speaker 1: will Shipley off, But I don't, you know, we're talking
- 14:47Speaker 1: about Damian Pierce here, a guy who is not laterally quick,
- 14:51Speaker 1: and they're gonna do a lot of his wide zone.
- 14:53Speaker 1: I mean, he's a running up the gut type of
- 14:55Speaker 1: running here. And haven't Matt Great you.
- 14:58Speaker 2: Know, I know this. He starts struggling. I talked to
- 15:01Speaker 2: someone with the text on this one. They moved his
- 15:02Speaker 2: own on a Bobby Slowak. He just did not fit.
- 15:06Speaker 2: He just couldn't get it. He went to Kansas City,
- 15:10Speaker 2: he just it didn't work. And I don't now here's
- 15:14Speaker 2: the interesting thing. This is why contracts matter. He has
- 15:18Speaker 2: an opening day roster bonus if he's on the fifty
- 15:20Speaker 2: three man roster. Not only that, he's got to be
- 15:22Speaker 2: active on the game day roster. He actually has to
- 15:26Speaker 2: be active Game one against Washington. Right, So that boy
- 15:29Speaker 2: he's written and it's not a lot of money. It's
- 15:31Speaker 2: under Hunter Grand. Yeah, but there's a reason why they
- 15:33Speaker 2: put it in their folks. So, right, he's a real
- 15:37Speaker 2: long shot.
- 15:38Speaker 1: I know a lot of people remember twenty twenty two
- 15:40Speaker 1: when he was with Houston and he ran for nine
- 15:42Speaker 1: hundred and thirty nine yards. He had a little bit total.
- 15:45Speaker 1: He was in the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Mix
- 15:48Speaker 1: had I think like five touchdowns that year. So but again,
- 15:52Speaker 1: we've seen this a lot. A guy gets into, especially
- 15:54Speaker 1: a running back, he get like an Alfred Morris, the
- 15:57Speaker 1: guy who doesn't have great physical traits, attributes or anything
- 16:01Speaker 1: like that gets in the right scheme, they become a
- 16:03Speaker 1: high volume ball carrier because of injuries or whatever, and
- 16:06Speaker 1: they succeed. But even that year he was four point
- 16:08Speaker 1: three yards carry, which is good, not amazing, But he
- 16:11Speaker 1: was two point nine the very next year, So you
- 16:13Speaker 1: could already start to tell that, you know, there was
- 16:17Speaker 1: a ceiling to who Demean Pierce was.
- 16:19Speaker 2: Yep, totally great.
- 16:20Speaker 1: All right, So he is the running back most on
- 16:23Speaker 1: the bully, would you and and even more so than
- 16:26Speaker 1: Elijah Mitchell? Maybe because right, Elijah Mitchell.
- 16:28Speaker 2: Has he's not gonna make it. I mean it's not either.
- 16:31Speaker 2: But if you were to.
- 16:32Speaker 1: Give one guy a better shot to make the team,
- 16:34Speaker 1: Mitchell or Pierce, Well here's the problem because of the scheme.
- 16:38Speaker 2: No, well, he fits a scheme. But the thing is
- 16:40Speaker 2: he's he's a vested veteran. They just cut him. They could. Yeah,
- 16:44Speaker 2: he's not subject awaver. That's a big reason why you'd
- 16:46Speaker 2: cut him. That's the biggest reason. That's one and two.
- 16:50Speaker 2: Injury history is just so bad. But you're right, he's
- 16:53Speaker 2: absolutely system fit. Oh that's why. It's the only reason
- 16:56Speaker 2: why is here?
- 16:56Speaker 1: Yeah, he was, he was.
- 16:59Speaker 2: He could not have been a better fit for the Niners.
- 17:01Speaker 2: He looked so good when he played, but he just
- 17:03Speaker 2: he's a multitude of injuries. So that's it for running back.
- 17:06Speaker 2: So yeah, receivers interesting because it's it's look. Elijah Moore
- 17:14Speaker 2: was so good early in his career. Then he he
- 17:16Speaker 2: couldn't deal with playing with Zach Wilson. He asked for
- 17:19Speaker 2: a trade. He got out and Cleveland, he did some
- 17:23Speaker 2: decent things and they moved on. It was with Buffalo
- 17:27Speaker 2: didn't work. They cut him on and off Denver's roster
- 17:32Speaker 2: and made him bring him back. So he's down on
- 17:34Speaker 2: his fifth team and he just turned twenty six.
- 17:38Speaker 1: I can't believe he's that young, honestly.
- 17:40Speaker 2: Twenty eight Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. I mean, he was
- 17:43Speaker 2: a second runner in twenty one. He might have been
- 17:44Speaker 2: twenty when he was drafted, right, But he's a big
- 17:47Speaker 2: reason why he's here is because of Joe Douglas. He
- 17:49Speaker 2: drafted him with the Jets. He plays two positions. He
- 17:52Speaker 2: plays a slap position in the Z position. He's a
- 17:55Speaker 2: veteran guy's talented, but he didn't play good football in
- 17:58Speaker 2: a long time. It's it's going to be hard because
- 18:00Speaker 2: right now, the chances of Johnny Wilson making it are
- 18:04Speaker 2: pretty high. Why because he can block especially one thing well,
- 18:08Speaker 2: he only does one thing well and he's really good
- 18:10Speaker 2: at it. They missing last season. Here's what we know,
- 18:13Speaker 2: Smith Wicks, Lemon absolute locks on the team. Brown is
- 18:17Speaker 2: making the team. They five million full of guaranteed. How
- 18:19Speaker 2: he's not walking away from five million.
- 18:20Speaker 1: He's just not right now.
- 18:22Speaker 2: The question is for the fit. It's Wilson, it's Cooper.
- 18:27Speaker 2: Cooper could be caught, but I have him on the roster.
- 18:29Speaker 2: I don't. I'm not putting him on the bubble now.
- 18:31Speaker 2: But now has a bad training camp, will be on
- 18:33Speaker 2: the bubble, right, But Elijah Moore is not a big
- 18:36Speaker 2: special teams guy, and it's gonna be hard. So that's
- 18:39Speaker 2: where I'm not huge.
- 18:40Speaker 1: That's that's why you someone can make an argument, well,
- 18:42Speaker 1: maybe Darius Cooper is what if he's not What if
- 18:44Speaker 1: he has a really bad camp and he's undrafted, He's
- 18:47Speaker 1: a better special teamer because he's played it than what
- 18:50Speaker 1: Eli Moore gives. Yeah, elives Moore has to prove more.
- 18:53Speaker 2: Yep, yep. That's where I'm at, all right. I like that.
- 18:56Speaker 1: The next one's gonna be interesting.
- 18:58Speaker 2: I love. Uh, this is the one. Yeah, this is
- 19:00Speaker 2: the one. And I know there are a lot of
- 19:02Speaker 2: fans that don't like this guy injury history. You know
- 19:06Speaker 2: he's an athlete, but he done block well at all.
- 19:08Speaker 2: You didn't have a good year last year, Grand Kakaterra,
- 19:11Speaker 2: you go still brought him back six round pick in
- 19:14Speaker 2: twenty twenty two. Concussion history in college, He's had a
- 19:20Speaker 2: couple good athletic moments, but overall he's been a mild disappointment.
- 19:24Speaker 2: But then again, he's a six round pick. What can
- 19:25Speaker 2: you expect. Kim Latu is not making a lot of money.
- 19:30Speaker 2: He blots way better way. There's more upside a lat too.
- 19:34Speaker 2: To me. They got Stone Smart, DJ Jenkins, Takwon Bright,
- 19:37Speaker 2: who we've talked about a lot. He's very gifted. Calkatara's got.
- 19:42Speaker 2: He doesn't have a lot of guaranteed money. It's a
- 19:44Speaker 2: hundred two million. It's a cut very cutable contract. I'm
- 19:49Speaker 2: he's absolutely in the bubble. Yeah he is. The guys
- 19:53Speaker 2: they only really guaranteed him. They guaranteed him about just
- 19:57Speaker 2: over seven hundred thousand. That's not a lot of money.
- 20:01Speaker 2: A lot of money. His contracts two million. They guaranteed
- 20:04Speaker 2: less than half of it he's got. He's not approven
- 20:08Speaker 2: don Me's sure he's worth beyond the roster beyond with you.
- 20:10Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I mean I agree with you. I think
- 20:13Speaker 1: we talk about the money says a lot, you know,
- 20:16Speaker 1: going back to Mick morro signing for no and he
- 20:18Speaker 1: only wound up coming back and making it because of
- 20:20Speaker 1: the injuries they had. But I think sometimes based on
- 20:23Speaker 1: the reactions we get and sometimes the questions we get
- 20:26Speaker 1: from audience, people associate when you sign your contract a
- 20:31Speaker 1: little bit. They get hung up on that too much.
- 20:32Speaker 1: And I know that the Eagles resigned Calcultara on March tenth.
- 20:35Speaker 1: I think that was before the new league year started,
- 20:39Speaker 1: so it gave some impression that he was like a
- 20:42Speaker 1: priority for them to bring back. No, they just didn't.
- 20:44Speaker 1: As we said many times throughout the off season, they
- 20:47Speaker 1: had zero depth and bodies at the position they needed
- 20:51Speaker 1: to remake the position they needed to have. Everybody they were.
- 20:54Speaker 2: Going to have, they don't know they're going to be
- 20:55Speaker 2: able to actual Yeah, he signed.
- 20:58Speaker 1: It was much either the day before or day after
- 21:01Speaker 1: free agency.
- 21:02Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he This is an odd thing because we
- 21:08Speaker 2: say this every year. Usually you want to wait for
- 21:12Speaker 2: a guy like him because you have you have all
- 21:14Speaker 2: the leverage. I just wonder if there's another team involved,
- 21:17Speaker 2: I really do, because I would not have guaranteed him
- 21:19Speaker 2: a dime another team involved.
- 21:22Speaker 1: The couldn't have been a whole lot of money. Maybe
- 21:23Speaker 1: there was, but I mean, I don't know.
- 21:25Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is it's why you would sign
- 21:27Speaker 2: him now, you would sign him in March? How would
- 21:29Speaker 2: heck would you sign him in March? Why don't you
- 21:31Speaker 2: make him wait till after the draft and you have
- 21:33Speaker 2: all the leverage. I'm just thinking so.
- 21:36Speaker 1: But again, like they were so perilous with depth. You
- 21:39Speaker 1: want to have people who you can rely on, people
- 21:42Speaker 1: who know.
- 21:43Speaker 2: The season doesn't start in September. It's like there's no
- 21:45Speaker 2: run for Greg. I just I was like everyone else,
- 21:48Speaker 2: they're really bringing him back? Wow. Now, the one thing
- 21:51Speaker 2: before we move on to the next position. Mm hmm,
- 21:55Speaker 2: let's just assume that the coach will be better. Last year,
- 21:58Speaker 2: the tight ends regressed. I know, I know Coder had
- 22:00Speaker 2: a career year in touchdowns by far, but look at
- 22:04Speaker 2: the red zone and and the way he was used.
- 22:07Speaker 2: But what they're doing asked to how they were being
- 22:10Speaker 2: asked to block was pathetic. We pointed out with tape breakdowns,
- 22:14Speaker 2: it's not just a spouting off what we had. We
- 22:16Speaker 2: had d we had evidence. Yeah, okay, So the hope
- 22:19Speaker 2: here is that Ryan mahaffey does a better job of
- 22:22Speaker 2: asking these tight ends to to not do things that
- 22:25Speaker 2: are not capable of doing.
- 22:26Speaker 1: Correct. That doesn't mean we're saying you're never gonna have
- 22:28Speaker 1: be in a situation where Grant Calcata is not going
- 22:31Speaker 1: to block somebody he's going there should have to. Yeah, right,
- 22:34Speaker 1: but you know we saw too many of those went
- 22:36Speaker 1: like coming across the line. Yeah, yeah, that was not his.
- 22:41Speaker 2: So that's tight end.
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- 23:40Speaker 1: one and up. All right, so the offensive line, we'll
- 23:43Speaker 1: get to the offensive we'll go two.
- 23:44Speaker 2: We'll go too.
- 23:46Speaker 1: Offensive linemen who are most on the bubble. First one,
- 23:51Speaker 1: god be Miles Hinton, because they already are not sure
- 23:53Speaker 1: whether it's a tackle or guard and they're just trying
- 23:55Speaker 1: to see what they got.
- 23:56Speaker 2: What's not that they're not sure, it's they're doing it
- 23:58Speaker 2: because they they're gonna want to give them a chance
- 24:00Speaker 2: to make the team.
- 24:00Speaker 1: That's why they Right, isn't that the same thing? The
- 24:02Speaker 1: thing they're not sure exactly where he's best though, Like.
- 24:06Speaker 2: No, I yeah, I know you say.
- 24:11Speaker 1: If they were he was gonna be on the fifty
- 24:12Speaker 1: three at one position or another, they would be Okay, it's.
- 24:16Speaker 2: The same church, different few kind of thing. It's like
- 24:19Speaker 2: the truth is here and I look, they know more
- 24:23Speaker 2: than we do. Obviously, I would be interested to know
- 24:27Speaker 2: if Stout would have done this, because look, he was
- 24:30Speaker 2: right with Mackay Beckton like that was a shocker, you know.
- 24:36Speaker 2: But this guy, here's the problem with it. He's playing
- 24:39Speaker 2: a power position inside. That doesn't mean he won't be
- 24:42Speaker 2: playing tackle in uh oh gez. But the cross train
- 24:46Speaker 2: of mc guard, the big knock on him from scout
- 24:50Speaker 2: standpoint for what we were told was to finesse, he
- 24:53Speaker 2: needs to play with a light under him. Yeah, now
- 24:55Speaker 2: you're gonna try, You're gonna cross cham mcguard really right, Okay?
- 25:01Speaker 2: It is hidden.
- 25:02Speaker 1: Did Hinton finish it? He finished at Michigan, right, he
- 25:05Speaker 1: started at Stanford in Africa. It's so funny. If you
- 25:07Speaker 1: were to pick two schools where you would say you
- 25:11Speaker 1: don't often see finesse guys from you would say Stanford,
- 25:14Speaker 1: especially for a while with their with their tight ends
- 25:16Speaker 1: and their power running game from Harbaugh to David Shaw,
- 25:19Speaker 1: like they were always breeding, you know, guys in the trenches.
- 25:22Speaker 1: And then Michigan we already the same thing Harbaugh, Like
- 25:25Speaker 1: it's very rare to find a guy that you're questioning
- 25:29Speaker 1: power averse finesse from those schools. So I think that's
- 25:32Speaker 1: pretty interesting.
- 25:32Speaker 2: It's funny. I had I had a personal director told
- 25:34Speaker 2: me one year that he's like, he goes, when I
- 25:37Speaker 2: become a GM, we're never drafting any players on the
- 25:39Speaker 2: PAC twelve. I'm like, why, you know how soft these
- 25:42Speaker 2: guys are? You know how these guys are?
- 25:44Speaker 1: Yeah, I got that about cal guys especially, Okay, whatever,
- 25:48Speaker 1: Al had that reputation.
- 25:50Speaker 2: I mean, okay, you know it's Hocky wasn't doing a
- 25:52Speaker 2: scientific study, but I understand and uh yeah it's and
- 25:59Speaker 2: he started spouting off names. I was like, wow, that's
- 26:01Speaker 2: a pretty weak list. I was like, guys who aren't
- 26:03Speaker 2: physically strong. Yeah, okay. I was like, okay, hey, you
- 26:07Speaker 2: know more than I know. I was like, I'm not
- 26:08Speaker 2: gonna argue with it, but that's interesting.
- 26:09Speaker 1: You know, right now, before anybody like sends like there,
- 26:12Speaker 1: but I know there's probably like California fans out there,
- 26:15Speaker 1: what are they Golden Bears or whatever? Right, We're gonna
- 26:18Speaker 1: find like three or four really awesome players in the
- 26:20Speaker 1: NFL and send them to me. I'm not saying every play.
- 26:22Speaker 1: I'm just saying it was more than one personel that
- 26:25Speaker 1: for whatever reason, Cal kind of had the reputation of
- 26:27Speaker 1: guys will work out warriors. They would blow up combines,
- 26:30Speaker 1: they would blow up pro days. But in the NFL.
- 26:34Speaker 2: I got one for you.
- 26:36Speaker 1: Yeah, where did that?
- 26:37Speaker 2: Didn't Ashton Davis go to Cal Berkeley?
- 26:40Speaker 1: I think he did?
- 26:41Speaker 2: Yeah? And that was a guy who was You talked
- 26:43Speaker 2: about it. You just so you said workout war and
- 26:46Speaker 2: that's what I said, Ashton Davis. I'll double check.
- 26:48Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you did. He was as not someone
- 26:52Speaker 1: who like someone. I just want to be clear. That's
- 26:54Speaker 1: not someone who's ever said to me, you know, this
- 26:55Speaker 1: guy's finesse or whatever.
- 26:56Speaker 2: But you know, oh no, he was by the way,
- 26:59Speaker 2: he he was signed with the Niners. Yeah, he did
- 27:02Speaker 2: go to Cal. He was a big time super freak athlete,
- 27:06Speaker 2: but not a great.
- 27:08Speaker 1: Is he with the Miners now he finally signed? Oh okay, wow,
- 27:11Speaker 1: I didn't realize that. Nice.
- 27:14Speaker 2: But he is just he's just like he's just he's
- 27:17Speaker 2: just an athlete, you know, He's That's just the way
- 27:20Speaker 2: it is. I mean, you know, you gotta like the
- 27:24Speaker 2: test numbers were great, but the tape down doesn't see
- 27:26Speaker 2: this is where data. This is where numbers data slash data.
- 27:31Speaker 2: It's got a match up with the tape right Like
- 27:33Speaker 2: it's it's very rare for a big time data guy
- 27:37Speaker 2: to be a great football player just off the off
- 27:39Speaker 2: the hoof. It's just it's hard for you know.
- 27:43Speaker 1: So all right, one more offensive lineman, squarely on the bubble,
- 27:46Speaker 1: most on the bubble.
- 27:48Speaker 2: All right, go ahead, this one here. This guy did
- 27:51Speaker 2: very well. Getst Washington. I would say fair, I'd say,
- 27:56Speaker 2: let's put when I say very well, way better expectations. Yes,
- 27:59Speaker 2: I mean, as we outline it. The the original plan
- 28:02Speaker 2: was he wouldn't play last season, and Cameron Williams right,
- 28:04Speaker 2: and I just remember, like leading up to that game, like,
- 28:08Speaker 2: why did they just play him if he's he was
- 28:09Speaker 2: on IR But why did if he's healthy? What what
- 28:11Speaker 2: do you have to lose? Gave? It don't mean anything? Yes,
- 28:13Speaker 2: play him, right, And they wound up playing him and
- 28:17Speaker 2: Rember greg Sel saying, wow, he he played pretty well.
- 28:22Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
- 28:23Speaker 2: But here's the good thing is they've got a bunch
- 28:25Speaker 2: of we've been talking about for years where the development
- 28:28Speaker 2: developmental linemen. We've got Drew Kennell's he's developing rapidly. Hinton,
- 28:33Speaker 2: who we talked about, Michael Marris this year, Willie Lampkin,
- 28:36Speaker 2: Hollin Pierce, Cam Williams, Markel bell Is. The hope is
- 28:41Speaker 2: he'll be Lane's replacement. We'll see. So they got plenty
- 28:44Speaker 2: of them. This is great.
- 28:45Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of cooks in that kitchen. Eventually
- 28:48Speaker 1: one's going to become the top two or three chefs.
- 28:51Speaker 2: You know.
- 28:51Speaker 1: Well, left offensive tackle.
- 28:53Speaker 2: Well, that's right, So it's got to work out for somebody.
- 28:56Speaker 2: But and Howie has the history of keeping your draft
- 29:00Speaker 2: did offensive lineman. But doesn't mean he won't cut him.
- 29:04Speaker 2: But these guys have to. Like Cam Williams was raw
- 29:07Speaker 2: when they drafted him, but his tape was intriguing. Hinton
- 29:11Speaker 2: was an athletic, decent length left tackle, pretty sharp kid.
- 29:17Speaker 1: But there's a.
- 29:19Speaker 2: Reason why he dropped. And yeah he's despite playing in Michigan.
- 29:23Speaker 2: I mean he was only a six round pick, right,
- 29:27Speaker 2: we'll see.
- 29:28Speaker 1: Do you think the Eagles will have this conversation with
- 29:31Speaker 1: Elves of whether or not they think they can cut
- 29:36Speaker 1: Fred Johnson and bring him back to the practice squad
- 29:38Speaker 1: to make sure that they can keep a young tackle.
- 29:41Speaker 1: It would be a roll of dice and a risk.
- 29:43Speaker 2: But well, well no, but you you know it's not
- 29:46Speaker 2: a really roll of the dice. What you do is
- 29:47Speaker 2: you would talk to Drew Rosenauns his agents, say hey,
- 29:49Speaker 2: here's what we're doing. He's not subject to waivers. This
- 29:51Speaker 2: is where Howie's relationship with agents. He's generally very good.
- 29:54Speaker 2: He's got great and he's known Drew forever, done hundreds
- 29:57Speaker 2: of deals with Drew.
- 29:59Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
- 30:00Speaker 2: This is where you say, hey, here's where we're at.
- 30:03Speaker 2: It's like with Charlie Hewlett, right, yeah, you got it, Like, hey, listen,
- 30:08Speaker 2: here's what we're thinking. Would you be willing to you know,
- 30:14Speaker 2: we'll we'll guarantee his practice whatever you or you say, hey, listen,
- 30:18Speaker 2: we need like we need to two or three weeks,
- 30:21Speaker 2: give us two or three weeks. Would you be willing
- 30:23Speaker 2: to do that? And your freend's always liked it here,
- 30:26Speaker 2: but Stout's not here. He he you know, he loves out.
- 30:29Speaker 2: Stout's not here. But this is where you gotta you
- 30:33Speaker 2: got a reason with him, say here's where we're at.
- 30:35Speaker 2: It's a great point you make. It's like that, literally,
- 30:38Speaker 2: if Williams and Hinton are doing really well. Mm hmm,
- 30:42Speaker 2: you're you're, you're, you're right there, because it.
- 30:48Speaker 1: Might make him the most player of the alignment, most
- 30:51Speaker 1: on the bubble. IF's but you could, but you could.
- 30:53Speaker 2: Always just look at you look at another position. You know,
- 30:57Speaker 2: you also have got J. T. Gray who want play
- 30:59Speaker 2: safety unlessre's emergency. He's just a special teams player. That
- 31:02Speaker 2: one is simple. You just say, looks, dude, here's the deal.
- 31:05Speaker 2: We want you back. You know what your role is,
- 31:08Speaker 2: but we can't. We can't keep you on the roster.
- 31:10Speaker 1: Like he's in.
- 31:11Speaker 2: The back arm his cretic. What is he? There was no,
- 31:15Speaker 2: It wasn't like the Eagles gave him a lot of money.
- 31:16Speaker 2: They were like what kind of climbering with their b
- 31:18Speaker 2: form the Fred Johnson he had some good tape pleasure.
- 31:21Speaker 2: Now he's not a leade, he's not great, but he's
- 31:22Speaker 2: a solid backup. Like there would be some interest in
- 31:25Speaker 2: him if the Eagles got him, there would be well see,
- 31:28Speaker 2: all right, So that is it.
- 31:29Speaker 1: That's every single position and every player that we see
- 31:32Speaker 1: as the player who is most on the bubble at
- 31:35Speaker 1: that position on offense, and the next episode we will
- 31:38Speaker 1: do defense. That's gonna do it for this episode of
- 31:40Speaker 1: Inside the Birds, the leading podcast and Eagles Intel, and
- 31:43Speaker 1: as always, we thank you for flying with us Inside
- 31:48Speaker 1: the Birds. Be sure to check out our friends at
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