Latest / The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views / OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Eagles vs. Rams, Divisional Round Pregame Preview

Transcript

OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Eagles vs. Rams, Divisional Round Pregame Preview · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everybody. Hope you're doing well out there. We
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: wanted to let you know that we've recorded this Opposition
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Territory podcast and discussion on Wednesday, January fifteenth, twenty twenty five.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: By the time you hear this, some things may have
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: changed here or there, but we hope you enjoy the show.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Opposition Territory here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in the world. That's right, eleven and a half years strong.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: We got a great discussion. Come in your way. It
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: is our Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams Divisional Round preview.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: As we are in the thick of the NFL playoffs,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles this past week beating, yes, beating a
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: team that we weren't sure initially they were gonna be
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: during the course of this game, because the passing game
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: was not all that great. But the Green Bay Packers
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Eagles sent them packing. And you like that word play
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: right there. I knew that you did. With regard to
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Rams. They really took it to the
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings out in Los Angeles. It's gonna be a
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: very interesting matchup there's a lot of narratives going on
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: with these two teams. Let's get to this preview. Got
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: a great guest, let's do it joining us this week
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: to get into this upcoming Eagles Rams matchup. From fan
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: sided's a ramblin fan. We have a great, great content
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: creator when it comes to Los Angeles Rams content, Brett Stooter,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Brett Buddy, thanks so much for jumping on here. Can't
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: wait to get into this matchup with you here. Man.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: How are you.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: I'm doing well? Thanks? How are you?
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: I'm doing okay? Like I'm really excited as an Eagles fan,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm really excited about where this team is at.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: But really I wanted to start off this discussion because,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: as somebody who writes about this Los Angeles Rams team,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: you've been doing it for quite some time. A lot
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: of us are thinking that this is going to be
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: a different looking matchup than we saw from the Eagles
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: and Rams back in Week twelve of this season. I mean,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the Eagles won that game decisively, Yes it was a
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: thirty seven to twenty score. But now as we're heading
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: into the thick of the playoffs here, the Rams are
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: that team that is hot. They are on fire. So
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: let's really start the discussion here, Brett, with that narrative,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: how have the Rams been on fire as of late?
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: From what you are seeing and when you reflect on
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: where this team was maybe just a couple months ago
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: to where they are now, they're the hot team. What
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: are your thoughts here?
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Well, I think that we have to start with the
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: first year of defensive coordinator Chris Shulo.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's got the genes from Don Shula, the
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: great and legendary Miami Dolphins head coach, and I think
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: that what he brings to the team is an ability
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: to make adjustments, never never say die. I mean he
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: has them swarming, has them energetic, and what I love
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: about him is while it's under the radar, he makes
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: incredible adjustments at halftime that if you don't get them early,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: you don't get them. The other kind of diamonded the
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: rough about the Rams right now is the fact that
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: they have the cheapest defense in the NFL. They are
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: spending thirty two million on the defense and that is
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: ten million, twenty million less than the next cheapest.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Oh that's so interesting.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Ye, it's amazing that he's getting this much production, this
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: kind of following out of such an inexpensive group of guys,
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: and the way he's done it is that he is
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: convincing them to gang tackle. He's convincing them that, you know,
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: to keep trying to keep putting in the effort, and
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: he does make the right adjustments to put that into
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: position of success. And I'm not just hyping him up.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: In the last four games where the starters played throwing
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: out Week eighteen, where they sat starters, they've held those
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: opponents to under ten points per game. That includes a
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: very high powered Minnesota Vikings offense.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really is amazing what their defense really has done.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: And I really wanted to get into some of the
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: some of the matchups as well. I want to get
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: to that the defensive talk in just a little bit here.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: But as we're looking at these matchups for this coming Sunday,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: what I think Brett is going to be very very
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: interesting is with the Rams do best on the field,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: the Eagles appear to have an elite counter to potentially
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: stop them. Because I'm going through a bunch of different scenarios,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: going through a bunch of different units, and I'm saying,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: you know what, the are really good in this area.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: But oh boy, the Philadelphia Eagles. They have an elite
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: talent or an elite counter like I said, to potentially
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: stop the Rams. Let's first talk about the Rams wide
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: receiver duo Puka Nakua Cooper Cup. They're at one of
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: the top duos in the entire National Football League. And
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: on the defense, the Eagles have Darius Slay and Quinnon Mitchell,
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. I'm wondering,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: how do you see this matchup really manifesting itself this Sunday.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, that's a that's a great question, and
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: one of the things that I think maybe the answer
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: is that in playoff football, it's very tough to put
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: man coverage out there exclusively, and so you're gonna have
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: to mix it man and zone to keep the offenses confused. YEP.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: In week Week twelve, when the two teams faced, Nikouh
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: and Cup combined for seventeen out of twenty four for
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: one hundred and seventy seven yards and one touchdown. That
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: may or may not be how this next game plays out.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: In the wild card, Naku and Cup combined six of
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: ten for seventy three yards. And no touchdown. So I
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: don't think that the Rams offense can run their their
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: main game plan through these two because they're the obvious answers.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: I think that the Rams have other wide receivers and
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: tight ends to use as well. Against the Vikings. It
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: was clear that before he was injured, Tyler Higbee was
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: the main target. He was five or five for fifty
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: six yards, and even when he went down, the Rams
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: continue to focus on their tight ends. So I think
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: that what you're going to have to look for is
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: sort of an entire team array. I think that the
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Rams are capable of, if not planning to use other receivers.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: They have two two at well, they have DeMarcus Robinson.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: Both of boom are very dangerous. And I think that
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: one of the things that I look for is rookie
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: wide receiver Jordan Winnington. He had an immense game in
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Week eighteen. He has been one of those under the
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: radar players who loves to do the dirty work, but
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: the Rams offense has not used him very much. What
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: a great time to pop about and make him, put
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: him on display, make him a featured target, because I
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: don't think that the Eagles would expect that and you
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: know how this works in postseason. It's not who has
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: done great for you, it's who can you count on
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: in that one game because it's win or go home.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, I think that's a great point. And let's keep
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: in mind, folks, to us an Eagles nation, we know
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Nakobe Dean, one of the top linebackers, one of the
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: top linebackers on this Philadelphia Eagles team, and who has
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: done such an amazing job out for the season. You know,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: look for the tight end position to from the Rams
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: standpoint to really you know, go for the middle of
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: the field. Backup linebacker Orrin Berks did not do as
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: well last week in coverage as Nikobe Dean has done.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: So I think that's something at least for us in
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: the Eagles Nation, even Rams nation, to look at as
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: we are coming into this matchup here. And to talk
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: about the defense, because you mentioned the defense earlier, Brett,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: the Rams, in my opinion, I mean, they have a
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: very very underrated defensive line. We saw what they did
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: to the Vikings last week. Yet the Eagles also have
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. So again,
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: talking about matchups, I'm wondering, what does this battle in
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: the trenches, the Rams defensive front against the Eagles O line.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: What is that going to look like to you? What
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: we may see? Where might you have some concerns with
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: the Eagles offense, specifically in the trenches going up against
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: the defensive line of the Rams. What are your thoughts?
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Well, I know in the last game, I know that
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: the Eagles offensive line gave a masterclass in a lot
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: of young Rams defensive linemen of what to expect going forward.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: And the thing that I like about the Rams is
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: that their defensive line learns. They're not ashamed to say, yeah,
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: we messed up, we didn't have hold our gap assignments.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: In fact, after the Eagles game, that was one of
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: the messages sent by defensive leader Kobe Turner, who I love.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: He reminds me so much of some of the Eagles
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: great defensive linemen of the past, because he's under the radar.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: He is incredibly adept at both run and pass defense,
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: and he makes adjustments, he gets better, and he put
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: up two sacks against the Vikings. So I think that
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: the Rams defensive line has learned to accept that they
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: can generate pressure, but they have to do it as
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: a gang they're not going to get one guy like
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: they used to have Aaron Donald, who just the catalyst
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: for everything. The Rams have excelled at putting pressure, but
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: haven't done a great job of getting sacks. That damn
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: broke against the Vikings the NFL record for nine quarterback sacks.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: But I don't think that that is something that we
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: have can't expect against the Eagles because that's a much
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: better offensive line and they're very good. So I think
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: that the Rams have to take what they experienced in
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: the last game and learn from it. I think it's
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: gonna be a tough battle. I don't think the Eagles
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: have any intentions of saying, oh, yeah, we beat you
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: last time, so we'll give you this one, right, So
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: I think that the defensive line that will learn what
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: they did wrong, and I think that they're going to adjust.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: One of the things that I loved about the new
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: defensive coordinator, Chris Shula is do you remember how the
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Eagles used to blitz whenever you got a quarterback who
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: made like a great play the very next time, absolutely
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: flit quarterback. Yep, that's the persona of Preciola right now.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: He's blitzing with defensive backs. In fact, I think I
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: saw where the two sacks by defensive back Kobe Durant
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: and Kila Witherspoon, whereas the first time that two defensive
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: backs got a sack in a playoff game in NFL history. Wow.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: So I think that he's not afraid to throw a
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: different look at the Eagles offense, and I do expect
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: that it'll be a different kind of game. I don't
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: know at this point which way the title will turn,
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: but I don't know that I would bank on Saquon
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Barkley topping two hundred and fifty rushing yards in this one.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're definitely going to get into Saquon Barkley here
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: for sure. But again, folks, we are talking to Brett
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: Stouter from fan Sided's ramblin Fan. Love that site, love
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: the content he's putting out over there, and also you
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: can follow him on the Twitter x at Milroy Eagles Fan. Great,
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: great follow and look the Eagles struggled in the passing
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: game last week. Said we were going to be getting
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: into Saquon Barkley. It's a really good segue, Brett, and
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: I know it's a concern for many Eagles fans heading
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: into this game. My goodness, Jalen Hurts coming off the concussion,
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: was he you know, did he still have some cobwebs?
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Is he still getting the rust off? I mean, they're
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: going to continue. The Eagles are to lean on the
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: RPO game, as Hertz and Saquon Barkley especially have been
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: incredibly effective all season with regard to the RPO. So
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: how can the Rams, in your opinion, really bottle up potentially?
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say stop Saquon Barkley because it's
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: almost impossible to stop him, especially with this Eagles offensive line,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: but perhaps bottle him up a little bit. Saquon Barkley
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: ran for almost five yards per carry last week. He's
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: the player we know who won the rushing title this
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: season in the NFL. How do the Rams really bottle
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: up Saquon Barkley in your opinion?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, that's I think a question that every
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: NFL defensive coordinator has been asking all year. Very true.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: I don't know that they have an answer, but I
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: do know that the Rams are prepared. One of the
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: things that I really liked, which I think is an
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: under the radar event, is that the Rams went out
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: and signed veteran running back Royce Freeman. Oh yeah, through
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: the practice squad, and at first it didn't dawn on
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: me what that may implicate. But as soon as their
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: rookie running back Blake Quorum went down, they reached out
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: and got Freeman. And at first I thought, oh great,
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: we're going to put a power back into the offense.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: But having had a week of playoff experience, I think
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: that the intention was because there are so many great
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: running backs that they now may face. I think that
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Freeman becomes more gifted on the practice squad as the
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: scout team do better to emulate Saquon Barkley than a big,
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: powerful running back like Royce Freeman. They're not the same.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: I'm not even suggesting that anywhere the field, but I
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: think that Freeman is going to punish the Rams defenders
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: in practice leading up to the game, and I think
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: they need to. One of the areas that I thought
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: that the Rams failed miserably is that I thought that
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: they were able to corral Barkley, but they never brought
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: him down. They mistackle after tackle after tackle, and I
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: think that that is going to be a huge emphasis
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: for the team this week. I also think that in
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: playoff defense, you have to sort of acquiesce that, Okay,
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: you're gonna get yours with this guy, but we're gonna
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: make that a one dimensional offense. So I think that
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: the Rams made I don't want to say that they're
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: going to give up on bar but I think that
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: they're going to acknowledge the fact that they may not
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: be able to hold Barkley to less than one hundred yards.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: But I think that what that means is that they're
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: going to have to stop everybody else. That means that
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: the Rams passing defense has got to step up, and
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: I think they can. They've got a Kilo Witherspoon, Kobe Durant,
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: and Darius Williams, and they're all playing Gangbusters right now.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: They are. I mean, yeah, it's took a long time
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: for the Rams to sort of find the right personnel
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: for this defense, but now they're generating some really good
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: pass coverage. And I think that the Rams safeties, Cameron Curle,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: who used to play for the Commanders, is very familiar
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: with the Eagles, and I think that they've got a
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: couple of great rookies in Jaylen McCulloch and Cameron Kitchens,
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: who both have four interceptions. So I think that if
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: the Rams can slow down Barkley enough, contain Hurts, because
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Hurts was another huge offensive weapon and the first game,
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: and I think they can sort of eliminate the deep passes.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: I think they have a chance in this one. I do.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: I mean you mentioned it earlier, Brett, the blitz and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: dialing up that blitz against Jalen Hurts. Yes, his completion
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: percentage of this season has been much better than in
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: previous seasons in terms of getting the ball out making
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: sure that that ball is getting into receivers hands when
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: being blitzed. But boy, that that's how you contain this
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: Eagles offense. Is that blitz on Jalen Hurts. I mean,
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: we've there have been teams that have blitzed him over
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: seventy percent of the time this season, and it's been effective,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: you know, to an extent. So it's gonna be interesting
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: to see how they really try, how the Rams really
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: try to contain this Eagles offense, for sure. But moving
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: along with the conversation, you know, I've been saying for
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: weeks that while it's arguable that the Philadelphia Eagles are
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: one of the most complete teams in the NFL. They
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: are not perfect stretch of the imagination again, especially after
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: losing a key defensive player like Nakobe Dean this past
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: week to a season ending injury. I'm wondering, like, where
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: are the Rams strongest? Where are they strongest this week
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: against the Eagles, and where might they be able to
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: take advantage of the Birds in your eyes, in what
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: you've seen from the Rams and just what you've been
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: seeing from the Eagles as well, where are the Rams
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: the strongest here heading into this divisional matchup?
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: Well, I think that you touched base on it earlier
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: when you talked about how the Eagles offense generates positive
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: plays off the RPO. Yeah, and I think that the Rams,
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: when they are at their optimal best, have to have
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: a effective running game and then they kind of open
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: up the entire playbook with that play action. Yeah, passing.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: When the Rams faced the Eagles the last time, they
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: didn't do that. They fell behind quickly and they passed
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: thirty six times and only rushed eighteen times. Against the
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: Buffalo Bills, when the Rams had their best offense to
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: the output, they rushed forty two times and passed thirty times.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: So I think that if anythan wants to sort of
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: monitor how the game's going, I think that is a
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: relationship that they can track instantly getting how the game
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: is going, even without checking the score. How many times
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: are the Rams passing, how many times are they running?
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: And if the Rams go heavy on passing, that's not
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: a good sign. But I will say this playoff Stafford
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: is a cut above regular season stat Yeah, he is
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: just phenomenal. He is efficient. He may not be four
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: hundred yards passing, but when he passes the ball in
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: the postseason, he's very effective. He has a high completion ratio.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: He tends not to make too many mistakes. He's not
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: the gunslinger that like you might think, the Brett Fahr.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: He's a more concise, I got this, here comes the
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: ball kind of passer. So I think that the one
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: of the things that I think is a huge, huge
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: impact is the loss of the Kobe Dean. Yeah. You know,
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: I went back and watched the game against the Rams
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: and Eagles in the last time, and he was a force.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: I mean, he looked like an All Pro in that
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: he was. He was everywhere, he was hard hitting, he
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: rushed the passer. I think he got a sack on one.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: I know that he bowled over kyn Williams on one.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: Uh, it was.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: It was very clear that he was a dominant force.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: You know. His absence, in my mind, is one of
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: the largest headliners of the game. I don't know if
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: the Eagles defense can do what it did in that
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: game without him, and I certainly hope that the Rams
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: offense can do a lot better because they didn't have
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: a whole lot of success with him on the field.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see. Again,
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: I mentioned him earlier. If Orn Burks the backup is
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: going to be able to really compete, probably not as
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: high of a level as Nakobe Dean has been able
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: to compete this season in terms of getting downhill, just
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: the pursuit to the ball. It's going to be an
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: interesting aspect of this Eagles defense for us to keep
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: our minds on. But Brett, buddy, before I let you
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: head out here, and I feel like I could talk
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: to you for another hour or two here, we don't
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: have that kind of time, But I really want to
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: talk about the coaching matchup of Sean McVeagh, an elite
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: play caller here in the NFL. And on the flip side,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: the Eagles have Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator has just been
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: basically having his way with NFL offenses for a much
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: of this season. As I mentioned earlier, you know, you
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: look at the Eagles and the Rams that you know
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: you have one matchup on one side, or I should
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: say you have like one matchup where the Eagles may
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: cancel things out with the Rams and vice versa. And
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: I feel like this is going to be an interesting
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: battle Sean McVay against Vic Fangio here. What can you
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: expect from this coaching duel that we're going to be
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: seeing this Sunday.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't think you know any Rams fan or
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: Eagles fan goes into this game sweating out how Fangio
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: will have his defense prepared. I mean, even head coach
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Sean McVay has said that Vic Dangio is one of
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: the best in the business. YEP, I think he has
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: a decided advantage over Sean McVay when it's just Sean McVay.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: The thing that I like about this matchup now is
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: the fact that even Sean McVay acknowledges that he can
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: be a little one sided in his offensive play calling,
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: and Vic Dangio is a depth at neutralizing whatever he
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: comes up with. But now he has other guys sort
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: of self monitoring his offense. He has infused a tight
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: end aspect, a twelve personnel aspect this year. I think
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: that he's gone more and more trusted more and more
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Mike the Floor, the offensive coordinator, and I think that
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: they have a great collaboration because I won't lie. I
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: have never seen a Rams offense flip the switch to
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: focus on running more. It's the the old Brown Chuck
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: Rams offense. If you remember from yesteryear how they used
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: to run the ball, and Kyron Williams is a very
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: dangerous offensive weapon. Will will the Rams be able to unlock,
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: unleash Kyraen Williams. I don't know, but I think that
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: they have to commit to the run because Bengo is
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: going to neutralize that passing game because he knows that
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: that's the rams offensive bread and butter. So if the
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: Eagles can stop the run, force the Rams into that
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: one dimensional passing game, get all lead, the game's gonna
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: end up like it did before. I don't know that
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: the Rams will let that happen. They can throw two
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: tight ends they can because they now have Puka Nakula
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: back and Cooper Cup. They use those wide receivers like
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: tight ends in blocking schemes. And I think that I
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: like the fact that the Rams have had success at
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: running the football. I don't think it's going to be
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: near the level of Sakuon Barkley, but they don't need
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: it to be. They just needed to be good enough
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: to move the chains rest of the defense and set
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: up the play action passing. If the Rams get out
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: to a hot start, this is gonna be a hell
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: of a game. I'll say that. I'll say that right
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: up front because the Rams defense is a lot better
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: as we've seen at protecting the lead trying to play
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: from behind. So you know, there's a lot of emotions
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: in this game. The Eagles have always been an emotional
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: fan base, yep. That fuels their entire team. But the
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: Rams have something to play for this year, which is
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: an anomaly. The entire community of Los Angeles area is burning. Yeah,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: and they know that the city and the community are
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: dependent on them, if nothing more than to distract them
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: from their woes by matching success and advancing in the
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: playoffs and here's a tidbit that I'm gonna reveal to
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: you that I keep sharing on my blog site. The
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: Rams are in their third three year cycle. They have
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: a cycle where they have no playoff appearance. They appear
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: in the playoffs and then they appear in the super Bowl.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: They appeared in super Bowl fifty three and lost. They
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: appeared in Super Bowl fifty six and one, and they
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: are now at the it's it's the division round for
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: super Bowl fifty nine. Keep that in mind because I
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: think that the I think there's something to be said
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: about those oscillations that we can't explain. I don't have
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: a reason for it, right, but it just seems to happen.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: It's interesting how it just seems to happen for sure. Boy,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: what a great discussion again, folks. Brett stud from Ramblin
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: Fan over at fans Sided at Milroy Iggles Fan on
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: the Twitter slash x Brett Buddy. It was great talking
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: to you. Thanks so much for bringing great to content
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: to our podcast here. Hoping to talk to you at
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: some point down the road, my friend.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Thank you so much, Jeff.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us here on opposition Territory,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: in general. We thank you our listeners for being part
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: of this online community with us and within this space.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Make sure to check out our website Philadelphiasportstable dot com
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: for all of our podcasts, and follow us on our
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: social sites. You can follow the show on Twitter at
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Philadelphia PST, on threads at Philadelphia Sports Table, and over
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: on Instagram as well at Philadelphia Sports Table. Take care,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: we will catch you next time.