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The Eagles Are On A Roll and The Phillies Meltdown Was Heartbreaking (PST Episode 537) · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

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Hey there, everybody, it's Jeff. We recorded this podcast episode on Wednesday
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night, October twenty fifth, twenty twenty three. By the time you hear
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this, some things may have changed, but we hope you enjoy the show.
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All right, everybody, you're listening to the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show,
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the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world. That's right
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over ten and a half years strong. We got a great show coming your
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way this week. We unfortunately have some Phillies talk that we're gonna be getting
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into, and I guess maybe unfortunately some Sixers talk, considering their season is
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starting. We do have some Philadelphia Union talk. They are starting first round
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of the playoffs and it's it's a new way that they're doing the first round.
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We're gonna get into some Union talk. Philadelphia Flyers have started their season
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man pretty solid start so far. Been interesting watching this Flyers team. And
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then of course we're gonna get into some Eagles talk with our guest this week,
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Chris Diebler, one of the contributors at Leadinggreen Nation dot com and he's
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the co host of Party on broad that podcast as well. We're about halfway
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done with this Eagles season. Here. I'm Jeff Warren and I'm here with
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my good buddy Len Hunsicker. Len, Man, how are you feeling,
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buddy. So I'm gonna be I'm gonna say something here, yeah, and
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I'm gonna be honest. And this isn't directed at you or the show so
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at all, so please don't take it that way. I really don't want
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to be doing this, like like it's like, so we we talked about
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this, I think Monday night you were like, hey, you want to
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do the show either Tuesday or Wednesday night, And I said, well,
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let's see what happens tonight with Game six, because I obviously don't want to
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be doing Game seven. You know, don't want to be doing the show
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when Game seven's going on. So obviously clearly Game six goes to Arizona and
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then Game seven and then you texted me this morning about about you know,
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just remind me of the show, and just like I just don't want to
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talk about any of this, Like I just I just I just want to
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be away from sports for a while for a while, like because because it's
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cyclical, because it was just like, oh man, we just had this
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great run with it with the Eagles in the Super Bowl, and and uh
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they lost in the Super Bowl in a in a horrible way. And now
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I got a four days later, Okay, spring training right around the corner.
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And then we got a team that, like, okay, man,
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at one point, they're rolling over everybody, they beat the Braves, they
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look like the odds on favorite to win the World Series. Yeah, then
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this happens, and then and you know, now we're going right back into
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the Eagles. And I'm sitting here and I'm looking at a six and one
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Eagles team that just had a real nice win against Miami, and all I
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can do is look at them and say, how are you gonna do it
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to me? And when are you gonna do it to me? Because because
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I know it's gonna like how how are you gonna like if I if I
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fully jump on and invest myself the way I did for you guys last year
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and the Phillies this year, Like, how are you going to do it
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to me? Yeah? Because I know you're gonna do it to me.
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And that's kind of thing is getting old, you know what I mean?
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It is because these teams have been poised to win championships over these past couple
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seasons, but you know, both both of the teams you just mentioned,
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Phillies, the Eagles. You know, we know what's going on with the
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Sixers. We know what's going on with the Flyers. The Union, they've
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started their player they're gonna be starting their playoff journey this weekend. But it
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and the Union went to their went to their league final last year. We
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are the only city I can ever think of that lost two championships, the
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World Series and the MLS Final on the same goddamn day. That only happens
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with with Philadelphia. And you know, I know there's probably somebody offens somebody
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up in Buffalo. Here is this. They're gonna say, boohoo, we've
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never won anything. Go, you know, piss up a rope. But
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you know, it's just getting getting that close repeatedly in the past. And
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it's happened repeatedly in the past, you know, twelve months. Yeah,
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and I can see it again, like, you know, Okay, we're
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gonna go on this run, and you know, is it going to be
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the forty nine ers. Are we gonna you know, lose the Super Bowl
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again to the Kansas City queefs uh? You know, is going to be.
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Yeah, I don't care that this can be, Excel. I just
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wasn't expecting it. Please don't let it be the Cowboys, you know what
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I mean? Like, all right, is it going to be? Is
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it going to be a backbreaking interception at the end? Like right, you
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know, just how are you gonna gut me? Let me ask you this
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in all seriously, Like I completely get where you're coming from, because it
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has been a heartbreaker being a Philadelphia sports fan over the past couple of years.
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It just really has been specifically this past year. But like I do
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wonder our good buddy Dave, you know, he and I we've had many
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conversations, and when I was bitching a moment after the Super Bowl, He's
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like, I get it. He's like, I really get it getting to
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that point seeing the success of your team, you're rooting for them, you're
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totally invested in it, and then it doesn't happen. He's like, he
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says, He's like, I don't know what that feels like being a New
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York Jets fan. So I'm wondering, like would we even want any type
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of success like winning the NFC championship. I mean, that's success, right,
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there, like would we not want it? Like do Philly sports fans
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at this point just not want No. I don't know the good answer for
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that, because then the other thing is just like, you know, okay,
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you know, we we have a Sixers team that nobody believes in,
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and we have a Flyers team that we know, despite the good start they've
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had, is going to be rebuilding. And you don't want that either.
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Look, I mean, I following sports in and of itself is a self
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defeating thing that you can do to yourself. So I don't know why so
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many of us do it, because at the end of that year, only
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one city's fans are going to be happy. Yeah, yeah, everybody else
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is going to be you know, maybe you know, maybe okay, maybe
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you know the Flyers this year, Look, we're not expecting anything out of
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them. Maybe a couple young guys make a leap and you can, you
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know, see pencils some guys in is Okay, these are guys that are
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going to be on the next you know, contending team. They've carved out
6:50
spots, and that's the thing where you can be like, Okay, they
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lost a bunch, but that was a good year because we got some answers
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on some guys, we still you know, had a crappy record and we're
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going to get a good draft, pick all that. So you can have
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your years where like you know, you don't win and you're like, it
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was still a decent year. But by and large, you know what I
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mean? Yes, you know, yes, it's it's this kind of stuff.
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I get it. Do you want to just talk about my campaign?
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No? No, God, I definitely don't neither do I. I'm so
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done as it should be. Yes, if anybody's listening out there, yes,
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no, yes, I do want I would like the position. Okay,
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I don't mean it like that, folks, I don't mean it like
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that. Well, maybe he's just like, you know, I didn't even
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have it on the agenda because honestly, I forgot to put it on.
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But now that I remembered our good friend April hershey, you know, she
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actually sent us an email about her top theme songs. But I don't know,
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maybe we talked about those. Look, her list is fantastic. Number
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three is fresh Prince. Okay, I don't think anybody Yeah that's yeah,
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you can't you can't deny that. Everybody knows it exactly. Number two is
8:07
one of yours dukes of Hazzard. Yep, right, fantastic Number one.
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It is a fan. It is fantastic and I didn't even think about it.
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You and Eric didn't either. I don't think the Muppet Show that's a
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good one. That is a real good one. I love it me really,
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like you know all three of those you know, quote unquote kids,
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you know theme songs you can do that. You can do mister Rogers,
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you can do Sesame Street. Yeah. Hell, you could probably be reading
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Rainbow like like, oh, they're all good. Yes, you know,
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we should just talk about TV theme songs again, because it was what a
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great doesn't hurt exactly? Well, listen to this. April also said,
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my mom made me learn to play Greatest American Hero and cheers on the piano
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so that she could request them at will. Oh my god, Oh my
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gosh, the lifetime of that exactly. Could you imagine just right after dinner,
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how many years i'd like you just before you just snap on your mom.
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Yes, oh gosh, I'd love to Thanks April for the email,
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very much appreciate that. I'll get How about another email that came in and
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unfortunately, though this gets us back to square one. It's from our end.
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I'm not saying let's not talk about sports. I just like, yeah,
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I'm just I know where you're coming from. I know where you're coming
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from. And the venting is absolutely valid. It's valid, and I I'm
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torn with it because I loved the season overall, this twenty twenty three Philly
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season. I loved it, even what Craig Kimberl did over the course of
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the summer. He had some fantastic games, man, like where we were.
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We were mesmerized at least first period of time. And I enjoyed it.
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I really did. And it sucked man, game or was it Game
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six with him? Or was it Game five? It was Game five?
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You know, that implosion and just where the end of this season was for
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Kimberrel and for a lot of the guys too. And maybe it's a good
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this is a good set. This email that we received from our friend of
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the show, Francis, who writes us every now and again, he said,
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five fucking hits disgraceful. That was his entire email, and he's right,
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and like, okay, So Schwerber hits that double in the fifth inning,
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that's their last head of the game. Yeah, they went for seventeen
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after that, so yeah, that you're not gonna win. It's just amazing
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the amount of money that they pay these guys and they all went quiet in
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the end. They went just amazing. You know. Eric says a number
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of times here on the show, I'm hoping they're not getting hot too early,
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and they did. They got hot too early, you know, And
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it's amazing that baseball works like that. How many times have we seen this,
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not just with the Phillies land you know, not just with National League
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teams, see it with American League teams. You just see it throughout baseball
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where there are certain teams. But for God's sake, the Atlanta Braves,
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for Christ's sakes, I honestly thought that they were going to be going to
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the World Series. I really did, you know, they did. Like
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toward the end of the season, I was like, they're going to the
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World Series. Then after after the wild Card round, I was like,
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Phillies are going to be going to the World Series. Like this is this
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team is looking amazing here at this point. But I don't know, man,
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I'd like I I feel like I liked the season so much that I
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and I did. There's there's a lot of good players of the liable team
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and all that that stuff, but man, you just when you're the favorite.
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And that's why I like this. This This stings a lot more to
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me than than losing to Houston in the World Series last year, because Houston
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was a known quantity. Whatever you want to say about the cheating scandal and
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all that stuff. Yeah, they won a championship. They were in the
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you know ALCS. I think they've been in it for like the past seven
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years now or something ridiculous like that. You know, they won the al
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Pennant a couple of times. This is not some team out of nowhere that
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you are highly favored to beat. That was that was the you know,
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that was the Houston Asters. This stings more because like, and especially after
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this first two games, like it's almost like they just after those first two
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games, they're just like, all right, we won. And then that's
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how it felt. Right. I wasn't the only one that thought that,
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because that's how it felt like, like that's well you had and that's like,
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oh god, that that whole thing with the Brave Shorts up Arcia saying
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Adam Boy Harper got picked up and you gave your your team bulletin board material.
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And then what is freaking Garrett Stubbs going do? He goes and talks
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about, you know, celebrating an Arizona's pool after beating them in Arizona.
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Yeah, and just like what how many times do you dumb idiots have to
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say something to light a fire? And like they keep doing they can't help
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themselves. I'll never understand it as long as I'm on this earth. Maybe
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I'm being too optimistic. We know how I get optimistic on this show.
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I don't necessarily think the championship window has closed for this team in the future.
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And I know, I know, folks, we're just getting off this
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loss here and it sucks and the feels are real and it's gonna take some
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time here. But at the end of the day, Land, I don't
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I don't think the championship window is closed for this team here. I mean,
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we gotta we're gonna we're gonna see about Reese, We're gonna see about
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what happens with Aaron Nola. You know. I I think this is a
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team that's probably going to be good next year. And I hate. I
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hate thinking about that. Well, I have it on the agenda here.
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You know, where does this team an organization go from here? You know,
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Oh you don't mind talking about it? No, I am interested in
14:18
Okay, I mean seriously, like, I don't think the championship window is
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closed. I mean, could Aaron Nola be back? I think so,
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you know, it's I maybe it's doubtful he is. I mean, of
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course, Craig Kimberl's not going to be here, Scott Kingery probably not going
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to be here, Edmundo Sosa probably not. I think the interesting guy is
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going to be Rhys Hoskins since he's gonna he's coming up free agency, coming
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off the torn ACL It was a massive blow this year to him, and
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he's a good team. He's got one year, proven deal written all over
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him. Yeah. Yeah, I would be shocked if I mean, unless
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some other team wants to roll the dice on a couple of year contract for
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him, I would be surprised by that. But he's got one year,
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proven deal written all over him for me. Yeah, so so that.
15:09
I mean, you know you're going to have to figure out something with Nola
15:13
because you know, the Phillies starting pitching is not that deep, you know,
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once you get past his first two guys as frustrating as Nola is,
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and believe me, I get frustrated by him so bad. But there's really
15:26
not much out there in the starting pitching market this year. Aaron Nola is
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going to be in big time demand because there's not a whole heck of a
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lot of supply. So you have to offer him money, and you have
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to hope that he thinks himself, well, I want to win, and
15:41
we're close anyway, and I know everybody here, Why would I want to
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leave as long as he make him a good offer. I think I hope
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that he would want to stay here. So I don't know there. But
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I mean, you're not going to have painter it all next year because he's,
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you know, recovering from Tommy John Michael Loretz is probably gone. Who
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knows. Yeah, you've got Suarez and you've got you know, Taiwan Walker,
16:06
even though he's you know, making noise about, you know, being
16:08
mad about not being used in the playoffs. Yeah, so you know,
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you'll you'll have to figure some stuff out there. But man, if Nola
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walks, and if he goes somewhere else. They're gonna have to get real
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creative in terms of finding some starting pitching because and I mean some trades of
16:26
some sort, because that there's not a lot out there right now. So
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I genuinely it's going to be a really interesting offseason for that. And then
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you know, find some guys that can bunt and play and get get hits
16:41
at clutch times, because the Diamondbacks are doing that to the Phillies left and
16:45
right, and all the Phillies are me hit ball far or me don't hit
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ball at all. And that's and that's what you know, that's what happened.
16:53
You know, in this series, they stopped hitting home runs, which
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means they stopped hitting I said that a number of times, by the way,
17:02
not necessarily with you, but a number of times throughout this season.
17:06
I was like, you know what, it shouldn't just be about the home
17:08
run. And I was correlating it every now and again to Kyle Shwarber.
17:11
And I love Kyle Shwarber, I really do. And it's what he does
17:17
at the plate is freaking phenomenal. I wish I could do it. But
17:21
the fact of the matter is it was such a home run based offense that
17:26
when you saw what the Diamondbacks were doing, specifically in Game seven, you
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look back and say, you know what if our guys could just hit one
17:33
of these holes every other inning or something to give a chance, you know
17:38
for some offens. Yes, went over twenty one, you know, for
17:45
the last twenty one and just like you know, camp I hit if he's
17:49
not hitting home runs, Bryce Harper do it. I mean Bryce Harper's not
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as much because you look at the batting average and he at least hits when
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he's not hitting home runs. But the same thing, like you know,
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obviously you saw those swings that he was taking in Game seven and he's loading
18:04
up. He's trying to hit the ball to frigging you know, the other
18:08
side of the Atlantic Ocean. So you know, I yeah, it just
18:14
that kind of thing like you know where where you know a team can dank
18:18
and dunk and they can cut you to death a million ways. I'm not
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advocating for, you know, a team of nothing but slap hitters, but
18:25
you've got to be able to do more than one thing. Otherwise you're just
18:29
gonna get You're gonna get stymied every time. If you can only do one
18:33
thing and only beat a team one way. Guess what, They're gonna stop
18:36
throwing fastballs at you like it, like the Diamondbacks did, and they're going
18:38
to pitch around the guys that can hit the big home runs. And you
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know they they had a masterful game plan and they followed it and it worked,
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and they're going to the World Series and the Phillies aren't. Yep,
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oh you know who, you know who else is not going to be on
18:55
the team anymore. Scott Kingery believe the Phillies have a thirteen million dollar club
19:00
option on his contract. There's only six second basement in Major League Baseball right
19:06
now that make more than thirteen million dollars per season. I don't think you
19:10
have to be an MLB GM to be able to figure this one out.
19:14
Well, I think they're going to be paying that one million dollar buyout.
19:15
Well, you could have said Scott Kingery's not going to be on the team
19:18
this season each of the past three years, yes, and been right.
19:22
So yeah, Scott carry I know, I'm just saying, you know,
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there's gonna be some there's gonna be some money there. I mean, good,
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you know what, what you know, they could use every penny that
19:34
they that they can get in order to kind of, you know, do
19:37
whatever they need to do here. But you know, it just it is.
19:41
You know. I even after that game, that game six, when
19:45
Noel was giving up those home runs, and I'm cursing. I'm cursing,
19:49
but I'm like, who else are they going to get to pitch for this
19:52
team next year? Yeah, like you almost you almost have to get him
19:56
back. I think he's coming back. I I would, I would think,
20:02
you know, I would think so. I mean, look, he'll
20:06
probably get offers from other teams that you know are successful as well. But
20:11
you know, I don't know. I mean maybe they blow the Phillies out
20:14
of the water with what they can offer them. Who knows, and maybe
20:17
that makes the difference. But yeah, I mean, all things being equal,
20:21
I'd rather just go to the place where I knew everybody and knew what
20:25
everything was about, you know, rather than introduce yourself to a new situation
20:29
and get to know a whole new people and all that stuff. I mean,
20:33
if the money's comparable and your team's close to winning anyway, why not
20:36
just stay absolutely absolutely? Do you got anything else? Buddy? Seriously?
20:44
It was a good conversation. Honestly, it was a good conversation. It
20:45
was pretty cathartic, and it was I don't know, I mean, maybe
20:48
maybe if the Eagles beat the Cowboys here, you know, and be convincingly,
20:52
you know, I'll be like, all right, I'm you know,
20:56
I'm all in on the Eagles. Let's go, let's do it. And
20:59
you know, but yeah, I just you know, how are you guys
21:03
going to do it to me? I don't know. Yeah, it's just
21:07
one one, one season to the next. At least the Sixers and Flyers
21:11
have the have the common decency to not get our hopes up this year.
21:17
We might Sixers might not get to the second round of the playoffs this year,
21:22
might not have to do it. Yeah, I mean, oh,
21:26
and that just leads it into the next thing of you know when you know,
21:30
uh, you know, obviously we're going to talk about them next,
21:32
but you know, when when does when does the inevitable Joel Embiid has asked
21:37
out of Philadelphia tweet, come god, He's got another year, That's what
21:44
I'm thinking. He's got another year here, and you know what, you
21:48
know, one of the reasons why I think he's got another year too.
21:51
I maybe this is probably just pie in the sky Jeff thinking here, but
21:56
I think he really wants to see how Tyree's is going to continue to develop,
22:02
because there could be a fantastic basketball relationship I think between them. You
22:07
know, I don't I don't know if they're close outside of the confines of
22:11
the court. I honestly don't know. I know this team reportedly over the
22:14
years has been quote tight. You know, they go out to dinners together,
22:18
they hang out together after games or you know, on weekends or whatever
22:22
the case is. You know, I know that they're tight. But like,
22:25
like, what would keep Joel embiid here? What would continue to keep
22:30
his interest? And it might be a player who is developing into somebody who
22:33
they can both feed off of each other. And that might actually be Tyrese
22:37
Maxey. And I mean he's he is like the one guy I can't wait
22:42
to actually watch this coming season from a developmental standpoint, and I think that
22:49
if there's anybody that can kind of keep Joel like just balanced, maybe maybe
22:55
it is Tyrese MAXI yeah, I mean more so from you know, the
23:02
performance standpoint of what he does for Embeat, I'm interested to see because everybody's
23:06
talking about you know, they expect him to make another leap this year and
23:10
take another step forward, and I'm interested to see what that looks like.
23:14
If he's able to do that, you know, where is he in league
23:18
wide perception after this season? You know, what kind of year does he
23:22
have that that might be? Honestly, to me, the most interesting thing
23:26
about the Sixers this year is the development of MAXI. Yes it is,
23:32
you know, I mean, we I think we know what we're gonna get
23:33
from Joe el Embiid, you know, I mean he's the reigning MVP and
23:37
and for a good reason. But you know, the this hard and shit
23:42
man like we get so tired of talking about it here on the show that
23:45
we really really haven't over the past few weeks, of course, because it's
23:49
like what else are we going to talk about? You know? The guy's
23:52
a jerk off. Apparently, Like the latest today is he he packed his
23:57
bags to come to Philadelphia. Yeah, you know, so he's coming there
24:03
to practice practice for what. I don't know, but Ben apparently the Sixers
24:07
told him, don't bother packing your bags, Like, come here, but
24:11
don't bother packing your bags. Go on the road with us, because you're
24:15
going to stay home and stay in Camden and you know, work on your
24:19
your game and a couple of things. And then maybe when we come back
24:22
from our road trip, we'll, you know, we'll see how that goes.
24:25
So I'm sure that's gonna go well. I'm sure. I'm sure there
24:33
won't be any griping or anything. So you know, look, I mean,
24:41
in terms of logically, does it behoove him to to to play ball
24:45
with the sixers and and and just play and you know, make himself a
24:49
commodity because he's a free agent after this year. He's forced himself out of
24:53
his previous two teams. He's trying to force himself out of this team.
24:56
He's not the guy he's you know, he's in his thirties now, like
25:02
mid thirties. I think he's not some twenty six year old, you know,
25:06
scoring machine anymore. Like I don't know what he thinks his market is,
25:11
but it's not as big as he thinks it is. So I just
25:15
I think it would behoove him to, you know, all right, I'm
25:18
going to play. I'm going to play the best of my ability this year,
25:21
and I'm going to make some team out there go you know what he's
25:23
worth the headache? How doesn't he know this yet? Like, how doesn't
25:27
It's the end of October? How does I do not know this? I
25:32
don't know. I mean, I don't. I don't know if he thinks
25:34
that you know that the Sixers are like, you know, have these great
25:37
trades lined up and they refuse to do it or what he thinks. But
25:41
yeah, I got I don't know. I genuinely don't know, man,
25:48
folks, if you want to head back in our feed. Last week on
25:51
our table talk show, we had no that was our Flyers preview. We
25:56
did our Sorry Tom West from Liberty Bawlers was on the show last week and
26:00
we did our six Er season preview, and uh it was. It was
26:03
a good conversation with Tom. So head back in the feed. If you
26:06
have not heard last week's show. It was a really good conversation. Son.
26:10
Do you have anything else with regard to Sixers here? I really don't
26:12
at this point, I don't. I mean, I'm a you know,
26:15
look, they start off tomorrow night. You know obviously it'll be you know,
26:19
if you if this gets uploaded tomorrow, you know it'll be that night
26:23
they play against Milwaukee, and I'll be interested to see how you know,
26:29
Johannis and and Dame looked together. So yeah, well we'll see. But
26:33
that's a that's a tough opening draw. It absolutely is. Subscribe on whatever
26:37
podcast platform you're on if you're new to listening to the show, and uh,
26:42
you can also head on over to our website, Philadelphia Sports Table dot
26:45
com. Anything happens your podcast feed, just head on over to Philadelphia Sports
26:49
Table dot com. Was that a sneeze? No, okay, I was
26:56
scratching myself. I thought you sneeze. I was gonna say, goa zoom
27:00
telling you now. Also, folks, if you would like us to talk
27:04
about anything here on the show, we'd love to get topics from you.
27:10
Email us Philadelphia Sports Table at gmail dot com and we'll we'll check out some
27:15
of your ideas and see if they get on the agenda here. And also
27:18
follow us, follow us on the Twitter dot com. And no, I'm
27:21
not calling it x. I'm just I'm just not doing it, not yet,
27:23
at least at Philadelphia PST. You can follow me at Jeffrey Underscore,
27:27
Warren and Len at Len Hunsicker. We are going to take a break.
27:32
We'll be back in just a bit. All right, we are back.
27:36
Nice little break there, and len the Philadelphia Union. Their playoff journey starts
27:41
this weekend on October twenty eighth, this Saturday. What can we expect from
27:48
this team during this MLS Cup playoffs? And interestingly enough that you know they
27:53
have home field advantage here in the first round, well let's let's kind of
27:57
let's kind of go back. Major League is doing something new this year.
28:02
They're actually going to have like a best of three in the first round of
28:07
the playoffs. So Philadelphia Union, they get home field advantage. After the
28:14
regular season, they're gonna be playing the New England Revolution, so on the
28:18
like I said, this Saturday, October twenty eighth, gonna be at Super
28:22
Up Park. Then they head up to New England for the second game on
28:26
November eighth, Wednesday, November eighth. Interestingly enough, a lot of time
28:30
passing there in my opinion, and then if they need game three, it's
28:36
back to Super Up Park on Sunday, November twelfth. So interesting way that
28:41
Major League Soccer is doing this right now, when so they have a big
28:45
gap of time between game one and Game two huge game basically three or four
28:49
days between game chilling game three. Yes, yeah, it's just weird.
28:53
It really is weird. This is the first time that they're doing this again.
28:59
I I don't know, Like I said, I've really try have been
29:02
getting into soccer a little bit more here in twenty twenty three, understanding the
29:06
game, a little bit more understanding just you know, rules, regulations,
29:10
just how things are are set up within the world of soccer. And I
29:14
mean I always I don't know, I I always tend to like, you
29:18
know, best of series when it comes to sports. I wish I wish
29:22
it was like that in football prolong the football season. The players probably wouldn't
29:26
like that, but I would imagine not Yeah, yeah, but I mean
29:30
this does seem a little bizarre. I don't think they've never done anything like
29:33
this, right, in terms of playoffs. I've never heard of this in
29:36
terms of soccer, like normally, okay, if there's a playoff, and
29:38
here's what I thought a playoff would be. So you know, you do
29:42
one game at each location, so you know, you play one and I
29:47
guess they're trying to give a home advantage, home field advantage, and that's
29:51
the purpose of this. Yeah, but you know in typical tournaments, you
29:53
know, and the Union participated in a tournament like this earlier this year.
29:57
You know, you do a game at home and a game away, and
30:03
you take the aggregate of those two of those two games and add them up
30:07
and that's you know, so let's say, you know, the Union win
30:10
the first game three nothing. Then you know, then that means in game
30:15
two, New England has to win by by you know, they've just basically
30:19
win by four or more to win that to win that total showdown, right,
30:25
because it's a number of goals after two games. So it's good because
30:27
it kind of you know, you can kind of do some thinking in terms
30:30
of okay, after game one, man, they need to do this much.
30:33
You know, they can't just win the game. They have to win
30:37
by x number of goals. And that's how it's been done in tournament.
30:41
Any tournament I've seen in soccer where it's more than one game, you know,
30:45
that's that's what they've done. So that's when it when you said expanded
30:49
first round, that's what I thought it was. And then when I heard
30:52
about the three, it's like what and and the other thing is you're just
30:57
doing it for the first round. Yeah, like, yeah, what I
31:03
mean? And I get why you're not doing it all the way through,
31:06
because you're going to make the playoffs go until January and nobody wants that,
31:10
you know, if you if you keep doing it like this, But just
31:14
the fact they're doing that for one round and then not for the rest,
31:18
I mean, okay, at that point, if you want to reward home
31:21
advantage, it's just have the one game at the you know, at the
31:26
at the home at the higher seed place. Yeah, go on to the
31:29
next round. Yeah, why are we doing more than one game. It's
31:32
just strange to me. It's very strange, and you know, I do
31:36
have a concern. You know that they're playing New England right off the bat
31:40
here because the last game of the regular season they played the New England Revolution.
31:45
It was a two to one loss. Julian Caronza, you know,
31:48
he matched his goal count from last year with the final match of the regular
31:52
season. You know, he's obviously the star on this team. It's gonna
31:56
be interesting to see what he does throughout the course of this first round of
32:00
the playoffs. But at the end of the day, the Philadelphia Union lend
32:05
they really haven't. They've struggled in October, you know, I don't I
32:08
don't think they've They have not had a decent amount of points here since I
32:13
think October fourth. You know, they'd been strong definitely like last year.
32:19
I mean, of course it's different because they were the number one seed,
32:22
so you know, last year they had more of a vibe of like,
32:25
you know, man, this is a real contender. Where it feels like
32:29
this year they've lost some games that it feels like they shouldn't have and just
32:32
overall there's like, Okay, they're in the playoffs or fourth seed, they'll
32:36
get a home game, but how long do we really expect this to go?
32:39
If they get by New England, do we really expect them to beat
32:43
Cincinnati? Yeah, I mean who has been you know, far and away,
32:47
you know, the dominant team in the East this year. So yeah,
32:52
it just seems so much more unlikely this year. And look, anything
32:55
can happen. Last year Philadelphia in LAFC met in the final and it was
33:01
the first time that both number one seeds actually made the final. So that
33:05
tells you that, you know, it's you know, just because the number
33:08
one seed doesn't mean anything and you know, other teams have you know,
33:13
snuck in before. Perhaps the Union can do the same, but they just
33:15
I don't know, they don't you know, having watched this season and last
33:19
season, they don't seem to have that same feel that they had last year.
33:23
Yeah. Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how this playoff journey
33:28
ends for this team, and we'll certainly be talking about it, specifically when
33:31
Len is on the show, because Eric is like, who, what do
33:35
you mean? Yeah, what do you mean? They're soccer here in the
33:38
United States? All right? Well, that was another thing I was thinking
33:44
last night with the Phillies. Yeah, and I just I guess I thought
33:47
about like the Premier League. It was like, man, I wish there
33:52
was a sport that I that I liked that didn't have a Philadelphia team,
33:57
so I could just enjoy the sport for what it is, yes, and
34:00
not have a hometown rooting interest. It would be so much better for my
34:05
for my well being, my mental well being. Yeah, And I was
34:07
like, yeah, I guess Premier League is that, but you know,
34:12
something on on on home soil would would be nice. Yeah. I mean
34:15
I try every now and again to think, like, for instance, like
34:17
we've done the bit already on the show, and we've we've talked about it
34:21
our group of friends and stuff, you know, about how we have our
34:23
al teams, you know, I know Eric he his al teams, the
34:28
Orioles. I think yours is too, isn't it. Yeah, yeah,
34:30
both have. I mean it's the closest you know, I mean, it's
34:34
the closest major League city to either of us. Yeah, out in central
34:38
Pennsylvania. Baltimore is close to us and Philly is. Yeah. And for
34:42
me I've mentioned before, it's actually the Seattle Mariners because I loved Ken Griffy
34:46
Junior growing up. I know it sounds simplistic, but man, I loved
34:51
watching that guy play baseball. So to this day, you know, I
34:53
still keep tabs on what goes on with the Seattle Mariners, and and you
34:58
know, you like looking a round to other teams, other cities that you
35:01
follow and their sports teams when yours aren't doing anything. So I mean not
35:07
that not that that's any consolation or anything to us or any other Philly that
35:12
Phillies fans out there, but it's a you know, it's it's an avenue
35:15
to go down. Yeah, I guess okay, next next segment. Here,
35:22
folks, Philadelphia Flyers n they've had a solid start to the season.
35:28
Here, Good god, I I am what the hell's going on? To
35:31
your surprised by by by what has transpired so far? Absolutely? Good god?
35:37
So okay, So it's the new era of Orange that they're shepherding in
35:42
here. We all know it's a rebuild. Danny Brier during the course of
35:45
the off season uses the phrase it's a rebuild, and we know it.
35:51
It's being embraced by everybody. Well I shouldn't say being embraced by everybody,
35:53
but it's it's the foundation of what is going to be happening in the future.
35:58
Like Len said earlier in this show, we're going to be seeing who
36:01
some of these core players are going to be moving forward with this rebuild.
36:05
You know what's gonna happen two three years from now, and this team is
36:08
hopefully going to be some sort of playoff contention. But my gosh, these
36:15
first few handful of games. I was looking at some stats here five on
36:19
five, Philadelphia has the NHL's twelfth highest shot attenp percentage at fifty one point
36:25
sixty nine and the sixth best expected goals percentage at fifty five point four two,
36:30
and that's according to natural stat trick. I'm amazed at how this team
36:37
has been performing right now, and quite frankly, they have faced they have
36:42
faced some teams that are some Cup favorites, like the Dallas Stars, the
36:45
Edmonton Oilers. You know, this team has been tested and they won those
36:51
tests. Yeah, I mean, even games they've lost. I mean,
36:54
and they lost against the Stars too, but I believe that was an overtime
36:58
game that Vegas. Yeah Cup last year. Ottawa is an up and coming
37:02
team. So their team I fully expect to be in the playoffs. So
37:07
it's not like, you know, I know, the first win was against
37:09
Columbus, but it's not like it's been Cupcake city here with the Flyers,
37:14
right and their schedule, I mean, they've they've played some damn good teams.
37:17
So yeah, I mean, look, I expect time to eventually,
37:22
you know, reveal some things about this team and you know, kind of
37:25
expose some players that maybe are higher up in the lineup than they should be.
37:31
They're definitely gonna hit some rough patches. But I mean, listen,
37:37
I mean, do I want this isn't like last year where there's like the
37:42
you know, there's a Connor Bodard that everybody wants, and here's the no
37:45
doubt about a number one pick. I don't know that that's this year.
37:49
So I don't think, you know, the lust for tanking is going to
37:52
be as hard as it was last year. But look, they still need
37:57
a bunch of talented pieces, absolutely lot of talent on this team, so
38:02
you know, it'll be interesting to see where they land and what pick it
38:05
gets them down the road. But that's down the road stuff. But like
38:07
I said, you know, okay, let's let's look at Bobby Brink,
38:12
Let's look at Cam York, Let's look at you know, Canoakates make another
38:15
jump? Let's find out who these guys are that are you know, going
38:20
to be on the scene for the next couple of years. Can any of
38:22
these guys be a part of the next legitimate Cup contender, you know,
38:27
whether that's two years down the road, more likely four years down the road,
38:31
whatever it is. Who are those guys, right? And are any
38:35
of them on the team this year? I I I boy, this this
38:39
team and this organization really needs some defenseman, they really do, because like
38:45
when Mark Stall, he suffered upper body and upper body industry industry in upper
38:52
industry, Yeah, exactly, an injury. Jesus Christ, I can'd I
38:59
am my brain and his numb. My brain's numb. So it's it's not
39:02
just names anymore that you slaughter. It's just whole words and meanings like the
39:07
word injury that we use on this show. Obviously a lot because of the
39:10
world of sports. Sports. It's the industry now right, Yeah, I
39:16
mean, you know sports science and you know sports medicine. Technically it is
39:22
an industry. There you go, yes, Christ, Oh my gosh.
39:29
What I was gonna say was, when you know, we saw that Mark
39:30
Stall went down in that Edmonton Oilers game upper body injury. You know we're
39:38
all thinking, okay, you know, when's Rasmus wristallane and gonna be coming
39:40
back? Because he hadn't appeared in the regular season game at all, and
39:45
you know, he was doing some skating here and there, but then he
39:49
didn't make the trip out to uh either make the trip to Dallas or Las
39:54
Vegas. He stopped skating recently, He just completely stopped and they admitted there's
39:59
some sort of set back with him. And I'm just thinking to myself,
40:01
Man, this team just needs defenders because I think at this point the Flyers
40:05
only have six healthy defensemen that we're on the trip. Yeah, I can't
40:09
afford another injury. But exactly I love it. You know, let me
40:13
see them all, let me see you mail play the kids, and I
40:17
know you know they're they're going to defer to the veterans, and I know
40:22
Torderello is gonna Torderella. But this is this is a very much a play
40:29
of the kids kind of year, if you ask me. Absolutely all right
40:32
again, folks, we'd love to hear from your Philadelphia sports table at gmail
40:36
dot com. We'd love to read your email here on the show about whatever
40:39
you want us to get into here at the PST podcast show. And we
40:44
are going to take another quick break here. But before we do, len
40:49
anything else you want to get off your chest, buddy, anything else you
40:52
want anything, any final thoughts before we head out. Life is pain?
40:57
Okay, very good, three simple words, folks. We're gonna take that
41:02
quick break and we'll be back in just a bit. All right, we
41:07
are back. Let's get to what we're thrown down on table this week.
41:09
Some Eagles talk as Lenn was talking about earlier, a team that's six and
41:14
one got I hope they don't break our hearts, but we're Philly sports fans,
41:17
so that may, in fact just happen. So let's get to what
41:22
we're throwing down on the table, and now on the table, it is
41:28
great to have back on the podcast to talk about this Philadelphia Eagles team,
41:32
a team that we are holding on to dearly as Philadelphia sports fans because they're
41:38
giving us a little something good unlike other teams in this city right now.
41:44
So, without further ado, we have a gentleman who you can find on
41:49
Twitter at mister Crockpot. It is a fantastic Twitter handle, but he is
41:53
a contributor over at Bleedinggreen Nation dot com Party on Broad as well. He's
41:58
one of the co hosts there the Party on Broad podcast We've got Ourselves.
42:02
Mister Chris Diebler, known as better known as Deebs. How you doing,
42:07
Deebs? I'm going well, man, I'm doing better today. I'm not
42:09
gonna lie. I'm still reeling from what we saw Philly, yeah, the
42:15
last two games, but you know, I'm still fighting a cold and the
42:19
immense disappointment from our big bats in the Phillies. So here we are,
42:24
Yeah, and we trust. I guess rolling forward, we're gonna have to,
42:30
right, I mean, we're gonna have to. Look, I know,
42:34
we're a podcast that talks each of the five sports. Here, Lenn
42:37
and I were talking about the Union. They're in the playoffs right now,
42:40
the MLS playoffs. We've got the Philadelphia Eagles doing some pretty good things.
42:44
The Flyers actually look pretty decent right out of the gate, which is incredible
42:49
considering the expectations for that team. But I really wanted to get into this
42:52
Eagles team with you, Deebs, because you know, I know that you
42:57
and you know our our mutual good friendship and half you guys do a lot
43:00
of great talking together in terms of this Eagles team. And it's you know,
43:07
it's such a bizarre season. I mean, they've lost one game yet
43:10
I feel that when we're doing our Eagles postgame shows, when I listen to
43:15
other postgame shows, there are certain complaints, and rightfully so, because no,
43:20
it's not perfect. It's not a perfect season for this Philadelphia Eagles team.
43:23
So I'm gonna get one gentleman right off the bat with you, and
43:27
that gentleman is Jalen Hurts. Okay, we get to him first and again,
43:30
like I said, this team is six and one, and in these
43:34
games have not been perfect. He has not been perfect, especially when turning
43:37
over the ball. But the fact of the matter is he's helping to keep
43:40
the team in games in certain situations, and he's also helped the team win
43:45
games overall too. So I'm trying to keep that in perspective as we look
43:51
at Jalen Hurts where he's at right now in this particular season. How would
43:55
you deebs assess Jalen Hurts at this point in the season and even even in
44:00
his career now on the football field, what are your thoughts here about what
44:04
we're seeing from this guy? Uh? An incredible leader, incredible resiliency.
44:10
Yeah, uh, you know, Jalen Hurts has gone beyond above and beyond
44:15
uh my personal expectations when the Eagles drafted him. Of course, Uh this
44:20
year, I give him like a C plus B minus. I think at
44:23
the end of the day, what you want to see is progress, and
44:27
I think we have seen that for the most part for Jalen Hurts. You
44:31
know, like you said, it's not been perfect, you know, coming
44:35
out of the gate, no preseason, a new offensive coordinator, some bad
44:42
drops. When you look at the bones of this offense, it is very
44:45
much the same offense you have seen from Nick Sirianni last year. Where they
44:51
are struggling is simply execution, yes in the red zone, uh, in
44:58
big moments. This team has uh just kind of left a bitter taste in
45:04
my mouth when it comes to either the play calling, especially the play calling
45:09
like when you're throwing the quez uh and a screw on the screen on the
45:14
twenty when you should have been targeting Davante and Dallas and aj and all the
45:20
plethora of playmakers this Eagles offense has. It's you know that between the twenties,
45:24
this Eagles offense is putting up almost the exact same numbers when it comes
45:30
to yardage and things like that. Yeah, but for Jalen Hurts, Yeah,
45:35
some of those interceptions have been unlucky. And we have seen a lot
45:39
of progress, at least on my perspective in the RPOs and uh in that
45:45
red zone offense. That's what you want to see as this season progresses.
45:49
And my goodness, just stay healthy. But he knows you need to do
45:52
better. But everybody knows that what we're what you have seen is you know,
45:57
if you take away the legs from Jalen Hurt and you know you could
46:00
see something was off, Like he wasn't He wasn't as explosive. There are
46:06
times when he had a defensive back on the sideline and instead of like just
46:09
shoving him out of the way, he sits And that's not Jalen Hurts.
46:15
Ask and be honest, like, if you take out the legs of Jalen
46:16
Hurts, he's about an average above average quarterback. What his legs and improvisation
46:22
outside of the pocket, that's what makes him so exciting. So for me,
46:27
it's about a A C plus B minus and definitely room to grow.
46:30
I feel like he wants to become more of a pocket type of quarterback instead
46:36
of necessarily being known as the guy who's gonna run, the guy who's gonna
46:40
end up getting anywhere from sixty to eighty yards on the ground per game.
46:44
It makes I've been looking at him as progressing as well. I think he
46:49
actually is making progress in terms of his pocket management, in terms of understanding
46:54
what the pocket is for him on the field deeps. I really think that
46:59
Jalen Hurts, and I don't think it's as simple as Okay, we don't
47:01
want you to run because we don't want you to get hurt. I mean,
47:04
of course, I mean the coaches are going to say that, he's
47:07
going to think that himself. I don't think it's necessarily that simple. I
47:09
think it's him trying to establish himself as a pocket presence to a quarterback that
47:15
has that pocket presence more so than he ever has in his career, and
47:20
that takes time to develop. I think that's what we're seeing too. Yeah,
47:23
and there have been flashes of poise and you know, great throws under
47:29
pressure. Yeah, don't get me wrong, there have been times when he
47:32
has a bend in the pocket. But yeah, there's been i'd say more
47:37
positive than bad from Jalen Hurts this year. And I mean you look at
47:42
the numbers. He's pretty much been the entire offense in the red zone so
47:46
far through seven games. That needs to show up, and if they do
47:50
that, they're even better offensively, I think than last year for many different
47:58
reasons. Ye. For me, it's Brian Johnson and him abandoning what works.
48:06
That's what I don't like to see there are times when this offense seems
48:08
to be clicking, whether they run, run, run and get to the
48:12
twenty and then they pass past pass or vice versa. What you want to
48:16
see is more balance. What you want to see is, you know,
48:21
the Eagles continually dominate that time of possession, and I think you saw that
48:24
against the Miami Dolphins. They didn't really run effectively, but they kept to
48:30
it and it made a huge difference, especially when you had the Dolphins with
48:36
you know that too single high defense. Yeah, as soon as they kind
48:38
of crept towards the box with the Eagles dominating on the ground in that second
48:45
half, they found aj Brown and Jalen Hurst delivered a dime for a big
48:49
play. That was that was a crucial play moment in that game. Absolutely.
48:54
Well, let's talk about the rushing a little bit more. Let's talk
48:58
about a running back room here, d because I wonder why we haven't seen
49:01
more of this running back room really coming out of the backfield on offense.
49:06
And I feel as most of Eagles Nation I think, and I don't think
49:10
I'm alone here in that. You know, we're pretty done with Kenneth Gainwell.
49:15
Perhaps at this point for Sean Penny, Boston Scott or pretty they're pretty
49:19
decent running backs from what we've seen of them, especially Boston Scott over these
49:23
past few years. We know what we're going to get from him, and
49:25
there is definitely productivity when he's on the field. So I'm wondering, what
49:30
do you make of the running back situation here for this Eagles offense? And
49:35
do you think we're going to be ending or do you think we're gonna end
49:37
up seeing a shake up at some point here? I like, yeah,
49:42
I don't like any game o. You know, he did have that touchdown
49:45
against the Dolphins, but to be fair, like that's been part of the
49:49
problem is he's been way too involved in those redstone situations. Yeah, where
49:54
it should be Swift. You know. At the end of the day,
49:59
though, like the offense is just night and day better with DeAndre Swift in
50:04
this offense. You look at some numbers here, despite limited carries, Swift
50:08
is number one in the NFL in yards before contact with three hundred and fifty
50:13
seven. Sixty nine percent of his total yards this season have come before contact,
50:17
which tells you how dominant this Eagles O line has truly been. So
50:22
it probably doesn't matter. I think they should still look for a guy to
50:25
replace Kenny Gamwell because this Eagles offense is the best row best zone rushing team
50:32
in the NFL. They have the number one run block win rate at seventy
50:37
six percent according to ESPN Analytics, So it probably doesn't matter who's behind that
50:43
line of scrimmage. But what you want to see is DeAndre Swift healthy for
50:47
the playoffs. So I would like to see more DeAndre Swift, you know,
50:52
stay in that like fifteen to twenty carries per game range, but maybe
50:55
back off a little bit after this really tough stretch of game and just keep
51:00
him healthy because Swift is so explosive, so dynamic that that guy is going
51:08
to be a difference maker when the Eagles ramp up for the postseason. Yeah.
51:13
Absolutely well. I mean, the Eagles offense is ranked number three overall
51:17
in the NFL here, and it's kind of tough to really complain about where
51:22
they're at, you know, but look like we're talking about here, there
51:25
are areas and some room for improvement, for sure. So I wonder Deeb's
51:30
like, where do you think this Eagles offense can actually do better? Or
51:36
what would you like to see more of over these next few weeks. I
51:38
know we've been talking a decent amount about the red zone area, but is
51:42
there another area possibly where you know, you'd like to see this offense kind
51:45
of you know, step it up a little bit. Yeah, the red
51:49
zone offense is the biggie obviously. I mean there are fifty percent in the
51:52
red zone through seven games they were sixty eight percent. Yes, in twenty
51:58
two was by far the number one offense red zone offense in the league last
52:02
year. But the RPOs they have gotten better as the season progressed. But
52:07
I still want to see more Dallas Goddard involved in the RPOs. I still
52:12
want to see some progress there. When it comes to Jalen Hursts and moving
52:16
the ball with his arm as well. If you look at the differences between
52:21
this year and last year, there's less big plays. His yards per past
52:25
attempt and yards per completion and stuff are way down from last year in the
52:32
so that is definitely somewhere I want to see some growth and I want to
52:37
see more motion. Man, Can I get some more motion into this offense?
52:40
They are dead last in the NFL when it comes to pre snap motion,
52:45
said it. Man, Like when you have a guy like Davante Smith
52:50
or Dallas Goddard, like get these guys going, get them in space,
52:53
and you've seen it, like Davante kind of looks down this year. There's
52:58
been some bad moments from Davante and as great as the chemistry has been between
53:04
A. J. Brown and Jalen Hurts, you know, we need to
53:07
get DeVante involved. We need to get Dallas and those intermediate throws involved.
53:12
And they've done that. I just want to see more of it. And
53:15
an easy way to kind of get that moving would be some a little more
53:20
motion with this with this offense. So those are the big three. All
53:23
right, very good. Let's move over to the defense here. And defensively,
53:28
you know, we know that Howie Roseman went out made a trade for
53:30
a safety. We got Kevin coming on board. Man, he has man,
53:37
I mean, he has been a solid defensive back in this league and
53:40
he's going to bring a lot of leadership to this. It's a very young
53:44
defensive cores, you know when you really look at it. So I'm wondering,
53:47
you know, what do you think his presence is going to do for
53:50
the Eagles on the defensive side. Of things. You know, in terms
53:52
of Sean de Siz's scheme, where do you think where do you just where
53:58
do you think his role is going to be within this defense in general?
54:02
I'm still in all man that that move is unbelievable. I mean, when
54:07
you look at this defense and how elite Beagles defense has been with their defensive
54:13
line and getting pressure with you look at their run defense with Jordan Davis and
54:19
Jalen Carter and Fletcher Cox and mil Williams just being elite. The biggest concern
54:22
what has been the pass defense and the defensive backfield and all the injuries that
54:28
have been piling up there. I didn't think how we would do it.
54:34
I honestly didn't. And he possibly the best fricking addition you could get in
54:38
a Kevin Bayer like, I'm not going to go through the stats how good
54:43
this guy is. It's like death taxes and how we robbing the Tennessee guys.
54:47
I don't know how the Titans even answer the g D phone man,
54:52
just what are we doing at this point? But this guy is going to
54:57
be that Swiss army knife of Sean the Size's defense, kind of like how
55:00
Schwartz used Malcolm Jenkins, kind of like how Gannon used CJ. Gardner Johnson.
55:06
What you love about Kevin Bayard is the availability. He's played in one
55:10
hundred and eleven consecutive games. This guy has elite versatility as well. He's
55:15
played a number of snaps this year in the slot at free safety in the
55:22
box, same as last year. So he's a guy that fits this Eagles
55:25
defense to a t. That Eagles love to kind of throw those defensive backs
55:30
in different situations, like in Eli Rix who's now learning how to play in
55:35
the slot and a little bit. So he's a guy that can be effective
55:38
in either position. He's a ballhawk too, man. And I think Darius
55:45
Slave's interception against the Dolphins was the first one they had since what like week
55:50
two, let's three, It's been a while. So, like this defense,
55:53
as great as the defensive line has been, it could get scary good
55:58
if they shore up the safety position, and oh my gosh, Kevin Bayard
56:04
and Red Blankenship, who's an uber underrated player in his own right, could
56:08
be ridiculously good. Man. There's no more excuses, exactly. Kevin Byard
56:13
man interceptions that he may be able to bring down I mean, the one
56:16
thing that this defense needs are some turnovers, and especially from the secondary.
56:21
I can't wait to see him do that because we know it's coming. We
56:23
know it's coming. It has to be coming. So as we're moving along
56:27
here though, deems, you know, it never ceases to amaze me how
56:30
the linebacker position here. It's just like it's never a prime focus of course
56:34
in the draft. You know, there are certain elements of Eagles Nation that
56:37
complain about it, you know, but we see this year after year and
56:40
we see it consistently. Though, have this positive play that's been coming from
56:45
the linebacker position over the past few seasons. I mean last year it was
56:50
TJ. Edwards. This year, Zach Cunningham has been doing a damn good
56:53
job. In my opinion, and I think a lot of people's opinion is
56:57
a pretty good free agent pickup. You know. Do you ever think how
57:01
we will ever one day try to find that gem in the draft? I
57:06
wonder, you know, Fred Warner or Rokwan Smith, you know that,
57:08
I'm wondering, do you think he'll ever try to do that? Or is
57:13
he just gonna stick to that same ingredient you know that keeps that keeps this
57:17
position pretty stable. You know that under the radar linebacker productivity that he's been
57:22
bringing in. I don't know, what do you think about the linebacker position
57:25
and how this organization really targets it. I think, you know, you
57:30
look at Nikobe Dean, who's kind of struggled a little bit with injuries,
57:35
and you do have to have a little bit of concern there with his size
57:39
and some of the medical red flags he had coming into the league. The
57:44
Eagles love there's linebackers who are fast, can go sideline, the sideline,
57:51
drop back and coverage. And you know, I think Zach Cunningham and Nick
57:55
Morril I've been two of the underrated signings for this team so far. As
58:00
we've said on shows previously, you know there's going to be a rotation at
58:07
linebacker, and that speaks volumes considering what we were talking about just a month
58:12
ago and how poor this Eagles linebacking corps truly looked. But I don't foresee
58:19
any drafts or vast changes when it comes to Howie Roseman's philosophy, when it
58:24
comes to building a roster, it'll always include a heavy emphasis on the trenches.
58:30
It'll be defensive line, it'll be offensive line, it'll be cornerback.
58:37
And there are some good linebackers in this draft. You've got Jeremiah Trotter junior,
58:42
You've got Barrett Carter. Tommy Eikenberg out of Ohio State's another good one.
58:46
I don't ever see Howie Roseman drafting one in the first round given the
58:52
status of that position in the NFL. It's like running back now right.
58:57
There are some intriguing Day two, Day three guys that I'll throw at.
59:02
Your junior Colson out of Michigan, faster, bigger, just a little more
59:10
raw than Jeremiah Trotter junior, can drop back in coverage. Not as good
59:15
as Jeremiah Trotter junior, but he's a really great prospect out of Michigan.
59:19
I think he's probably gonna go Round two or round three. Cedric Gray is
59:23
a dude out of UNC very good covers linebacker. Definitely keep an eye out
59:28
for that. And I'm gonna throw one out there for my boys. Shane
59:30
Half his guy Danny Stutsman out of Oklahoma, That's where he's from. He's
59:37
a playmaking machine. He's the entire Oklahoma defense out there, and they it's
59:45
amazing how much production. Heyes, so there are some I could see the
59:49
Eagles make a move day two, day three in the draft, but at
59:52
the end of the day, I think what you see is what you get,
59:55
you know, way more likely how he brings in a quality linebacker for
1:00:01
peanuts from the Tennessee Titans or something, but uh, you know, a
1:00:07
high asset, you know, like a first round pick. Absolutely Again,
1:00:10
folks are talking to Chris Diebler from Bleedinggreen Nation dot com. He's a contributor
1:00:15
over there, and also check out what they're doing over at the party on
1:00:20
broad podcast. Great great show and just great content with Deebs here. And
1:00:27
as we're closing things out here, two part question for you, Deebs,
1:00:30
what's the one thing that we are going what's the one thing that we should
1:00:35
be fearing from this Eagles team as we are heading into the second half of
1:00:39
the season. And then I'm going to do a one eighty and ask you
1:00:42
the exact opposite, But what's the one thing that we should be fearing for
1:00:45
the from this team? It's got to be injuries, yes, I mean
1:00:51
it's got to be Lane Johnson and all saw Jack triuscll get beat like a
1:00:58
drum by Bryce hoff against the Jets. I'll be it that judge defensive line.
1:01:01
It was crazy good, but you know it's it's Lane and you know
1:01:06
the pass protection for Jalen. He's been under pressure a lot this year.
1:01:12
So for me, it's got to be just staying away from that injury bug.
1:01:15
They've gotten hit really hard. But for me, it's the injuries on
1:01:21
the offensive line that that need to stop, because like, as good as
1:01:27
they have been, I can't wait for Camp Jurggens to get back. Has
1:01:30
been pretty rough over the past couple of games. Yeah, And and that
1:01:35
falls on Brian Johnson too. Like that that game plan where Brian Johnson just
1:01:42
left Jack Driscoll on an island. That's that's where I get upset. Like
1:01:45
there's like the offense I don't really get upset about because it's still then the
1:01:51
nuts and bolts of the Eagles offense from last year. But like when you
1:01:54
are seeing Bryce Huff destroy Jack Driscoll again and again and don't make an adjustment,
1:02:00
that's when we have problems. Yep. Absolutely, that's definitely a good
1:02:04
fear. Losing Lane Johnson, one of basically my favorite Philadelphia Eagle and we'll
1:02:10
do with a one E here, Deebs, what's the one thing that we
1:02:15
should have absolutely no worries about, no worries at all heading into the second
1:02:19
half the season. Jalen Carter is going to be one of the best Eagles
1:02:24
defensive players for a long time. It's only been like, what six games.
1:02:30
I don't think he played one game, but he has been every bit
1:02:34
the billing of a dominant interior presence. What he has done in that duo
1:02:40
with Jordan Davis has been nothing short of remarkable. Getting to the quarterback,
1:02:45
blowing up in tier offensive lineman every single week. This Eagles run defense is
1:02:52
as elite as it gets. Give me Jalen Carter. He's the real deal.
1:02:57
He's the truth, man. He's the guy I have a I have
1:03:00
one rule, man, and I do not buy current players jerseys. Nope,
1:03:04
I do not buy. He's the one dude that's gonna make me break
1:03:07
my own freaking rule, and that is Jalen car I'm in love with that
1:03:10
guy who was my number one prospect on my big board. YEP. During
1:03:14
the draft process, I never wavered. Shane and Marketing and Jr. Were
1:03:19
like, all these red flags red flags. Some teams didn't even have him
1:03:22
on the on the draft boards. Crazy yeah, and I never wavered and
1:03:27
I just I love watching that that cat play man. He is he is
1:03:30
something special. He's got that Jerome Brown vibe about him. Man, he's
1:03:36
special. Absolutely fantastic discussion again, folks, He's Chris Diebler. We call
1:03:42
him Deeves. Find him on Twitter at mister Krockpot, one of the best
1:03:45
Twitter handles out there. My friend, it was great talking to you.
1:03:49
Thanks so much, and I hope you feel better. I know you're you're
1:03:52
trying to get better from a cold. There. Feel better, my friend,
1:03:54
and let's talk down the road absolutely, man, Thanks for having me
1:03:58
on. Always great talking to deems. And again, folks, remember this
1:04:01
Eagles team is six and one, and as they said during the beginning of
1:04:06
that discussion with Chris, I mean, yeah, these games have not been
1:04:11
perfect, but this team. I just saw some power rankings, and yes,
1:04:14
I know power rankings are power rankings, but still Philadelphia Eagles were number
1:04:17
one in those power rankings. I believe it was the Fox Sports NFL Power
1:04:21
rankings. Still, I mean, six and one, we really can't complain
1:04:25
too much. But like I said they can get better in certain areas.
1:04:29
As Deeps and I were talking, they can get better in the red zone.
1:04:31
They can get better in terms of some of the RPOs. As it
1:04:35
pertains to Dallas Goddard would love to see him more involved in this, in
1:04:40
this offensive scheming he has been over the past couple weeks, for sure,
1:04:45
but it'd be great to see him more schemed, more within the RPO,
1:04:48
for sure. So anyway, I hope you enjoyed the show. If you
1:04:51
are new to listening to us, subscribe on whatever podcast platform you are on.
1:04:57
I don't think you'll be sorry. We got some content coming your way
1:05:00
next week as well. We've got our Eagles postgame show that we're gonna be
1:05:04
doing this week after the Commander's game, And uh yeah, we've got a
1:05:09
lot of great stuff going on here over these next weeks and months ahead.
1:05:12
Philadelphia Sportstable dot com. That is our website. If anything happens to your
1:05:15
podcast speed, you can just head on over there, and that's gonna do
1:05:19
it for us. Folks. Take care, we'll catch you next time.