Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Eagles Ready To Throw Curveball At Vikings?

Transcript

The DiCecco Daily: Eagles Ready To Throw Curveball At Vikings? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: What's happening, everybody. Welcome into this edition of to check
0:13
Speaker 1: O Daily. It's Andrew de Checo here with a Thursday edition,
0:17
Speaker 1: a pretty important day in terms of the practice status
0:21
Speaker 1: of a lot of Key Eagles. So let's get right
0:23
Speaker 1: into that, and then some takeaways I've had from the
0:26
Speaker 1: locker room, and even a wrinkle or a curve ball,
0:29
Speaker 1: if you will, that was sort of thrown into the
0:31
Speaker 1: practice mix. But let's get to the practice report because
0:37
Speaker 1: not practicing today. Tight end Grant Cacatara with the oblique, limited,
0:41
Speaker 1: Defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the heel. That's a downgrade.
0:45
Speaker 1: He was full go yesterday. And guard Landon Diggerson with
0:48
Speaker 1: the ankle, full go. Full participants, linebacker's acbaond thumb, defensive
0:54
Speaker 1: tackle Jordan Davis shoulder, cornerback Quinon Mitchell hamstring. The big
1:00
Speaker 1: news here, obviously, it's Jalen Carter going from full to
1:04
Speaker 1: limited over the past day, but from Quinnon Mitchell's perspective,
1:09
Speaker 1: going from limited to full and they are going to
1:12
Speaker 1: need Quinnon Mitchell, so it would appear, barring a setback,
1:16
Speaker 1: that he's on track to be able to play against
1:19
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings. And that high octane passing attack led
1:24
Speaker 1: by Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and tight end TJ. Hockinson.
1:29
Speaker 1: But just to kind of go behind the curtain here
1:33
Speaker 1: a Thursday practice, you'll see the team stretch and then
1:37
Speaker 1: they break off and focus a lot on special teams.
1:40
Speaker 1: And I think I may have talked a lot about
1:42
Speaker 1: that on a previous podcast, But the offensive line goes
1:45
Speaker 1: on a far field. The special teams, particularly like the
1:49
Speaker 1: coverage units, will go on another field further away and
1:56
Speaker 1: on the field nearest where we are as the media
2:00
Speaker 1: observing practice. You'll see the punt returners on one side
2:04
Speaker 1: of the field, which is Johan Dottson, Britain Covey, Ques
2:08
Speaker 1: Watkins who's on the practice squad, and Xavier Gibson, who's
2:11
Speaker 1: on the fifty three man roster, and they'll be fielding punts.
2:15
Speaker 1: But then on the other side of the field, Christian Parker,
2:19
Speaker 1: the Eagles defensive backs coach, will be working with Quinnon
2:23
Speaker 1: Mitchell and Dori Jackson. But those two had always been
2:28
Speaker 1: working with Christian on Thursday to start practice. What was
2:32
Speaker 1: different today Thursday was that they had a new member,
2:36
Speaker 1: and that was rookie cornerback Brandon Johnson, who's been on
2:40
Speaker 1: the practice squad for the start since the start of
2:42
Speaker 1: the season. He's a nickel player. But it peaked my
2:46
Speaker 1: curiosity a little bit because one that was a new
2:49
Speaker 1: addition to that group, and Brandon Johnson plays nickel, the
2:53
Speaker 1: Eagles could be looking to potentially get creative and how
2:58
Speaker 1: they deploy their defensive backs on health status and matchups
3:02
Speaker 1: and all those other things. So it may just be
3:05
Speaker 1: a mere footnote, but I filed away. I filed it
3:08
Speaker 1: away because I found it to be interesting, you know,
3:12
Speaker 1: no less, but something to keep an eye on. Potentially
3:16
Speaker 1: as the Eagles make their practice squad elevations Saturday at
3:22
Speaker 1: four o'clock, that might be a name to keep an
3:24
Speaker 1: eye on potentially. Of course, that could be impacted by
3:28
Speaker 1: Quenya Mitchell's full go that might take that off the table,
3:32
Speaker 1: but maybe something to highlight. And that was one of
3:38
Speaker 1: the more notable things that I was able to observe.
3:42
Speaker 1: So let's look at this for a second. Because the
3:46
Speaker 1: cornerback situation, all things being equal, assuming Quenyon Mitchell's healthy,
3:52
Speaker 1: that would mean that you would have Quenyon Mitchell and
3:54
Speaker 1: a Dori Jackson as the other corner because on Wednesday,
3:57
Speaker 1: as I mentioned, Vic Vangaeo said it'll probably be a dory,
4:01
Speaker 1: meaning that they've likely moved off of Keiley Ringo at
4:04
Speaker 1: least for now. But the nickel position would presumably be
4:10
Speaker 1: Cooper Degene. But and this is just you know, a
4:14
Speaker 1: conspiracy theorist, Let's assume that the I mean, the Eagles
4:21
Speaker 1: are trying to get their best contingent on the field,
4:25
Speaker 1: and if they're not happy with the way things are
4:27
Speaker 1: going in game, maybe Cooper Degene would be a plausible
4:34
Speaker 1: option outside. Now, Cooper spoke when asked about that today,
4:38
Speaker 1: he said, I play wherever they put me. He is
4:41
Speaker 1: comfortable there, he said. He said he's also been playing
4:44
Speaker 1: more outside the past few weeks due to the team
4:46
Speaker 1: being in base more and he's becoming more and more
4:49
Speaker 1: comfortable the more he's doing that. And he also said
4:52
Speaker 1: he'd have no problem doing so if that were the case.
4:55
Speaker 1: That's the key there, if that were the case. But
5:00
Speaker 1: all you do have to wonder with the trade deadline approaching,
5:04
Speaker 1: the Eagles have a needed corner en edge and I'm
5:07
Speaker 1: trying to rationalize this. There's not it may not be
5:11
Speaker 1: feasible to swing for premier players at both positions as
5:16
Speaker 1: aggressive as Howie Roseman is, it may not be attainable.
5:22
Speaker 1: I could see them going heavy at a going for
5:25
Speaker 1: a premiere edge rusher to really fortify that group, but
5:29
Speaker 1: you may not be able to get a corner that's
5:31
Speaker 1: going to move the needle. It may not be a
5:33
Speaker 1: drastic upgrade over what you already have. By the way,
5:36
Speaker 1: Jacoryan Bennett was on the practice field, you know, he
5:40
Speaker 1: was with a trainer, So was Nolan Smith and Darius Cooper.
5:43
Speaker 1: They were on injured reserve on September twenty fourth, and
5:46
Speaker 1: as of next week they're eligible to come off that list,
5:49
Speaker 1: so he could also help and add to that group.
5:52
Speaker 1: But in the event that you can't get a corner,
5:56
Speaker 1: your best option, if you're the Eagles, would be to
6:00
Speaker 1: probably put Cooper de Gene outside and have that pairing
6:03
Speaker 1: of Quinnan and Cooper. Now, a lot of that has
6:05
Speaker 1: to do with how the Eagles feel in terms of
6:08
Speaker 1: their comfortability with their nickel options. Those options being veteran
6:13
Speaker 1: Perry Nickerson, rookie fifth round pick Mac McWilliams, and I
6:17
Speaker 1: mentioned Brandon Johnson. So this is just me thinking outside
6:21
Speaker 1: the box here. I think a lot of it is
6:23
Speaker 1: going to depend on how they've progressed and if they,
6:28
Speaker 1: let's say, if any one of those players gets their
6:30
Speaker 1: opportunity Sunday, how they fare, and that could go a
6:34
Speaker 1: long way in determining how the Eagles approach that position
6:37
Speaker 1: moving forward. And that's certainly something to keep an eye on.
6:41
Speaker 1: Mac McWilliams if you missed it. Vic Vangaiel spoke about
6:44
Speaker 1: him mostly focusing on Nickel earlier in the season, but
6:48
Speaker 1: as of late has been also redirecting his focus to
6:52
Speaker 1: learning some outside as well, said he's been doing okay.
6:55
Speaker 1: I didn't get a chance to speak to Mac Thursday.
6:58
Speaker 1: Friday will be the day that we get together for
7:01
Speaker 1: our rookie diary conversation. I saw him on my way
7:03
Speaker 1: out of the locker room and we kind of made
7:06
Speaker 1: it so that Friday would be the time where we
7:09
Speaker 1: set aside for a few minutes. So just me kind
7:13
Speaker 1: of thinking here, and a lot of that is derived
7:17
Speaker 1: from simply the trade deadline. You can't address all of
7:21
Speaker 1: your issues in one trade deadline. If the Eagles are
7:23
Speaker 1: able to get a premier pass rusher in here, that
7:26
Speaker 1: should suffice and some of the corners of the names
7:30
Speaker 1: that you hear floating out there, who could be available
7:33
Speaker 1: some corners from let's say a Greek woman from Seattle,
7:36
Speaker 1: for example, who just he pretty much lost his job.
7:40
Speaker 1: That Josh Joe former Egals cornerback Josh Joe. I'm not
7:43
Speaker 1: even sure how much of an upgrade Greek woman would
7:46
Speaker 1: be compared to what they already have Jacory and Bennetta,
7:49
Speaker 1: Dori Jackson, and maybe even keigey Ringo. So you have
7:53
Speaker 1: to sometimes look internally, and that's just me thinking outside
7:57
Speaker 1: the box. So we'll see what happens this week. But
8:00
Speaker 1: that's a roundabout way of me saying that Quenya Mitchell
8:03
Speaker 1: is full go at least today and barring a setback,
8:07
Speaker 1: it seems like he's trending in the right direction. I
8:10
Speaker 1: had a really good conversation with the Dori Jackson today.
8:13
Speaker 1: Dory is very insightful with his answers and sometimes will
8:20
Speaker 1: he's enlightening. He'll bring up things that maybe you haven't
8:23
Speaker 1: considered or thought about, and it leads down another path
8:27
Speaker 1: that you explore. But you know, one of the questions
8:31
Speaker 1: that I asked him, and I apologize because I have
8:33
Speaker 1: to go back and transcribe a lot of our conversation.
8:36
Speaker 1: We spoke for about ten minutes about what it meant
8:39
Speaker 1: for him to have someone like vic Vangio and still
8:43
Speaker 1: show that belief in him to go back to him,
8:46
Speaker 1: and you know, he gave a good answer. I asked
8:49
Speaker 1: him about what he's learned even in year nine playing
8:53
Speaker 1: under Christian Parker, because he mentioned before that that there's
8:56
Speaker 1: always something that you can learn. And I think some
9:00
Speaker 1: like Christian Parker, who's unique in the sense that he
9:03
Speaker 1: is somewhere around the age of adri Jackson, so they're
9:06
Speaker 1: able to relate. And he said, sometimes we'll say sir,
9:09
Speaker 1: because that's what he always says, and you know, that's
9:12
Speaker 1: just the way that he's conditioned. So we were kind
9:14
Speaker 1: of sharing a laugh about that. But that's going to
9:20
Speaker 1: be your defensive back situation. It's in all likelihood you
9:22
Speaker 1: got Quinna mitchell A, Dori Jackson, and Cooper degen at Nickel.
9:26
Speaker 1: But they do I just mentioned some of the some
9:29
Speaker 1: of the other options that they have if they ever
9:32
Speaker 1: do decide to go in another direction. I also spoke
9:38
Speaker 1: to a number of different players today and the ones
9:43
Speaker 1: that I can get to without having to transcribe or
9:46
Speaker 1: delve too deep into it. I talked to Xavier Gibson.
9:51
Speaker 1: So Xavier Gibson if you missed any previous podcasts, he
9:55
Speaker 1: has an extensive background returning kicks and punts. The Eagles
9:58
Speaker 1: clan him off waivers. He with the Giants for maybe
10:03
Speaker 1: a week, but he spent time with the Jets, and
10:06
Speaker 1: that's really where he's known for. That's where most of
10:09
Speaker 1: his playing time came from. But I asked him, what
10:14
Speaker 1: did you learn? Because I assume that every stop along
10:17
Speaker 1: the way, whether it's the Jets, the Giants, or the Eagles,
10:20
Speaker 1: you learn something. And I said, what have you learned
10:23
Speaker 1: about yourself during your time here? That maybe you went
10:25
Speaker 1: into it not necessarily, that maybe you didn't know about
10:28
Speaker 1: yourself coming in And he said, I learned I had
10:32
Speaker 1: way more in the tank than what I have given.
10:35
Speaker 1: And he also learned that you have to have one
10:37
Speaker 1: thousand percent focus on the field in the classroom, on
10:40
Speaker 1: the field, you can't have one foot in, one foot out.
10:43
Speaker 1: That's how you get complacent, that's how you get beat. Said,
10:46
Speaker 1: he also learned that he's a tough son of a gun.
10:49
Speaker 1: So I asked him, I said, where does that come
10:50
Speaker 1: from you. Why do you believe why do you think
10:52
Speaker 1: that is? And he said faith. I also asked, is
10:56
Speaker 1: there any particular player that you've leaned on to help
11:00
Speaker 1: get you acclimated or just to immerse yourself into the
11:05
Speaker 1: special teams game plan and all that. And I said,
11:08
Speaker 1: how about someone like Britain? And he said he asked
11:10
Speaker 1: Britton Covey all the questions in the world. And he
11:13
Speaker 1: also said something interesting. He said, that's who he was
11:17
Speaker 1: watching when he was a rookie. But he said that
11:22
Speaker 1: he also you know, he also pointed to the locker
11:26
Speaker 1: next to him, and that's Cam Lotsu's locker, and he
11:28
Speaker 1: said that Cam also made it really smooth for him.
11:31
Speaker 1: And I said, how did he make it smooth? And
11:34
Speaker 1: he said, well, we have the same kind of story.
11:37
Speaker 1: You know, he came in, he stayed positive and now
11:39
Speaker 1: he's doing some good things. And as he was walking
11:43
Speaker 1: by Cam that is he heard that and he said,
11:48
Speaker 1: talking about Xavier now, he helped me a lot. And
11:50
Speaker 1: he said, you know, he's a positive guy. So I
11:55
Speaker 1: don't know, I thought that that was kind of insightful there.
11:58
Speaker 1: I mentioned to Cam Lotsu, I said, do you realize
12:02
Speaker 1: that you have six special teams tackles in just five games,
12:06
Speaker 1: and he's like, I should have had about ten. I said, well,
12:09
Speaker 1: Kylon Grants and Jeremiah Trotter Junior have ten, which is
12:14
Speaker 1: second in the NFL. And he said, I'm going to
12:15
Speaker 1: get like three or two or three whatever he said
12:18
Speaker 1: on Sunday. Cam Latu is a character. He's someone who
12:23
Speaker 1: I very much enjoy speaking to, great story, someone who
12:26
Speaker 1: did stay positive. He stayed with it even though he
12:29
Speaker 1: entered training camp buried on the depth chart. He was
12:31
Speaker 1: able to see it through and make enough of an
12:33
Speaker 1: impact or an impression. I should say to the coaching
12:36
Speaker 1: staff that they work with them, and now you're seeing
12:39
Speaker 1: the impact he's having on special teams. As a blocker
12:43
Speaker 1: when he does moonlight at full back, he's blocked a punt,
12:47
Speaker 1: but he's come close to blocking two or three others
12:49
Speaker 1: this season. So considering the small sample size that that's
12:53
Speaker 1: a really good find and a good story development for
12:56
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles.
12:59
Speaker 2: Sports are all about competition. Every snap, every possession, every
13:03
Speaker 2: clutch moment matters. That same energy is what one v
13:07
Speaker 2: one me brings to video games every single day. You
13:10
Speaker 2: can watch in stake on matchups in Madden, NBA two,
13:13
Speaker 2: k FC and Call of Duty Search and Destroy. All
13:17
Speaker 2: the games are streamed live, Every match has refs and
13:20
Speaker 2: payouts are instant. And these aren't just random online lobbies.
13:24
Speaker 2: These are the best players in the scene, pros, streamers
13:27
Speaker 2: and rivals. With season playoffs and the championship game on
13:31
Speaker 2: the line, every game matters. Overall, hundred million has already
13:35
Speaker 2: been paid out on the app, and the community is
13:38
Speaker 2: growing fast. If you're a sportsman, a gamer, or just
13:42
Speaker 2: someone who loves having a little extra.
13:44
Speaker 3: On the line, one v one me is where you
13:47
Speaker 3: need to be.
13:48
Speaker 2: It's not just about winning, it's about the bragging rights too.
13:51
Speaker 2: Every match has a chat going crazy and you can
13:54
Speaker 2: back your picks in real time.
13:56
Speaker 3: Download today and use code birds. Your first stake on
13:59
Speaker 3: the app is risk free. That's code birds for a
14:03
Speaker 3: risk free first state. Hey, fall is planting season.
14:06
Speaker 2: Did you know that many plants and trees actually do
14:08
Speaker 2: better when planted this time of the year. But you
14:11
Speaker 2: got to know where to start and that's why I
14:13
Speaker 2: love fast growing trees dot Com doesn't matter if you
14:17
Speaker 2: live in the sunny South or if the air is
14:19
Speaker 2: getting a little chilly where you are, The plant experts
14:22
Speaker 2: can help you find the perfect fit for your space.
14:25
Speaker 2: They've got everything in your yard needs, fruit trees, privacy trees, shrubs,
14:29
Speaker 2: flowering trees, so much more, and Fast Growing Trees makes
14:33
Speaker 2: it so easy for you to have your dreamyard because
14:36
Speaker 2: you can order online and get your plants delivered directly
14:38
Speaker 2: to your door. If you're like me, you're tired of
14:41
Speaker 2: spending way too much money on landscaping. And if you
14:44
Speaker 2: walk into one of those nurseries and you look at
14:46
Speaker 2: all the stuff they have, you have no idea where
14:48
Speaker 2: to begin. That's why you need Fast Growing Trees dot Com.
14:53
Speaker 2: Doesn't matter about the size of your yard. They got
14:55
Speaker 2: over six thousand plants to fit any space, and a
14:58
Speaker 2: fourteen point quality checklist insures you will get the best
15:02
Speaker 2: quality plants possible this fall. They have the best deals
15:05
Speaker 2: for your yard, up to half off on select plants
15:08
Speaker 2: and other deals, and listeners to our show get fifteen
15:11
Speaker 2: percent off their first purchase when using the code birds
15:15
Speaker 2: at checkout.
15:15
Speaker 3: Fifteen percent off.
15:17
Speaker 2: At Fast Growing Trees dot Com using the code birds
15:20
Speaker 2: at checkout. Now's the perfect time to plant. Use birds
15:24
Speaker 2: to save today. The offer's valid for a limited time.
15:26
Speaker 2: Terms and conditions may apply. Check out the link below
15:29
Speaker 2: or in the show notes and support the show. Hey,
15:32
Speaker 2: Philly fans, Game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic, long lines,
15:37
Speaker 2: We've all been there, But when it comes to your cannabis,
15:40
Speaker 2: Camden Apothecary makes it easy. This is the dispensary for
15:45
Speaker 2: sports fans, just minutes outside of Philly, with plenty of
15:48
Speaker 2: free parking.
15:49
Speaker 3: You'll be in and out.
15:50
Speaker 2: Fast, no hassle, no waiting, and they don't just care
15:53
Speaker 2: about convenience. Camden Apothecary is all about the guest experience.
15:58
Speaker 2: Their staff makes sure you feel taken care of every
16:01
Speaker 2: time you walk in. Plus, they carry only the best
16:05
Speaker 2: quality cannabis at the fairest prices, so whether you're stocking
16:09
Speaker 2: up for the tailgate, the watch party, or celebrating a
16:12
Speaker 2: big win, you know you're getting the good stuff without overpaying.
16:16
Speaker 2: They even show love to the community with specials for fans, students,
16:21
Speaker 2: service members, and healthcare pros. Camedn Apothecary, top quality cannabis,
16:26
Speaker 2: great prices, and an experience made for Philly fans twenty
16:30
Speaker 2: one and up.
16:32
Speaker 1: So there you have it. Those are some of my
16:36
Speaker 1: takeaways from today's locker room, and I have a story
16:42
Speaker 1: on Inside the Birds dot Com about zachbond and his
16:46
Speaker 1: leadership role on the defense and some of the many
16:51
Speaker 1: bye week thoughts and how they're going to head that
16:53
Speaker 1: thing moving forward. I always like hearing from Zach Bonn,
16:57
Speaker 1: another insightful player and the gl that bans that defense together.
17:02
Speaker 1: I'm going to be putting a story together on a
17:04
Speaker 1: Dori Jackson based off of the conversation that I was
17:07
Speaker 1: mentioning that we had Thursday, and that can be expected
17:11
Speaker 1: on Inside the Birds dot Com Friday morning, and then
17:14
Speaker 1: I'll probably do some sort of a notebook with Xavier
17:18
Speaker 1: Gibson and Tank Bigsby in the kick return game. I
17:21
Speaker 1: still have to talk to Will Shipley about that as
17:24
Speaker 1: well to get another perspective and kind of make that
17:28
Speaker 1: a leftover session section for different stories that I have.
17:34
Speaker 1: Jordan Milatta had a lot of really compelling things to
17:37
Speaker 1: say on Wednesday, and I transcribed a lot of that,
17:40
Speaker 1: so that will be in there as well, about his
17:43
Speaker 1: perception of the offense and their struggles and how he
17:47
Speaker 1: and really his message to the group, which is do
17:50
Speaker 1: your f and job, and he said, I'll do my job,
17:54
Speaker 1: everybody just does their job. We're going to be okay,
17:56
Speaker 1: so he said. That was his message returning from that
17:59
Speaker 1: many bye week. We had a lot of other really
18:01
Speaker 1: really interesting things to say, and I look forward to
18:06
Speaker 1: breaking that all down and shedding some light on that
18:09
Speaker 1: and the offense as a whole. But for now, that's
18:12
Speaker 1: going to do it for this edition of The Checko Daily.
18:14
Speaker 1: I am Andrew de Checko, and I'll catch you all
18:17
Speaker 1: on the next one.