Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / Birds Weekly: Philadelphia Eagles Defense "Similar To Last Year" But Offense Right Now Is "Puzzling"

Transcript

Birds Weekly: Philadelphia Eagles Defense "Similar To Last Year" But Offense Right Now Is "Puzzling" · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:10
Speaker 1: Once again, everybody, we are ready to go with this
0:12
Speaker 1: edition of Birds Weekly, brought to you by the Inside
0:15
Speaker 1: the Birds and Network. For that this stinguished gentleman right there,
0:18
Speaker 1: Ray Didninger, I'm Derek Gunnett and Ray, what they did
0:22
Speaker 1: to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, All you can
0:24
Speaker 1: say is Wow, here comes this high powered offense averaging
0:28
Speaker 1: thirty one point four points per game, a defense that's
0:33
Speaker 1: very rugged, and basically the Eagles dismantled them their offense.
0:39
Speaker 1: And we have to start with this defense, Ray, because
0:41
Speaker 1: this defense has been lights out in a span of
0:44
Speaker 1: less than a week. They held Green Bay to seven
0:46
Speaker 1: points in their backyard and turn around and hold his
0:49
Speaker 1: high powered Lions offense to just nine points on Sunday
0:53
Speaker 1: Night football. Ray, it has taken a little while for
0:58
Speaker 1: this defense to jail, but we have slowly watched the
1:01
Speaker 1: maturation of this defense. And according to the defensive Coidinative Igfangio,
1:09
Speaker 1: according to the players, they're not even finished in terms
1:12
Speaker 1: of what they want to beat as a defense, which
1:14
Speaker 1: is already frightening to say the least.
1:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right and that it's very very similar to
1:24
Speaker 2: last year, isn't it? When you think, when you think
1:26
Speaker 2: about the defense, I mean, at the start of last season,
1:29
Speaker 2: the defense was terrible. I mean through the after four
1:33
Speaker 2: games there were two and two, but the defense ranked
1:36
Speaker 2: I think like twenty first or twenty second, and there
1:39
Speaker 2: was real thought that, oh man, this defense is not
1:43
Speaker 2: going to be nearly good enough. And as the year
1:48
Speaker 2: went on, they just got better and better, and they
1:51
Speaker 2: began working some of the new guys in and by
1:55
Speaker 2: the home stretch they had climbed up to where they
1:58
Speaker 2: were the number one defense in the league. And then
2:00
Speaker 2: they rolled it right through the postseason and to a championship.
2:04
Speaker 2: And this we're sort of following the same track here.
2:07
Speaker 2: Started the season, the offense, I'm sorry, the defense didn't
2:10
Speaker 2: look that good. They couldn't stop the run hardly at all.
2:15
Speaker 2: They were giving up big plays in the passing game.
2:18
Speaker 2: They got shredded by the Giants with two rookies just
2:21
Speaker 2: tearing them apart. And coming out of that, I mean,
2:25
Speaker 2: I didn't know what to expect. But here we are,
2:28
Speaker 2: and you're right. I mean, they come out of the
2:29
Speaker 2: buy here and with two teams that are certainly vying
2:34
Speaker 2: for the playoffs, green Bay and green Bay, and Detroit
2:38
Speaker 2: and shut them down.
2:39
Speaker 3: You know.
2:39
Speaker 2: And I remember last week when you and I were
2:42
Speaker 2: sort of looking ahead to this Lions game. I think
2:46
Speaker 2: we both kind of said, well, the Eagles beat the
2:49
Speaker 2: Packers ten to seven, but they're not beating the Detroit
2:52
Speaker 2: Lions ten to seven. That's going to be They're gonna
2:54
Speaker 2: have to score up some points in this game because
2:56
Speaker 2: the Lions can score well. Heck, it was exactly the
3:00
Speaker 2: same kind of game. It was another rock fight, you know,
3:02
Speaker 2: And but the Eagles had all the answers and Jared
3:07
Speaker 2: goff Man, I'd actually got to the point where I
3:11
Speaker 2: was field sorry for that guy in the fourth quarter,
3:14
Speaker 2: because I mean that if he's had a worse night
3:17
Speaker 2: and his football career, I never saw it. I mean,
3:20
Speaker 2: he was probably real, real happy to get on that
3:22
Speaker 2: plane and get out of town.
3:24
Speaker 3: You know.
3:24
Speaker 1: The book on Jared goff has always been if you
3:27
Speaker 1: can move him off his spot consistently, he's not nearly
3:32
Speaker 1: as lethal as he is when you let him stand
3:34
Speaker 1: in that pocket and get in a rhythm. And this
3:37
Speaker 1: defense didn't not allow him to stand in that pocket.
3:40
Speaker 1: And you could tell, I mean five passes batted down
3:43
Speaker 1: three by Jordan Davis two by Jalen Carter. Consistent pressure
3:47
Speaker 1: on him, hits on him, forcing him to move his feet. Okay,
3:51
Speaker 1: you can say the weather to a certain degree, ate
3:55
Speaker 1: it the defenses in the passing game overall, because he
3:59
Speaker 1: was often a lot of his passes missing wide open
4:02
Speaker 1: receivers he normally wouldn't have missed. But the fact that
4:05
Speaker 1: Vic Fangio kept their constant pressure on him was a
4:09
Speaker 1: huge turning point in this game.
4:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was, And it was an example of how
4:16
Speaker 2: it's okay to you know, the sacks are good, and
4:18
Speaker 2: the sacks are big plays, but you need consistent pressure
4:23
Speaker 2: all the time. You need pressure all the time. And
4:27
Speaker 2: to your point, you know, Jared Goff came into this
4:31
Speaker 2: game completing seventy five percent of his passes. He was
4:34
Speaker 2: one of the most efficient, high completion percentage passers in
4:37
Speaker 2: the whole leg. But he is and always has been,
4:41
Speaker 2: and I suspect always will be, is a classic rhythm thrower.
4:45
Speaker 2: Everything has to be in rhythm, and you saw there.
4:48
Speaker 2: There weren't many occasions, but there were a couple of
4:52
Speaker 2: occasions in this game where he did get his feet
4:55
Speaker 2: set and and you saw throw a perfect ball. The
5:00
Speaker 2: one touchdown pass look perfect from on time, right in stride.
5:04
Speaker 2: That's what he's capable of doing if he has the time.
5:07
Speaker 2: But he didn't have the time last night. One play
5:10
Speaker 2: and one play wasn't enough to win win this game.
5:12
Speaker 2: And you know, Derek, you're looking at this thing now.
5:17
Speaker 2: This team is eight and two, yea. And you look
5:20
Speaker 2: at the schedule. They've played the number of tough teams
5:23
Speaker 2: they've played, the number of very likely playoff teams they've
5:27
Speaker 2: played and beaten. At eight and two, they're sitting in
5:31
Speaker 2: a really good spot right now. They really are.
5:34
Speaker 1: You know, I can't say enough about the addition of
5:38
Speaker 1: Jalen Phillips, you know, and what he has meant to
5:41
Speaker 1: this team in the two games that he has played.
5:44
Speaker 1: And then of course you get back Nolan Smith, you know,
5:48
Speaker 1: and na Kobe Dean and and I tell you what
5:51
Speaker 1: it's like trying to lose pit bulls on opposing offenses.
5:55
Speaker 1: They are fast and furious to the ball. They don't
5:58
Speaker 1: miss tackles, uh the collapsing pockets. They're striking from different angles. Heck,
6:04
Speaker 1: the one play, Nikobe Dean's running down the sideline stride
6:07
Speaker 1: for stride with Jamiir Gibbs and you see him sitting
6:11
Speaker 1: on the sideline afterward they put an Isott shout on
6:13
Speaker 1: him and he says, man, he's fast, and I was
6:15
Speaker 1: going like this, hitting his hands, trying to slow him.
6:17
Speaker 3: Down a little bit.
6:17
Speaker 1: But I tell you what, the speed and the tenacity
6:21
Speaker 1: of this defense rate. The stats don't short right now statistically,
6:26
Speaker 1: other defenses are ahead of them, but in terms of
6:29
Speaker 1: the way they've played over the last month of football
6:32
Speaker 1: or so, there's no defense better in the National Football
6:35
Speaker 1: League right now.
6:38
Speaker 2: No, not right now. I mean, if you had to ask,
6:41
Speaker 2: I mean statistically they're still dragging behind them the stats
6:45
Speaker 2: from the first week, so they're not going to be there.
6:47
Speaker 2: But if you just want to take a snapshot, yep,
6:50
Speaker 2: where defenses are right now and who's playing the best football?
6:54
Speaker 2: These guys are it. And some of it is just
6:59
Speaker 2: growing into the defense that Vic is calling, and Vic
7:02
Speaker 2: understanding from week to week exactly what he needs to call.
7:05
Speaker 2: But another part of it, and a very big part
7:08
Speaker 2: of it, are the additions. You know, you mentioned Jalen Phillips,
7:14
Speaker 2: who has in just two weeks made a huge difference
7:17
Speaker 2: on this team, and then getting back Nolan Smith and
7:20
Speaker 2: the Kobe Dean has really transformed this defense. And you know,
7:26
Speaker 2: you get Phillips on the one side and you have
7:27
Speaker 2: Smith on the other side. We've talked a lot during
7:30
Speaker 2: the season that they just weren't winning on the edges.
7:33
Speaker 2: They just weren't you know, you are now. And you
7:36
Speaker 2: combine that with the terrific run support and the surprising
7:41
Speaker 2: number of times that they use the Kobe Dean as
7:44
Speaker 2: an eight gap blitzer and how effective he has been.
7:48
Speaker 2: I mean, this defense just seems to be developing more
7:51
Speaker 2: levels to its game as we go by the week.
7:54
Speaker 2: And I mean, right now, if defense wins championships, and
7:59
Speaker 2: that's the old expression that goes back to the Don
8:02
Speaker 2: Shula days. Right now, there's no defense playing better than
8:06
Speaker 2: these guys.
8:08
Speaker 1: You know, Jamiir Gimbs, part of his claim to fame
8:10
Speaker 1: is hitting it in those inside routes for gaining big
8:13
Speaker 1: yards in a running game. And Eagles shut that down
8:18
Speaker 1: real quick and never never let him really get his
8:20
Speaker 1: feet set and never let him find a scene. And
8:23
Speaker 1: it starts with I think with Jordan Davis. You know,
8:25
Speaker 1: Jordan Davis has been tremendously improved when it comes to
8:30
Speaker 1: playing run defense. I mentioned a moment ago he had
8:32
Speaker 1: three batted passes. You know, but his run defense ray
8:37
Speaker 1: and you've talked about this before. His run defense has
8:40
Speaker 1: improved significantly over the past several games a lot.
8:44
Speaker 2: I mean, you can really see a difference, you know.
8:47
Speaker 2: I remember conversations that we had last season about the
8:54
Speaker 2: perception of Jordan Davis, and people said, look, I'm not
8:57
Speaker 2: going to take it as far as saying people saying
9:00
Speaker 2: he was a bust or he was a waste to
9:02
Speaker 2: draft pick, but there was some people said I thought
9:04
Speaker 2: he was going to be better than this, And I
9:08
Speaker 2: think that Vic Fangio kind of challenged him and and
9:11
Speaker 2: sort of said, listen, you could be I mean, you're
9:14
Speaker 2: already a good player, but you could be a really
9:16
Speaker 2: good player.
9:18
Speaker 4: Hey, it's Jeff Mosher. And if you have a family
9:20
Speaker 4: and kids at home, like me, you always want them
9:23
Speaker 4: to be fully protected. That's why I'm thrilled to be
9:25
Speaker 4: a simply safe customer. And our house is equipped with
9:28
Speaker 4: the most technologically advanced alarm system you can get. If
9:32
Speaker 4: you could actually stop someone from breaking into your home
9:34
Speaker 4: before they got inside, why wouldn't you Traditional security systems
9:38
Speaker 4: only react after a break in, But Simply Safe is
9:42
Speaker 4: different because it stops crimes before they happen. With active
9:46
Speaker 4: guard outdoor protection. They're AI powered cameras detect threats while
9:50
Speaker 4: they're still outside your home, and they alert real security agents.
9:54
Speaker 4: These agents take action while the intruder is still outside
9:58
Speaker 4: and confront the intruder to let them know they're being
10:00
Speaker 4: watched on camera and police is on the way. And
10:03
Speaker 4: that's how you stop a crime before it's committed. There's
10:06
Speaker 4: no long term contracts or hidden fees. You can cancel
10:09
Speaker 4: any time, and it comes with a sixty day money
10:12
Speaker 4: back guarantee. Try it and see the difference for yourself.
10:14
Speaker 4: Do not miss out on simply Safe's biggest sale of
10:17
Speaker 4: the year, sixty percent off. Our listeners get sixty percent
10:22
Speaker 4: off a simply Safe home security system at simplysafe dot
10:26
Speaker 4: com slash bird a's simplysafe dot com slash bird.
10:31
Speaker 2: And contribute even more to this defense. If he does
10:34
Speaker 2: lost some weight and got in better condition, and you
10:36
Speaker 2: accept the challenge and you know thirty pounds is not nothing.
10:39
Speaker 2: I mean to lose thirty pounds, you got to work
10:42
Speaker 2: at it, and he did, but he came back. He's
10:44
Speaker 2: come back to be a much better condition, impactful player
10:50
Speaker 2: who what everybody saw last night was deflecting the three passes,
10:54
Speaker 2: which is big play for defensive tackle. But down in
10:57
Speaker 2: and down out the way he's jamming up the running
11:00
Speaker 2: and playing the run really impressive. And the other guy,
11:03
Speaker 2: I mean, everybody, we all sort of focus on the
11:06
Speaker 2: Georgia guys. We all focus on Davis and Carter for
11:09
Speaker 2: obvious reasons, but don't forget Ojomo. I mean, very quietly,
11:17
Speaker 2: he has developed into a very good player. Uh and
11:20
Speaker 2: he's always around the football, and he made a couple
11:23
Speaker 2: a couple of those short yardage stops, a couple of
11:25
Speaker 2: those fourth downs that they were able to stop. Ojomo
11:29
Speaker 2: was right in the middle of it, you know, beating
11:31
Speaker 2: the blocker and getting to the football. And I mean
11:33
Speaker 2: they've got I mean, they have now got a lot
11:36
Speaker 2: of bodies playing high level football on that defensive line.
11:40
Speaker 2: And that wasn't true early this year, but it's true now.
11:44
Speaker 1: You know. I think the one thing that has impressed
11:47
Speaker 1: me the most in recent games about this overall defense
11:52
Speaker 1: is vic Fangio sending more people at the quarterback. You know,
11:57
Speaker 1: we talked about how he was going to rely on
11:59
Speaker 1: as for me in front, especially early in the season
12:02
Speaker 1: to try to get pressure on the quarterback that wasn't working.
12:05
Speaker 1: But now he does not hold back in terms of
12:08
Speaker 1: sending an odd man from all different angles to attack
12:12
Speaker 1: a quarterback. And I think that is due to the
12:15
Speaker 1: fact that now he has that complete trust in the
12:18
Speaker 1: personnel that he's utilizing.
12:20
Speaker 3: Now.
12:21
Speaker 1: I mean, a lot of these guys played for him
12:22
Speaker 1: last year, but every year is a new year. And
12:25
Speaker 1: of course, you know, he's adding different concepts along the
12:27
Speaker 1: way to try to show offenses some looks that they
12:31
Speaker 1: may not have seen in the previous seven, eight, nine,
12:33
Speaker 1: ten games. But I just think the fact that it
12:36
Speaker 1: could be a linebacker, it could be a safety, could
12:38
Speaker 1: be a corner. He's not shy about sending extra people
12:41
Speaker 1: who have the quarterbacks now.
12:43
Speaker 2: No, no, And that's a lot of young players who
12:46
Speaker 2: I think are learning how this defense works and are
12:51
Speaker 2: playing with more confidence now. You know mcoomba of the
12:54
Speaker 2: safety is people forget about him. See he's a rookie. Yeah,
12:58
Speaker 2: but he's you know, but he is playing better now. Uh.
13:01
Speaker 2: And the return of Dean has really has really helped
13:05
Speaker 2: tremendously with this defense. So they're yeah, they're playing They're
13:09
Speaker 2: playing really really good football right now. Smart, aggressive, physical football.
13:13
Speaker 2: I Mean, one of the things that we talked about
13:17
Speaker 2: previewing this game was the fact that the Lions that
13:23
Speaker 2: combination of Montgomery and Gibbs is very good. I mean,
13:26
Speaker 2: that's that's a real you know, one guy's of power
13:29
Speaker 2: between the tackles. Runner Gibbs as explosive as can be,
13:33
Speaker 2: both average and over five yards to carry. And we said,
13:36
Speaker 2: you know, the Eagles, if they're gonna if they're gonna
13:38
Speaker 2: win this game, they're gonna really have to tackle. I mean,
13:41
Speaker 2: this is this is the team that when they run
13:43
Speaker 2: the ball, you've got to be really good with your tackling.
13:45
Speaker 2: You miss tackles that can get your beat against these guys.
13:48
Speaker 2: And I thought I thought they tackled really well. They
13:51
Speaker 2: were they were swarming to the football and and they
13:54
Speaker 2: were getting a couple of really good running backs on
13:56
Speaker 2: the ground. And that's the early in the season. I mean,
13:59
Speaker 2: I I was sort of scratching my head saying, I
14:01
Speaker 2: don't know about this run defense. You know, they were
14:03
Speaker 2: giving up way too many yards. But now right now,
14:07
Speaker 2: over these last couple of weeks, that's not so. I mean,
14:09
Speaker 2: they're playing well pretty much at every level and moving forward,
14:16
Speaker 2: you know, I mean you can't you can't overstate how
14:20
Speaker 2: important it is for this team to be where they
14:22
Speaker 2: are now because the early part of their schedule was
14:24
Speaker 2: very difficult. I mean you look at the teams that
14:26
Speaker 2: they've played and where they've played them, This was a
14:30
Speaker 2: very tough schedule. So to be where they are right
14:32
Speaker 2: now at eight and two and the number one seed,
14:35
Speaker 2: they're sitting at the number one seed right now after
14:38
Speaker 2: all of that, I mean, they have done they have
14:41
Speaker 2: really done a great job.
14:43
Speaker 4: Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic,
14:47
Speaker 4: long lines, We've all been there. But when it comes
14:50
Speaker 4: to your cannabis, cam Then Apothecary makes it easy. This
14:54
Speaker 4: is the dispensary for sports fans, just minutes outside of Philly,
14:59
Speaker 4: with plenty free parking.
15:00
Speaker 2: You'll be in and out.
15:01
Speaker 4: Fast, no hassle, no waiting, and they don't just care
15:05
Speaker 4: about convenience. Cam Din Apothecary is all about the guest experience.
15:10
Speaker 4: Their staff makes sure you feel taken care of every
15:13
Speaker 4: time you walk in. Plus, they carry only the best
15:16
Speaker 4: quality cannabis at the fairest prices, So whether you're stocking
15:20
Speaker 4: up for the tailgate, the watch party, or celebrating.
15:23
Speaker 1: A big win.
15:24
Speaker 4: You know you're getting the good stuff without overpaying. They
15:28
Speaker 4: even show love to the community with specials for fans, students,
15:33
Speaker 4: service members, and healthcare pros. Cam Din Apothecary, top quality cannabis,
15:38
Speaker 4: great prices, and an experience made for Philly fans twenty
15:41
Speaker 4: one and up.
15:43
Speaker 1: Dare we take a minute to apologize to adri Jackson.
15:49
Speaker 1: You brought it to my attention, and I said, you
15:51
Speaker 1: know what raise rates. But the last couple of games,
15:55
Speaker 1: he's played a much better brand of football. Now. I
15:58
Speaker 1: don't know if that's due to the fact that the
16:01
Speaker 1: guys in the trenches and the backers are forcing quarterbacks
16:05
Speaker 1: to make decisions sooner, but his overall game has not been.
16:09
Speaker 3: As exposed as it was the first half of the season.
16:12
Speaker 2: No, No, he's played much better. I mean earlier the season,
16:17
Speaker 2: I mean, I was, you know, we have talked so
16:20
Speaker 2: much about that other cornerback position, and Okay, who's it
16:23
Speaker 2: going to be? I mean, I mean I thought, and
16:27
Speaker 2: I think you kind of we both kind of talked
16:29
Speaker 2: about it. It's going to be Jacorian Bennett. I mean,
16:30
Speaker 2: at some point that he's gonna be. You know, they're
16:33
Speaker 2: going to put him in there, and he's probably going
16:35
Speaker 2: to have to be the guy because it doesn't look
16:37
Speaker 2: like ring goes ready for it, and said, certainly as
16:40
Speaker 2: Jackson the way he's been playing, But the last couple
16:43
Speaker 2: of games, he's played pretty well. Now, he got beat
16:46
Speaker 2: on the one touchdown pass last night, but the rest
16:49
Speaker 2: of the game, I thought he played really well and
16:51
Speaker 2: he had a couple of balls that were he made
16:55
Speaker 2: really good plays on it. Just broke on the ball
16:57
Speaker 2: and broke it up, but it was a good play.
16:59
Speaker 2: And you know, the Saint Brown, the receiver for the Lions,
17:06
Speaker 2: He's a tough matchup for anybody. And I mean he
17:10
Speaker 2: came into this game in sixty four catches, eight touchdowns.
17:14
Speaker 2: He was their number one receiver for sure. And the Eagles, yeah,
17:19
Speaker 2: they targeted there wasn't for a lack of trying. They
17:21
Speaker 2: targeted him twelve times. He had two catches. Yeah, I
17:24
Speaker 2: mean the Eagles just threw a blanket over him. And
17:26
Speaker 2: he is he is a tough matchup for anybody. And
17:30
Speaker 2: I got to give a lot of credit to Quinnan Mitchell,
17:33
Speaker 2: which is no surprise because we kind of almost expect
17:36
Speaker 2: that from him at this point, but there were matchups
17:39
Speaker 2: there with Jackson two where he also made the play.
17:42
Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean, they're finally getting to the point
17:45
Speaker 2: now where that other cornerback spot may not be the
17:49
Speaker 2: liability that we thought it was going to be.
17:53
Speaker 1: Are you surprised that Fangio stuck with a Dory as
17:56
Speaker 1: long as he did? I mean, because obviously the film
17:59
Speaker 1: showed he wasn't holding up his inn in the bargain.
18:01
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of times coaches I don't
18:03
Speaker 1: want to say panic, but they're not. They're not hesitant
18:05
Speaker 1: to make a switch if one guy is constantly being
18:08
Speaker 1: targeted as the Dory was. But Kudo's the vic. You know,
18:11
Speaker 1: he's stuck with him. Now. I mean you maybe say, well,
18:15
Speaker 1: Keeley wasn't ready, he didn't have many options, and a
18:18
Speaker 1: Dorry had the veteran experience over Kieley. But the bottom
18:21
Speaker 1: line is, you know how he went out and got
18:23
Speaker 1: other pieces to the equation. But they didn't address the
18:25
Speaker 1: cornerback position. And we talked about how we thought cornerback
18:29
Speaker 1: was one of the positions they would have dressed before
18:31
Speaker 1: the trade deadline, but they really didn't and and Fangio
18:34
Speaker 1: was stuck with them, and so far in the last
18:35
Speaker 1: couple of games, two crucial games against the Packers and Allions,
18:40
Speaker 1: he has held up his end of the bargain.
18:41
Speaker 2: Finally, he as he has, and it certainly helped them
18:48
Speaker 2: in this game against the Lions with the pass rush.
18:51
Speaker 2: I mean, you saw, you know, Jared Goff was struggling.
18:55
Speaker 2: I mean he was, he was under siege. The whole
18:58
Speaker 2: game looked like he played the whole game in a
18:59
Speaker 2: burning build. I mean, everything was just going on around him,
19:02
Speaker 2: and he it definitely affected his throwing, his timing and
19:08
Speaker 2: all that would certainly helped Jackson, But that doesn't take
19:12
Speaker 2: anything away from the job that Jackson did. I mean,
19:14
Speaker 2: he you know, he certainly held up his end. And
19:17
Speaker 2: I thought it was interesting throughout, even during the early
19:21
Speaker 2: part of the year, when Jackson looked to me to
19:23
Speaker 2: be like he was clearly struggling. When Vic was asked
19:28
Speaker 2: about him in his coach's press conferences, he he never
19:32
Speaker 2: really buried him, you know, he he said. In fact,
19:36
Speaker 2: he said a couple of times, you know, Jackson, a
19:39
Speaker 2: door is playing better.
19:41
Speaker 1: Uh.
19:41
Speaker 2: And it wasn't all that obvious to me, but it
19:44
Speaker 2: seemed to be obvious to Vic, and he saw something
19:48
Speaker 2: that that that maybe he was playing through an injury
19:51
Speaker 2: earlier this year. I don't know. Maybe he just feels
19:54
Speaker 2: more comfortable now with the people around him. I don't know.
19:59
Speaker 2: But the last couple of games, I mean, Vic kind
20:01
Speaker 2: of indicated there were a couple of times he was
20:03
Speaker 2: asked about him, and I was a little bit surprised
20:05
Speaker 2: that Vic was as positive in talking about him as
20:09
Speaker 2: he was. But maybe he saw this coming because right now, yeah,
20:12
Speaker 2: I mean Jackson, as you use the term, he's certainly
20:15
Speaker 2: holding up his end.
20:17
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know what Dan Campbell was thinking,
20:19
Speaker 1: but five times he goes forward on fourth down. All
20:23
Speaker 1: five times the Eagle Stone wall. Now, if Detroit converts
20:28
Speaker 1: one of those, that could have been a huge momentum
20:30
Speaker 1: shifter in terms of deciding the outcome of this game.
20:33
Speaker 1: But here's another here's another instance where this Eagles defense,
20:36
Speaker 1: this bend but don't break mentality comes up and makes
20:39
Speaker 1: the necessary plays when it has to. It may not
20:42
Speaker 1: always be pretty, it may not always be clean, but
20:45
Speaker 1: the somehow, some way find a way to make the
20:47
Speaker 1: necessary plays when they had to.
20:49
Speaker 3: And wow, five times you Stonewall, a high.
20:52
Speaker 1: Powered offense like that in fourth down situations, you have
20:56
Speaker 1: more than done your job.
20:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, five, go for it a fourth down five times
21:02
Speaker 2: and don't convert any of them.
21:04
Speaker 3: You know that.
21:06
Speaker 2: We had talked about the fact that Dan Campbell took
21:09
Speaker 2: over the play calling four in the Washington game, took
21:12
Speaker 2: it away from John Morton, and he called the game
21:16
Speaker 2: against Washington and they had forty four points and five
21:20
Speaker 2: and forty year its total offense, and everybody was leading
21:24
Speaker 2: the cheers for Dan Campbell. I don't think they were
21:26
Speaker 2: leading cheers for Dan Campbell today. I mean, this was
21:29
Speaker 2: this was a case where he just got just stubborn.
21:36
Speaker 2: You know, at a certain point, it's like, okay, we
21:39
Speaker 2: go for a fourth, Dow, we get stopped. All right,
21:40
Speaker 2: we go for a fourth that we get stopped again. Okay,
21:43
Speaker 2: I get it. This is not this is not working.
21:46
Speaker 2: Now we're going to play the percentages. We're gonna punt.
21:49
Speaker 2: The fact that he kept going for it and going
21:52
Speaker 2: for it was just to me just bullheaded, you know
21:55
Speaker 2: it was. And listen, I mean give the Eagles credit,
21:59
Speaker 2: I mean they came up and stopped them every single time.
22:02
Speaker 2: But to me, it was just I'd be kind of
22:05
Speaker 2: curious to see what Dan Campbell's press conference back in
22:09
Speaker 2: Detroit was like today. How many people were really grilling
22:13
Speaker 2: them about his decision to keep going for it on
22:16
Speaker 2: fourth down when it clearly wasn't working. But listen, in
22:19
Speaker 2: that offense last night, it seemed like nothing was working.
22:23
Speaker 2: It didn't matter if it was first down, second down,
22:25
Speaker 2: third down, or fourth down. It looked like the Eagles
22:28
Speaker 2: had the answer for all of it.
22:31
Speaker 1: Let's talk about this offense rate inept puzzling, mind boggling.
22:38
Speaker 1: There's just too much money invested into this Eagles offense
22:42
Speaker 1: for this offense to be this lethargic. They scored one
22:47
Speaker 1: touchdown against Green Bay, one touchdown against Detroit. I don't
22:53
Speaker 1: know how to explain what's going on with this offense rate, because, Okay,
22:59
Speaker 1: they've had some banged offensive lineman, but the key personnel
23:02
Speaker 1: has been there. But the fluidity of this offense has
23:07
Speaker 1: not existed all season long. But I will give them
23:10
Speaker 1: credit for one thing. They make enough plays to to
23:15
Speaker 1: keep the opposing team at bay. But in terms of
23:19
Speaker 1: manhandling teams, except maybe for the one game against the Giants,
23:23
Speaker 1: that second game against the Giants. This offense is nowhere
23:27
Speaker 1: near what we've expected it to be. Now, you can
23:29
Speaker 1: say usually in a new season, you take three or
23:32
Speaker 1: four games to get your feet under you, because you
23:35
Speaker 1: really don't play your front line players in a preseason,
23:38
Speaker 1: and it will take you about three or four games
23:40
Speaker 1: to get your sea legs under you, so to speak.
23:43
Speaker 1: We're a ten games in counting Ray and I don't
23:46
Speaker 1: know how to describe this offense or what to make
23:48
Speaker 1: of this offense moving forward.
23:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is. It is puzzling because come into the season,
23:59
Speaker 2: I think if you at what you expected this team
24:02
Speaker 2: to be most most people, and I think you and
24:07
Speaker 2: I both agreed on this coming in. Well, you know,
24:11
Speaker 2: the it's probably gonna take a little while to put
24:13
Speaker 2: this defense together because you know, you lost a lot
24:16
Speaker 2: of players and you brought in some new players, and
24:19
Speaker 2: it's probably gonna take a little while to put this
24:21
Speaker 2: the defense together. And this year, this defense may very
24:25
Speaker 2: well be a work in progress the whole season until
24:28
Speaker 2: you get it all sorted out. But the offense, no problem.
24:33
Speaker 2: You know, we got all they got everybody's back. You
24:35
Speaker 2: lost Beck then, but they felt like Steam could step
24:38
Speaker 2: in and do the job. But the offense will be
24:42
Speaker 2: rock solid. You know, they're just gonna pick up where
24:44
Speaker 2: they left off last year, and the defense will will
24:48
Speaker 2: work through that. But the offense were good to go,
24:52
Speaker 2: and that has not been the case. Uh, And it's
24:57
Speaker 2: it's sort of the it's sort of the reverse of
24:59
Speaker 2: what we thought. And you don't want to and I
25:01
Speaker 2: think you're kind of at the same place I am
25:03
Speaker 2: right now, is you don't want to get overwrought about
25:08
Speaker 2: it because they are. They are eight and two, and
25:11
Speaker 2: they have made enough plays to get to where they
25:14
Speaker 2: are right now, which is sitting number one seed in
25:17
Speaker 2: the NFC. I give them total credit for all of that.
25:21
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a heck of an accomplishment given the
25:23
Speaker 2: way this season is unfolded. But you have to be
25:28
Speaker 2: concerned about where this offense is right now. I mean
25:32
Speaker 2: still way too many three and ounce, way too many,
25:39
Speaker 2: you know, I mean they had and all of these
25:43
Speaker 2: it seems like every third, every third down is third
25:46
Speaker 2: and eight third and ten, third and eleven, third and twelve.
25:49
Speaker 2: Some of it is penalties. They still get too many penalties,
25:51
Speaker 2: which is a problem. But the other part of it
25:54
Speaker 2: is they just can't get anything done in the early downs,
25:58
Speaker 2: you know that first down, second, they're just not getting
26:00
Speaker 2: anything done there, so every third down becomes long, a
26:03
Speaker 2: third and long, And they just have tried a lot
26:07
Speaker 2: of different things, had a little bit of success, but
26:10
Speaker 2: not much. But if you're looking down the road here
26:14
Speaker 2: and look, they're set up very nicely with the number
26:16
Speaker 2: one seed right now, but you're going to have to
26:19
Speaker 2: get this offense more in gear and get this offense
26:24
Speaker 2: to be more productive if you really do hope to
26:27
Speaker 2: win in the postseason. They're in a very good position
26:30
Speaker 2: right now going into the playoffs, but can they get
26:35
Speaker 2: to the Super I don't think I've ever seen a
26:37
Speaker 2: team get to a Super Bowl and win a Super
26:39
Speaker 2: Bowl that is leading the league in three and ounce
26:43
Speaker 2: and that's pretty much these guys are. That's just not
26:46
Speaker 2: winning offensive football. And the defense has played great to
26:49
Speaker 2: get you where you are. But if the idea is
26:52
Speaker 2: to take it all the way and win this thing,
26:55
Speaker 2: the offense has to be more productive and more consistent
26:58
Speaker 2: than what we've seen this year.
27:00
Speaker 4: Hey, I still like a good night out, but I'm
27:02
Speaker 4: not always in the mood to drink. And that's why
27:05
Speaker 4: I look for a great alternative, and I found one.
27:08
Speaker 4: It's called Souls out of Office Gummies. You get the
27:11
Speaker 4: same light, happy buzz, but you don't have the hangover.
27:15
Speaker 4: There's no sugar, and you don't get that awkward feeling
27:18
Speaker 4: the next morning. They help me unwind and ease into
27:21
Speaker 4: my evening without the alcohol or the next day fog.
27:25
Speaker 4: Soul is a wellness brand that believes feeling good should
27:27
Speaker 4: be fun and easy. Soul specializes in delicious hemp, thrived THCHC,
27:32
Speaker 4: and CBD products designed to boost your mood and help
27:35
Speaker 4: you unwind. Their best selling out of office gummies were
27:38
Speaker 4: designed to provide a mild, relaxing buzz, boost your mood,
27:42
Speaker 4: and enhance your creativity and relaxation. With five different strengths,
27:47
Speaker 4: you can tailor the dose to fit your vibe, from
27:49
Speaker 4: a gentle one point five milligram microdose to their newest
27:53
Speaker 4: fifteen milligram gummy for a more elevated experience. They've also
27:57
Speaker 4: got a variety of products specifically does designed to help
28:00
Speaker 4: you get a better night's rest, including Soul's top selling
28:05
Speaker 4: sleep gummy, a fan favorite for deep restorative sleep. So
28:10
Speaker 4: bring on the good vibes and treat yourself to Soul today,
28:13
Speaker 4: right now, Soul is offering our audience thirty percent off
28:18
Speaker 4: your entire order, So go to getsoul dot com and
28:22
Speaker 4: use the code birds brds. That's getsol dot com promo
28:26
Speaker 4: code birds for thirty percent off.
28:29
Speaker 1: I'm going to put something out here and share with
28:31
Speaker 1: you that I shared last night on our Verizon postgame
28:35
Speaker 1: show that I do with Seth Joinner and Mark far Azeta.
28:38
Speaker 1: Last week, dianaver seen he put a story out there
28:41
Speaker 1: that there are a number of players that are frustrated
28:44
Speaker 1: with Jalen Hurts and the way he runs this offense.
28:47
Speaker 1: So I added to the story on Sunday night that
28:50
Speaker 1: is not just players, but there's people throughout the organization
28:54
Speaker 1: that are frustrated with the way Jalen runs this offense. Now,
28:57
Speaker 1: you know me long enough to know, like I asked Seth,
29:00
Speaker 1: and I've asked like I asked Mark. I said, you
29:02
Speaker 1: guys have known me long enough to know that I
29:04
Speaker 1: won't put anything out there unless my facts are facts.
29:08
Speaker 1: And so I've been sitting on this for a while,
29:10
Speaker 1: and Diana put it out there first. I said, Okay,
29:12
Speaker 1: it's time to talk about this. But there are a
29:15
Speaker 1: number of players that are thoroughly frustrated with the way
29:19
Speaker 1: Jalen has run or like thereof run the offense. He's
29:23
Speaker 1: been talked to by coaches and other people in the organization.
29:28
Speaker 1: They practice the offense and getting ready for an opponent
29:31
Speaker 1: a certain way, but when the game comes around, those
29:35
Speaker 1: plays are not run the way they were practiced. And
29:39
Speaker 1: if you remember, if you go back to that Green
29:43
Speaker 1: Bay game, when he threw the bomb late in the
29:47
Speaker 1: game to AJ and he didn't catch it, we saw
29:51
Speaker 1: Nick Ciriana on the sideline screaming why why, and then
29:55
Speaker 1: DeVante Smith said in the post game, well, number one
29:58
Speaker 1: and number eleven call that play and whatever one and
30:00
Speaker 1: eleven once they get and we just roll with it.
30:04
Speaker 1: But this is becoming a problem, Racee, and on social
30:07
Speaker 1: media all day on Monday, people have been coming at me,
30:10
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm talking about.
30:12
Speaker 3: You're wrong.
30:13
Speaker 1: He's a Super Bowl MVP, he's been to two Super Bowls.
30:17
Speaker 1: The team is eight and two, so on and so forth.
30:20
Speaker 2: I get it.
30:20
Speaker 1: They're fans, but they don't understand the inner working mechanisms
30:24
Speaker 1: of what we're talking about here.
30:26
Speaker 3: And I'm not the only one that's starting to talk
30:28
Speaker 3: about this.
30:28
Speaker 1: Now, there's other people talking about this as well, and
30:31
Speaker 1: when information starts coming from inside the building, that tells
30:35
Speaker 1: you in a lot of ways, it is deliberately being
30:39
Speaker 1: leaked to bring attention to it and maybe to get
30:43
Speaker 1: this guy to rethink his position, and it's thinking when
30:47
Speaker 1: it comes to games. But winning will mask a lot
30:51
Speaker 1: of things. Ray when you win, it's Camelot. Everybody's happy
30:55
Speaker 1: and I don't care how you get those eight wins.
30:57
Speaker 1: I don't care how you get the number one seed,
31:00
Speaker 1: as long as you get and the bottom line, yes,
31:02
Speaker 1: that is but this is an internal problem. Aj has
31:05
Speaker 1: been telling us about this all season long, about his frustration.
31:10
Speaker 1: He hasn't pinpointed anybody, but we kind of knew who
31:12
Speaker 1: he is talking about. And now it's starting to trickle
31:15
Speaker 1: out and other outlets and people are like, why are
31:18
Speaker 1: you trying to make up stories? And what No, No, me,
31:22
Speaker 1: Hugh Douglas, other people.
31:24
Speaker 3: I know.
31:24
Speaker 1: We're not putting it out here just to get clicks.
31:27
Speaker 1: We're not clickbake people. We're putting it out there because
31:31
Speaker 1: our job, your job is to honestly analyze everything that
31:35
Speaker 1: we know of that goes on within this team. And
31:39
Speaker 1: this is not an isolated case. They're historically have been
31:42
Speaker 1: teams ray As you know, that have been dysfunctional and
31:45
Speaker 1: yet still won in one a lot of games and
31:47
Speaker 1: hoisted at Lombardi Trophy. And this team may go on
31:50
Speaker 1: and hoist a Lombardi Trophy again for a second time
31:53
Speaker 1: in two seasons.
31:55
Speaker 3: But this quarterback situation is.
31:57
Speaker 1: Something to keep close a close eye on because more
32:01
Speaker 1: and more whispers are growing louder and louder about what
32:06
Speaker 1: he's doing with his offense.
32:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're closes the situation than I am. So I
32:13
Speaker 2: hadn't heard that yet. But if you're just watching what's
32:19
Speaker 2: happening on the offensive side of the ball right now,
32:22
Speaker 2: there's something really wrong. I mean, there's no question about that.
32:28
Speaker 3: Now.
32:29
Speaker 2: Where it starts, who's involved, how do you fix it?
32:35
Speaker 2: Those are all different questions. But to hear what you're
32:38
Speaker 2: saying and what you describe, it's like I said to
32:42
Speaker 2: you before we started, Man, this sounds a lot like
32:45
Speaker 2: Carson Wentz again. Oh you know, I mean, we A
32:49
Speaker 2: lot of the stuff you're talking about is all the
32:52
Speaker 2: kind of stuff we heard. Starting started with a trickle
32:57
Speaker 2: with Wentz, and then it got more and more to
33:00
Speaker 2: the point where then it was everywhere, and it spelled
33:05
Speaker 2: the end of his time in Philadelphia. And it was
33:10
Speaker 2: a lot of the same kind of stuff. You know,
33:11
Speaker 2: a guy that had played really well, a guy that
33:14
Speaker 2: seemed like he was the leader of the team, a
33:16
Speaker 2: guy that everybody was characterizing as, Oh, this is our
33:20
Speaker 2: franchise quarterback, and then all of a sudden, you know,
33:25
Speaker 2: there was something that you know, started hearing, there were
33:28
Speaker 2: things going on, and then the next thing, you know,
33:30
Speaker 2: it was over. Now, the big difference here is we
33:36
Speaker 2: are talking about a quarterback who won you the Super Bowl,
33:39
Speaker 2: and we are talking about a guy who was the
33:41
Speaker 2: MVP in that Super Bowl, which I mean, Wentz had
33:45
Speaker 2: a great year in twenty seventeen, but he didn't have that.
33:49
Speaker 2: You know, this guy has that. He's won the ultimate
33:53
Speaker 2: which that's what everybody's trying for. But it is interesting
33:58
Speaker 2: that to this point, all attention has been on aj Brown,
34:06
Speaker 2: and you know that he's the guy who's unhappy, He's
34:10
Speaker 2: the guy who's the problem, He's the guy who's holding
34:13
Speaker 2: this team back. Nobody's laid that on Jalen really to
34:16
Speaker 2: this point. If but If, and I've known you long
34:21
Speaker 2: enough to know that, you know, you just don't throw
34:24
Speaker 2: stuff out there. To throw stuff out there. If that's
34:26
Speaker 2: really if that's really the feeling that exists, then that's
34:31
Speaker 2: a whole nother problem that the coaches and the people
34:35
Speaker 2: in the front office have to deal with. If they
34:37
Speaker 2: really do hope to win this thing, they have to
34:39
Speaker 2: get all of these all of these issues resolved. I mean,
34:43
Speaker 2: because can teams overcome and win? Yeah, I guess. I
34:46
Speaker 2: mean we've seen teams to overcome some internal issues and win,
34:50
Speaker 2: but it's not easy to do. You really kind of
34:53
Speaker 2: need everybody on the same page. And defensively I think
34:57
Speaker 2: they are, but offensively, you know, offensively they're far far
35:02
Speaker 2: removed from what I consider championship football.
35:06
Speaker 1: And see that's what AJ was talking about when he said,
35:10
Speaker 1: you know, we're not playing up to our capabilities. He said,
35:14
Speaker 1: I just want to help the team win. And we
35:16
Speaker 1: singled out AJ as being disgruntled and selfish and a
35:19
Speaker 1: diva and so on and so forth, and to a
35:23
Speaker 1: certain degree, you know, Jeffrey Lorie asked them last week
35:25
Speaker 1: when they had their meeting on the field, Hey, can
35:28
Speaker 1: you tone down the social media aspect of what your
35:30
Speaker 1: frustrations are? And AJ said, you know, I will tone
35:33
Speaker 1: it down, you know. But now we're starting to hear
35:37
Speaker 1: and see and let me go on record saying this.
35:39
Speaker 1: I could care less what the general consensus think about
35:41
Speaker 1: me or what I've said, you know, because again I'm
35:45
Speaker 1: not going to put anything out there. I don't need
35:47
Speaker 1: the clicks, I don't need the views. I'm not putting
35:50
Speaker 1: anything out there. But it is something too closely monitor
35:55
Speaker 1: with this team moving forward. And again I have to
35:58
Speaker 1: emphasize once again, they may go on and go deep
36:01
Speaker 1: into the playoffs, they may go on in Hoystedt Lombardi
36:03
Speaker 1: Trophy again, but beyond this season, it's a topic that's not.
36:07
Speaker 3: Going to go away.
36:08
Speaker 1: The whispers are going to continue beyond this particular season,
36:13
Speaker 1: and it's going to be interesting to see how the
36:15
Speaker 1: Eagles deal with this, not just now, but beyond twenty
36:20
Speaker 1: twenty five.
36:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it Normally these are the kinds of conversations
36:26
Speaker 2: you have when your team is two and eight.
36:28
Speaker 3: Yep.
36:30
Speaker 2: But to your point, yeah, when you win, even when
36:34
Speaker 2: you win ten to seven, even when you win sixteen
36:37
Speaker 2: to seven, even if you win ugly. As long as
36:40
Speaker 2: you win, that's the bottom line, and I suppose it is.
36:45
Speaker 2: But this kind of stuff can't help, you know it
36:53
Speaker 2: really it really can't help. And if there really is
36:56
Speaker 2: that kind of stuff out there, then you know, the
37:01
Speaker 2: coaches and the players, they they have to deal with it.
37:03
Speaker 2: And it is interesting because to this point, if there
37:06
Speaker 2: is this kind of internal issue, everybody's kind of been
37:09
Speaker 2: laying it at the feet of Aj Brown he's the problem,
37:13
Speaker 2: and Kevin Petula and and Kevin Patula. But if and
37:17
Speaker 2: everybody's kind of nobody has really brought the quarterback into
37:21
Speaker 2: it in that respect. There's been up and down people
37:24
Speaker 2: talking about he's not playing particularly well, but nobody suggests
37:27
Speaker 2: that there's anything more than that. If there is, then
37:32
Speaker 2: you know, that's a worry. I mean, it really is.
37:34
Speaker 2: It really is.
37:35
Speaker 3: Hey, bad news coming out of the Eagles camp. Lane Johnson.
37:39
Speaker 1: It was announced that Monday has a Liz Frank injury,
37:42
Speaker 1: and as we know, that's an injury that could keep
37:44
Speaker 1: him out from anywhere from four to eight weeks. Fred
37:49
Speaker 1: Johnson is filled in admirably, but Fred, let's wait, Fred's
37:52
Speaker 1: not Lane Johnson, and that could be a problem for
37:54
Speaker 1: this offensive line moving forward.
37:56
Speaker 3: I mean, Lane Johnson.
37:58
Speaker 1: Has been, you know, the rock of Gibraltar in terms
38:02
Speaker 1: of playing through an injury for a lot of this
38:04
Speaker 1: season shoulder injury, now, ankle injury, now foot injury. And
38:09
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting to see moving forward how defenses
38:12
Speaker 1: attached that side of the line of scrimmats now with
38:15
Speaker 1: Lane Johnson now for an extended period of time. But
38:18
Speaker 1: that's not good. I mean, this offensive line has been
38:20
Speaker 1: nicked up all season long, but to lose Lane from
38:22
Speaker 1: anywhere from a from a month to two months, it
38:27
Speaker 1: could be detrimental in the long run.
38:29
Speaker 2: It's a blow. I mean, he's he's the best. He's
38:33
Speaker 2: the best right tackle this team's ever had. And in
38:37
Speaker 2: saying that, I'm putting them ahead of a guy who's
38:40
Speaker 2: in the Hall of Fame named Bob Brown. You know,
38:43
Speaker 2: I saw Bob Brown's whole career here in Philadelphia, and
38:48
Speaker 2: I always thought, you know, Eagles will never have a
38:52
Speaker 2: right tackle as good as this guy. Uh, And Bob
38:55
Speaker 2: Brown was great, That's why he's in Canton. But honestly,
38:58
Speaker 2: you know, Lane has been better, longer, more consistent, and
39:02
Speaker 2: has just been a great player. And if you don't
39:06
Speaker 2: have him for the postseason, and we all know the
39:10
Speaker 2: history of Liz Frank injuries, they take a long time
39:13
Speaker 2: to heal that. You're going to miss him. I mean,
39:15
Speaker 2: you're absolutely going to miss him. Now, Fred Johnson is
39:18
Speaker 2: a very solid tackle. I mean he'll he'll step in
39:22
Speaker 2: and he'll be fine. But the problem is, now now
39:26
Speaker 2: you lose that. You know, sometimes they were using Fred
39:31
Speaker 2: Johnson as that extra tight end kind of guy. They
39:34
Speaker 2: were going with that sixth offensive lineman look, which at
39:37
Speaker 2: times was pretty effective. Well, now you're not going to
39:40
Speaker 2: have that, you know. Now Johnson's going to have to
39:42
Speaker 2: play lane spot. So you're going to lose that that
39:46
Speaker 2: bit of flexibility in your formations and your play calling,
39:49
Speaker 2: which is a loss. But you know, the offensive, I mean,
39:53
Speaker 2: it seems like there's a lot of issues with the offense.
39:55
Speaker 2: We've talked a lot about them here. To me, it's
39:58
Speaker 2: so much of it all traces back to the offensive line.
40:01
Speaker 2: They have just never been right all year. Uh, and
40:05
Speaker 2: it's largely because most of the guys have been dealing
40:08
Speaker 2: with injury. And I think you know, last night they
40:10
Speaker 2: got Cam Jurgens back, but it was obvious he was
40:14
Speaker 2: he was just wasn't. He probably shouldn't be even playing,
40:16
Speaker 2: to be honest with you, I mean, he looked like
40:18
Speaker 2: he was so limited. Yeah, he didn't. He was unable
40:21
Speaker 2: to finish the game. They had to get him out
40:23
Speaker 2: of there and they put Tooth in. But I mean,
40:25
Speaker 2: he was struggling mightily. Part of the reason why they
40:27
Speaker 2: were having trouble with the Tousch pushes early was they
40:30
Speaker 2: weren't getting the same push at the center position, and
40:32
Speaker 2: it was you know, Jergons. Look, I admire the fact
40:35
Speaker 2: that he wanted to come back, He wanted to be back,
40:37
Speaker 2: he wanted to play through the injury. But I think
40:40
Speaker 2: you saw last night that he just he just wasn't
40:42
Speaker 2: ready to play. And I wonder, you know, if he's
40:46
Speaker 2: gonna be Is he going to be ready to play
40:47
Speaker 2: or you're gonna have to go with Toath again down
40:49
Speaker 2: in Dallas. I mean, that's that's just typical of this
40:52
Speaker 2: whole offensive line. They've had injury issues all up and
40:55
Speaker 2: down that line, and a lot of the problems they've
40:57
Speaker 2: been dealing with in this offense.
40:59
Speaker 1: I think really begin there. Hey, you know, aj finally
41:03
Speaker 1: got what he wanted. He got remembered in the offense
41:07
Speaker 1: eleven targets, seven catches, only forty nine yards. But Ray,
41:10
Speaker 1: when I looked at his overall playing in this game
41:12
Speaker 1: against the Lions. He wasn't getting separation, He wasn't that
41:17
Speaker 1: dominant offensive force that we were accustomed to sing in
41:21
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four and before that, you know, going into
41:26
Speaker 1: the game, he was deemed healthy. People I talked to said, oh,
41:29
Speaker 1: he's healthy. I don't know, Ray, I mean, what is
41:33
Speaker 1: he twenty eight twenty nine years old? And I don't
41:35
Speaker 1: know many twenty eight twenty nine years old year olds
41:38
Speaker 1: unless they've had a devastating injury that looked like they've
41:42
Speaker 1: lost a step. And I don't want to go on
41:43
Speaker 1: a limb right now and say I think AJ's lost
41:45
Speaker 1: a step. But Aj, we watched against Detroit. It's not AJ.
41:50
Speaker 1: We're customer singing in terms of bullying and DB's because
41:53
Speaker 1: he didn't do that in this particular game.
41:56
Speaker 2: No, And I think part of the problem, part of
42:01
Speaker 2: the problem with that has been with AJ all year,
42:03
Speaker 2: where he has not been getting the ball thrown to him,
42:07
Speaker 2: where his overall production is significantly down, is because Nick
42:14
Speaker 2: Sirianni and Kevin Detolo. I'm sure by extension, but Nick
42:19
Speaker 2: Nick's whole offensive philosophy is don't turn the ball over.
42:22
Speaker 2: Don't take any chances, don't take any unnecessary chances, don't
42:26
Speaker 2: put the ball in harm's way. Just don't turn the
42:28
Speaker 2: ball over. That's that's what Nick believes in. That's what
42:34
Speaker 2: Nick preaches all the time. And you sort of said it,
42:39
Speaker 2: and I've been seeing it. I think most of the
42:40
Speaker 2: fans have seen it. When you look at Aj, he's
42:44
Speaker 2: not open that much, you know, I mean he doesn't.
42:48
Speaker 2: He is a guy who has been throughout his career,
42:51
Speaker 2: a guy who has won with his size, his length,
42:54
Speaker 2: and his strength. He wins by taking ripping the ball
42:57
Speaker 2: away from the defender. He's you know, he's the master
42:59
Speaker 2: of the contested ball. He's the master of winning the
43:01
Speaker 2: fifty to fifty ball. But he's not open a ton.
43:07
Speaker 2: He fights for the ball and he comes down with
43:08
Speaker 2: a lot of the time. Well in this offense, with
43:12
Speaker 2: the with this offense that is so mistake adverse. It
43:17
Speaker 2: seems to me that if Jalen hurts, his idea is
43:21
Speaker 2: I don't want to risk interceptions. A lot of times
43:24
Speaker 2: even if he looks at Aj, it looks like he's
43:26
Speaker 2: covered and Okay, maybe I can throw it and maybe
43:30
Speaker 2: he can come down with it, but maybe not but
43:32
Speaker 2: you know, Goddard's open, and Smith he's running a great
43:37
Speaker 2: route and he's open. I'm going to go there where
43:38
Speaker 2: it's a safer throw. I think part of the problem
43:42
Speaker 2: why AJ is not getting the ball is this emphasis
43:46
Speaker 2: on don't turn the ball over, And a lot of
43:49
Speaker 2: the times when you're throwing the ball to AJ, it
43:51
Speaker 2: looks like he's covered and he can come down with
43:54
Speaker 2: it sometimes, but if the idea is I'm not making
43:57
Speaker 2: a risky throw, sometimes it looks like to risky throw.
44:00
Speaker 2: And I think that's contributed to his lack of involvement.
44:04
Speaker 2: Now this game, they've targeted him eleven times and he
44:07
Speaker 2: comes down with seven or eight balls, but he averages
44:09
Speaker 2: like seven yards of seven yards a catch, and that's
44:13
Speaker 2: that's not the kind of production we're used to seeing
44:15
Speaker 2: from this guy.
44:17
Speaker 1: Well, the defense is dominating people. The offense is lethargic
44:22
Speaker 1: and has been for quite some time. And yet this
44:25
Speaker 1: team is eight and two and the number one seed
44:28
Speaker 1: right now in the NFC. Go figure Well, we're gonna
44:33
Speaker 1: try to figure this all out again next week after
44:35
Speaker 1: the Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys down in Texas.
44:40
Speaker 1: So until that game against the hated Cowboys for Ray Didinger.
44:44
Speaker 1: I'm Derek Gunn. This has been Birds Weekly, presented by
44:47
Speaker 1: the Inside the Birds Network until next week.
44:50
Speaker 3: So long, everybody,