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Football at Four: DiCecco's Thursday Eagles OTA Notebook · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Andrew de Cheko is here his observation OTAs all week long,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: and of course the trade of A. J. Brown, and
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we'll start there obviously, Andrew, as AJ Brown is traded,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: did I would imagine sparked no surprise on the practice
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: field at the former Nova Care Center. Everybody just seeming
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: happy that this thing is behind them.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was business is usual, Mike, and not really
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: a surprise. This is something that felt inevitable, especially you know,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: me coming back from the combine. I get a strong
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: sense of that that was the direction that things were trending.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: And you know, it was a big build up. But
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: you get to the OTAs and the Tuesday practice and
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the sense of relief was expressed by Jordan Mylott. But
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: I also feel it's worth noting that Cooper Dejene and
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Quinya Mitchell were just among the players that noted that
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: they're going to miss AJ and the value that he provided,
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: you know, pushing them to reach their full potential, challenging
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: and challenging them in practice. He was calling Cooper all
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: proop before it ever happened, so it kind of all
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: manifested there. So there were you could tell that there
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: were there were some teammates there that certainly are going
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: to miss him.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean I had Cooper on at the Super
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Bowl and read Blanketchem and Dean, all three of them, Andrew.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: When I mentioned Aj Brown, it wasn't just a fake
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Oh that's our guy. Like you could tell the smiles
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: on their face and how much they loved Aj. And
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I would imagine, you know, this wasn't like people thought
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: that Aj was a bad guy, or that it wasn't
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: like they hated this guy or that was the problem.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: It just seemed to have run's course.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: I don't know what the offensive players thought. I haven't
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: heard a whole I mean, I know Saquon, but you
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: said my lot. I was like, thank god, this is over.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: But there was certainly a connection with Aj through at
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: least the defensive players on that On that team.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say offensive as well, the Vonte Smith,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Saquon Barkley, the receiver group, and there's other players that
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: I'm probably forgetting right now, but you could just tell
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: from being around the team on a day in, day
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: out basis how beloved he was in that building. Now,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: when you have seventy players on a Roger it's not
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: realistic everyone is going to be, you know, harmonious, that
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: everything's going to be harmonious and all that. But I
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: would say, by and large, from what I've observed, yeah,
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: he was very well liked and a popular player and
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: someone who was valued inside that building as a whole.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: Well, let's look at the replacements. Mackay Lemon not on
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: the field with a answering situation, but what you observed
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: first time out there seeing the replacements, just initial overview
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: on how that position, the overhaul of that position will
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: be different this year.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: So it's going to be more of a collective approach
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: this year, and that really shouldn't be a surprise. This
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: is going to be a true West Coast offense, So
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: they're going to facilitate the ball to a number of
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: different players. I'm Tay Smith's going to command most of
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: the targets in terms of the wide receiver, but Dallas
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Goddard's going to get his Dontavian Wicks as a player
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: that the Eagles are intrigued by. They want to get
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: a long look at him, and he stands to benefit
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: from the absence of an Aj Brown and as the
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: big body receiver option that they have at six foot one,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: two hundred and six pounds. But you kind of see
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: life without AJ when you don't have the Kai Lemon
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: on the field. He had the hamstring. As you outlined,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Darius Cooper didn't participate in team drills on that particular day.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: He was there for individuals and then watching from the sideline.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: And then they're mixing in Elijah Moore and Hollywood Brown
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: a little earlier than you would ideally like to see,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: but that's what they're working with right now. But I
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: do think it's worth mentioning that Howie Roseman made a
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: concerted effort this offseason to brace the team for life
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: without AJ Brown, adding I think five different receivers over
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: the course of the offseason. It's kind of like a
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: basketball team. There's your big body guy and don Tavian Wicks.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: You have your fast guy in Hollywood Brown. Elijah Moore
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: is a good route runner who can work the shorts
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: intermediate levels, So you kind of go down the list there.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Mcconon's going to be a high volume slot option when
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: he gets an opportunity when he's back there on the field,
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: and I think he's going to be an early impact
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: player as long as he takes to the offense, Well,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: it's going to be. It's not always going to be,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: you know, one of those accelerated rookie development. Sometimes players
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: take a little bit more of a gradual approach to things.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: But I like what the Eagles have done to piece
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: it together. But make no mistake about it, Mike, when
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: you lose AJ Brown, you're not a better football team.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: I do believe that AJ has some elite years ahead
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: of him in terms of production, and the Eagles are
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: going to move on and they could offset it if
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: the offense functions as you know, properly executed with the
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: abundance of players that they have to get a lot
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: of pieces involved.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: One guy I want to look at more in the
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: crosshairs now is Deavonte Smith. What more or different will
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: they do with him this season now that AJ's not here,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Because I kind of went through a lot of the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: menu style of office and then you look at the ramps.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Phuka Nakua just gets all the targets there. The next guy,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, DeVante Adams.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: You know, you got.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Nakua like fifteen hundred yards, Adams like seven hundred. You
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: go down to San Francisco when they were humming. You know,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Auk has thirteen hundred yards. The next guy there, you know,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: they're drop off kill and then Deebo Samuel. You look
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: at a lot of these Team Seattle last year, Jack
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: to Smith and Chigma had by far all the targets
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: and yards. You know, the next guy was a tight end.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: So is that how you see this happening here with
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: DeVante Smith where he's now the guy that gets everything
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: and everybody else kind of uh, is just the other guys?
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, everybody that's kind of chips and it's gonna run
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: through the Smith and Dallas Goddard. But I think if
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: the offense is fishing as intended, you're not going to
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: see the Eagles four speed Devonte the ball. You're going
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: to go to the open guy. That's where the quick
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: decision making process and timing is going to become so
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: paramount in this true West Coast system. And yeah, I
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: don't necessarily know that you're gonna be slowly predicated on
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: just one or two options. Spread the ball around, including
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: to Dante, Avian Wix and Makayle Lemon as well. So
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: it's going to be more of a collective approach in
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: the post aj brown Er, at least in my estimation.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: All Right, you know you look at the offense as
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: a whole. Now you mentioned Jordan a lot of that
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: offensive line. I know you can't tell at these OTAs here,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: but how much you know the offense before was really
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: predicated on how good that offensive line is. We know
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: throughout football though, a lot of teams have struggles on
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: the offensive line and they kind of work their way
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: around it. How imperative is that offensive line in Sean
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Mannion's offense.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's near the top of the list in terms
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: of importancy. Mike quarterback leads the way. But for this
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: offense to really reach its fullest potential, they need a
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: healthy offensive line because the way that I see it,
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: everyone's talking about the passing game and they're making a
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: lot of that, and it does need to improve because
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: it hasn't been good enough for two years. But I
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: think the running game stands to see the most drastic
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: evolution in terms of the wide zone concepts where you're
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: stretching teams horizontally, and in order to do that effectively,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: you have to have a healthy offensive line. Last season,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: they were a year removed from a historic performance or
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: a Saquon Barkie ran for over two thousand yards. And
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: while I maybe it's not realistic to expect a total
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: return deform because there are a lot there is a
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: lot of wear and tear on these players based off
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: of how they the style on which they play, I
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: do think that you're going to see them. Oh I'm
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: curious to see if they take a more cautious approach
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: in training camp and you're you're seeing maybe some more
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: maintenance days or things like that to ensure that you're
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: you're optimizing their their health because without them, you saw
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: what the offense looks like. They were behind the sticks.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: They became predictable and they weren't able to pave the
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: lane like they normally have. So for for this offense
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: to to really to really work, because I expected to
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: everything that they do to be predicated off the run
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: game or a lot of what they do to be
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: predicated off that. You need that offensive line to to
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: really be humming.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Uh Andrew first impressions of Eli Stower, the guy who
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: I think gets lost in the sauce sometimes when we're
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: talking about new weapons in this offense.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he does so. In the first practice that was
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: open to us. He didn't really factor all that much
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: into the offensive plans, but on Tuesday he did and
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: he caught a pass over the middle from colpat He
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: caught another one I want to say it was maybe
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: from Andy Dalton, but you're more so you're not looking
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: at that. You're looking at the movement, how they're utilizing,
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: where are they lining him up? He aligned inside the
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: previous practice that we saw he was outside. So he's
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: a neat player in the sense that he's kind of
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: built like a plus size wide receiver. He has tremendous athleticism.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: And while I don't expect him to take on the
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: bulk of the snaps or maybe even a sizable role
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: because he's not yet ready to be an inline blocker,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: nor do I believe that that's what he's equipped to do.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: But because there's some deficiencies there and he's a work
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: in progress, that might limit the usage in year one.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: But he is the player. And I think I mentioned
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: this to you, Mike, that I'm most intrigued by in
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: terms of their draft class, who are Bernard a close second?
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: But for Stalers, he's just he's the modern NFL tight end,
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: and that you can move him around formations. He's explosive
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: and dynamic. He can work the seams, he can take
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: a short pass and take it a great distance, and
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: I think he's going to be a really good fit
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: for what Eagles are looking to accomplish offensively.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: All right, let's stay on the offense with Andrew doesn't
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: run a second unit. Is there anything to read into
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: that with Tantaer McGee going thirty, No, not yet.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: We're still in the early phases here and my understanding
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: is they've been rotating. But I will say that Andy
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: Dalton looked markedly improved compared to where or what we
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: saw from him in the first practice that was open
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: to us, and you can see just the veteran prowess
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: that he has. He's making these quick decisions, he's fitting
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: the ball in the tight windows. He just seems to
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: become it seems to be looking increasingly more comfortable within
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: the offense. And that's not really a surprise. He has
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: a background in some of this. He's been in different
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: offenses in the past, and I think that there's a
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: lot to learn. If you're Jalen, if you're Timer McKee,
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: if you're Cole Payton, just from being around someone like
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Andy Dalton, who can be a tremendous resource and helping
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: them on board into this. You're getting a different perspective
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: from Andy Dalton, who's kind of an extension of the
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: coaching staff, but always stood out to me with just
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: the zip that he threw in his passes. He was
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: fitting the ball into those tight windows. I can think
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: of a throw along the sideline where Jonathan Jones was
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: tightly defending Hollywood Brown. Andy Dalton got there, the throw
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: was better. There was one between Mac McWilliams Andre Sam
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: that he sort of between the two players, and I
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: think that was also Hollywood Brown's or no, that was sorry,
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: that was Elijah Moore. So I said all that to
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: say that Andy Dalton seems to be coming along nicely
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: in this outs and that really shouldn't be surprised. Shouldn't
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: be a surprise for a thirty eight year old quarterback
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: who's been exposed to different systems.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Andrew the checkout football at four. Let's look on defense
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: real quick, and a couple key things over there. Takeaways
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: from you, Cooper dejen How different will he be used
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: this year in the defense?
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, quite a bit. It's interesting because Jeff and Adam
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: pointed this out. You know, the first handful of games,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: you're seeing teams that utilize you know, heavy tight end,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: heavy tight end usage. And so while the Eagles don't
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: typically live in base defense just eight twelve to fifteen
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: snaps a game, you might see Cooper Regen play a
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: little bit more safety than he has in the past.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: And I think Cooper is equipped to thrive no matter
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: where you put him, namely nickel and safety. So I
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: think you're going to see sort of a high usage.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: The Eagles obviously live in nickel more than you know.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: That's that's the bread and butter, that's their primary formation there.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: So that's what he's really going to be doing. But
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: he talked about over the offseason watching Charles Woodson, and
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: I kind of see a little bit of Charles Woodson
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: in his game. Woodson has move around formations and things
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: like that. Very versatile player, good ball hawks, smart and instinctive.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: So Cooper Degene is a really shrewd football player and
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: one of the very the very best on the photo
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: of the Eagles. So I think you're going to see
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: a blend of those two positions.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it'll be interesting. To see how much more playmaking
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: ability he's able to flash out there? What'd you think
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: of Rick Wollan and seeing just his size at that
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: position compared to Andrew what you've seen over the years
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: at that spot.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: He was my defensive standout for the practice that we
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: were there this week, and you can't help but becom
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: enamored with the length and the athleticism. He's just a
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: tough guy to get around. And I can highlight two
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: plays off the top of my head. There is one
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: where Jalen's uncorking a deep shot the Hollywood Brown down
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: the right sideline. Rike Wollen's running with him step for
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: step and the pass fell in complete. He matched them
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: stride for stride. There was another play in the end
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: zone where he undercut the route and was able to
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: break up the pass. So just the tantalizing athleticism that
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: he has, it's something that you know, it's a sight
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: to behold. But the true test will be in training camp,
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: of course, when the pads come on. Competition ramps up
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: quite a bit and you want to see is he
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: able to remain disciplined within the structure of the defense,
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: will he be assignment sound and if he is able
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: to do. So I think the Eagles could have hit
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: a home run with that free agent signing because with
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: that kind of with that kind of size, that unique
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: dimension that he provides, He's going to see a lot
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: of passes throw in his way with Cooper dejan and
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Quinya Mitchell, you know, on the other side. So he's
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: someone that I expect to make some plays on the football,
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: collect a lot of pass breakups. But it just comes
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: down to consistency with him. That's something that when you
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: look at the rookie season that he had in Seattle,
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: it was a Pro Bowl season. He was I believe,
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: tied for the NFL leading interceptions and there was a
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: bit of a drop off and that can be tied
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: to the inconsistencies. That's why a player like that was available.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Even Benjo though, was surprised that he didn't command a
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: more sizable market. So there's a lot of interest there
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: and I think he could prove to be a really
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: good fit in this defense.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: All right, there's some observations from Eagle practice today. I'll
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: ask you, Miles Garrett. They ended up not getting that,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: you know, monster of a player.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: But he goes to the Rams.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: How much does that shift the the NFC balance of power?
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'd say quite a bit. I think the Rams
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: are the class of the NFC. Anytime you add the
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: defense the best defensive player in football and add that
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: to what you already have that they're, you know, a
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: really explosive offense with a sort of an offensive guru,
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: and Sean McVay have Matthew Stafford, who I think is
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: still among the NFL's best quarterbacks. You couple that with
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: adding someone like Miles Garrett to a defense that has
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: a lot of youth and athleticism. That's that's a that's
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: a really really strong combination there. So the Eagles are
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: are up there, but I think the Rams have kind
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: of put themselves, you know, in a class above. Yeah.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: I know, Garrett going for really a good player too,
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: I mean Jared versus a really good player. So that
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: is a deal that I don't know that Philadelphia would
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: have been able to match. There was some murmurs about
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: Jalen Carter. I don't know that the Rams, or excuse me,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: the Browns would have want to pay Jalen Carter. That
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: That's why the Verse deal makes more sense. But you
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: get Jalen Carter, excuse me, you get files. Garrett now
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: coming to Philadelphia in week number four, a huge deal
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: for the Rams. Andrew to checko. His observations from OTAs
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: are over at Inside the Birds dot com and of course,
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: football at four right here on The Sports Bats Live
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: on ninety seven three ESPN.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: All right, Andrew, thanks man, Thanks Mike Talk Show