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The DiCecco Daily: Handing Out Hardware – Predicting Birds Season Awards · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:10
Speaker 1: What's happened in Eagles fans Andrew decheco here it's the
0:12
check O Deli. The season opener is just over twenty
0:17
four hours away depending on what time you're listening to this,
0:20
but really excited to get the season kicked off again.
0:23
Thanks to all the support for those who read my work,
0:27
those who listen to this podcast, those who listen to
0:29
me on ninety seven five The Fanatic, and those who
0:32
are going to listen to myself Jeff and Adam at
0:36
various points.
0:37
Speaker 2: This season on WBCB.
0:39
Speaker 1: It's going to be a tremendous season at Eagles Coverage,
0:41
and we are so happy that you are along for
0:43
the ride with us. But before we get to the
0:46
season opener, as I do every season, it's time for
0:50
my season Awards, and I covered a bunch of different categories.
0:55
I know we'll start with Team MVP, and that, to me,
0:59
is going to be none other than quarterback Jaywen Hurts.
1:02
Hurts acts as the proverbial thermostat. He sets the temperature
1:06
and the tone for the twenty twenty five Eagles the
1:09
Ranning Super Bowl MVP. What I noticed this offseason is
1:12
that he's been more open and introspective, thought provoking, and comfortable,
1:17
which compliments his sense of confidence and gravity of his
1:21
role as a leader. Jaywen Hurts, the magnitude of winning
1:26
the Super Bowl is not lost on him, but you
1:29
could kind of boil it down to perhaps there's not
1:31
as much pressure on him because he's won a Super Bowl,
1:35
but he sees things through a different lens now. Seemingly
1:38
he's confident, as I mentioned, but he's in full control
1:42
of this offense.
1:43
Speaker 2: Make no mistake about it.
1:45
Speaker 1: This is jaywen Hurts his offense, and I'm interested to
1:49
see what it's going to look like under Kevin Patulo.
1:52
I happen to think you're going to see more passing
1:54
than you have in really since twenty twenty three. Last season,
1:58
there wasn't a lot because say Kwon Barkley was the
2:01
cheat code and the driving force of that Eagles offense.
2:04
The running game is going to be paramount to the
2:07
success of this offense, make no mistake about that. But
2:11
I do think that for the offense to evolve, there
2:14
has to be more of an uptick in the passing game.
2:17
I've mentioned that ad nauseum, but I'm tripling down on
2:21
that because I do believe that you're going to see
2:23
Jalen Hurtz have more of an impact on the offense
2:26
with his arm in addition to what he can provide
2:29
being that plus one in the running game, he's authoritative
2:34
with the offense. He has urgency, and he's leading and
2:40
players are following. I just feel like, entering his sixth season,
2:44
he's just very comfortable in his own skin. But the
2:47
reason why I have him as the MVP is not
2:49
only what he can do as a runner, but I
2:54
think you're going to see him be able to support
2:57
larger numbers this season, and I believe he's going to
3:01
get AJ Brown and DeVante Smith involved. This could be
3:04
the year that Dallas got it really starts to get rolling.
3:07
If training camp was any indication, and for me, as
3:11
I'm looking back on the Summer eighteen training camp practices,
3:14
which I was there for all of them, it's kind
3:17
of hard to go any other way, and it really
3:20
would be irresponsible to go any other way. I do
3:23
think that this could be jaywhen Hurts's best season to
3:26
date in twenty twenty five. So he is my team MVP.
3:31
Let's get to offensive breakout. This is all relative, right
3:36
because the offense primarily predicates on the production of Barkley,
3:40
brown Smith and Goddard.
3:42
Speaker 2: But for this award, and again.
3:44
Speaker 1: I took eighteen training camp practices and projected roles into account.
3:48
I could have went with Johan Dotson, who had a
3:50
really strong summer, and you know, it just goes to
3:54
show you what having a full off season and chemistry
3:56
with the quarterback can do. But I mean, he could
4:02
have about twenty five to thirty catches. But for Johan Dotson,
4:04
it's about how he's utilized. I think getting him the
4:07
ball in space and allowing him to create yards after
4:10
the catch, even getting him vertical. Those twenty five or
4:14
thirty catches are much more impactful than the nineteen that
4:17
he had on thirty three targets last season. But nonetheless,
4:21
I chose second year running back Will Shipley. Now Shipley
4:25
log just thirty carries as a rookie, but now he
4:28
elevates to the number two role behind Saquon Barkley. He's
4:31
replacing Kenny Gagwall. Kenny Gagwoll, of course, was the Eagles
4:34
two and four minute running back, a trusted player within
4:38
the offense could block fairly well with surprisingly good and
4:41
shortyarded situations.
4:43
Speaker 2: He burrowed ahead.
4:44
Speaker 1: Just a dependable player, and I think Will is starting
4:47
to trend in that direction. But he's also the Eagles'
4:52
most natural pass catcher at the position. He has a
4:54
savviness and a decisiveness in his route running soft hands.
4:58
He throughout the summer served as an outlet for Jalen Hurts,
5:02
which shows you if Jay one's looking your way and
5:04
getting you involved pretty frequently, he trusts you.
5:08
Speaker 2: And if he doesn't.
5:09
Speaker 1: Have your if you don't if he doesn't have confidence
5:12
in you as a skill player, you'll know because you'll
5:15
see a lack of targets or I should say, if
5:17
there's uncertainty or not that familiarity. But with Will, he
5:21
looked to him early and often this summer. But also
5:25
Will Shipley adds another dimension to this offense. He has juice,
5:28
he has explosiveness, he's good in the open field. He
5:32
has He looks at tad faster than he did last summer.
5:35
And he mentioned to me that I think he's about
5:38
two o eight right now. But he was still kicking
5:40
himself about getting chased down the NFC title game, and
5:43
I said, well, I'm let's just go with you looking
5:47
at the JumboTron and protecting the football, and he goes, yeah,
5:50
let's go with that. But you know, he's been getting
5:53
some grief for that one. So that's something that motivates
5:56
him and he's got him. He said, I got to
5:58
make sure I convert though. So last season he was
6:02
a little bit bigger in terms of his frame because
6:05
he had to take on more of a special teams role.
6:09
But and will Will also be the Eagles primary kick
6:13
returner as well. And this summer, the running backs were
6:17
heavily involved in the passing game, which suggests that they
6:20
could be implemented at more of a frequency in the
6:24
offense this season. Now there's a full disclosure because running
6:27
backs have been featured in the passing game in previous
6:30
camps without it manifesting in the regular season. But again,
6:33
if the offense is to evolve, and I'm not expecting
6:37
the wholesale, wholesale.
6:38
Speaker 2: Changes, certain minor changes.
6:42
Speaker 1: Would be distributing to the ball of the ball to
6:44
the running backs out of the backfield and maybe pushing
6:47
the ball a little bit more down the field and
6:49
getting vertical and not allowing it to be such a
6:51
compressed offense. And eliminating some of those horizontal routes. So
6:58
Shipley that that could be one of the new rink
7:00
in the offense. And I do believe that that Shipley
7:03
could have a really big part in that. And let's
7:05
not forget Saquon Barkley himself in training camp referred to
7:09
Will as the smartest back in the room, high IQ player,
7:13
and I mentioned his wiggle in space. These are certain
7:18
qualities and elements that I think Will can provide to
7:20
the offense to give them and really forced defenses to
7:24
maybe play them a little bit differently. He's the most
7:26
ideal in game replacement for Saquon Barkley as a change
7:30
of pace option. So for me, Will Shipley is my
7:33
offensive breakout. For the defensive breakout, I went with defensive
7:37
tackle Moro Oshama. I could have went with second year
7:42
pass rusher jay loox Hunt, and he got some consideration here,
7:46
but I ultimately went with moro Oshama because he's now
7:50
tasked with replacing free agent departurement Milton Williams, and this
7:56
summer he was routinely disruptive and he played behind the
7:59
line of scrimmage. His play in training camp and not
8:02
only elicited praise from his defensive teammates, but also offensive
8:05
linemen like Tyler Steen and Landon Dickerson. In fact, Dickerson
8:10
said that Ojomo's awkward to block, and he meant that
8:13
in a complimentary way. But I just think that when
8:17
you're hearing this kind of praise from both sides of
8:20
the football, you're getting noticed, You're turning heads, and it
8:23
is for real. And I'm here to tell you that
8:25
Moro Ojama is the real deal. This is now the
8:28
second consecutive summer that I've seen him just find ways
8:32
to wreck a series, to wreck a play or drive.
8:35
And I think you saw last season down the stretch
8:39
the Eagles, particularly Vic Fangio, they seem to become more
8:43
comfortable and trusted Moro and putting him out there in
8:47
some critical situations. And now the question becomes can he
8:52
elevate from the player who played three hundred and seventy
8:54
seven snaps, which was thirty seven percent of the defensive
8:58
snaps last season, By the way, that was the same
9:01
amount as Jordan Davis. But now can he sort of
9:04
leap up and attain the forty eight percent. Let's say
9:08
that Moulton Williams was able to do. So there's obvious
9:11
questions there, and this is largely a projection, but everything
9:14
that I've seen from Morow it really lends itself to
9:18
him taking the.
9:19
Speaker 2: Bull by the horns.
9:20
Speaker 1: And I would also argue that he has more juice
9:22
as a pass rusher than Milton Williams did.
9:25
Speaker 2: Now, Milton Williams is also a pretty.
9:27
Speaker 1: Sound run defender, and Moro is a little bit more
9:30
on the undersized side. But what I think makes Moro
9:34
Ojemas so effective is that he does have the long arms,
9:38
but he uses his frame to his advantage. The leverage,
9:42
the violent hands, and he has really good lateral quickness.
9:47
So all of those things combined is what Landon Dickerson
9:50
was referring to what he said, He's kind of awkward
9:52
to block, but taking all those things into consideration, for me,
9:58
that's why Moro ojum Ocean is my defensive breakout player
10:03
top rookie. I was toggling between linebacker Jahad Campbell in
10:09
safety Drew mccuba. Drew mccuba has ball skills that again
10:14
lend itself to creating takeaways, and you saw that in
10:18
the Browns preseason game. But for me, I'm going with
10:23
Jahad Campbell because I think he's going to make an
10:25
early impact.
10:26
Speaker 2: From the jump.
10:28
Speaker 1: From the first day of training camp, Campbell was well
10:30
ahead of schedule. And this is a player who was
10:34
once expected to be full gost sometime in August in
10:38
light of that laboram surgery. But he hit the ground
10:40
running and he made his presence felt from day one.
10:42
He initially started out with the second team, but it
10:45
wasn't long before he started to get some first team looks.
10:49
But from what I've seen from him is the range
10:52
and the physicality, the ability to play with an edge.
10:57
And you just asked Dallas Goddard, who Campbell early in
11:00
camp took to the ground or Tanner McKee, who he
11:04
tried to strip the ball from after the play. He
11:07
plays with an edge, and I think you want that
11:09
from your linebacker if you're the Eagles or really any
11:12
NFL team. But the key there is to play, you know,
11:16
with controlled rage and aggression. But playing alongside someone like
11:20
Zach Bond that gives the Eagles a dynamics second level tandem.
11:25
And I look at what Campbell can do in terms
11:27
of the cover Jacumen the sideline to sideline range and
11:31
ability to attack the line of scrimmage too, is a blitzer.
11:33
I do expect him at some point this season they
11:36
get some looks rushing the quarterback, because that's something he
11:39
also has in his arsenal. With that, I would say
11:42
that don't expect him to always, you know, you know,
11:46
take the or take the NFL by storm from day one.
11:50
There's going to be some growing pains that are inevitable,
11:52
which a company pretty much every rookie, and I think
11:55
if you're looking at it objectively, I would say that
12:00
in the passing game is an area where you may
12:03
see teams early try to attack him and pepper his
12:06
side of the field. I think in training camp where
12:09
he did lose some of his battles, it was when
12:12
running backs or tight ends were able to get out
12:15
on routes in space. But there's also been times where
12:18
Campbell has been very close. He closes with such urgency
12:21
and he has the length, the arm length to narrow
12:24
those throwing windows. So even if there is a sort
12:28
of a growing initial stage where he's working through those
12:33
perhaps challenges, I think that that's something that he should
12:36
be able to atone for pretty quickly with his overall athleticism.
12:40
This is, and I don't think it's hyperbole, the best
12:43
linebacking tandem the Eagles have had.
12:45
Speaker 2: Really, I should say it's the best.
12:47
Speaker 1: Group of linebackers that the Eagles have had, because it's
12:49
not fair to say that it's the best two because
12:52
you haven't seen Campbell play yet and Na Kobe Dean
12:55
and Zach Baum were a pretty damn good tandem. But
12:57
I will say that I think it's the best linebacking
12:59
cos the Eagles have had in recent memory.
13:01
Speaker 2: And Johad Campbell's going to be a big part of that.
13:04
Speaker 1: So I'm expecting him to make some big splash plays
13:06
early and really make his presence felt, perhaps as early
13:10
as Thursday night. So that really was an easy one
13:13
for me when I started to take all those different
13:16
things and process it and take those practices that I
13:20
got to see, and the pairing with Zach Bond, I
13:23
just think that that is a good recipe for success.
13:27
Speaker 2: There.
13:28
Speaker 1: Biggest surprise I went with third year guard Tyler Steen,
13:33
and those who know me, those who've listened to me,
13:36
it won't be a surprise to me per se, but
13:39
I suspect many on the outside will be pleasantly surprised
13:42
by the play of Steen, the third year pro and
13:45
the eagles newly minted right guard.
13:48
Speaker 2: The thing with Tyler Steen.
13:49
Speaker 1: That's interesting is that he's miiring on a unit that's
13:51
comprised of all pros and household names, and then there's
13:55
him at right guard. So he's the unknown who's task
13:58
with replacing free agent de parcher Mackay Becton.
14:01
Speaker 2: Now, I will go.
14:02
Speaker 1: As far as to say that I don't believe that
14:05
when Stein was plugged in that there was any sort
14:08
of a drop off compared to what Becton was giving
14:12
the Eagles, because Steen a lot of times he had
14:16
to come in mid game, and that is incredibly tough
14:20
for any player because you have to you have to
14:27
be fully engaged, you have to apply the coaching on
14:30
the fly, You have to pay attention to the details
14:33
and what the opposition, what the rushers are looking to do.
14:38
And the biggest challenge that he had was when he
14:40
was plugged in, he wanted to make sure that he
14:42
wasn't the weakest link that the offense was going to
14:44
continue to move forward, and that he wouldn't be the
14:47
reason why things stalled. And I get the sense that
14:50
that's his approach this year as well. He's a lot
14:53
more confident. He's a quiet guy by nature, but he's
14:56
very confident. And when you start the stack productive days
15:00
and you're executing the coaching and you hear players like
15:04
Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mylotta,
15:09
your counterparts on the offensive line, and they're speaking highly
15:12
of you, and Jeff Stotlin, your offensive line coach, is
15:14
speaking highly of you. I just think that that makes
15:17
for a good It's a good sign for Tyler Steen.
15:22
Good signed for the Eagles offensive line. And what Stein
15:25
gives the Eagles that Makai Becton couldn't is the lateral agility,
15:30
is the ability to use that athleticism and climb to
15:33
the second level like the Eagles have been prone to do.
15:37
So he may not have those bulldozing type of blocks
15:40
like Becten did because beckten was six foot eight and
15:43
he was a converted tackle, of course, but I do
15:46
believe that Stein gives you a little bit more in
15:49
terms of versatility, athleticism, fluidity that should start to reveal.
15:56
Speaker 2: Itself fairly early in my opinion.
15:58
Speaker 1: So Tyler Stein is my biggest surprise. Again, won't be
16:01
a surprise to me. I've been very bullish on Tyler
16:04
Steen since last season, had a chance to talk to
16:06
him on multiple occasions, and he's ready for this moment.
16:10
He's earned it, and everything that he's done this summer
16:12
has been building towards this opportunity. Most valuable role player
16:17
for me, that's got to be offensive lineman Fred Johnson,
16:19
who was just acquired or I should say reacquired in
16:23
a trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars just before cutdowns.
16:27
Speaker 2: Look, the Eagles.
16:28
Speaker 1: Tried to, i guess, mitigate the loss of Fred Johnson
16:34
by signing veteran Kendall Lamb to be the swing tackle.
16:37
It didn't work out, and Lamb is no longer on
16:40
the team, But Fred Johnson sought an opportunity to start
16:44
goes to Jacksonville after really a few seasons with the Eagles,
16:49
and for whatever reason, it didn't work out for him there.
16:53
He couldn't have seemed more excited to be back in Philadelphia.
16:56
He was as just as much excited to return as
16:59
it seemed the team us to have him back in
17:01
the fold. The charisma, the personality, but also the versatility
17:06
that he can give you in terms of being that
17:08
swing tackle on game day. He can play left or
17:10
right tackle, he can play garden a pinch. And it's
17:13
also important to keep in mind that Lane Johnson and
17:15
Jordan my Lota both missed time last season, so there
17:18
is a chance that you could see Fred Johnson at
17:20
some point here pressed into service.
17:23
Speaker 2: But he's a known entity.
17:26
Speaker 1: He's taken to the coaching of Jeff Stoutlin, and you
17:29
know that if you plug him in, he's going to
17:31
capably be able to execute wherever you're asking of him
17:34
and make it so that the offensive line is able
17:37
to make it through a game, or two games, or
17:39
even three games.
17:40
Speaker 2: Whatever the case may be. That's a valuable addition.
17:43
Speaker 1: He's going to be one of three offensive linemen in
17:45
all likelihood that's active on game day behind the starters,
17:48
so that would be Fred Johnson, Matt Pryor, and Drew Kendall.
17:52
But that was a really savvy addition and fortifies what
17:56
had been a pretty leaky and shaky offensive line throughout
18:00
the summer. In fact, I can't really remember a time
18:04
prior to the Johnson reacquisition that the Eagles offensive line
18:08
had been that looser, there's been that much uncertainty in
18:12
that area. But now you have someone like Fred Johnson.
18:15
You have Matt Pryor, who played over a thousand snaps
18:18
last season between guard and tackle for the Bears. And
18:21
you have some young pieces and Drew Kendall, Cameron Williams,
18:25
a developmental player, Brett Toath. I don't think he gets
18:28
quite enough respect, but he's played a lot of football
18:31
and he earned the opportunity to be on the fifty
18:33
three through production, and I thought he had a pretty
18:38
good training camp. So they have a really good mix
18:40
of veterans, experienced players and developmental players. Now that fortify
18:45
that depth, and we'll have to wait and see, you know,
18:47
how it goes. Hopefully the Eagles don't ever have to
18:49
turn to any of those players, but if they do,
18:52
they have a really good one in Fred Johnson, who.
18:54
Speaker 2: They're very familiar with.
19:00
Speaker 1: All Right, special teams, My special team's breakout player is
19:07
full back Ben Van Sumerin. Now you have to take
19:10
into account the new kickoff rule and things like that,
19:12
which should lend itself to more returns and more coverage opportunities.
19:17
But Van Sumern is a player who once said, if
19:20
I don't make the play on special teams, there's something
19:22
wrong with me, because I should go out there and
19:24
make every play on special teams. So I think that
19:28
he's a player who could quickly accumulate a flurry of
19:30
coverage stops. He doubles as a he's a fullback, but
19:34
he doubles as a core for special teamer. He has
19:37
a unique skill set, a unique mindset. He's two hundred
19:40
and forty four pounds, he runs a four to four.
19:42
He craves contact, he relishes setting the tone, and I
19:46
do believe that he's going to serve as the centerpiece
19:48
on the coverage units. But I think that his impact
19:52
could even extend beyond wrangling returners. There's also the blocking aspect,
19:56
which he's well adepted doing and he's taken to it well.
20:00
But there's also the position to even field kicks, though
20:03
the primary returners will be Will Shipley and fellow running
20:05
back A. J.
20:06
Speaker 2: Dillon.
20:07
Speaker 1: But I do think that given the involved given his
20:09
involvement and the change in the kickoff role, it really
20:12
wouldn't surprise me to see Van Sumer and Garner league
20:15
wide recognition for his special teams contributions, perhaps resulting in
20:19
an appearance on the twenty twenty.
20:21
Speaker 2: Five Pro Bowl ballot. All right, let's get to.
20:29
Speaker 1: Let's close things out here with the assistant coach with
20:33
the most noticeable impact. And there are so many. I've
20:38
talked quite a bit about what I think of this
20:41
Eagles coaching staff. I think that the Eagles have arguably
20:45
the best set of assistant coaches in the NFL. They
20:47
are well versed in teaching the fundamentals and the reasoning
20:51
behind their ideologies, and if you look across the board,
20:55
there have been countless examples of development players taking the
20:58
next stride in their natural progression, and I think you
21:02
have to tip your cap to a lot of those coaches.
21:05
There's too many to name. I've named a lot of
21:07
them on different podcasts. But for this one, the one
21:10
that I think is going to have the most noticeable impact,
21:12
that's defensive line coach Clint Hurt. Clint Hurt former defensive coordinator,
21:19
but he's already overseen.
21:20
Speaker 2: The development of Jalen Carter and Milton Williams.
21:23
Speaker 1: But given the youth and an inexperience in the room
21:26
this season, his impact should be even greater. And for
21:29
a perspective I mentioned as Jomo. He inherits that role
21:32
that Milton Williams previously had and he's going to have
21:36
a prominent He's going to be a prominent component to
21:38
the rotation. And there's also fourth year pro Jordan Davis,
21:41
who the Eagles are banking on to take a step forward,
21:44
and he's supposed to have a larger workload, so we'll
21:47
have to wait and see how that goes. Davis, by
21:49
the way, looks to be in remarkable shape, but he's
21:52
going to be a key piece because I'm expecting the
21:55
Eagles to try and supplement that tandem of Davis and
21:58
Oshima to sort of a tone for the loss of
22:02
Molton Williams. Because both Jordan Davis and Moro Ojama neither
22:06
player has played a ton of snaps in the NFL
22:09
or a sizeable snap share, so there's still a question
22:12
to that degree, and that furthers my point in terms
22:15
of Clint Hurt's impact. They also have a host of
22:18
younger players like fourth round er Ty Robinson and holdovers
22:21
Byron Young and Gabe Hall, and they're going to have
22:24
to play meaningful snaps at some point this season. Vic
22:27
Fangio mentioned that they're going to dress five. If I
22:30
had to guess, those five would be Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis,
22:35
Moro Ojama, Byron Young, and Gabe Hall, with Ty Robinson
22:39
being inactive. We'll learn more, obviously an hour and a
22:42
half prior to kick off on Thursday night.
22:45
Speaker 2: But that's kind of my read on it right now.
22:46
Speaker 1: But the point is there's three young players that I
22:49
mentioned beyond the top three who they're really counting on.
22:53
So their development is really going to be imperative for
22:57
this rotation to really to maximize the value of this rotation,
23:03
and I think bringing them along throughout the season and
23:05
strengthening the depth that's going to fall under Hurt's job description.
23:09
So he's already regarded as one of the better defensive
23:11
line coaches in football, and he certainly has his work
23:14
cutout for him, but he does have multiple balls of
23:17
clay with which to work. Well, folks, that's going to
23:21
do it for my awards that I'm sort of forecasting
23:25
here ahead of the opener. It'll be fun to kind
23:27
of look back and see which ones I was right
23:30
or wrong about.
23:31
Speaker 2: But that's kind of my read on it now.
23:33
Speaker 1: Based on the information that I have based on observing
23:36
training camp and the preseason and talking to a lot
23:39
of different players and trying to get a feel for
23:41
what their projected roles are going to be. This has
23:44
been to check o daily, Andrew Decheco and I will
23:47
talk to everybody Thursday after the season opener with the
23:51
Dallas Cowboys.
23:51
Speaker 2: Talk to you then,