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The DiCecco Daily: Who And What To Watch Closely During Eagles-Browns Preseason Game · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hello every one, and welcome into another edition of did Checko?
• 0:13
  Deli Andrew did Checko here with a game day edition.
• 0:17
  That's right this afternoon at one o'clock, the Eagles in
• 0:20
  Cleveland Browns kick off Week two of preseason play at
• 0:25
  Lincoln Financial Field. It's really interesting for me having seen
• 0:30
  the two teams match up against one another for two
• 0:33
  days for joint practices. You always want to see what correlates,
• 0:37
  what translates out they have some familiarity with one another,
• 0:41
  and I'm sure if you're listening, you're probably asking yourself, well,
• 0:45
  why should we invest three hours on a Saturday afternoon
• 0:49
  for week two of the preseason.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: And if we do, then what should we be keeping
• 0:54
  an eye on?
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Well, all I can tell you is what I'll be
• 0:58
  keeping an eye on and also give you some names
• 1:01
  of players who probably aren't household names, but those who
• 1:05
  bear watching, especially in the latter stages of the game.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: First, for me, well, I'll be keeping an eye on
• 1:12
  the cornerback.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Situation where you have a three way competition between third
• 1:17
  year pro kille ringo veteran adri Jackson and the newly
• 1:21
  acquired Jacoryan Bennett, who of course was the player who
• 1:26
  was sent from the Raiders and the Eagles shipped out
• 1:29
  defensive tackle Thomas Booker, the fourth Jakorean. Bennett hasn't practiced
• 1:35
  a ton, and yes, he did struggle Wednesday, and he
• 1:39
  didn't have He had a relatively quiet day on Thursday
• 1:42
  against the Browns. But that Wednesday context is very important here.
• 1:46
  That was just his second full practice with the team.
• 1:50
  He's still getting his Sea legs under him, He's still
• 1:52
  learning the system, so that should be expected, Expectations should
• 1:56
  be tempered.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: He's coming in here with more upside.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: I would say, than obviously adri Jackson, but I think
• 2:05
  he's more of a polished product than Keighley Ringo is.
• 2:08
  He's obviously started eleven games in the NFL, appeared.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: In twenty four, so you like that.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Now it's just about getting up to speed with enough
• 2:16
  time to really start to cement your status as the
• 2:19
  number two corner in vic Vangio's defense. I want to
• 2:23
  see what he's able to do when he's out there
• 2:26
  for a larger period of time. I want to see
• 2:30
  how he reacts to what's being thrown at him.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: And this will be a big test for all three.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: But obviously for Ja, Cory and Bennett for his first
• 2:38
  extended action.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Kiely Ringo did not have.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: A particularly good couple of practices with the Browns this week,
• 2:45
  especially on Wednesday, where he gave up a couple of
• 2:47
  catches and just showcase the same mental lapses that he's
• 2:52
  shown at times over his brief career.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: And I often go.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Back to that first preseason game where it's not the
• 3:00
  physical ability that that that that sort of hinders Kaley
• 3:06
  Ringo from taking that step forward. For me, it's the
• 3:10
  mental aspect, the technical aspect. There's too many times where
• 3:13
  it seems like he bails on his technique to the
• 3:16
  to the physical aspect, his inability to transition smoothly, his
• 3:21
  inability to locate the football continues to to really stymy
• 3:26
  his growth. And that's why he's still in contention and
• 3:30
  has not seized the opportunity because he hasn't been consistent
• 3:33
  enough in practice.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: He hasn't been fundamentally sound enough.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: And in order to be a cornerback, a starting cornerback
• 3:41
  in Vic Fangio's defense, discipline and fundamentally sound play are
• 3:45
  going to be paramount.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Kiey Ringo still has an.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Opportunity here it's way too early and the players are
• 3:51
  all even here. It's even playing field to really give
• 3:56
  somebody the edge over the other. And to a degree,
• 3:58
  it's not early, but I should say it's there's enough
• 4:03
  time for one player to really jump in front of
• 4:07
  the pack and seize control. And I'm sure the Eagles
• 4:10
  are hoping that it's keiglely Ringo. He's entering his third season,
• 4:15
  second year in Fitck Fangio's defense, but he has to
• 4:18
  be more consistent in order for him to be.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Able to pull it off.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: That group will be something that I really really key
• 4:24
  in on, as well as the safety room, because I
• 4:28
  thought Sidney Brown, particularly on Thursday's practice, and I had
• 4:32
  both observations on Inside the Birds dot Com. It's a
• 4:35
  comprehensive breakdown of what happened, But on Thursday, I specifically
• 4:39
  focused only on the defense, and that, to me is
• 4:41
  where Sidney Brown really shined because the nature of that setting.
• 4:46
  The Browns were doing a lot of early runs up
• 4:48
  the middle and it was in sort of a red
• 4:50
  zone backed up situation I guess really a situationally based.
• 4:55
  They weren't going the full length of the field, but
• 4:56
  it was eleven on elevens and.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: Whether it was Jerome Ford or whether it.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Was Pierre Strong Junior or Dylan Samson, the rookie fourth
• 5:08
  round pick out of Tennessee who I really like coming
• 5:10
  out of the draft, who had a nice day against
• 5:12
  the Eagles, it didn't seem the matter. I thought the
• 5:15
  Eagles really showed up from a physicality standpoint, particularly Jeremiah
• 5:20
  Trotter Junior, who I thought was probably the Eagles best defensive.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: Player that day.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: But it really underscored what Sidney Brown, the Eagles third
• 5:28
  year of safety, can really do when he's put in
• 5:31
  a position that really.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Accentuates his strengths.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: So in other words, when he's attacking downhill, he's clear.
• 5:38
  He's head and shoulders above any player even read Blankenship
• 5:42
  in my opinion, because he is this heat seeking missile
• 5:45
  and he craves contact. There were plenty of times where
• 5:48
  he came up to pop Samson. He threw a nice
• 5:51
  shoulder in there to Harold Fan and Junior the tight
• 5:55
  end to keep him out of the end zone, and
• 5:56
  that was probably the biggest hit of the day. Sidney
• 5:59
  Brown in confined spaces, that's where I think he shines.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: But we still have to see.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: What he can do as a post player, and the
• 6:07
  range will have to be tested in order to get
• 6:10
  a better sense of where he is at this stage
• 6:12
  of his career. But as someone who can play around
• 6:16
  the line of scrimmage and trigger so quickly and play
• 6:18
  downhill and that physical brand of football, that's what I
• 6:21
  saw on Thursday from Sydney Brown, and I think right
• 6:24
  now it's fair to say that between him and Drew mccooba,
• 6:27
  you might give Sydney the slight advantage, but it's only
• 6:31
  because he's been taking the line's share of the snaps
• 6:33
  and Drew mccuba have missed a large chunk of training
• 6:35
  camp with a shoulder injury, however, Butkuba has been working
• 6:39
  his way back into garnering even more first team reps.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: He's obviously doing full.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Team drills, but he's also.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Mixing in with the first team.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Largely second team, but I think this preseason game could
• 6:56
  go a long way and creating a little bit of
• 6:58
  distance and maybe arranging the pecking order here. Because maccuba
• 7:03
  did not play in the preseason opener.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: He was dressed, but he didn't end up playing.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: I didn't think that he would going into it, but
• 7:10
  then he saw him dressed before the game, You're like, oh,
• 7:12
  maybe there's a slight chance, but he was still recovering
• 7:15
  from that shoulder and on Saturday afternoon. One big reason
• 7:19
  you should be watching is because it is the debut
• 7:22
  of Drew mccuba, the Eagles second round safety, who I
• 7:26
  have lauded for his boss skills, his versatility, his physicality
• 7:31
  that he plays with despite having a slighter frame, he's
• 7:34
  kind of built like CJ. Gardner Johnson, and for all
• 7:37
  of those reasons, I'm curious to see how that translates
• 7:41
  into the.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Pro game, especially this early.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Sometimes when younger players are thrown in there, they're so
• 7:47
  fired up there adrenalines, you know, revved up that you play,
• 7:52
  you know, above your head, or you're not fully focused
• 7:55
  on the details in certain cases. But for Macuba, this
• 8:00
  this is his opportunity to put some game tape out
• 8:02
  there and give vic Vango something to really look at
• 8:04
  and compare. When you're looking at Sidney Brown and him
• 8:07
  side by side and you get a better picture of
• 8:10
  how they fit into your defense. So I think from
• 8:13
  his perspective, it's imperative to go out there and take
• 8:16
  advantage of the opportunity and sort of elbow your way
• 8:21
  into this first, you know, this first team safety conversation,
• 8:25
  and I think with a good performance, you might see
• 8:27
  Drew mccoba start to eat into Sidney Brown's snaps even
• 8:30
  more with.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: The first team.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: But the Eagles are sort of running out of time.
• 8:34
  There's just a few weeks and it seems like both
• 8:37
  players have a realistic opportunity at becoming the starter. So
• 8:41
  Week two of the preseason is going to be another
• 8:44
  measuring stick game for both players. Defensive line, I want
• 8:50
  to keep an eye on Gabe Haul, the Eagles second
• 8:52
  year defensive tackle, who I think has done some really
• 8:54
  good things in camp, so much so that the Eagles
• 8:58
  felt comfortable enough to send Timemus Booker, the fourth.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: To the Raiders. And you know, as a result.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: A depth player like Gabe Hall, who was probably the
• 9:08
  sixth defensive tackle now is has a inside track to
• 9:12
  a roster spot.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: But he's having a good camp.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: And I mentioned to the audience before that I had
• 9:18
  a chance to talk to Gabe Hall a couple of
• 9:20
  times last season and he mentioned to me how being
• 9:24
  on the practice squad for the year really helped him
• 9:28
  hone his skills, of course, but also going against Landon
• 9:31
  Dickerson every day.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: And I asked how.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Specifically had did that help you and he said, I,
• 9:37
  you know, get my ass whooped, and he lauded land
• 9:40
  In for his ability and mentioned that those matchups were
• 9:43
  largely one sided in Landin's favor. But Gabe Hall at
• 9:48
  six foot six, two hundred ninety five pounds, he's long,
• 9:51
  he's twitchy, he can play any position on the defensive line,
• 9:54
  and he's made plays whenever he's been in there. He's
• 9:59
  firing into the back bield, he's pressuring the quarterback, collapsing
• 10:02
  the pocket. He has such a lengthy build that it
• 10:06
  makes it challenging for offensive lineman to be able to
• 10:09
  get a hand on him.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: And he's got a lot stronger.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: That's something that was very apparent to me watching him
• 10:14
  in training camp last year, for every practice and then
• 10:17
  this year for every practice thus far, you see the
• 10:22
  noticeable difference in his power and strength. So Gabe Hall
• 10:26
  right now, he's likely to be the Eagles fifth defensive tackle.
• 10:29
  Right now, he is, but he's going to have to
• 10:32
  continue this momentum forward and I believe that he's going
• 10:36
  to do that. So He's somebody that I'll absolutely be
• 10:38
  kying in on, as well as linebacker Smilemonden Jr.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: The Eagles rookie from Georgia.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: The fifth round pick, played a lot of football in college,
• 10:48
  has had a tremendous training camp. I think that's fair
• 10:50
  to say he's flashed from a physicality standpoint, from an
• 10:55
  ability to cover and plaster, whether it's tight ends and
• 10:59
  running back, attacking downhill, just processing things quickly. He didn't
• 11:05
  particularly farewell in the first preseason game against the Bengals.
• 11:10
  Look like he got, you know, out muscled a little
• 11:12
  bit on some blocks and was at a position on
• 11:14
  some plays. That's to be expected for the preseason opener.
• 11:18
  It's his first game. Everybody acclimates at a different pace.
• 11:22
  But the smile mind and junior that I've seen for
• 11:25
  fifteen practices has been one of the more impressive defensive
• 11:29
  players Eagles have had on first, second, or third team.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: So that speaks volumes as to where he is now.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: It's just about correlating that into a game situation, and
• 11:40
  I think this will be a big game too, now
• 11:42
  that he's settled in, now that he knows what to expect,
• 11:44
  the flow of the game. He mentioned the games noticeably faster.
• 11:47
  That was one of his notes. But I think now
• 11:50
  that he has that understanding, you go into it and
• 11:52
  you're able to play a little bit more, a little
• 11:54
  more freely, and let your natural ability take over. On
• 12:00
  the offensive side, one of the things I'll be keeping
• 12:03
  an eye on is offensive lineman Brett Toth. With Landon
• 12:07
  Dickerson on the mend. He had surgery Wednesday for his
• 12:11
  injured meniscus, and he's widely he's considered to be weak
• 12:15
  to weak. Brett Toath has been the replacement at left guard.
• 12:19
  Not a surprise to me because whenever Landon has had
• 12:22
  to miss time here or there, the player who has
• 12:24
  been inserted has been Brett Toth. And Brett's entering his
• 12:28
  seventh season. He's familiar with Jeff Stalin, he knows what
• 12:31
  the system is supposed to look like, he knows what
• 12:34
  the technique is supposed to look like Halis Stoutland once
• 12:36
  it blocked up. And he's also very familiar with his teammates,
• 12:40
  so he's spent plenty of time this summer working between
• 12:45
  Jordan Malatta and Cam Jurgens, so he's been getting that continuity,
• 12:50
  and I think with this, you know this short of
• 12:53
  time between now and the season OPRAH on September fourth,
• 12:56
  it makes sense to go with continuity rather than uproots
• 13:00
  someone like a Tyler Stein from right guard and put
• 13:02
  him at left guard, and you look at either Darren
• 13:05
  Kinnard or Matt Pryor or somebody at right guard.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: The Eagles are going with their.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Veteran who's savvy, he's very technical, and again, the team
• 13:16
  trusts him, they have a lot of confidence in him,
• 13:19
  and he knows exactly how Jeff Stalin wants it to
• 13:22
  look and how it's supposed to be blocked up.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: So there's something to be.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: Said for the continuity and leaning on the veteran prowess.
• 13:29
  And there's a lot that Brett Toth does behind the
• 13:32
  scenes that doesn't get nearly the recognition and that sort
• 13:36
  of flies under the radar. I wrote a story about
• 13:39
  Brett and what he's been able to provide behind the
• 13:43
  scenes to a lot of younger players and making ensuring
• 13:47
  that that culture that he came up with with Jason
• 13:49
  Peters and Jason Kelsey, Isaac say Milou, Brandon Brooks, that
• 13:53
  that remains intact. And it was a really fascinating conversation
• 13:58
  and enlightening in many ways, and I think you all
• 14:00
  should give it a read to get a better sense
• 14:02
  of what Brett Toath has meant to the Philadelphia Eagles
• 14:05
  even when he hasn't.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Been on the field.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to be watching to see how he
• 14:09
  handles it working with the starting offensive line. Well, I
• 14:12
  can't imagine anybody from the Eagles starting offensive line will
• 14:14
  be in the game, but how he responds to being
• 14:17
  out there and putting some positive things on tape that
• 14:20
  he can maybe grow and build from. Darrin Canard is
• 14:25
  another player that I will be keeping an eye on
• 14:28
  because he has played right tackle, he's played right guarden camp.
• 14:32
  The Eagles like him for one, but they've already experimented
• 14:36
  with some versatility. Would suggests that they're trying to find
• 14:38
  ways to keep him on the roster and maximize his value,
• 14:43
  especially on game day. But then when Dickerson got hurt,
• 14:47
  Brett Toath was the first team left guard. Well, the
• 14:49
  second team left guard was Darrin Canard, who to my knowledge,
• 14:53
  to my memory, hasn't repped at left guard previously, and
• 14:57
  he seemed to take the position fairly well. He has
• 15:00
  a little bit more athleticism than Brett does and some
• 15:04
  more girth. I think is fair to say he's much
• 15:08
  more beef here than Brett is, So perhaps that's something
• 15:12
  that they look at in the future. I do believe
• 15:15
  that Darren Kennard is going to be on this roster.
• 15:17
  I've said that for really a year now that they
• 15:21
  like him, and since the offseason he was a player
• 15:23
  that I'd listed as under the radar that's worth keeping
• 15:26
  an eye on.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Because of his value, his youth.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: He spent last season developing under Jeff Stalin and being
• 15:32
  in the offensive line rooms. He appeared in two games
• 15:35
  last season, so there's that comfortability there that you kind
• 15:39
  of want to see that development through. I want to
• 15:42
  see what Darien's able to do and what I'm expecting
• 15:45
  to be a really expanded role this afternoon. Now, for
• 15:49
  some players that you probably aren't overly familiar with but
• 15:52
  that you should be highlighting. Let's start at running back
• 15:57
  Montreal Johnson Jr.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: Key free agent from Florida.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: He just returned from an extended absence with the hamstring injury.
• 16:06
  He flashed earlier in training camp as a runner, in particular, patient,
• 16:11
  tough runner, and he has good contact balance and the vision.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: The vision also.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: Caught my attention. It made the notebook on different occasions.
• 16:21
  He sees the hole and he didn't waste any time,
• 16:24
  little wasted movement and he has a body type that
• 16:28
  you could foresee the Eagles looking to develop down the
• 16:30
  line as a between the tackles runner and at a
• 16:35
  cost effective rate at that Now, out of all the
• 16:38
  young running backs on the roster, Montreal Johnson Jr. Has
• 16:42
  looked the most NFL ready and at the sample size
• 16:46
  has been brief, but he missed the opener with the
• 16:49
  hamstring injury. So he's somebody that I have highlighted because
• 16:52
  I want to see what he's able to do in
• 16:54
  a game situation and if he's able to really make
• 16:59
  the most of his reps, he's going to fare and
• 17:00
  pass protection as well, that's going to be a big
• 17:02
  part of it. I think right now he's destined for
• 17:05
  the practice squad and I think that he's a player
• 17:07
  that let's not get ahead of ourselves. If he continues
• 17:10
  the progress and the showcase what we've seen in training camp,
• 17:14
  you could see them developing him as a potential depth piece.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: For the future. Wide receiver.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Tailor Moran is somebody who we haven't talked a lot about.
• 17:23
  He has a build similar to Britain Covey, but he's
• 17:27
  more compactly built than Britain. He also has the punt
• 17:30
  return background. He was a decorated punt returner in college.
• 17:33
  Made a number of catches, especially in the open practice.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: He caught a couple of touchdowns.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: There was a play I think a couple of weeks
• 17:40
  ago in a situational period where Dorian Thompson Robinson, the
• 17:44
  Eagles third team quarterback, fired a pass in the back
• 17:47
  of the end zone.
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: Moran's about five foot ten, but he made a tremendous reception,
• 17:53
  but he kept both feed in.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Initially it looked like maybe a toe was out, but
• 17:58
  the body control the ability to track the football, and
• 18:02
  he has punt return chops. As I mentioned, that seems
• 18:05
  like a practice squad player. That seems like someone Tailor
• 18:08
  made for the practice squad who can eventually get an elevation,
• 18:12
  perhaps to the active roster. But he's certainly somebody worth
• 18:16
  keeping around. I think I've seen enough from him this
• 18:19
  camp to suggest that he has NFL ability.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: Tight End EJ.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: Jenkins, that's a player that I also have highlighted because
• 18:30
  no one has really yet to emerge from that three
• 18:33
  way tight end battle for a number three tight end
• 18:36
  position that frankly may not even exist. But Harris and
• 18:40
  Bryant and Kylon Brent Grantson have been around. They were
• 18:42
  both signed the one year prove it deal type of
• 18:44
  signings and free agency, I think Kylon Grantson may have
• 18:48
  emerged as the favorite if the Eagles do keep three
• 18:51
  tight ends. And I don't want to give away too
• 18:52
  much because I have to put my fifty three man
• 18:55
  roster projection together and I'm kind of guarded with some
• 18:58
  of those fringe players, but I believe that out of
• 19:01
  those three, he's emerged the most. But I think the
• 19:04
  most intriguing is hej Jenkins. For one, he's the eagle
• 19:07
  second best blocking tight end in my opinion, but he's
• 19:10
  also the player of the three who.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Has developmental upside.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: He was a collegiate wide receiver transitioned to tight end
• 19:17
  when he was a rookie free agent with the Jets.
• 19:19
  Put on some weight. He's six foot six, two hundred
• 19:21
  and sixty pounds. He's just a natural pass catcher and
• 19:24
  he can also help on special teams, so he has
• 19:27
  value there. So keep an eye on number eighty four.
• 19:31
  On the defensive side, a few names for you. First
• 19:35
  of all, linebacker Lance Dixon from Toledo Athletic Rangeye, and
• 19:42
  he has really thrived attacking the line of scrimmage as
• 19:45
  a blitzer in training camp. He's had some bright moments.
• 19:47
  That's number forty one on the defensive side. I have
• 19:52
  a hard time envisioning the Eagles keeping five linebackers, but
• 19:55
  he's played consistent enough in camp in my opinion, to
• 19:59
  warrant a spot on the practice squad, where at least consideration.
• 20:02
  He's twenty four years old, but he has developmental upside
• 20:06
  and I think the Eagles may want to continue his
• 20:10
  development under Vic Fango and linebackers coach Bobby King. But
• 20:14
  keep an eye on Lance Dixon, who I'm expecting to
• 20:16
  play quite a bit this afternoon. The secondary safety Tristan
• 20:23
  McCollum and say DeAndre Sam both players I've had a
• 20:28
  chance to get to know and talk to. Tristan's been
• 20:31
  here a little bit longer, so I've seen the strides.
• 20:34
  They've been a little bit more evident because I've seen
• 20:36
  him for a couple of seasons now, and you're talking
• 20:40
  about a smart, detailed, discipline, trustworthy player who remains fundamentally sound.
• 20:47
  He doesn't have the big playability maybe or the explosive
• 20:51
  qualities of a Sydney Brown or a Drew mccouba, but
• 20:54
  he's a player that Vic Fangio clearly trust and I've
• 20:57
  noticed him take a next step in his game, seeing
• 21:01
  things faster. He's playing with more confidence. Tristan McCollum is
• 21:06
  a player everyone should be keeping an eye on, especially
• 21:09
  when the safety situation. Obviously there's Red Blankenship leading the charge,
• 21:13
  then there's Drew mccouba, Sydney Brown. Then that's where this
• 21:17
  battle becomes interesting. Could they keep four? Could they keep five?
• 21:22
  Andre Sam's the other player who I mentioned, and Andre
• 21:25
  has probably the best story on the Eagles roster, or
• 21:28
  at least among the best.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: He should go and check it out. Tremendous story of perseverance.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: But he's feisty, he's scrappy, he is effective on special teams,
• 21:39
  He's fearless out there. He's not the biggest safety in
• 21:42
  the world, but the way he approaches the game, I
• 21:45
  have a tremendous amount of respect for and, for example,
• 21:49
  talking to him once a week last season. He's self motivated,
• 21:54
  meaning when he was on the practice squad, and he
• 21:56
  spent the whole twenty twenty fourth season on the Eagles
• 21:58
  practice squad, he would find different ways to motivate himself
• 22:02
  and keep him engaged in practice, whether that was tasking
• 22:05
  himself with making six tackles and an interception or a turnover,
• 22:09
  or maybe the next week it was nine tackles during
• 22:11
  the week and one turnover or no turnovers. I would
• 22:15
  always check in and say, what's the goal this week?
• 22:17
  And he would tell me we reconvene usually Friday, and like,
• 22:20
  how'd you end up making out with your goals? And
• 22:23
  you know, he thumbs up or thumbs down and we
• 22:25
  talk about it. But that's the kind of character, and
• 22:28
  that's how much football means to him. He's obsessed with
• 22:30
  the game, and I get the sense that the Eagles
• 22:32
  really like him. So those are two players right there,
• 22:36
  Tristan mccollman, Andre sam in addition to Lance Dixon, the
• 22:39
  linebacker who you should be keeping an eye on. That's
• 22:43
  thirty six, thirty one and Lance Dixon wearing number forty one.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: I enjoy the preseason.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: I enjoy the whole part of the training camp preseason,
• 22:54
  you know, transition into the regular season because players are
• 22:58
  fighting for jobs. This is where you're able to see
• 23:02
  what's real and what's not.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: And what I mean by that is on the practice field.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: How many times have we seen players over the years
• 23:09
  flash and for whatever reason, it doesn't translate into a
• 23:13
  game situation. You want to see if what you're seeing
• 23:16
  in training camp if there is a carry over there.
• 23:19
  But personally, for me, the human side of it, which
• 23:23
  I always look to first. Players are getting an opportunity
• 23:27
  to go out there and put game tape out there,
• 23:31
  if not for the Eagles, then for another team. It's
• 23:35
  the biggest job audition of their lives. They've put in
• 23:38
  countless hours, they've sweat just as much as the marquee
• 23:42
  players that you all know. They put in the same
• 23:44
  amount of work, the same amount of days, they clocked
• 23:47
  in the same amount of time.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: But afternoons like this.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: That's for them to go out there and really seize
• 23:55
  the opportunity.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: And for me, I look at it in my own career.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: I look at it in whatever situation that's applicable. There's
• 24:05
  something for me that really resonates when I see someone
• 24:09
  being afforded an opportunity and going out there and making
• 24:12
  the most of it. And I think that's what makes
• 24:14
  this whole preseason process exciting to me, because the urgency
• 24:20
  is there. That's just me sort of giving my preseason musings.
• 24:25
  But enjoy Game two, Week two of the NFL preseason.
• 24:30
  The NFL regular season is nearing, and kick off with
• 24:33
  the Eagles and Cowboys feels like it's right around the
• 24:36
  corner there at September fourth.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: That's going to do it for this edition of the Chechodaily.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you on the next one.