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Football at Four: Detailing Eagles Two Practices with The Browns · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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Speaker 1: Josh Annie Filliot for Mike Gil Football at four powered
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by the Inside the Birds Broadcast. It brought to you
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by Ocean Casino Resort. The Gallery Bar booking games is
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the place to be this football season. Go to the gallery,
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go to Ocean Go for the Win. For more information,
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visit the oceanac dot com. Day two joint practices in
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the books, the two teams will see each other one
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more time on the field this Saturday, link and financial
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field and they talk about more about his observations. Of course,
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you can catch them always at Andrew de Checko on
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the X platform at Inside the Birds dot com. Make
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sure you subscribe to the Inside the Birds podcast wherever
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you get your podcast. Andrew to Checko is back for
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football four Here on ninety seven three ESP and Andrew,
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welcome in. How you doing today?
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Speaker 2: Doing well? Josh, Good to be with you for you.
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Speaker 1: Before we dig anything specific, was there something that was
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eye opening or if you caught your eye the most
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the last two days at these joint practices, because the
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last time these two teams played it felt like Day
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one and Day two were completely different animals. Was it
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a similar vibe this time, Whether there's something that stood
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out to you the last two days.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. So the first day I really fixated on the offense,
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and I thought that Jalen Hurts looked largely confounded by
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what the Browns were looking to accomplish that day, and
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he threw a couple of interceptions. I'll only credited him
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with the one that I saw in seven on sevens
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where linebacker Devin Bush jumped in front of him and
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he was trying to get it to Dallas Goddard, but
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it looked like he was a little scattershot. Obviously, that
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happens when you have Miles Garrett rushing the quarterback. At
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Miles Garrett completely Rex practice, there was a number of
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different times where you could have credited him with the sack,
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and there was some interior pressure. I thought the Eagles
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locked it up pretty well against the run. Will Shipley
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had some nice runs. AJ Dillon had some really nice runs,
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but largely from an offensive perspective, I didn't think the
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Eagles were particularly sharp on day one. Davonte Smith scored
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a touchdown. AJ Dillon scored a touchdown on a little
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dump off there, and Davante is so automatic in these
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practices you almost take it for granted, but everything he
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does looks so effortless. But really, aside from that, nothing
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particularly stood out from an offensive standpoint, And then today
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I focus solely on the defense.
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Speaker 1: Let's go back to what you said about the offense,
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because Nick Sirianni himself was very complimentary about the run
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game offensively in camp so far. So what have your
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observations been of what is basically a recalibrated backfield At
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this point, you know there's no more Kenny Gamewell. He
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was a staple of team the last couple of years,
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and now it's the baton has been pasted. I'll we
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call it to Will Shipley and AJ Dillon behind Saquon.
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Speaker 2: Well. I mean, if training camps any indication, Veagles are
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again going to have another high octane rushing attack, and
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I really like this backfields. They have a balanced, unique
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attack with say Kwon Barkley, who's the dynamic bellcal and
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he can do it all. Then you have an ideal
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change of pace running back and Will Shipley, who is
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such a natural pass catcher and has juice after the
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catch and he's a developing player in terms of pass pro.
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Then AJ Dillon has some wiggle and again, that's all
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relative because he is two hundred and fifty pounds or thereabouts.
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But he's shown some nice bursts and some catching ability
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out of the backfield. So I think they're all going
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to compliment each other quite well. And then you have,
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of course, the league's best offensive line paving the way.
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I do believe it. That's going to be an emphasis
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for this offense. They're going to continue to lean on
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the running game, and they have the players to do it.
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Speaker 1: Andrews Checko joining us, of course, he covers the Eagles
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inside the Birds dot Com, Inside the Birds Podcast. At
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Andrew de Checko on the Twitter x platform, you mentioned
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the offensive line good news is Land and Diggerson may
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it appears to practice today. Bad news. He was hitting
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out beers Aw the lineman. He was not practicing himself.
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There's no literal timetable that I know. They're hoping Dickerson
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might be back for a week one, there's no guarantee
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of that. So what is your perspective right now? Andrew,
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speaking of the offensive line, talk to us about left
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guard without Dickerson.
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Speaker 2: Well, right now it's Brett Toath and that's not really
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a surprise. Whenever Landon's had to come out of the
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lineup this summer. It's been Brett Toath, who's entering his
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seventh season. And there is a misconception about Brett Toath,
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largely from what I've been able to glean, and he
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does a lot behind the scenes to really help the
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unit and help the team and bring the young players
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along and really establish that culture. A lot of folks
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may not even realize he came up through the ranks
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of being there with Jason Peters and Jason Kelsey and
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Brandon Brooks, Isaac Samalo, and he always talks about the
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standard and making sure that he's doing his part and
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making sure he's upholding that standard. And there's also something
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to be said for the staying power that he has
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and mastering really the technique from Jeff Stoutlin and being
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able to apply that on the field. He's a player
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that the team values, they trust, and I do believe
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that he's had some positive moments in this training camp.
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He can also play anywhere on the offensive line, and
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that those are players that they don't necessarily grow on trees.
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You want to find a way to keep them in
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house and maximize their value.
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Speaker 1: Andrew you just mentioned about, you know, maximizing toast value
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kind of let me in my next thought, which is,
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you know, there's obviously for people who are not at
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practice every day now watching this team as closely as
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you are, the gut reaction might be, well, why don't
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you just throw Matt Pryor over there? What about Trevor Keegan?
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You know, so what you think is the reasoning for
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why maybe those guys are not getting more shots at this.
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Speaker 2: Well, at least initially, it doesn't make it to a
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sense to uproot Tyler Stein, who's been spending all summer
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building that continuity alongside Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens, and
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then moving him to the left. Now Tyler Steen can
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play on the left side, he's done that before. But
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Brett Toath has been working with Jordan my Lot in
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Cam Jurgens and establishing that chemistry. And also Brettoath knows
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exactly how Jess Doutland once it blocked up, He knows
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the technique. There is a lot of trust and confidence
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there despite what outside perception may be. And so I
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just think, rather than move two different players and disrupt
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the chemistry, I think it makes more sense to lean
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on a player who's been there, who who knows the system,
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knows the scheme, and knows that is very familiar with
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those with his teammates. And Matt Pryor is he is
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a right tackle, he's a right guard. I don't believe
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he's ever even played left guard. So I think the player,
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if you're going to look for an outside like a
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name internally that folks aren't talking about, would be Darien Kinnard.
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Darryn Canard has played right tackle. They've tried him at
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right guard in camp. He's done well there and they've
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now for the since the Dickerson injury, have been giving
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him second team work with that left guard. So it
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really does suggest that they like what they've seen from
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him and they're trying to see if he can handle
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multiple hats because a young player with some upside.
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Speaker 1: Speaking of guys with upside, let's talk about what's going
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on with the tight end position. We know the top
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two are Andrews so far, we know it's got her,
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we know it's kal Katara, but what are your observations
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about who might steal that third spot in the tight
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end depth chart?
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Speaker 2: Well, right now, and it's taken a while for a
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player to emerge, but I think that guy would be
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Kylon Granson, who the Eagles signed in free agency. He
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was drafted by the Colts. He's a unique type of
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tight end because he doesn't fit the prototype. And what
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I mean by that is he's more along the lines
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of an h back. He can he's lined up in
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the backfield before he's lined up out wide, and you know,
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he can just provide a lot of different you know,
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a lot of different qualities to the offense. And he
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also provides special teams upside. And I'm somebody who watches
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every detail in practice and I couldn't help but notice
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that he's been getting first, you know, first crack on
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the kickoff team and the kick return game. And that
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speaks to what Michael Clay and the Eagles believe that
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he can provide. And I think of all those tight ends, Harrison,
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Brian and EJ. Jenkins, he's flashed a little bit more
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as a receiver as well. But being third in the
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pecking order, you're not going to see the football and
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awful lot. I think it just lends itself to being
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able to do different things offensively. That kind of body type,
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that kind of skill set. I'm still not one hundred
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percent short the Eagles would even keep two tight ends.
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But if you're looking at a third one to emerge,
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I think Kylon Granson slowly being that guy.
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Speaker 1: Andrews flipping over to the defense into the Checko joining
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US Football on four powered by the Inside of the
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Birds podcasts, Inside the Birds dot Com for all of
8:57
Andrews Eagles covered and of course at Andrew Checko on
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social media. Andrew Cornerback. You know how Eagle fans are.
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They've been losing their mind for days now about Ringo
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and Jackson. So talk to us about the state of
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the cornerbacks because they did trade for Jakoreiam Bennett last week.
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So what is your take on the latest with the
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number two cornerback position.
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Speaker 2: Well, right now, I think it's fair to say that
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they're still on shaky grounds and there hasn't been a
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player who's yet to step up and sees the job.
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So Kille Ringo had a tough showing on Wednesday, the
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first joint practice, gave up some catches and you know
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you didn't see the fundamentals on one particular reception. Jaquorian
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Bennett struggled yesterday as well. Now he's also still learning
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the defense. That was really only his second full practice
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with the Eagles, so the context is really important there.
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He's still getting up the speed. Today he got some
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first team reps and Adorri Jackson's solid. If I'm spectacular,
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I just think that there's something to be said for
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a player who's played in ninety seven games and you
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kind of know what you're getting. If you're the Eagles,
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you're hoping that Kivie Ringo, you know, continues to trend forward,
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and you've spent years developing him, and ideally you'd like
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him to be that starting corner. But I think the
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natural fallback plan would be Jacoreyan Bennett, who of course
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they traded for, and he's still getting up to speed,
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but really none of the three have really stepped up
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and seized this opportunity.
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Speaker 1: I talked to Eric at home earlier today on Nice
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Every three ESPN Andrew, and he talked about how much
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he liked Jacorey and Bennett coming out of college, and
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he thinks that, you know, as things are going, he
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thinks that Bennett might be the best option of the three.
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Do you think that's a bit of a premature estimatia.
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Do you think it might be trending in that direction.
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Speaker 2: I still think that's a little premature. You know, folks
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have to be careful with whenever you add a young
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a young player who started some games and it's the
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shiny new toy, for lack of a better term, there's
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the natural instinct to get natural inclination to be bullish
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on that player and view them as a savior of sorts.
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But Jaquorian Bennett, he's not going to be handed anything.
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He's going to have to go out there and earn
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the job, and he now is tasked with trying to
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get up to speed as quickly as possible. I mean
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he's mortal as well. He struggled the other day, like
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I mentioned, and all the players, all the three guys
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in the mix here, have all had their up and
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down periods. I think he does have some upside. I
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want to be clear about that. I liked him coming
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out of Maryland, but it's not a slam dunk, and
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he's not so far and ahead of these other players
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there that you think it would be a no brainer
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to insert him there as the starter.
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Speaker 1: Andrew, I want to stay in the secondary here for
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a minute, because there's also been a lot of conversations
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about the season, deposition, what they're going to do, what
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they're not going to do. You know, if if you
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had to put kind of like a bit of a
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I'm trying to like put it like in a way,
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I'm not going to put you on the spot. Okay,
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but if you were to sit there and say, look,
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I think that between Sidney Brown and Drew mccooba, who
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you think the Eagles want to win the job versus
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who do you think will win the job? Like, do
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you think there is that difference or do you think
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the Eagles are being open minded with this?
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Speaker 2: Okay, I'll try to unpack this as best I can.
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I think the Eagles would like for Drew mccouba to
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win the job. They draft him in the second round
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and he has some coverage ability, the versatility, the football
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intellect that to me suggests that he's a tailor made
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safety for Vic Vangio right. However, both players have their
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own skill sets. Like today, encompass what Sidney Brown is
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all about, a heat seeking missile. The Browns did a
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lot of running plays and he was attacking the interior,
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getting downhill he was in his natural element. Unfortunately for him,
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that's not I mean, you need to do more than
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just that. It's an all encompassing position in Vicvangio's system,
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and I could see him contributing situationally, just just I'm
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not quite sure how he's going to fit as a
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post player in this defense. But I think Drew mccooba
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and this we're going to see his first preseason action
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here on Saturday, he's going to have an opportunity. He's
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been getting some first team reps. It's largely been Sydney
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Brown and Red Blanket Ship. But I think after this game,
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and after you see some momentum starting to build, you
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might see Drew mccooba get some more first team reps
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and then you're able to the playing field is a
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little bit more level, and I think you have to
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give you the nod to the player who has a
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little bit more athleticism, can make plays on the football
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and be that rangy back end player that Vic Veangio
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tends to cover it.
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Speaker 1: And then how does Cooper de Gene factor into all
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of this, Because we know the Eagles when they first
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drafted then the viewed him in some ways as a
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guy you could do a little bit of everything, right, Yeah,
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he can.
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Speaker 2: Do everything, and he was very physical today and it
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showed signs of maybe that, you know, that safety background
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perhaps in the future, but I really do think he's
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too valuable at nickel to consider moving him anywhere right now.
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The Eagles don't have a viable option behind him. I
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guess you could say mac McWilliams, but mac McWilliams the
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last three practices has been repping outside, so the Eagles
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are really tapping into his versatility there. And I mean
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Christian Parker has mentioned that, you know that's still that's
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still in play outside. They're still going to get him
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some reps. But the bottom line is in this training
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camp thus far, Cooper Degene has not taken one rep
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at outside corner. So I think that in a perfect scenario,
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the safety position gets solidified with Drew mccooba, maybe jacoryan
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Bennett or Keey Ringo starts to emerge here and they
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have that cornerback two situation figured out and Creuper Degen
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can kind of do what he does and thrive in
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that nickel role but also be a valuable chess piece
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that Vic Vango can deploy elsewhere if you have deficiencies
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in multiple areas that really limits their flexibility and how
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they're able to deploy them.
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Speaker 1: He's Inrew the Checkout. Check out all of his coverage
15:21
of the Eagles in training, camp, joint practices, all the
15:24
details at Inside the Birds dot com. Give him a
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follow on social media at Andrew the Checko, and of
15:30
course he is also a part of the Inside the
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Birds podcasting network. Like subscribing, download, wherever you get your podcast. Andrew,
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you of the great work my man.
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Speaker 2: Thanks man, talk soon.