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OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Eagles vs. Bears Preview, Week 3 · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Opposition Territory here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Podcast Show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: in the world, over 13 and a half years strong.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: We got a great discussion coming your way as we
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: do every week on Opposition Territory. And we are previewing
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: week three of the Philadelphia Eagles' 2026 season here as
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: they are going to be taking on the Chicago Bears
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: and Saints. It's going to be an interesting matchup for sure,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: given what's happening with these teams. There are injuries, new acquisitions,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: and how is it all going to manifest itself this
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: coming Monday night?
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Yes, the primetime game on Monday Night Football.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Joining us from fansided, he's been there for a while.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Great having him on for the first time. He's the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: lead NFL editor and coach. kind of digs into the
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: chicago bears and to get into this upcoming matchup with
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: us and what we may see from the chicago bears
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: team we've got ryan heckman ryan thanks so much buddy
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: for taking the time to join us here really appreciate.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: It you got it it's great to be here uh
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: especially considering the circumstances.
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: Uh in in good spirits in good spirits.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah and look We got to start off with the
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: biggest storyline, of course, heading into this game with Caleb Williams,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: his injury, what we may or may not see from
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: him this week. I mean, earlier this week, there just
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: seemed to be some ambiguity as to whether or not
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: he was really going to be able to take the field,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: his hamstring injury.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Quote, not as bad as.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: We all initially thought when we were seeing him writhing
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: in pain on the ground. It wasn't a disastrous injury,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: but still an injury nonetheless. His designation is week-to-week and
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: apparently not ruled out for this upcoming game against the Eagles.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: But I just want to get your thoughts on what
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: is happening here, whether he may play. If not, what
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: kind of quarterback we may see under center, whatever. What
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: are your thoughts here with this storyline that's huge within
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Bears Nation?
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of thoughts, but as it pertains to
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: this coming Monday night in the matchup, Ben Johnson did
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: say Monday morning when Tom Pelissero released his news bite,
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: Johnson did go on ESPN 1000 and say that Williams
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: will likely miss some time.
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: Um, and, and while they're not going to rule them
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: out until.
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  Speaker 3: They have to rule them out, that's exactly the reason
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: why they haven't ruled him out yet.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Okay. So I just wanted to put that out there
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: and I'm glad you put that out there too.
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  Speaker 3: Yep.
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  Speaker 4: Yes.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, of course, Caleb hasn't been ruled out yet
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: because they don't have to rule them out. Um, but
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: I don't expect him to be out there Monday night
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: and instead, um.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: Well, actually as of today, uh, we, we might not
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: even know.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: If Tyson Bajent will be ready to go because he
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: has apparently entered the concussion protocol after the last play
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: of the game on Sunday when Dallas Turner, uh, put
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: a little extra mustard on that hit.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: And, um, So who are we going to be seeing here,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: do we think?
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: I mean, at the end of the day, do we
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: know what's happening here with the quarterback position? The most
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: important position on an NFL team, any football team for
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: that matter. It's just, it's crazy what's happening right now
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: in the beginning of the season with so many injuries,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: with so many teams.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: And I.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Know I've got all this stuff going on in my
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: head right now as we're talking about this here, Ryan,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: but who's the quarterback going to be here, do we think?
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: That's the question, right? It's the question everyone's asking.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: And it depends on, from my understanding, it depends on
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: when Bajent entered the concussion protocol. If he entered it today,
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: then that means the Bears could get him back as
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: soon as Sunday for team.
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: Activities and or practice.
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  Speaker 3: Because per the league rules, you have to be out
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: for a minimum of five days. So did he enter
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: the protocol yesterday? Did he enter the protocol today? When
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: did they officially give him that designation?
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  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: If we're judging off of the report today, then he
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: has to miss at least through Saturday, meaning he could
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: get a practice in on Sunday if they do a
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: practice or a walkthrough the day before the game. And
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  Speaker 3: so right now I would lean Bay agent. It doesn't
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: seem extremely serious. Um, but if it's not Bay agent, it's, um, it's,
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: it's case Keenum whom Eagles fans know good and well
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  Speaker 3: from a few years ago when they, when they, uh,
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: when they laid a pretty good beating on the Minnesota
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Vikings and route to a super bowl.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely. I just, I'm look, pull back the curtain.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: I said to Ryan prior to us hitting the record button,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: I'm disappointed.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: By what happened with Caleb Williams.
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  Speaker 1: I think a lot of football fans should be because
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: of not only his talent, but his competitive nature, you know,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: very much like a Jalen hurts type in terms of
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: that competitiveness. And you want to see these guys going
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: head to head against each other. And it just kind
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: of stinks at the end of the day. So, you know, I,
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  Speaker 1: I like to talk about on our opposition territory podcast here,
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the strengths and weaknesses of the teams that the Eagles
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: are going to be facing. So let's, let's get into
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: them now. And I will get to the weakness, uh, uh,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: last year. Let's talk about the biggest strength on this
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  Speaker 1: bears team as we are heading into this matchup here.
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  Speaker 2: What is that? And then we'll get to the weakness.
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  Speaker 2: What are your thoughts here?
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  Speaker 3: I would say without a doubt, the bears biggest strength is,
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: is their offensive line. Um, You know, even after losing
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: Drew Dallman to what was a pretty sudden retirement, it
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: came by surprise to, you know, the entire fan base
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  Speaker 3: and media.
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  Speaker 4: But even after that, the offensive.
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  Speaker 3: Line anchored by Darnell Wright and Jonah Jackson's been outstanding
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: this year. Joe Tooney, obviously, you know, his... his resume
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: speaks for itself. And then you've got Gary Bradbury who
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: had an extremely frustrating game on Sunday against Minnesota with
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: four penalties.
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  Speaker 4: So he's, he's definitely the weak link up weak link
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  Speaker 4: up there.
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  Speaker 3: Left tackle, either Braxton Jones or Theo Benedict, depending on
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: the series, that's been kind of a rotation. However, even
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: with the left tackle question mark and Bradbury's inconsistencies, the
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: offensive line as a unit is, I would consider their
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: biggest strength. Close second would be the skilled players, which
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: we're getting a lot of hype over the summer, obviously.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: And look, well, let's flip the coin right now. Biggest
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: weakness on this team. Let's stay away from the quarterback
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: position because I think that is Probably self-explanatory, perhaps, you know,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: I mean, if Case Keenum is going to be under
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: center or even one of the other backups as well.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: My gosh, why am I forgetting his name now? Tyson Baggin.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: What do you think outside of the quarterback position, the
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: biggest weakness on this Bears team is?
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: You know, if I could say the defense as a whole,
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: I would.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 3: Because all three levels have had their question marks for
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: the first two weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: But I think it still has to be the defensive line.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: You know, outside of Montez Sweat, the Bears don't have
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: that number two pass rusher.
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  Speaker 4: They still don't.
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  Speaker 3: And I would even argue that Montez Sweat, even on
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: his best day, isn't a true number one pass rusher.
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  Speaker 4: And that might be a little bit of a hot take.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: But the Bears defensive line still– allows chunk rush after
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: chunk rush. And in terms of pressuring the quarterback, they
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: just don't do that all that well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's going to be interesting because we are
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: going to get to some trenches talk here, but the
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagles, man, it's, I think after week two, and
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: I know it may be that knee-jerk reaction that Philadelphia
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: sports fans and Eagles fans tend to do every now
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: and then, but that dominant, quote, dominant Eagles offensive line
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  Speaker 1: might not actually be a reality anymore. And the matchup
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: is going to be absolutely fascinating to watch. This weaker
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: type of Bears defense going up against a, quote, weakened defense.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: offensive line because you all have a new, quote, new
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: left guard and a new center that we saw in
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: week two with this Philadelphia Eagles team. Ryan, it's going
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: to be really interesting, but we're going to get to
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: the trenches in a bit for sure. But before we
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: go to break here, look, the Eagles' biggest weapons on
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: offense are certainly Jalen Hurts and Devontae Smith.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm wondering how difficult it is.
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  Speaker 1: Going to be for the Bears to try to stop,
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: try to contain one of the best quarterback wide receiver
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: duos in the league this coming Monday night.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: What are your thoughts here?
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: Well, when, when it comes to Jalen, um, whom I
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: have been such a huge fan of, uh, dating back
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: to his college days. And I'm glad you brought up
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: his competitiveness because that's what I've loved about him for
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: so long is the guy just wants to win. And
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: he's just, I think he's so overlooked and underrated at times. Um, Now,
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: all that to say, I don't want this to come
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: across as a knock on Hertz, but I think what
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: Dennis Allen is going to have to do is really
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: make him play quarterback. And I don't think it's going
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: to be that hard for him to do that against
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: the Bears defense, which is why, you know, pending whether
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: we could see some points put up on the board.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: As far as Devante Smith goes, man, J. Johnson is,
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: is kind of a shell of him for, of his
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: former self on the outside. He was, you know, a very,
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: very good cornerback.
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: For a few years.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: And then after some, some soft tissue injuries last year
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: had to battle back and, you know, bears fans were like.
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: Okay, well we'll give him the off season and we'll
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: see full off season. He's healthy.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: He's he reportedly finished training camp really, really well. Dennis
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: Allen and Ben Johnson were singing his praises and, And
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: through two weeks, he has been nothing more than a liability.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: And then you go to the other side and Tyreek
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: Stevenson is about as erratic with his play as you
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: can get. So in terms of the corners matching up
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: against Devontae Smith, I don't feel comfortable. Jalen Johnson had
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: a couple of big– whiffs and coverage on Justin Jefferson
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: on Sunday, but the rain and Carson Wentz overthrowing him
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: on a touchdown at one point kind of saved the
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: bears defense.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: I'm not, I'm not all that comfortable with the bears
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: corners right now.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: So.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: And Don Tavian too. Yeah.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: Don Tavian Wicks has actually been a surprise wide receiver
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: for this Eagles team and somebody else who has been
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: extremely competitive through two games.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: And the bears are familiar with them. They've, they've played
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: against them a lot the last handful of years. So,
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: but he's looked good. He's looked good. I'm not, I'm
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: not anticipating Devante Smith to be shut down.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: We'll just put it that way.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: Norwix, Norwix.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 3: The two outside corners in Chicago have, have deep room
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: for concern.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Well, folks, we are going to be taking a break here. Again,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: we're talking to Ryan Heckman from Fansided. He's the NFL
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: lead editor over there. I should say lead NFL editor
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: over at Fansided. Ryan, why don't you tell folks where
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: they can follow you on the interwebs out there if
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: they want to connect with you?
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, actually, on X or Twitter, as I still call it.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Same here.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: It's at Ryan Heckman NFL. And all of my work
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: lately is on our Bears hub, BearGogglesOn.com. And so I've
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: been going very Bears heavy lately. and I'm fortunate to
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: be able to do that. So that's where you can
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: find it all.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: All right, sounds good. Folks, we're going to take a break.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: When we get back, we got more Bears and Eagles
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: pregame talk coming your way. All right, we are back
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: with Ryan Heckman from Fansided, and as we are continuing
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: to talk about this Eagles-Bears matchup, Monday Night Football, really
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: want to get into the rushing attack with both of
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: these teams. I mean, the rushing attack is the Eagles'
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: biggest weakness thus far this season. The run game, quite frankly,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: it stinks. Not up to par from where us Eagles
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: fans want this or expected it this particular aspect of
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: the offense to be here heading into week three. I mean,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: the ranked 15th in the league. Meanwhile, the bears are
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: ranked first in rushing in.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: The league here.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: So it's, it's, it's going to be interesting to see
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: how the, how, how this is all matched up in
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: the trenches. So first, how do you see the bears
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: defensive front? We kind of mentioned it a little bit.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: You mentioned it a little bit before, but in terms
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of potentially some details here, whether we're talking defensively, Certain gaps,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: you know, we're talking stunts that the Bears' defense may
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: actually end up running. How do you see the Bears'
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: defensive front really stacking up against the Eagles' offensive line, Brian? Again,
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: who are still in transition after losing Landon Dickerson at
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: left guard. You've got Cam Juergens moving from center again
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: over to the left guard position. Drew Kendall at the
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: center position for the Eagles.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: Still learning. It's still learning. And these guys are.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Still learning with this new Sean Mannion offense. that they're
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: still trying to get used to here. So how do
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: you see the Bears' defensive front really stacking up against
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: this Eagles' offensive line?
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: Well, I'll tell you this.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: Last week against the Vikings, their strength lies on the
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: outside of their offensive line with those two stud tackles.
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: However, Aaron Jones.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: Is still around and was the bell cow because Jordan
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Mason was out.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: And Aaron Jones, we watched him rip off.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: I say chunk gain again, after one, after another, you know, five, six,
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: seven yard runs just on the regular.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: And so I'm.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Not so sure Saquon Barkley can't do the same thing,
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: even with an inexperienced and kind of.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: Shuffled offensive line in Philly.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I, I, I'm not gonna, I'm not.
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: Gonna doubt that.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: Philadelphia is rushing attack after, after two weeks, especially when it's,
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: especially when it's Saquon. And again, the bears defensive line has,
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: has not shown any ability to, to put a stop
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: to the run to run.
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: They just, they have it.
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: So I, well, it'll be interesting to see what Dennis
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Allen cooks up after two, two games where, you know, it's,
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: it's hard to count week two against the Vikings, a big, uh,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: win for the bears defense when it was in the rain.
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: I mean, that was just an ugly game all around.
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: So I think if you.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: Know, you take the bad weather out of it, it
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: could have been much worse and Chicago would have given
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: up even more points. So I'm not ready to say
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: that that was a big improvement or, you know, shine
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: a light on Dennis Allen's group by any means. So
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: in this matchup with Philadelphia, even, even though there's question
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: marks and I know I've heard from fansided Zegos guys
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: that they are worried about the offensive line.
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I get that.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: But when you have a special talent like Saquon, who is,
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: is he, I know this is kind of a tangent,
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: but is he healthy?
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: Is he, is he, he's okay.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, still, I, I, I think still dealing with
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: that stinger. He's probably going to play from my understanding
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: at this point, as we are recording this on a
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: Tuesday night, folks, it seems like he is at this
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: point going to play, but he still has that stinger
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: in his shoulder. And that's why when they brought him
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: back in the third quarter, he was just, ineffective, was
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: not able to do anything. And they basically kept them
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: out after a few more plays.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: Well, so, so Saquon's obviously special, but I think where
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: I worry is, is the bears defensive line. They just
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: don't have the level of physicality needed. And so that's
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: where I think if somebody like tank tank, Bigsby gets
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: some run, that's where I would be worried because he's
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: obviously a little bit more physical than Saquon. It's going
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: to be interesting because you kind of have weakness against
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: weakness in a way.
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: And we'll see how that shakes out.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: And then you have strength versus strength in another sense
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: of this when we take a look at the other
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: side of the ball here. Eagles defensive front going up
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: against this Bears offensive line, which is, as you indicated earlier, Ryan,
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: the strength of this team is, How do you see
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: the Eagles' defensive front stacking up against this Bears' offense
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: as they're going to need to contain this Bears' rushing attack,
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: which is number one in the league at this point?
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: I think.
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: looking back on, on last year, I would love to say.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: That it, it's going to go in similar fashion, but
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: I know that the Eagles have not forgotten now last year.
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to assume they, they get up for
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: this one a little bit more so than they did
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: last year where, you know, the bears offensive line, for
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: lack of a better term, just bullied their way to, um,
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: I believe that was one of the three games where
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: they had over 200 rush yards. And so, um, in,
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: in this one, I can see it going in a
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: somewhat similar fashion where, especially if you have either Bajent
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: or Keenum under center, not that Ben Johnson won't trust
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: them to run his offense, but I think he's going
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: to lean even more on the run and even more
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: on just the staying committed to that and being as
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: physical as possible up front on the offensive line and
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: really hammering that right side of the line where you've
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: got Jonah Jackson at Darnell, right? Because those two together
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: so far in a couple of games have just been
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: dynamic together. And, and obviously to, and he's great and
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: he's on the left side and he's, he's probably made
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: up for, for some mistakes by, by Bradbury and Jones
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: and Benedict, whoever's been at left tackle. But yeah, I
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: think the right side, you're going to see, get a
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: lot of work. You're going to see a lot of
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: runs go to the right because that's where the strength lies.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: And I do think that the bears are going to
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: run the ball. Now the question lies, you know, on,
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: on like a third down. Will Bajent and Keenan be
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: able to get it done? And I trust Ben Johnson
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: in these scenarios to draw the plays up. But getting
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: back to the original question, I think the Bears are
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: going to be able to run the ball. And I
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: don't think they're going to go away from it. I
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: don't think they're going to go away from it.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they're going to be able to run
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: the ball as well. Look, on our Eagles postgame podcast show,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: for those who listen to it, If you didn't listen
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: to it, we do our MVP and our LVP, our
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: least valuable player. And our least valuable player was actually,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: mine was Jordan Davis. And one of the reasons why
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: is somehow the Tennessee Titans this past week, they were
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: just able to open up holes on this Eagles defensive line.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: And they ended up rushing for 122 total yards. The
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: Tennessee Titans did. I mean, we're talking Tony Pollard with
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: 64 yards on the ground, Tajay Spears with 41 yards
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: on on the ground.
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: And I mean, this is the bears.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Offensive rushing attack is so much more prolific than the
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: Tennessee Titans. So that's where I am concerned as an
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Eagles fan for sure. And Eagles nation out there, we
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: probably should be if we're being honest here. So as
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: we're moving along here, Ryan, I want to, I want
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: to switch into what kind of offense we may actually
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: see from the bears. And you kind of just touched on,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: it was a really good segue. since Caleb Williams, likely
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: not playing, but I think, I guess, where do you
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: think the Bears offense really could take advantage of this
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Eagles defense this Monday night, given what I was just
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: mentioning with Jordan Davis, the defensive line, not really getting
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: it done in terms of the run defense. Where do
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: you think the Bears offense could really take advantage of
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: the Eagles this week?
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: Well, I would be surprised if, first of all, if,
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: if Kalief Raymond continues to lead the bears and targets, um, uh,
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: other than rushing, you know, obviously the bears are going
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: to run the ball, uh, whether or not it's Bajan
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: or Keenum, first of all, let's start at the quarterback backup.
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: I apologize if.
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: It's not Caleb, which it won't be neither, neither Keenum
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: nor Bajan has the arm. And so you're not going
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: to see those, uh, load up cannon type passes, uh,
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: because neither one of them can do that. And so
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: you're going to have to see a little bit more
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: dink and dunk a little bit more of the middle
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: field work. And I think that's perfect because through two games,
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: Colston Loveland has a single reception for three yards. And
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: I am here to say that there is absolutely no
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: chance that trend continues on Monday night.
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: There's no chance.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: I think Colston Loveland is going to be the number
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: one read for whomever's under center. He's going to be
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: the easy button, the security blanket. And he's just that
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: good at getting open and yards after the catch. He's,
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: he's really, in my opinion, I thought he was going
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: to be the number one target in this offense, regardless
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: of Luther burden or Roma dunes. So I think other
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: than running the ball, you're going to see Colston Loveland involved.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: what I would expect to be a lot. I would
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: be very shocked if he's not.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: All right. Very good.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: Well, buddy, before I let you go, as we do
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: in our opposition territory podcast every week, we get into
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: sneaky players that us Eagles fans need to be looking
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: out for with the opposing team. So when it comes
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: to the Chicago bears and their offense, who's a, who's
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: a sneaky player for us to look out for on
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: this bears offense here?
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: Well, I just mentioned him, but I'm inclined to say
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: Khalif Raymond.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: All right. Because all eyes were on Rome, a dunce
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: and Luther burden and Colston Loveland.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: And of course the running backs and through a couple
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: of games, Raymond leads them in targets and receptions.
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: And he's not a bad player. He's, he's, he's sneaky.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Good.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: That's how I would describe him. Yeah. He's a little shifty.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: He's a little quick.
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: He can get up field real fast after the catch and,
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: So if he is, he, if he is used, uh, again, often, uh,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: I wouldn't be.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: Completely shocked because he is a sneaky, good player.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: However, um, the, the fan in me would really hope
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: to see more of Loveland and, and burden. Okay.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Sounds good. Sounds good.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: What do you, from a defensive perspective, is there a
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: sneaky player that us Eagles fans should really be looking
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: out for terms of sneaky defensive player?
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: Of course, the Bears' first-round pick was Dylan Thienemann, and
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: he's had a great start. Incredibly good, solid first two games.
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: But their fourth-round rookie corner, Malik Muhammad, has been playing
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: the slot for Kyler Gordon. And I don't think Muhammad's
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: going to end up giving that job back. He has
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: been outstanding. He's been great in coverage. He's been great
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: near the line of scrimmage. He's the first bears defensive
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: back to tally a sack and the interception in his
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: first two games. And he has the fifth lowest opposing
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: passer rating of any defensive back in the NFL through
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: two weeks.
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: He's been great. He's been great.
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: Awesome. Awesome.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: It's unfortunate we're not going to get the quarterback matchup.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of us wanted those of us
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: who absolutely love the game of football and love to
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: see that competitiveness. But regardless, it's going to be interesting
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: for sure. Again, folks, he is Ryan Heckman from over
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: at Fan Sighted. Again, buddy, let everybody know where they
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: can follow you online if they want to connect with you.
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: Absolutely.
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: On, on X Twitter, I'm at Ryan Heckman NFL. And
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: most of my work lately is on bare goggles on.com.
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: Awesome.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: My friend, thank you for joining us here, man.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: I would love to have you on the show at
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: some point down the road, come back and join us.
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: Hey, you know what? Hopefully we'll meet in the playoffs.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Oh, that'd be great.
• 24:49
  Speaker 4: And all is right in the world.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us here on Opposition
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Territory this week. Please share our podcast with your friends
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: and family members who are Philly sports fans or sports
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: fans in general. We thank you, our listeners, for being
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: part of this online community with us and within this space.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Make sure to check out our website, philadelphiasportstable.com, for all
• 25:11
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• 25:14
  Speaker 1: You can follow the show on Twitter at Philadelphia PST,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: on threads at Philadelphia Sports Table and over on Instagram
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: as well at Philadelphia Sports Table.
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: Take care. We will catch you next time.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Thank you.