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Football at Four: One Last Look at the Eagles Matchups Against the NFC North's Vikings · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: And Football four is powered by the Inside the Birds podcasts.
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  Speaker 1: Inside the Birds dot Com. You can get their podcasts
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  Speaker 1: on all podcasting platforms. Mike gil Sports Past Live and
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  Speaker 1: the Eagles getting ready for the Vikings. We're gonna get
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  Speaker 1: the breakdown on Eagles Vikings. Andrew de Checko is here today.
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  Speaker 1: Adam was on yesterday's show, so Andrew is in today.
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  Speaker 1: We're gonna get all his matchups to watch in this game.
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  Speaker 1: What's going on. He was at the practice field today
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  Speaker 1: for the Eagles, and obviously, as we get ready for
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  Speaker 1: this game, the Eagles a slight favorite on the road
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  Speaker 1: against the Minnesota Vikings. Here it looks like it will
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  Speaker 1: be Carson Wentz getting the start in the game. So
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  Speaker 1: you got that as well. We got so much to
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  Speaker 1: dive into on this game, Eagles and Vikings. And obviously
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  Speaker 1: the Eagles out gained in all six games this season.
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  Speaker 1: That is unbelievable to hear Andrew to Checko, and obviously
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  Speaker 1: a lot of talk has been about the problems with
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  Speaker 1: their offense. They've been out gained in all schemes. And
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  Speaker 1: I would ask you, is this a defense that you
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  Speaker 1: think that the Eagles can figure out this weekend?
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  Speaker 2: I do. I think this is a game where it
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  Speaker 2: shapes up to be a big Saquon Barkley game. If
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  Speaker 2: you look back at the previous matchups the Vikings have had,
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  Speaker 2: the teams have had success running the football against them,
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  Speaker 2: So I don't know if they have the personnel up front.
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  Speaker 2: Now they have players who can get after the quarterback,
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  Speaker 2: but when you're looking at Javon Hargrave Jalen Redmond, both
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  Speaker 2: good pass rushers, but not necessarily as a depth at
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  Speaker 2: stopping the run. So this seems to be a really
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  Speaker 2: good spot to get that faster at the offense going,
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  Speaker 2: which is much needed. And then once that gets rolling,
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  Speaker 2: as we all saw last season, it opened things up
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  Speaker 2: in the passing game as well. So I think this
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  Speaker 2: should be a game where they're able to bounce back.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, obviously, Minnesota has struggled against the run in some weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Atlanta really torched them against the run. That was a game.
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  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh had a good game against the run. So we'll
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  Speaker 1: see if Philadelphia gets going against the run here or
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  Speaker 1: get it's the run going this week. Last night we
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  Speaker 1: saw a game in which a wide receiver had twenty
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  Speaker 1: three targets. Now we're not asking for that, but we anticipate.
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  Speaker 1: We think Aj Brown watch that game last night, was like,
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  Speaker 1: hey man, what do you think of that offense over there?
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  Speaker 1: But can they get the passing game more fluid moving
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  Speaker 1: forward here?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's some things that they can do
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  Speaker 2: with you look at the RPO, some play action and
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  Speaker 2: just involving some of the preeminent players in that passing
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  Speaker 2: game early into the game plan AJ Brown, DeVante Smith,
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  Speaker 2: Dallas Goddter, Saquon bark Levin on some of those wheel
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  Speaker 2: routes that this should be a spot where based off
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  Speaker 2: of what Minnesota presents defensively, especially setting a lot of pressure,
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  Speaker 2: which is what Brian Flores tends to do, that should
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  Speaker 2: allow the Eagles to capitalize and see someone on one matchup.
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  Speaker 2: So I think, yes, I do believe that they can.
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  Speaker 1: So hopefully the offense can get rolling here and if
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  Speaker 1: you get a guy like Lannon Dickerson he was back
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  Speaker 1: in practice today, that should help the offensive line because
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  Speaker 1: the offensive line has been a problem. Would you agree
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  Speaker 1: that this is part of the issue of Hey, why
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  Speaker 1: are they having trouble running the ball the offense line?
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  Speaker 1: Why are they having trouble passing the line, the ball,
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  Speaker 1: the offensive line. Is that a big factor in why
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  Speaker 1: everything is kind of disjoin it?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, not in past protection, but in the run game absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: And context is important here because a lot of it
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  Speaker 2: has to do with with the health and they're not
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  Speaker 2: at full strength right now, so that's obviously going to
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  Speaker 2: impede their ability and hinder what they like to do foundationally,
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  Speaker 2: and we'll have to wait and see what the health
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  Speaker 2: status is this this coming week. Lennon Dickerson was out
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  Speaker 2: there Friday for the media, attended portion of practice, so
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  Speaker 2: that that seems to be trying in a positive direction.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, a lot of that has to do with
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  Speaker 2: with health in my estimation.
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  Speaker 1: Right Minnesota, obviously justin Jefferson, everybody listening knows who that is.
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  Speaker 1: There are another you know, if Carson Wentz is in
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  Speaker 1: fact the guy looks like you will be. How does
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  Speaker 1: this secondary kind of match up? Queenyon Mitchell been at
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  Speaker 1: practice all this week, he was there today. He obviously
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  Speaker 1: will be a big factor to have him out there.
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  Speaker 1: But a Dori Jackson you wrote about it over inside
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  Speaker 1: the Birds dot Com. Looks like they're going to go
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  Speaker 1: back toward Dori Jackson. How's that matchup in the secondary,
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  Speaker 1: Philly's corners against this very talented wide receiving crew.
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, short of moving Cooper Degene from nickel
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  Speaker 2: to the outside, which bick Fangio has been reluctant to do,
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  Speaker 2: and he's poured cold water on that notion, the best
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  Speaker 2: option that they have at outside corner, obviously Quinia on Mitchell,
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  Speaker 2: is a Dorri Jackson. That was the right decision. I
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  Speaker 2: thought that they probably should have stuck with a Dori Jackson.
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  Speaker 2: I know he missed the Tampa Bay game with the
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  Speaker 2: groin injury, but they probably should have went back to him.
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  Speaker 2: Keilee ring goes a third year corner, he's young. I
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  Speaker 2: get that they want to give him the opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: try and put his stamp on that position, but it
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  Speaker 2: wasn't working out, and when both players were forced into
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  Speaker 2: duty against the Giants, a Dory performed better. So I
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  Speaker 2: think when you look at what the vikings present from
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  Speaker 2: a skilled position standpoint, you feel a little bit more
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  Speaker 2: comfortab putting a veteran who's in his ninth season out
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  Speaker 2: there to play with Quinnon, Mitchell and the rest of
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  Speaker 2: the secondary because there's not a lot that he hasn't
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  Speaker 2: seen and you know, I feel like foundationally and I
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  Speaker 2: guess fundamentally, he should be able to give you more
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  Speaker 2: consistent play there. But make no mistake about it, Carson
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  Speaker 2: Wentz and West Phillips, their offensive coordinator, they're going to
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  Speaker 2: devise a game plan to try to exploit that matchup
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  Speaker 2: quite a bit. So they're aware of it. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's not going to catch anyone by surprise. It's just
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  Speaker 2: about going out there and executing your assignments.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, dor Jackson, Vic Fangio mentioned that he will be
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  Speaker 1: back out there. Ringo was out there the last couple
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  Speaker 1: of weeks. If they you know, going at Dory Jackson,
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  Speaker 1: we'll see if they have to make adjustments in game,
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  Speaker 1: But obviously that has been a spot. What is your
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  Speaker 1: overall take on Jalen Carter even healthy this year when
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  Speaker 1: he's played. I mean a lot of people are wondering, Hey,
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  Speaker 1: what what are we getting? What are you getting from
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  Speaker 1: Jalen Carter.
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  Speaker 2: He's had some moments where he's really flashed, but they
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  Speaker 2: haven't been as frequent as we've seen. Dealing with the
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  Speaker 2: shoulder injury is obviously going to hinder that a little bit,
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  Speaker 2: and he didn't play Thursday night with the heel injury
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  Speaker 2: in the game at MetLife Stadium. That had nothing to
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  Speaker 2: do with the turf that MetLife has. Jalen Carter said
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  Speaker 2: that they have to play there, you know, every year anyway,
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  Speaker 2: but he did say he was close. He was out
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  Speaker 2: there Friday, and I just think that he needs to
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  Speaker 2: round into form a little bit. Pick Vango earlier in
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  Speaker 2: the season mentioned that he needed to get into better shape,
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  Speaker 2: and I think the tape really reflected that. So this
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  Speaker 2: seems to be a matchup where he could get back
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  Speaker 2: to the dominance, the dominant player that he's been. And
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  Speaker 2: when he tends to get going and provide that pressure
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  Speaker 2: from the interior, the rest of the defense tends to
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  Speaker 2: thrive off of that, and that also creates more pressure
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  Speaker 2: from the edge, which the Eagles so sorely needs. So
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  Speaker 2: I think Jalen Carter is obviously going to be a
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  Speaker 2: big key.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. We took we were taking with Brian McKinney earlier
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  Speaker 1: for Outside View, and you know, you're talking about the
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  Speaker 1: struggles of the Minnesota offensive line, which is perpetual for them.
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  Speaker 1: It seems like is that an area where you think Philadelphia,
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  Speaker 1: even with some questions, and I would ask you, do
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  Speaker 1: you think there are serious questions in the past rush.
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  Speaker 1: Should this be a week even with questions in the
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  Speaker 1: past rush that they should generate some.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, look, I think Minnesota's done a nice job
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  Speaker 2: in addressing it. Donovan Jackson, what was a high draft pick,
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  Speaker 2: and they have some players there they just haven't had
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  Speaker 2: a clean bill of health. But this should be a
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  Speaker 2: matchup where the Eagles are able to dial up pressure.
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  Speaker 2: And when I say that, I mean mostly from the
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  Speaker 2: interior with Moro Jomo, with Jalen Carter, with Jordan Davis,
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  Speaker 2: Byron Young, and maybe even Ty Robinson who played nineteen
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  Speaker 2: snaps against the Giants and had that batted pass but
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  Speaker 2: off the edge. You know that that's a group that's
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  Speaker 2: going to be heavily scrutinized until there's a drastic, you know,
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  Speaker 2: addition or reinforcement on the way. They haven't had much
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  Speaker 2: success getting in the quarterback. In fact, Patrick Johnson has
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  Speaker 2: their only sack. Zadarius Smith, who recently retired, had a
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  Speaker 2: back and a half. But there's players there that have
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  Speaker 2: a built Jay loox Hunt is a player that Vic
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  Speaker 2: Vangiel has talked a lot about He's been very complimentary
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  Speaker 2: of you know, he doesn't offer hollow praise. While that
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  Speaker 2: may not be reflected in the box score about his
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  Speaker 2: impact if you're measuring it solely off the sacks, there's
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  Speaker 2: things that he's doing that is appealing to fan. To
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  Speaker 2: Vic Fangio, Josh uche is a natural pass rusher. I've
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  Speaker 2: had a really good had a really good conversation with
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  Speaker 2: him Thursday about him sort of dialing in and trying
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  Speaker 2: to hone in on his power rush because he's been
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  Speaker 2: more of a speed and the neest type of rusher
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  Speaker 2: and his hand usage and things like that. He's been close,
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  Speaker 2: but we'll see they have to be able to manufacture
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  Speaker 2: some sort of pressure and that's where you might see
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  Speaker 2: Jahad Campbell or Zach Bond have to moonlight there just
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  Speaker 2: to assume some of those snaps that are lost in
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  Speaker 2: the absence of Zadarius Smith.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking with Andrew Checker for Today's Football for You
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  Speaker 1: wrote a piece over inside the Birds dot Com about,
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  Speaker 1: you know, how the defense is looking to return to
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  Speaker 1: form on the field against the Vikings. What are some
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  Speaker 1: of the things they've got of gotten away from.
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  Speaker 2: Well tackling for one, tackling in space. I think there's
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  Speaker 2: been some untimely penalties, some lapses in coverage, and some
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  Speaker 2: of those are younger players like Drew mccouba. It's this
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  Speaker 2: Keilee Ringo in the past where you know he's giving
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  Speaker 2: up a third and twelve to little Jordan Humphrey and
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  Speaker 2: forgetting to tag the Wandell Robinson down, so it was
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  Speaker 2: the player was still live. But those are just mental
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  Speaker 2: lapses that you don't typically see, and I think through
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  Speaker 2: the better part of five games they've been a big
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  Speaker 2: reason why the Eagles have gotten out to you know,
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  Speaker 2: have been able to carve out four wins. It's been
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  Speaker 2: the offense that hasn't really been able to uplift it.
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  Speaker 2: But based on the most recent sample size, you're always good,
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  Speaker 2: as you know your last game. There's there's obviously going
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  Speaker 2: to be a lot of talking points. Is it too
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  Speaker 2: young or is it too young of a defense? Do
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  Speaker 2: they have enough there from a personnel standpoint to be
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  Speaker 2: able to sustain that throughout the season, which are fair questions,
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  Speaker 2: But I believe that they do, and more importantly, you
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  Speaker 2: have to believe in what Vic Vangil has. So there's
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  Speaker 2: been some uncharacteristic blips, but I don't believe that that's
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  Speaker 2: who they are. I think you're gonna start to see
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  Speaker 2: more of a semblance of what they've been under Vicvangiel.
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  Speaker 2: And let's not forget Nikcobe Dean could factor in potentially
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  Speaker 2: defensively as well, and he's very much a tone setter.
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  Speaker 2: He is someone who tends to galvanize that group and
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  Speaker 2: get things going. So I think having him there potentially
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  Speaker 2: could could also generate some big places.
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  Speaker 1: He's gonna be my next question for Andrew, which is
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  Speaker 1: Nakobe Dean. You know, what's the plan with him? In
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  Speaker 1: your mind? Do they almost have to say, hey, we
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  Speaker 1: got to figure out something, and do they try to
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  Speaker 1: use Campbell more in that pass rushing role or is
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  Speaker 1: that just not where he's at right now.
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  Speaker 2: Vic Fangiol has been reluctant. We talked about Cooper Degene
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  Speaker 2: in that way. He's been reluctant whenever asked this season,
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  Speaker 2: usually saying not right now or not at this time.
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  Speaker 2: But he said it's possible this week that Jahad Campbell
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  Speaker 2: could see some reps off the edge. And I would
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  Speaker 2: also say Zach Bond as well. I think Zach Bond
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  Speaker 2: is clearly better in that area right now, though Jahad
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  Speaker 2: Campbell offers a lot of intrigue, and that was part
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  Speaker 2: of the allure of when the Eagles drafted him, having
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  Speaker 2: that versatility. But a lot of this is obviously going
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  Speaker 2: to be predicated on whether or not the Kobe Dean,
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  Speaker 2: whether or not the Eagles feel comfortable allowing the Kobe
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  Speaker 2: Dean to take on a larger role defensively. He played
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  Speaker 2: just six naps on special teams against the Giants, and
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  Speaker 2: if he's able to do that, and the Eagles do
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  Speaker 2: have an embarrassment or richest at linebacker, that affords them
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  Speaker 2: some flexibility in how they can deploy Jahad Campbell and
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  Speaker 2: or Zach Bond. So I think there's a big chance
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  Speaker 2: that na Kobe has a more significant role defensive this week,
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  Speaker 2: and I would expect that to increase as he continues
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  Speaker 2: to get some games under his belt.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, we'll see how it all goes down. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, the Vikings are owing to under Kevin O'Connell
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  Speaker 1: against the Eagles, so we'll see if he can get
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  Speaker 1: his first win filled up. If you a two game
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  Speaker 1: losing streak, if they lose three in a Row, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: Pandemonia will break loose here. What is the biggest matchup
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  Speaker 1: key in this particular meeting that you are watching that
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  Speaker 1: could decide this game?
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  Speaker 2: Andrew, Yeah, I'm going to be looking at the trenches
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  Speaker 2: and that's where it all starts for me, watching how
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles offensive lines able to respond. They It's not
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  Speaker 2: often you can say an Eagles team under Nick Sirianni
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  Speaker 2: was the you know, kind of got out muscled, but
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  Speaker 2: they certainly did Thursday night against the Giants. I want
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  Speaker 2: to see them respond by really getting back to that
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  Speaker 2: bullieball style that they want to play, dominating the point
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  Speaker 2: of attack, controlling the game and you know, dictating how
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  Speaker 2: the defense goes and really blowing that line of off
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  Speaker 2: the ball and getting Sapon Barkley going. It's long overdue
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  Speaker 2: and I'm going to look to see this is a
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  Speaker 2: matchup that on paper they should be able to capitalize on.
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  Speaker 2: And so it favors Eagles on paper. We'll see if
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  Speaker 2: they're able to go out there and execute it.
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  Speaker 1: Two and a half point favorites. By the way, hurts
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  Speaker 1: back to back losses after winning eighteen of his previous nineteen,
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  Speaker 1: including the playoffs. Another loss. It will be the longest
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  Speaker 1: losing streak for him. It happened three other times where
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  Speaker 1: they've lost three straight for the Eagles, but that bets
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  Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty three, the last time it happened.
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  Speaker 1: You can listen to the game right here on ninety
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  Speaker 1: seven to three ESPN. The Eagles and the Vikings pregame
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  Speaker 1: at noon, kickoff at one pm. Right here on ninety
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  Speaker 1: seven three ESPN. He's Andrew to Checko from the Inside
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  Speaker 1: the Birds podcast. This is Football at four. Andrew, thank
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  Speaker 1: you sir.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks man.