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Football At Four: What Are The Next Steps For the Eagles Defense In 2026? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Josh Allig Philly for Mike Yell.
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  Speaker 2: the intro music, It is time to hear from Adam
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  Speaker 2: Kaplan all today's football at for as we're going to
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  Speaker 2: get into today.
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  Speaker 1: What is next for the Eagles defense?
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  Speaker 2: I think it's part of the conversation, hasn't We've been
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  Speaker 2: talking a lot about, you know, a lot of the
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  Speaker 2: headlines of the media, AJ Brown, Jalen Hurts. But the
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  Speaker 2: defense will look different in some ways, in some capacity
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  Speaker 2: next year, and Adam Kaplan is we're not talking about
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  Speaker 2: it right now. On football and for Adam Mukam in
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  Speaker 2: How are you doing.
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  Speaker 3: Today, Josh, Yeah, good to talk to.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: So we've been subsessed with the new Eagles off at
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  Speaker 3: the scheme, which is West Coast base and it's going
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  Speaker 3: to look different. I just felt it's time to look
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  Speaker 3: at the defense. We know Vic Fangio is going to
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  Speaker 3: be back, but the question is, we're guys going to
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  Speaker 3: line up? Can they get some of the younger players,
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  Speaker 3: particularly in the back end, to have new roles? So Degene,
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  Speaker 3: where's he gonna line up? That impacts what they do
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  Speaker 3: in the drafted free agency? And then how did your
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  Speaker 3: league look at these players? What were their thoughts, what
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  Speaker 3: could they be long term? How did the other team
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  Speaker 3: see them that those are the questions that have to
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  Speaker 3: be answered sooner rather than later.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's start with Degene.
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  Speaker 2: Because of the fact that Adam, how was Degene viewed
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  Speaker 2: coming into the draft in twenty twenty four courses what
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  Speaker 2: they are doing with Degene now in Vic Fangeo's scheme.
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  Speaker 3: Did Josh that There's a lot to unpack there. So
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  Speaker 3: I'm glad this is kind of why I want to
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  Speaker 3: talk about this. So there were clubs that Jeff motion
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  Speaker 3: I talked to with the draft and said, you know what,
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  Speaker 3: we see him as a safety. Didn't even talk much
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  Speaker 3: about nickel, although, look, he he was a corner in college,
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  Speaker 3: but corner is not a nickel defender. That's a nickel position.
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  Speaker 3: Is a defensive back. It's not a corner, but people
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  Speaker 3: call him that and Vic fangersman, they're pretty clear it's
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  Speaker 3: not a corner. And I totally get what he meant.
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  Speaker 3: He had explained it a little bit when he first
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  Speaker 3: got here, but I totally get that. But when you're
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  Speaker 3: looking at how the league saw him, there were a
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  Speaker 3: lot of questions, not only what is his position, but
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  Speaker 3: is he a number one corner as the media likes
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  Speaker 3: to look at her number two corner? That was the question.
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  Speaker 3: You know, you know Riley Moss, who's a really good athlete,
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  Speaker 3: he's a corner for the Broncos. There were questions whether
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  Speaker 3: he was a safety or a corner, and there have
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  Speaker 3: been a number of corners over the years, like Malcolm Jenkins.
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  Speaker 3: Malcolm Jenkins immediately they changed the safety when the Saints
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  Speaker 3: drafted him. Ricco Selt told us that there's no way
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  Speaker 3: long term, he's not athletic enough. He's got to be safety.
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  Speaker 3: Turn out to be a really good safety, helped the
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  Speaker 3: Eagles win a Super Bowl. But here it was you
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  Speaker 3: don't worry about de Jean's athletics, it's just what is
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  Speaker 3: the best at long term pangeo the questions what does
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  Speaker 3: he see him from what we've heard, Safety's gone out
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  Speaker 3: of the question long term. We already know about nickel corner.
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  Speaker 3: They drafted the play corner because he was not healthy
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  Speaker 3: early on. They changed him the nickel and it was
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  Speaker 3: so he was so dominant. Now he's elite, he became
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  Speaker 3: a an all pro ad. It Josh kind of hard
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  Speaker 3: imagine and right now that they would change him. But
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  Speaker 3: they don't have a corner opposite Mitchell. So there's a
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  Speaker 3: lot to unpack with this thing. And it sets up
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  Speaker 3: Josh to be honest with you what they do in
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  Speaker 3: the draft and free agency and potential trades. Quite frankly.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And also is the domino effect of the reality
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  Speaker 2: that you know, maybe you go into the draft with
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  Speaker 2: your draft board, right Adam saying one thing that if
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  Speaker 2: that guy isn't available when you're there to pick, you
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  Speaker 2: might have to go in a different direction. So it
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  Speaker 2: literally could be we don't even know what the J's
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  Speaker 2: role is going to be until we get to August, right.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, now, Josh and Oga's in May, right when the
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  Speaker 3: media is allowed to go. I would think that we're
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  Speaker 3: going to get a pretty good idea early on sometime
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  Speaker 3: in May, certainly by the end of their mandatory camp
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  Speaker 3: where he's lining up, because it's you've now seen him
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  Speaker 3: being maybe the NFL's best nickel, probably one of the
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  Speaker 3: best defensive backs to the National Football League. And he's
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  Speaker 3: super athletic. He's a playmaker, no, no doubt it. He's
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  Speaker 3: got positional versatility. He could play three positions. He hasn't
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  Speaker 3: really played safety here. But I just I'm so curious
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  Speaker 3: see what Fansier really thinks. It's not like he's telling us,
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  Speaker 3: but you know, the front of a stranding to play corner,
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  Speaker 3: that's not happened, although he does do he does that
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  Speaker 3: on base down since early downs, Josh, but that's not realistic.
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  Speaker 3: Games play so much they play nickel most teams seventy
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  Speaker 3: percent of the time or more so. He's either gonna
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  Speaker 3: so you would think it's corner or nickel for him
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  Speaker 3: going forward, But we just don't know's there's a lot
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  Speaker 3: to decide Josh, As you.
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  Speaker 2: Just said, it's bigging of the defensive back situation, stinking
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  Speaker 2: in the secondary. Adam, what about a young man who
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  Speaker 2: was a rookie last year heading into his second year.
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  Speaker 1: Mac McWilliams, he has got a lot of people.
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  Speaker 2: Who had a lot of hopes for how was he
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  Speaker 2: viewed in last year's draft versus how he is entering
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  Speaker 2: this offseason.
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  Speaker 3: So in the draft, clubs loved him as a nickel
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  Speaker 3: potential as a corner okay, an outside position, not a
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  Speaker 3: lot of safety. They thought he would be a great nickel.
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  Speaker 3: There are a lot of teams that I know had
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  Speaker 3: a higher grade than the Eagles drafted him in. But
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  Speaker 3: you did question how well he ran. That was that
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  Speaker 3: was a factor. But overall, Josh, he was He didn't ever,
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  Speaker 3: he really didn't play, so he was a non factor.
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  Speaker 3: But he could just could not build off because he
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  Speaker 3: didn't have a great training camp, had a really good
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  Speaker 3: off season. But you know, we've I came up with
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  Speaker 3: this saying, I just I don't know where I got it,
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  Speaker 3: but I I called the off season double a baseball
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  Speaker 3: trade a camp triple A and the major's is regular season.
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  Speaker 3: I came up with that like five or six years ago,
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  Speaker 3: because I could have come up with anything better. And
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  Speaker 3: I gotta be honest with you. I think that's kind
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  Speaker 3: of what the off season is. I used Keelee Ringo
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  Speaker 3: as the best example of that. You just throw it
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  Speaker 3: out me. It's definitely nothing. Ringo was the off season
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  Speaker 3: champion and it woind up being meaningless. So I think
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  Speaker 3: what you do is you take what you know, you
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  Speaker 3: take what other teams tell you about what you thought
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  Speaker 3: he could be, and you see how these coaches think.
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  Speaker 3: And he clearly wasn't ready. Coaches tell you what they
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  Speaker 3: think whether if the guy didn't play, they don't think
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  Speaker 3: he's ready. But he's got Talent's the thing about him.
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  Speaker 3: At mc mcgwims and training camp, Josh was very aggressive,
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  Speaker 3: very physical. He wasn't great every day. He'd had some
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  Speaker 3: good practices. But if the Gene is not their nickel
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  Speaker 3: this year, Josh, I know they've got Michael Carter who
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  Speaker 3: will not come back at ten point two five million.
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  Speaker 3: That will not happen. But if the Gene's going to
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  Speaker 3: be the if Degene goes to corner, they could also
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  Speaker 3: look to reduce Carter's payment and bring him back. Good
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  Speaker 3: player maybe mac Mickwillams could be the backup Nickel and
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  Speaker 3: you cross train him as a corner. So we'll see
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  Speaker 3: what happens. But he's got talent there, there's no question.
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  Speaker 2: And I thought insider Adam Kaplan joined Football and four
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  Speaker 2: Power by the Inside the Birds podcasts Inside the Birds
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  Speaker 2: dot com like subscribing dellover a Gee, you get your
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  Speaker 2: podcasts also the secondary What about your Coorean Bennett. This
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  Speaker 2: was a guy when they acquired him, a lot of
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  Speaker 2: people had high hope for him. Right, there was a
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  Speaker 2: lot of belief about this guy could maybe be the
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  Speaker 2: guy across from Quinya Mitchell.
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  Speaker 1: And he couldn't even get in front of a Dori Jackson.
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  Speaker 3: In the lineup, couldn't. Yeah, you're right, Josh It If
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  Speaker 3: you and I put together one are our top five
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  Speaker 3: Eagles disappointments last season. Bennett is absolutely in the top five,
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  Speaker 3: might be top three. The guy could run. He had
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  Speaker 3: some good tape though he had two bad shoulders with
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  Speaker 3: the Raiders that as he talked about, they got they
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  Speaker 3: got fixed, and he was healthy. He just could not
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  Speaker 3: pick up the match carrier delivered the mirror match just
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  Speaker 3: in that fanjo uses which Christian Parker most likely will
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  Speaker 3: also use in Dallas. As he said, defense cordinator for
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  Speaker 3: the Cowboys. He just couldn't get it and they need now.
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  Speaker 3: In his defense, he got traded and later in August
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  Speaker 3: the Eagle, so he needs an offseason. He's under contract, imasuall,
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  Speaker 3: they don't know who that they again, we don't know yet.
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  Speaker 3: They have an idea what the quarnerback group might look
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  Speaker 3: like with the guys who are on a contract, but
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  Speaker 3: they haven't gotten there yet. You gave up, you gave
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  Speaker 3: up draft capital for umma as well. Well, I don't
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  Speaker 3: know what. I don't remember exactly what the trade was.
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  Speaker 3: Was it the d tackle was involved in it, the
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  Speaker 3: kids from Stanford. The Eagles got, uh Thomas Booker, Yeah, Booker.
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  Speaker 3: I know that Booker became a raid. I forget if
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  Speaker 3: they were. They might have been traded for each other.
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  Speaker 3: But whatever the case may be. Yep, looking it up.
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  Speaker 3: They've got nothing out of that trade, and they could
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  Speaker 3: have certainly used Booker. So I'm really curious to see
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  Speaker 3: this guy Bennett. He's talented, he's got speed, but they're
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  Speaker 3: gonna have to learn rather than later.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and again it goes back to It's almost like
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  Speaker 2: a domino effect deal from Degene to McWilliams to Bettett.
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  Speaker 2: The unanswered questions with this offseason are all going to
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  Speaker 2: determine what happened with all three of those guys when
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  Speaker 2: we get to May, June, and August. Sticking all the
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  Speaker 2: defense side of the ball, Adam The other offseason conversation
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  Speaker 2: is about Jahad Campbell had a good start to the year,
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  Speaker 2: but then then Kobe Dean came back from injury and
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  Speaker 2: he had trouble getting on the field. If Dean is
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  Speaker 2: not back, he is not unblocked on the field. But
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  Speaker 2: could the Eagles find new places to use him defensively
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  Speaker 2: next year?
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  Speaker 3: Even if Dean came back, which would be a surprise
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  Speaker 3: they and if he doesn't whatever, you know, which is
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  Speaker 3: realistic that he would not return because they've got Campbell.
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  Speaker 3: They got a cross See last year Campbell played as
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  Speaker 3: an add in defender against the run, when when folks say, oh, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: he lined up as rusher, he really was not. He
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  Speaker 3: was just there to play the run. Greg co Sella
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  Speaker 3: Thomas ad he goes people don't have it right. He
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  Speaker 3: really didn't. He didn't really rush the passer from an
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  Speaker 3: edge standpoint, it's kind of confusing. So they got a
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  Speaker 3: cross training as a real edge rusher. I know Vic
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  Speaker 3: said when the media would ask, now, we're really not
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  Speaker 3: doing that, but the data would show he was. But
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  Speaker 3: that you gotta have context. He was doing it for
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  Speaker 3: a certain reason, not to rush the passer. They got
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  Speaker 3: to let him rush the passer. They got to do
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  Speaker 3: it no matter what they do, whether Jaln Phillips comes
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  Speaker 3: back or not, it's not about how much like from
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  Speaker 3: a percentage standpoint, it's just just let him get used
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  Speaker 3: to it with your techniques of what you want. Once
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  Speaker 3: you never know what's going to happen. Guys get hurt.
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  Speaker 3: Noland Smith has had a big injury history. Philips has
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  Speaker 3: had a big injury history, though he was healthy last season.
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  Speaker 3: And even if Philips comes back, they need to take
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  Speaker 3: a look at Phillips. So that's what the off season
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  Speaker 3: is about.
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  Speaker 2: Is cross training really quick, Adam, We've heard a lot
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  Speaker 2: of different things about what Campbell is or is not
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  Speaker 2: good at. We know that he was a guy who
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  Speaker 2: was originally you know, a pass rusher turned into a linebacker.
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  Speaker 2: I know Thanjo has talked about that. He thinks he's
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  Speaker 2: more of a linebacker than a pass rusher. What do
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  Speaker 2: you think the NFL people are looking at Campbell short
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  Speaker 2: and long term both.
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  Speaker 3: Why I brought it up. They saw him with the
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  Speaker 3: ability as his career that progressed to line up as
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  Speaker 3: a true edge rusher like Bond. But Jack Bond's done
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  Speaker 3: it a little bit now. The New Orleans game in
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  Speaker 3: twenty four VI dropped him down to take away the
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  Speaker 3: zone runs for the Saints and it's Salvac Kamara and
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  Speaker 3: that was a great decision. Unscotted loucked North Saint said,
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  Speaker 3: know's going to happen, but they really need to take
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  Speaker 3: a look at Campbell because that's where we got that
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  Speaker 3: when gos draft and we had heard that a lot
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  Speaker 3: of teams saw him the ability to do both, but
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  Speaker 3: it wasn't like there was a time on Okay, you
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  Speaker 3: have to do it now or else. But we're really
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  Speaker 3: curious to see what they do in this offseason.
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  Speaker 2: For more information about the Egos offseason, you got the
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  Speaker 2: Inside the Birds podcast like subscribing down wherever you get
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  Speaker 2: your podcasts. Inside the Birds dot com for all their coverage,
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  Speaker 2: and of course at Kaplan NFL Adam Kaplan joining us
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  Speaker 2: today's edition of Football and for Power by the Inside
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  Speaker 2: the Birds podcast Adam, great stuff today, Thank you.