Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / Football at Four: Taking an Inside Look at Caplan's PFWA Ballot

Transcript

Football at Four: Taking an Inside Look at Caplan's PFWA Ballot · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: By the way, eleven days no offensive coordinator for the Eagles.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: What's next for them? All the off season awards are here,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: and of course Adam Kaplan's here on a Friday. What's
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: up my friend Michael.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: It's so funny. So I'm at the grocery store this morning.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: I go every Friday, with or without my wife. It's
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: kind of my ritual. So I'll go in and I
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: know it's going to be bad. I want to do.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: There's like a specialty market I go to. They're so small,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: it's like it's hard to walk in there anyway when
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: no one's in there. So there are like forty people
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Mike shopping for groceries at the small market exactly. And
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: the girl the checkout said she's worked there four and
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: a half years. She's never seen anything like it. I said, yeah,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: we haven't because it never snows anymore. I mean, we
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: had we had one six in snowfall. Mic. It's the
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: first time we use our snowblower in five years. We
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: got we got gasoline. My wife and I made sure
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: we have a long driveway so we'll get me ready.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: We're called snow Mageddon. I'm I'm SUPs to leave for
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: the Senior Bowl Monday morning, you know, with the snow.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Just for the record, and we'll move on here. So
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: it's a start early Sunday morning and stop in the
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Philadelphia area early Monday morning. But the problem is, and
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you know this, the Philadelphia Airport
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: is already canceling flights. It's ridiculous. Wow. Sunday morning, the
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: ready started doing Yeah, I got, I got, I got
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: an advisory that some are being canceled and many more
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: will probably ridiculous.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, anyway, yeah, all right, well, Adam cap Well, let's
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: uh as the off season is here for many teams
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: except for four, we're starting to see the results of
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: a regular season. The UH Pro Football Writers Association Awards
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: ballots are out and you have your picks for all
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: of the top awards.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: So Mike, yeah, so a couple of things, just as
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: the offense coordinator search, and we'll move on because I
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: know people keep asking, you know, the name. The names
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: are out there. This is going to be likely spill
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: in the next week. It did. Typically takes, just for
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: the record, about two weeks to hire an offense coordinator
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: from scratch. When you fire one, you know, you interview
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: generally anywhere from four to eight. Sometimes it's more. Well,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: in this case, the goes, I've had a bunch of
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: guys they had interested in get other jobs and something
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: in interview, So it's taking a little longer, don't panic.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: What I like is, Mike, that they're looking at younger
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: guys who are very talented, so which I know you
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: talked about with Jeff Mosher this week. So del frad folks,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: relax a little bit, take a break from being uptight.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Declan Doyle twenty nine years old.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Man, Yeah, smart guy. I actually talked to someone to
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: work with him. Yeah, he's really smart.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah. It was on the Peyton trio. I guess over
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: there and now Brian ben Johnson in Chicago. Very interesting
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: name there, and we'll see which direction the Eagles go
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: in on that one. All right. A lot of interesting
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: awards this year in terms of the news. It was
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: a fun season. We're down to the final four. Here.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Give us some of the awards stuff that you voted
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: on this year.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: All right, So just so folks know, the Pro Football
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Rogers Association vote PFWA is recognized in the NFL is
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: the second most important every team recognizes it. It's not
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: an incentives like the like in All Pro were from
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: AP but it's widely recognized. Agents love it because the
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Pro Football Writers Association vote is so much deeper than
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: the apiece. I'm not criticizing THEIRS, but we at the
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: Profooball Writers Association we go. I mean, it's unbelievable how
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: the fact that we have there are four different ballots.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: I only did the main one because I just don't
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: have I don't have five hours to do this, so
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: my MVP. Let's get to it, Mike. It was between
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Matthew Stafford and Drake May. Drake May would be my
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: most improved quarterback in the National FOOTBA League by far.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to believe how good he's been.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: But I didn't. I didn't think much of it. I mean,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: in terms of the debate, is Matthew Stafford all the
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: way with my MVP. He's just been phenomenal.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford, by the way of playing this weekend, Drake
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: May playing this weekend. So obviously those two guys. But
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: May is kind of I mean, what a great story.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: And the question I guess with him would be, you know,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Stafford obviously is one of the Super Bowls had a
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: great career. Has the Patriots found that quarter that will
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: keep them coming back? Can you imagine if the Patriots
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: get back to and win another Super Bowl with a different.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: I can't believe it, Mike, I missed on this team. So, Bailey,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: this isn't real quick since you brought this up. So
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: their thought process when this staff in front of when
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: the front office was there last year, La Wolf drafted them.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: That's Ron Wilf's son, Hall of Fame general manager, formerly
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: with the Packers. But when this staff came in, they
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: were like, you know, they looked at his tape last year,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: they said, oh, wow, he's better than we remember because
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: we watched his college tape and he was really raw,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: really wild thrower, made a lot of mistakes, you know,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: out of North Carolina. They thought he's probably gonna be
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: a three year project. Well, Mike, he was way ahead
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: of what they thought last year when they were watched
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: the tape, I'm told And this year, Mike, he just
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: made a jump. You just couldn't see and I can't
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: when Mike, when you look at the Patriots roster s
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: talking to a friend of mine, who's a coach with
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: another team that we both kind of saw. He thinks
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: it's a little better than I do. He goes, he goes,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: They're not a Super Bowl roster, not even close. He goes,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: and this team played them. He can't believe it. I'm shocked.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: But never underestimate the value of coaching, never one hundred percent.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: And the Patriots, of course, on this weekend taking on
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: the Broncos. You can hear the game on ninety seven
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: three ESPN. All right, let's take a look at the
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: offensive player of the year. Generally, thep goes to the
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: quarterback and in the football world, the offensive play running back,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: world wide receiver.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I could not go away, and it's the correct pronounci.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: The issue is Bjeon Robinson. We always called him Bejeon,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: but he Bajon is always said it. And then I
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: was listening to West Dorm the playback play voice many
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: times and he says Bjeon and Bajeon. I'm like, okay,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: I got it, it's Bajon. So that one was to me.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: I didn't Christian McCaffrey, you want to call him comeback
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: player of the Year, You could call him that, but
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: he's not the offensive player. But and by the way,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Zach Robinson did. As much as I had a criticism
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: of Zach Robinson his first years at OC will be
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Tampa's OC. He did a much better job he or two,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: especially with this Guyjon Robinson.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, John Robinson. By the way, remember a couple drafts ago,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of people wondering if the Eagles taken him.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I know they guy ended up getting Sakuon Barkley had
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: a two thousand yard season. But John Robinson living up
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: to the hype. The defensive player of the year for
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: you was a guy that there were a lot of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: rumors around this guy. At one point, Mike.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: The Simum that most dominant defensive player practice against an
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: offense was Miles Garrett in Eagles training camp this year.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: I mean when I say he was laughing and they
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: couldn't block them, that would be an understatement. He would
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: look at them and laugh at them. They just couldn't
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: block them for the two days of practice to join practices,
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: I know the Browns were bad. Once again, he's dominant.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Who will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He's
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: my easy defensive player of the year. Easy call.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Well, he would have looked good at Eagles Green this year.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Their past rush was very up and down. He ended
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: up breaking the record for most sacks in a single season. Rookies,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Let's look at the rookies this year. Who were the
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: top rookies on offen defense? All right?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Ted McMillan, the receiver from Carolina a little bit better
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: than I think Scott scouting people, Mike would tell you
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: that is a little bit better. He's my offensive rookie
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: of the year. He's my rookie of the year. Now, look,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: you could people get it solely after debate for Rookie
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: the Year, but offensive Rookie year Tech McMillan was so
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: good and Bryce Young is still inconsistent. Teed McMillan is
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: just scratching the surface, he said. He goes and gets it.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: He's got great size, tacks the football, really good football player.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: My defensive rookie of the year. Another one which I
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: thought was fairly easily, fairly easy to pick, Carson Swassinger,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: the Browns linebacker under Jim Schwartz. By the way, phenomenal,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: phenomenal year. Tackles are an overrated status. It's coaches. It's just
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: you could be on a bad team and get a
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: lot of tackles, which he did, but it was way
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: more than that. He made a lot of impact plays.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Carson Sweeshinger is my defensive rookie of the year.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: By the way, linebacker drafted right after right John Campbell.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: I don't have it in front of me, Mike, Well,
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: you Campbell was, now, well, what was he the first
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: pick in the second round?
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: I think he was right? Yeah, I think he was
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: right after Johad Campbell. Not that you're saying you should
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: have taken him ahead or whatever.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Just because Johott Campbell. See second round pick, joh Campbell.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: You just got to understand, you gotta let this guy
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: if he winds up. Like most people they think, if
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Nikobe Dian walks and Campbell starts, then let's let's start
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: the clock. Then. But let let's not say Johat Campbell
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: can't be a stud player. He's got a lot of talent, yeh.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: By the way, Sweaz was the first pick of the
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: second round. Campbell was the second to last pick of
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: the first round. In a worri too. He was another
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: guy of the safety that, yep was a turned out
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: to be a really good rookie pick this year, Travon Henderson.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: He was a guy who had an awesome as well. Yeah,
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: when you're talking about you mentioned Christian McCaffrey for comeback
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: player of the year, what about the most improved player
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: of the year.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, McCaffrey, by the way, easy called. I mean because
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: if you watched him in twenty four he just couldn't
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: stay healthy. Great season. I don't believe he missed any
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: time this season, which was incredible considering his injury history.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: My most improved player of the year is Drew is
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Drake May. I didn't see this. I don't think anyone did.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: What a great season Mike Drake May. And for all
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: the criticism he got, which was legitimate from scouting people,
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: inaccurate hero ball, trying to do it on his own,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: how coachable would he be? Well, he's super coachable, great kid,
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: and a lot of scouting people are wrong so far,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: but they're only going by what they saw in college.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: That we have to understand that.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: All right, Let's take a look at the coach of
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: the Year, because I thought this one was a wide
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: open race with a lot of great candidates.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Mike, it came down to me. Ben Johnson and Mike
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: Rabel and yes, Liam Cohen was right up there.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Mike McDonald could have been in.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: That mix exactly. And I mean, I don't want you
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: don't want to keep forgetting about Mike McDonald, but it was,
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: it was. It was a tough one. Mike. I don't
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: know if you got that joke, but and it's felt
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: it differently. It's m AC with the lowercase M to
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: start his last name. But it actually I took ten
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: minutes on that one. Believe usually he stick me thirty seconds.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: So I kind of have a general idea from talking
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: to scouting people.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: I mean you could and by the way, you could
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: throw Sean Payton into that mix. I mean I went
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: fourteen to three. Uh you mentioned Ben Johnson McDonald there.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: I mean Dave Canal has got that team that a playoffs,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: which is unbelievable, well.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Losing record, but yeah, so to remember this along, Mike
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Rable was my pick. We should have had it like, okay,
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: who's your runner up? And I would have that would have
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Ben Johnson and then Liam Cohen, but yeah, it absolutely
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: had to be all right.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Uh, Executive of the Year is interesting one for me because, uh,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: the one you know, there's obviously a lot of these
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: teams that we just talked about. They had the coach
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: of the year, they hired those coaches, they turned some
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: things around, a lot of those guys. Who'd you go with?
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this one is another one, Mike. I was thinking
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: Elliott Wolf, the aforementioned Elliott Wolf, the Ron Wolf's son.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: But he did a great job. The young general manager.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Uh that really Liam Cohen brought in with him from
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: the Rams. I thought he did a good job than
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: NFC wise, John Schneider was my runner up. But a
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: guy that got much malign in his first years really
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: started to getting done. Ryan Poles from who played at
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: Boston College, who's their general manager, did a great job
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: along with Ian cohne Hiss assistant general managers who's in
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: the running for this to be the Atlanta Falcons GM.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I thought Ryan Pauls did a great job.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: He really did. They have a good roster in there,
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: and the coaching is were way better this year.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a much malign Ryan Poles from the past. A
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: lot of people wondered why he got to stay to
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: hire the coaches. Another coach out there and then the
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: assistant coach of the Year, which is becoming a little
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: bit more of a You know, I did see that
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: Vic Fangio was up for the Defensive Assistant Coach of
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: the Year. But who'd you go with here?
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: See last year I voted for him for Vic. This
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: one again, you could have had a lot of them.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: But the job that Josh McDaniels did, the much maligned
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: you mentioned the the word maligned. I mean he ended
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: his tenure with the Raiders terribly. The players turn on
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: him one thing at which is the boy that's a
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: thirty for thirty. Look if you have any idea how
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: that impacted the Eagles situation, it's another thing that some
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: day Mike will actually talk about that for like ten minutes.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: But yeah, Josh McDaniels did. He did a phenomenal job.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: I'm just I can't again, it's it. He got Treyvon
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: You know one thing I want to say about Treyvon Henderson.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: So he was the best best pass protection back for
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: this draft. But because I'm told that McDaniel's blocking scheme
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: is so hard on rookie running backs, it took Henderson
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: a good half season to learn it. Then you saw
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: him take off McDaniels manages personnel. Well, he's a great
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: offensive line. He's just not a head coach.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: All right, there you go. There's Adam's ballot right there
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: for the Pro Football Writers' Association of America and good stuff.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: On Championship weekend, it is the Buccaneers and the Bronx,
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: excuse me, the Patriots and the Broncos and the Rams
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: and the Seals. I don't know that anybody had any
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of these four teams maybe the Rams playing in the
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: final weekend at the beginning of the year. But here
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: they are and you can hear them both right here
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: on ninety seven three ESPN. Al Right, Adam, thanks Bud.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: That's good. Thanks