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The DiCecco Daily: Positions, Players To Watch For Eagles vs. Bengals Preseason Finale · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome in to another episode
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: of the Checo Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: for InsideTheBirds.com. Friday night, 8 o'clock, the Eagles will host
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals for the preseason finale. I'm going to
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: give you some positions to watch, some players to watch
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: in this game as it pertains to the 53-man roster
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and practice squad. Hopefully, that'll get you a little bit
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: more engaged for this game. I understand that everyone at
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: this point is sort of chomping at the bit for
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the regular season.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: I'm right there with you.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I am someone who does typically enjoy preseason football. I've
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: evaluated a lot of these players coming out of the draft.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I've watched a lot of these players over the years
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: in training camp, all 17 practices this year. So I
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: have a different perspective maybe on some of these guys and,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: You want to see what they're able to do with
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: their opportunity. I think that right there is what makes
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the preseason intriguing, at least from my vantage point.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: But there's a couple of things that I.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Wanted to get out of the way before we delve
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: into that conversation. First and foremost, there seems to be
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: quite a bit of chatter about Jalen Hurts' interceptions thrown
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: this summer. Look, I don't view it as a big
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: deal at all. Training camp is designed to work on things.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: You're trying some things out to see if that would
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: work in a game setting. You're adding to your arsenal
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: in some ways. You're testing your limits. You're fitting the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: ball into tight windows. And in the past, a big
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: criticism of Jalen Hurts has been the fact that he
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: would always throw to a receiver if they're wide open
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: and not willing to take those chances. It's important to
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: be conscious of protecting the football. Obviously, that is a
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: big determining factor in the winning football games. And the
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Eagles emphasize that perhaps more than any other team. But
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I think sometimes it's been to their disadvantage because you're
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: not allowing your quarterback to let it rip. You're not
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: taking calculated risks in a game. And because of that.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: You're seeing this risk averse style. You're not playing always
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: pedal to the metal. The Eagles are never going to
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: sacrifice that for sacrifice, ball security and things like that.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: for explosive, you know, for, for taking risks and, and, and,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: you know, trying to really push the football down the
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: field and, and get a little careless with the football,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: but I'm not suggesting that. And what J one Hertz
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: has done this summer is some, in some ways, a
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: by-product of learning a new offense, but in other ways,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: it's a positive and it should be viewed that way
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: because you're trying to test your limits and broaden your
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: skillset and Try some different throws. I mean, you look
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: across all sports, spring training, training camp. That is where
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: you are experimenting with some things. And I think Jalen
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Hurts deserves a lot of credit for being willing to
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Try to fit the ball into tighter windows. And in
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: this offense, you're going to have to do that. You
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: can't wait for a player to shake wide open and
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: then hit them. You can't always rely on throwing outside
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: the numbers.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: There's going to be a lot of interior throws.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: And so I think getting these interceptions and those type
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: of things, those hiccups out of the way. It should
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: serve him and the offense well when you get into
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: the regular season because you've seen it, you learn from it,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: and you know how to do it differently the next time.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: And ball placement is going to be huge in this offense.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to understate that by any means. But,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: I mean, let's relax a little bit about the quarterback
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: throwing interceptions in training camp. If you get into the
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: regular season and turnovers are mounting kind of like they
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: did in 2024, okay, that's a different conversation. But to
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: look at it now and try to project that over
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: the season when we're in August, I mean, I think
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: that's way premature. But the other thing I wanted to
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: touch on is the angst that I've sensed, especially looking
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: at social media and some of the comments and things
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: like that about rookie tight on Eli Stowers. Yes, he
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: has had an underwhelming summer. And of course he needs
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: to continue to fill out his frame right now. He
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: looks like a plus size wide receiver. There's room to
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: grow certainly as a blocker, but when was it sort
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: of lost in translation that when Stowers was drafted, it
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: should be expected that he's a developmental prospect and, He
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: hasn't been playing tight end that long. This is his
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: fourth year playing the position. And as Sean Mannion has outlined,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: there are a lot of different elements to learning the
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: tight end position that I don't think is fully appreciated
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: from the outside. And I think there's a lot of
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: unfair criticism in August directed towards a young kid trying
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: to learn and grow on the fly. I've said this
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: many times. Progress is not linear. Every young player is.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: progresses at different rates. There's no definitive timetable on any
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: of those things. And the fact that the Eagles have
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: emphasized and prioritize player development, and they have the coaches
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: in place, and there's countless examples that I can point to,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: they deserve the benefit of the doubt. And so does
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Eli Stowers, who hasn't been in Philadelphia all that long,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: and it seems like some are already sort of defining
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: his career as which I think is entirely unfair to
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: the player. And do I expect him to have a
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: big role this season?
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: No, I don't.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: And I think that there's going to be a lot
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: of a steeper learning curve for him because of the
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: nature of the position. I go back to Zach Ertz,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: who played just a tick over 40% of the snaps
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: this There's a lot of examples of players. Trey McBride,
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: who's one of the NFL's best tight ends. I'm not
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: certainly putting Eli Stowers in that category. I'm just illustrating
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: the nature of that position and how sometimes it takes
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: a little while for players to get up to speed
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: for whatever reason. Then you have other players who are
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: able to kind of seamlessly transition and there aren't those
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: growing pains. But that doesn't appear to be Eli Stowers.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: This is the situation the Eagles are in. And just
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: be patient. Nothing drives me crazier. And I am a
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: pretty even keeled person that then just so much angst
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: over young players not progressing and you're not getting that
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: instant gratification. You got to be smarter than that. And
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: that's not to say that he hasn't underwhelmed because he has.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: And I don't think that he's anywhere close to being
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: able to help the Eagles this season, certainly in the
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: early going. But that doesn't mean that he's not going
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: to work out. You've got to give it time. You've
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: got to allow time for things to develop. And I
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: just kind of wanted to reemphasize that. I've written about
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: it in my observations. And I feel really strongly about that.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: That goes beyond Eli Stowers. That goes for any young player.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: They deserve the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Okay,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: let's move on to the preseason. And there are certain
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: position groups that you should be keeping an eye on.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Offensive line. The Eagles have a ton of depth there.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: More than I can remember. And it's a lot of
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: young players that I think are worth developing. I don't
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: know how heavy the Eagles can afford to go on
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: the offensive line. You can go as heavy as 11,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: though I don't think the roster this season.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: is going to allow for that.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: But let's keep an eye on players like Micah Morris,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: who was drafted in the sixth round out of Georgia.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Jake Majors, who I've been a big proponent of. He
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: was a day three guy. Well, he was someone who
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: I thought was a day three sleeper last year. He
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: wasn't drafted. And I really like what I saw from
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: him at Texas. He started 56 games. That's a program record.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: He's played a lot of football in the summer here
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: with the Eagles. He cross trained at guard. He's a
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: center by trade. And I think he's done some really
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: good things in the preseason games.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: There's a reason why the Eagles.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Have given him second team work.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: They're not going to throw away those reps.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: They're giving it to a player who they believe can
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: carry out their assignments capably. And I think Jake Majors
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: has kind of flown under the radar a little bit
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: when you think about the summers that Drew Kendall has had,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: that Willie Lampkins had, that Markel Bell has had. I'm
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: not putting him necessarily in that tier, but he has
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: done some really good things. He's done some good things.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: He's had a nice summer. I'm not going to.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Oversell it, but.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: I think especially over the final couple of weeks of
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: training camp. Yeah, it was a little bit of a
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: quieter start, but the Eagles were still giving him the
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: second team reps. So, Me not being in meeting rooms,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: I just go by what I see. And my interpretation
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: of that tells me that Chris Cooper and Sean Manning
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: and Nick Sirianni and those who make those decisions were
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: pleased enough to give Jake Majors those reps. Otherwise, you'd
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: be best served giving it to a Michael Morris who
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: you invested a draft pick in or someone else, John
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Ajuku or somebody. But I think he's a player to
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: keep an eye on. because he gives you that center
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: guard versatility. I think, and I think this is kind
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: of overblown every summer, it seems like every team or
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: every fan base, you see it on social media, whenever
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: a player that they really like or someone who had
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: a nice summer and they get waived, there is this
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: sentiment that they're not going to clear waivers and they're
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: going to get claimed.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Very few players get claimed.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: It's so hard to join another team, learn their system,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: and then hope that that player can help you. You're
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: more inclined to keep the players who have been in
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: camp with you and know your system. And I've been
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: there going through everything. You have a better sense of
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: who they are and where they are. But in the
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: case of, you know, Micah Morris and Majors, those are
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: players that when you look across the NFL, the quality
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: of offensive line play.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Is pretty shoddy. in my estimation.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: And so when you look at positions, position groups that
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: typically have player, have teams that are intrigued, it's offensive line,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: defensive linemen. And certainly when you're looking at it from
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles standpoint around the league, they have a
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: lot of respect. The league has respect for their, the Eagle,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: at least under Jeff Stoutland for offensive linemen that, shake
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: loose for whatever reason, they know that they've been schooled up,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: that they know the fundamentals. And a lot of times
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: it comes down to numbers crunches. And so when you
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: think about that and you put that into perspectives, maybe
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: that shapes the way that the Eagles approach the offensive line.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: But I'm looking at Micah Morris, I'm looking at Jake Majors,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: and I'm looking at John Ajuku. because those are players
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: who have flashed at different moments this summer. And you
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: can make a case for all three vying for that
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: final spot. A lot of times the tie goes to
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: the draft pick, which would be Micah Morris. But I
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: also think that you have to look at who can,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: who's ready to help you on game day, who offers
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: more versatility. Can you get somebody on the prize? So
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: like there's, there's so many different elements to this conversation,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: so many layers of, and I'm just fascinated to see
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: how it plays out. I also would look at the
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: tight end position because there's a lot of questions as
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: to the depth behind Dallas Goddard. Johnny Munn is clearly
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: the number two. He's taken a ton of reps this
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: summer when the Eagles are in 12 personnel. He's been
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: targeted a decent amount of time for someone who's only
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: had 71 career catches. And, He's going to be able
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: to really pave the way in the running game. The
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Eagles value what he brings to the table in terms
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: of blocking prowess, and I think that he's going to
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: provide a lot of value there. But we just talked
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: a lot about Stowers, and I don't think Stowers is
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: going to be ready to help the Eagles in the immediacy.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: And so that gives you two tight ends that you
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: can count on on game day, one of which is
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: a blocking-centric tight end.
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: What do you do?
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Where does that leave someone like a Cameron Latu? Could
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: he make the roster and be a temporary placeholder for
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: maybe an outside addition to the room? It's something to
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: think about. Do you keep a Grant Calcaterra on the
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: practice squad? Say what you will about Grant, but he
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: is an effective pass catcher.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: He's athletic. You know what you're getting. There's not a
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: lot of guesswork there.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: And I can't imagine that there's going to be a
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: team that's going to be rushing to bring him on.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: Let's not forget, by the way, that Grant Calcaterra has
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: been sidelined for the past week or so with a
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: back injury. So that complicates things a little bit. So
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: the tight end position is kind of murky, but I
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: will be keying in on Cameron Latu in this particular game.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: How about the running back position?
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: The player to watch here would be Carson Steele. Now,
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Carson Steele was the star of the second preseason game,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: the hurdler. He had a couple of those that he landed,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: and he ran with toughness and power, good contact balance.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: I wonder if the Eagles are going to be able
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: to use a fullback or if that's going to be
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: in their plans consistently. And if it's not going to
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: be consistently, is there a spot for Carson Steele? Could
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: you put him on the practice squad and elevate him
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: if a matchup determinant, if a, you know, matchup dependent,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: I think so.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know that he would be claimed.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: He is a young player and you do also have
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: to be mindful of tank Bigsby's in the final year
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: of his rookie deal. And Shipley has one more year left,
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: but if you're looking at it in terms of the future, now,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: I don't know, based on the roster construction this year,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: there are some different circumstances.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: You have who are Bernard, you have Josh way rule.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: Can you afford to go for running backs? I'm going
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: to say no.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: But he is someone to watch, and I think he
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: would be a good addition to the practice squad. I
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: don't view him as a 53-man roster guy. That's just
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: my assessment.
• 14:38
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• 14:41
  Speaker 3: that's going to be so many late nights for me.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: You know how many times the Eagles are on prime time,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: and I'm not going to be going to bed until after, well,
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: after midnight. And that means the next day I can
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• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I don't know that much is going to change between
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: now and tomorrow night after that game's over, but that
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: just sort of, as I racked my brain and I
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: put way too much thought into the 53 man roster,
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: I fixate on it. I take what I've seen from
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: all 17 practices, how the Eagles think. And I try
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: to put all of that together and really formulate my
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: thought process here.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: As I put it, put.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: The 53 together, my final one, by the way, but,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: That's on the offensive side.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: On the defensive side, I mentioned the.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: Two IPP players, Anuar Bernard and Joshua Wehru. The Eagles
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: knew when they drafted Bernard and when they signed Wehru
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: as an undrafted free agent that this was going to
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: be a process. It wasn't something that was going to
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: happen overnight, but they had the willingness to see it
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: through and the patience and there was that understanding that
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: it was going to take a little bit of time,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: but they have the right coaches in place, and Clint
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Hurt in the case of Ewar Bernard, and Jeremiah Washburn
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: in the case of Joshua Weiru, and Weiru has flashed.
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: He seems to be a little bit ahead of schedule. Now,
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: keep in mind that both players, at least in.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: My view, are pretty far away from being able to
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: help the Eagles in the regular season, but you're looking
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: at You're looking at traits and you have to project
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: that out. If you were to part with, let's say,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: a Joshua Wairoo, would there be teams clamoring to get him?
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: I would tend to say no, because. He is a project,
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: to a lesser degree than Bernard, but he is still
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: a project. Not every team is equipped to be able
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: to go heavy at a position when you have a
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: player who probably can't help you in year one.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: So those are things to keep an eye on.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: You do want to reward players, however, for progress and
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: for theoretical potential, and he's... checked off a lot of
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: those boxes. So I am still on the fence as
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: to whether or not I have Joshua Wade rule my 53.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: I'm leaning yes, but then you have to maybe go
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: later somewhere else. Bernard, I think, is comfortably going to
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: be there. But I want to keep an eye on
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: both of those players in this game, continue to see
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: how their progression is, is lining up, and there's a
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: lot of reason for optimism with both, but of course
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: you have to have those tempered expectations. Vic Fangio, I
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: commend him for putting that out there for those who
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: are listening to his press conference, whether it be online
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: or wherever, because there's naturally going to be a lot
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: of intrigue, but he's doing a nice job to temper
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: the expectations of those who watch these games and And
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: all that because you got to be realistic and you
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: have to understand that this is a process that the
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Eagles are willing to see through. And I think all
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: of their assistant coaches and those who have listened to
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: me know that I laud the assistant coaches for their
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: teaching ability, their ability.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: To explain the why.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Alter their approaches to different players there's not a one-size-fits-all
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: there and they've done a really nice job with both
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: players to this point and they seemingly have only improved
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: each week linebacker is another interesting position here because you
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: have three already entrenched zach bond you have jihad campbell
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: and jeremiah trotter jr You have two other players. I'm
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: not including Deontay Lawson in this because I think you
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: can wave him and get him on the practice squad.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: You have Chance Campbell. And you have Smile Mondin Jr.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Mondin Jr. was a fifth round pick.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: I think he's done some good things in training camp.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: A young player was top five in terms of snaps
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: for special teams last year. I think he improved in
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: that facet as the season progressed. Chance Campbell should be
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: a really good special teamer if he is to make
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: the team. He's a little bit older at 26 relative
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: to Mondin Jr. But Vic Fangio seems to like him.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: He went out of his way to say, don't sleep
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: on him. You know, if you're making your list, he
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: should be on it. Now, of course, Vic Fangio doesn't
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: make those decisions. And I have to imagine that if
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: you were to release or part with Chance Campbell, I mean,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: I have a hard time imagining that there's going to
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: be a team lining up to bring him in. I mean,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: there's so many players. Think about all the players from
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: every team. Think about all the players who are going
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: to hit the waiver wire and become free agents. It's
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: a frenzy after that. And because of that, I think
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Chance Campbell is one of those players who flies under
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: the radar a little bit.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: But if you think he.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Can help you season long and be a core special teamer,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: maybe you make the case for him.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: Maybe you try to find room.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: But again, when you're going heavier, theoretically, at defensive tackle
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: and edge with Wehru and Bernard, Can you afford to
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: go with five off-ball linebackers? Right now, I would lean no.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Then you get to the secondary. The cornerback situation, I
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: have a hard time figuring out because they don't have
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: a ton of reliable depth, right?
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: You have Quinan Mitchell, Rick Wollin, and Cooper DeGene.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: A compelling argument can be made that that is the
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: most complete trio of starters in the NFL. Then beyond that,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of questions. Jonathan Jones, we'll see if
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: he plays in this game.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: He's a veteran.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: He'll be 33 in September, but he missed a large
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: chunk of practice time this summer. I think the last
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: time he practiced was August 8th prior to the final
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: day of training camp.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: He was available on that final day.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: But as an older player, How confident can you be
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: if you're the Eagles that he's going to be able
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: to stay healthy, that something won't creep up again? He
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: was injured last year with the Commanders, and he's now
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: a year older. But the other side of that coin,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: he's the lone experienced reserve that you have that you
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: probably feel comfortable with.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: He can play any position in the secondary.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: And then the other layer of it is he's a
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: vested veteran who, if you want to get creative, you
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: could probably get him on the practice squad if you
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: reach an agreement there.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: And elevate him on game day, and then maybe when the.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Roster shakes out and things settle down a bit, you
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: find a spot for him. But then beyond that, you
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: have Keely Ringo, who I think when you release someone
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: like JT Gray, which the Eagles did about a week ago,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: three-time All-Pro, an accomplished gunner, that to me signals that
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Keely Ringo, then it signaled that Keely was pretty safe,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: and I think he's had, while they haven't been overly frequent,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: he has had some bright moments in training camp. And
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: he's still too handsy, not a technical player. The stiffness
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: isn't going to go away. And he's best sued to
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: be a fifth corner. And I have to imagine that
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Vic Fangio wouldn't want to play him under any circumstances
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: at corner. because he's kind of unplayable there. He's prone
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: to penalties and things like that. But he is a
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: tremendous special teamer, and third phase matters when you're whittling
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: down the roster. And as the fifth corner, that kind
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: of aligns with what they're looking for there. Mack McWilliams,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: another player who I will have highlighted on Friday night.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: He can play nickelback. He can play outside corner. He's
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: been a little up and down. I think teams have
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: sort of picked on him a little bit in the preseason.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: There's been other moments where you can see his physicality
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: really show itself. He's willing to, you know, he's not
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: the biggest guy in the world, but he'll challenge receivers.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: He got a little bit bigger and stronger this year,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: and that versatility matters. He was also a draft pick
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: last year, so those are all things to consider. to
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: take into account, I have to think that that versatility
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: counts for something. Vic Fangio seems to like him a
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: little bit. We'll see how that goes. But that really
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: is your backup cornerback situation. Ja'Cory and Bennett got hurt
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: in the first preseason game. He was a long shot
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: to make it. And Tariq Castro-Field, he's on injured reserve.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: So we'll have to see how that goes. Maybe that's
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: a position that they look to address after the initial
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: is established. Then you get to the safety position, and
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: we'll close things out here. you have Michael Carter, you
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: have Drew Makuba, you have Marcus Epps. There's three other
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: players there in Kapina Gushikin, Maximus Pulley, two undrafted free agents.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: You have Andre Sam, who's now in his third year
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: in the system, probably more of a practice squad guy,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: someone who Vic Fangio called reliable and trustworthy. I think
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: that there is a confidence in him that If you
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: plug him in in practice, he's going to continue to
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: make the right decisions. He's going to be in the
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: right place. He's going to be assignment sound. But at
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: 27 years old, someone who has hit the waiver wire
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: the last two summers, is that someone that you fear
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: isn't going to clear waivers? Or is that someone you
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: feel pretty confident that you can get through waivers, keep
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: him on the practice squad, elevate on game day as needed?
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: He could help you on special teams. I just think
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of value that the team has in him.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Vic Fangio says they like him. but I just get
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: the sense that it's more so as a practice player
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: because you know what you're going to get, and he's
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: going to give you quality work.
• 27:24
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  Speaker 3: and up.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Gushikin and Pulley, Gushikin has flashed to me more than
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Pulley seems to be the more popular guy. That's someone
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: who I'm asked about a lot. But I think Gushikin
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: has been the more active player. He also can play
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: nickelback and safety, good athleticism, flies to the football. Pulley
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: had some nice moments on special teams in the first
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: preseason game. Didn't notice him a ton in the second game. Pulley,
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: I believe, is a year younger. Gushikin's 24. Pulley's 23,
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: for whatever that counts for. I just think they're both
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Do you need to have a Kapina Gushikin or a
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: Maximus Pulley on the 53?
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: I don't think you do.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: I think you can get both players through waivers and
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: onto the practice squad. But it is worth watching to
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: see how that develops if someone really has a strong
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: game and puts their stamp on that potential fourth safety spot.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Gushikin would be the guy that I'm keeping an eye on.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: But Pulley has had... He's flashed a little bit as well, so...
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: That safety group there is something that I will certainly
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: be monitoring throughout the evening on Friday night.
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: So hopefully that gives.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: You something to key in on while you're watching this game,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: if you're watching this game, if you decided. not to
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: maybe this conversation that I just had here compels you
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: to but either way it should be an eventful game
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: for a lot of these guys for some of them
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and I don't I want to emphasize this because some
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: will look at this as a snooze fest I see
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of it on social media And I'm not
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: going to sit here and tell you you're going to
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: see the most entertaining football game, the cleanest football game
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: in the world because you're not. But I urge you
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: not to say this game doesn't matter because it does
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: matter for a lot of these guys who are going
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: to be suiting up in this game, some of which,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: and not to even be dramatic here, but it's just
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: the truth, some of which will be suiting up in
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: the NFL for the final time. That's not just with
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: the Eagles. That's across the NFL. It happens every year.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Some will resurface on the practice squad. some will end
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: up in other leagues, but not everyone will have.
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: The opportunity to play in an NFL game again. So
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: just keep.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: That in mind when, when you, you know, you're kind of,
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: if you're one to make light of this game, because
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: it does matter.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: And a lot of these guys put a, every one
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: of these players, I'm not, not, not a lot of.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: These guys, every one of these players are, have they
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: were out there just like all the starters were in
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: training camp, given the same effort and really grinding to
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: try to make their mark here. And we'll see if
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: they're able to maximize their opportunity. But that's kind of
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: why I like the preseason. You could see the hunger.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: You could see the desperation from a lot of these guys.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: A lot of them have really motivating, inspiring stories. And
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm someone who loves storytelling and, I love
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: being able to share some of these stories. And there's
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: a lot of really good ones in this game. So
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: we'll see how everything shakes out. But for now, that's
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: going to do it for this episode of the Checo Daily.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: I'm Andrew DiCecco. I'll catch you all on the next one.