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The Daily DiCecco: Pre-Night Practice Notes, Answers To Mailbag Questions · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:08
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome into this edition of to Checko Daily.
0:12
Andrew Dichecko here providing you with a pre open practice
0:17
podcast and hopefully it tied you over as you make
0:20
your way down to Lincoln Financial Field. Just the heads up,
0:23
it might help to leave a little bit earlier than
0:26
you ordinarily would because there's a concert going on at
0:29
Citizens Bank Park tonight and there's going to be a
0:32
packed house at Lincoln Financial.
0:34
Speaker 2: Field for the practice.
0:37
Speaker 1: But there's some news items and really some musings and
0:41
tips that I wanted to pass along before we get
0:44
to the mail bag. And first and foremost, wide receiver
0:49
Darius Cooper. Make sure you key in on him during
0:52
the wide receiver defensive backs one on ones. He largely
0:56
wins those matchups, and I'm hoping to see him going
0:59
up against someone like a Quinna Mitchell Cooper dejen Keelee
1:04
Ringo who has a bigger body. He's a physical guy
1:07
to really better assess where he is and if he's
1:10
able to win in those matchups. But what I've noticed
1:13
from him, whenever he goes up against the defensive back
1:16
in that scenario, he wins due to leverage, stacking defensive backs,
1:22
route running and sure hands, he's had a tremendous training camp,
1:28
and it's not just the one preseason game. And I
1:31
know that for many of you listening, you've seen just
1:35
the one preseason game and that probably colors your perception.
1:39
But he's also delivered in eleven training camp practices, So
1:43
this is not just a flash in the pen in
1:45
my estimation. You guys know that I'm very measured when
1:48
I assess players, and I think that he's actually done
1:53
a lot to deserve the praise that he's been getting.
1:57
Speaker 2: Also, there's going to.
1:58
Speaker 1: Be a lot of things going on on the field
2:01
during this open practice. It's going to be fast paced
2:03
and different parts of the field will have different different
2:07
drill drills and things going on.
2:09
Speaker 2: Me personally, I.
2:11
Speaker 1: Think you'll get the best value watching the offensive line,
2:15
defensive line one on ones and the wide receiver defensive
2:18
backs one on ones. So I mentioned Darius Cooper, another
2:21
player to watch in the wide receiver dB one on
2:24
ones would be wide receiver and Ayah Smith. He has
2:27
the short area quickness and ability to separate at the
2:29
top of his routes that makes him really fun to watch.
2:32
And he's given Cooper Dejene who He's matched up with
2:35
a lot fits in that in that drill hasn't separated
2:40
so much during team drills, but he does have some
2:43
quickness and juice in those in those one on ones
2:47
and Tariq Castro fields. As a defensive he's a cornerback
2:53
from Penn State. He's quietly had a good summer. I
2:56
thought he did some really positive things in the preseason
2:58
game itself. He's a physical player, a little handsy at times,
3:03
but he also really puts up some good reps going
3:06
against those receivers. So keep an eye on number forty
3:09
six on the offensive line defensive line drills, Darien Knard.
3:17
He's entering his fourth season. He was on the Eagles
3:20
last year. He made the team with a strong summer.
3:23
He's actually really impressed me in these one on one
3:26
strong player technical, and he's strung together some some really
3:31
interesting reps against these guys. But the shining star in
3:35
these drills is likely to be rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson,
3:40
who has just been really coming on the scene as
3:44
of late. And he had three really strong wins on
3:48
Saturday's practice strong and he's really starting to refine some
3:52
of that technique. Keep an eye on him, as well
3:55
as second year defensive tackle Gabe Hall number ninety six.
3:59
Speaker 2: Power. He's good at converting speed to power.
4:02
Speaker 1: But what I've noticed from Gabe is an increased amount
4:06
of strength compared to where he was last season. He's
4:10
works his moves and I just think he's also becoming
4:12
much more comfortable in his second season, and it's really
4:16
shown not only in team drills, but also during those
4:19
one on one sessions. There's two other players that aren't
4:23
of the household name variety that you should be keeping
4:25
an eye on tonight. How about second year safety Andre
4:28
sam I thought Andre had a really good showing in
4:32
the preseason opener. He's fast, he brings a lot of
4:36
intensity and juice.
4:38
Speaker 2: And strong tackler.
4:40
Speaker 1: He was in on a lot of those gang tackles,
4:41
willing to come downhill and tag those runners.
4:45
Speaker 2: But he's also had a really good.
4:47
Speaker 1: Training camp in my opinion, and it doesn't necessarily flash
4:50
because he doesn't have those interceptions, but he's broken up
4:54
some passes. He's charging on the football and triggering.
4:57
Speaker 2: He knows.
4:58
Speaker 1: He's reacting fast to what he's seeing out there, and
5:02
in my estimation at this stage, he's probably a tick
5:07
above or ahead of Tristan McCollum. It's pretty even, but
5:12
based on what I've seen, that's kind of my assessment
5:16
right now. There's an interesting competition that we don't often
5:20
talk about beyond read blanket ship, Drew mccooba and Sydney Brown,
5:24
and that is Andre Sam and Tristan McCollum. Look, there's
5:27
a world in which they keep both players, but I
5:30
think right now Andre has impressed me a little bit
5:34
more and just been the player who's shown up the
5:37
most and more consistent. So Andre Sam and then also
5:42
quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson. I think DTR, who's played in
5:47
fifteen games, is clearly ahead of Kyle McCord, the Eagles
5:51
six round rookie. From a consistency standpoint, I think he's
5:55
really settling into this offense. He's made some nice throws
5:59
went five for eight the preseason opener, but he's also.
6:03
Speaker 2: Has a good he throws a good deep ball.
6:05
Speaker 1: He's established a rapport with a lot of those reserve
6:08
wide receivers, and he's a name to keep an eye
6:11
on because the Eagles may have an interesting decision in
6:14
keeping either DTR as the third quarterback or sticking with
6:18
their rookie and seeing that development through. I happen to think,
6:21
at least at this moment that they probably could get
6:24
Kyle McCord through waivers.
6:25
Speaker 2: He hasn't shown a lot.
6:26
Speaker 1: He went one for five in the opener, thrown an interception,
6:30
and he sort of regressed throughout training camp, which really
6:33
shouldn't be a surprise because he is a rookie and
6:36
defenses are throwing things at you that you haven't seen before.
6:39
But if you're looking purely based on talent ability and performance,
6:44
Dorian Thompson Robinson, who has surprised me this summer, should
6:48
be the third quarterback. All right, let's get to some
6:52
mailbag questions here, and we'll start with Let's see, we'll
7:00
start with Ricky and he says, this is a tight
7:05
end formation question for Andrew big fan, listen to every podcast,
7:09
appreciate that Ricky Eagles have a deep tight end room
7:12
this year with several who are great pass catchers and
7:14
route runners. Could they keep more tight ends and less
7:17
wide receivers on the roster and then play thirteen personnel
7:21
but deploy one or two of the tight ends in
7:23
way similar to formations often use in ten personnel. In
7:27
other words, could they play thirteen personnel without sacrificing dynamic
7:31
downfield threats but also absolutely forcing the defense to prioritize
7:35
the threat of the Eagles running game. And there's some
7:39
more here that he asked. It's a long question, but
7:42
I'll condense this and answer it the best way that
7:44
I can. I kind of view it as the Eagles
7:48
keeping two tight ends right now, and I don't want
7:51
to give too much away because I have my beat
7:54
writer fifty three man roster later in a couple of
7:57
weeks here, and I don't want to tip my hand
7:59
too much in terms of my thought process. But I
8:03
think that the Eagles have two really good tight ends
8:05
and they offer something different in Dallas Goddard, who I think,
8:09
when healthy, is clearly among the best at his position.
8:12
But Grant cal Kata is an interesting player because he's
8:15
obviously a receiving centric tight end, but I think that
8:18
he can sort of act as a receiver and really
8:20
work those seams a little bit. But the key here
8:23
to answer your question is Kylon Granson. Because Kylon Granson
8:27
can play h back, he can line up in the backfield,
8:30
he can split out wide and move all around formations
8:33
and the Eagles can get creative and how they deploy him.
8:36
He's out of the three tight ends, Harrison Bryant, e J. Jenkins,
8:40
and Grantson himself. I think Kylon Grantson's probably made a
8:44
few more players than the others, but really none of
8:46
the three have stepped up and clearly emerged, which is
8:50
why I'm leaning towards the Eagles keeping two tight ends
8:53
right now. But obviously a lot can change. There's two
8:55
preseason games, there's the joint practice this week with the
8:59
Cleveland Browns will be Wednesday and Thursday, so a lot
9:02
has yet to be determined. But I think for your question,
9:07
Kylin Granson would be a key here because he can
9:10
do a lot of different things that could allow the
9:13
Eagles to play thirteen personnel and different things like that potentially.
9:19
But it's a very interesting and well rounded tight end room.
9:22
And I've been waiting, Ricky, I've been waiting for one
9:25
of those players to step up. I really like EJ. Jenkins.
9:28
You probably know that if you listen to this podcast.
9:30
At six foot six, two hundred and sixty pounds, he's
9:33
still a developing player.
9:35
Speaker 2: He was a collegiate wide receiver.
9:36
Speaker 1: He's probably the second best blocking tight end behind Dallas Goddard,
9:40
and he does have some receiving chops, So maybe you
9:43
can make a case for keeping three there if the
9:45
Eagles really want to continue his development and don't want
9:48
to risk exposing him to waivers. And that also could
9:51
apse and add some optionality to your question and potentially
9:56
give them a new wrinkle. There's another one here. This
9:59
is also from Ricky huge fan hope this makes it on.
10:04
Eagles have a lot of great tight ends on the
10:06
roster and a larger number than usual. Could they play
10:10
a lot of thirteen personnel? Let's see, Yeah, it's kind
10:19
of the same question here. Could they play a lot
10:21
of thirteen personnel and show run but actually use one
10:23
or two tight ends to run deep routes? Could they
10:26
operate a thirteen formation the way some teams might use
10:30
the ten formation because of the versatility of their tight
10:33
end room this year. Yeah, again, Ricky, that's kind of
10:36
a similar question to the initial one that you sent in.
10:39
But Kylon Grantson, in my opinion, is going to be
10:42
key to that because Grant Calcata is purely a past
10:46
catching centric tight end and Dallas Goddard's obviously very well rounded.
10:51
But I think for that to even happen, you have
10:54
to have more than just those two players. Someone has
10:56
to emerge from that crowded group in order for that
10:59
to really work. But that's kind of where I land
11:02
on that. At this present time, it's still a little
11:04
too early to really make an assessment, but it is
11:09
an interesting tight end room. A This is from x
11:15
at aj Price six thirteen asks where do you see
11:19
positions of depth on the roster to deal from if
11:22
how he wants to make more moves or do you
11:24
see them dipping into next year's picks? Interesting question, Andrew.
11:29
I think right now the more likely scenario would be
11:32
to use some of the some of them that the
11:36
Eagles have next year with all those draft picks. But
11:40
you can also look at some of the young offensive linemen.
11:43
Darren Kennard's a player who would make a lot of Eagles,
11:47
a lot of team's rosters, and he still could very
11:49
well make the Eagles roster. But you also have, you know,
11:53
rookies like Miles Hinton. Miles Hinton's making the team, but
11:57
Cam Williams is there, Howard Pierce, the drafted for agent
12:00
from Rutgers, has had some nice moments, and you don't
12:04
quite know how many they're going to keep, but they
12:06
have a lot of players there that I think offer
12:09
some intrigue to varying degrees.
12:10
Speaker 2: Trevor Keegan last year drafted in the fifth round.
12:13
Speaker 1: The Eagles have used him as a center in camp
12:16
and he hasn't really performed well, and I'm not so
12:19
sure that he has a spot on the roster, but
12:21
being a former fifth round pick just a year removed,
12:24
maybe he's somebody that has a little bit of intrigue.
12:27
I mentioned Dorian Thompson Robinson, he may have some minimal
12:32
trade value if they don't want to part ways with
12:35
Kyle McCord. And I guess to your question, you're probably
12:38
looking at a player who can really yield them something
12:41
of significance, and really neither of those guys are going
12:45
to do that. So that's why I think the most
12:47
likely course of action would be if they were to
12:51
do that, would be to kind of tap into their
12:54
surplus of picks. In twenty twenty six, you think if
12:58
Howie could go back This is from at Philly Billy
13:01
thirteen on X. You think of how he could go back.
13:05
He would re sign Isaiah Rodgers.
13:08
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
13:09
Speaker 1: Now I've been on the record as saying that I
13:11
believe that the Eagles offseason loss that they're most going
13:14
to feel the void is Isaiah Rodgers. And I know
13:19
that Slay is another one who would qualify for this.
13:24
But it's so hard to be able to project where
13:28
a player in his advanced stage in the NFL is
13:32
going to perform.
13:35
Speaker 2: This late in the game, you just don't know.
13:36
Speaker 1: We saw James Bradbury turn the corner and it was
13:39
a drastic drop off. But I think Isaiah Rodgers, for
13:43
what he was able to get from the Vikings, that
13:46
was manageable. But I look at it and see the
13:50
Eagles didn't resign any of their guys really except for
13:54
Zach Bond. He was the priority, and they really wanted
13:57
to prioritize developing and building around their young nucleus of talent.
14:02
But for Isaiah Rodgers, he's already a starter on this team,
14:07
and it's to set it and forget it.
14:09
Speaker 2: If they bring him back.
14:10
Speaker 1: You already know that he can play, You already know
14:13
how he fits into Vic Fangio's system, and he loved
14:16
Philadelphia and he was very well liked and loved in
14:19
many ways in that locker room. He was a glue
14:22
guy along with someone like a Thomas Booker, who of
14:24
course was traded to the Raiders. Guys like that, A
14:27
lot of folks maybe aren't privy to it, but just
14:30
seeing how they interact with teammates and really offense, defense,
14:34
special teams, all those things. I was because of all
14:38
of those things, I was a little bit surprised that
14:39
they didn't retain Isaiah Rodgers. And I think he would
14:43
have been a nice compliment to Quinna Mitchell. Twitchy, smaller,
14:48
he's on the smaller side, but highly intelligent, gets after
14:51
the football, can make some big plays if he gets
14:54
his hands on the football. And again we're not even
14:57
having this conversation. They don't even have to trade for
14:59
Jacorean be in all likelihood, if they retain Isaiah Rodgers,
15:04
there's no guess work there.
15:05
Speaker 2: So if I had to guess, if.
15:07
Speaker 1: There were one move this offseason that maybe the Eagles
15:11
would like to have back, it would be retaining Isaiah Rodgers.
15:15
And that's for a multitude of reasons. Let's see what
15:19
else this is from at Philly. Underscore flyover on X.
15:28
How do you think the Eagles feel about CB two
15:31
and safety? Well, CB two obviously they felt that they
15:37
needed to add some competition to that room, and they
15:40
added Jacoreyan Bennett.
15:41
Speaker 2: That's a good value addition and it was not a throwaway.
15:44
Speaker 1: Thomas Booker would have absolutely made this roster, and Eagles
15:48
defensive line coach Clint Hurt actually on Saturday it offered
15:54
a glowing endorsement of Thomas Booker what he provided and
15:58
that it's not just a slam dunk that Gabe Hall
16:00
is going to fill that role. There's a number of
16:02
players that he mentioned that are going to be in
16:04
the running for that. And he also underscored the importance
16:08
of what Thomas Booker meant to that rotation. And obviously,
16:11
he played sixteen percent of the snaps last year, so
16:14
sometimes it was hard to notice his impact or when
16:18
he was on the field.
16:18
Speaker 2: But that's an example of a player that they really liked.
16:22
Speaker 1: But getting back to your question, when you add another
16:27
corner to the mix when you've already spent time developing
16:30
Keelee Ringo for a few seasons. This is his second
16:34
year in the defense, and Adorri Jackson's played a lot
16:37
of football in his career. I believe he's appeared in
16:39
ninety seven games. I mean, you can't feel good about
16:43
it if you're trading for Jaquori and Bennett, especially when
16:47
Eli Rix, I think has had a really nice training camp.
16:51
He's sort of a polarizing player because I think a
16:53
lot of folks still remember the rookie season where he
16:56
kind of took his lumps, but he was playing nickel
16:59
out of necessity. He's an outside corner by trade, didn't
17:02
play a lot last year, so he sort of became
17:04
an afterthought. But this summer he's made plays on the football.
17:08
He's carrying himself differently. There's a lot of confidence, there's
17:11
that swagger. This is a different version of Eli Rix
17:14
than I've seen over the past couple of years. And
17:17
I've been an Eli Rix guy. I've gotten to know Eli.
17:20
He was obviously my rookie diary subject as in his
17:23
first season, and I know the work that he's putting in.
17:27
I am very well aware of certain facets of his
17:32
game that he's been honing in on. And he's actually
17:35
bigger this year than hit the previous two years. He's
17:38
now up to one hundred and ninety five pounds. We
17:40
were able to catch up briefly after the game. And
17:45
that's why when you look at all the take all
17:47
these things into consideration, not bringing back Isaiah Rodgers and
17:52
then rolling with Keey Ringo, Adorri Jackson and Eli Rix
17:55
has had a good summer and they still go and
17:57
trade for Jacory and Bennett. That suggests that the Eagles
18:00
are a little bit unsettled there and they want to
18:03
add another name to the competition for that starting spot.
18:07
Speaker 2: And no one has necessarily had a bad camp.
18:10
Speaker 1: I don't think that that's fair to say between a
18:12
Dori and Keighley, but it's been uneven and uninspiring, I
18:15
guess is a good word to use for it. And
18:18
they went out and they were proactive and added a
18:20
player that they believe can add some more competition. Optionality
18:26
is always a good thing when you are unsettled. Obviously, safety, well,
18:31
that's an interesting one because Sydney Brown has been getting
18:35
the lion's share of that of those reps opposite Reblack
18:38
a ship now. Drew mccouba hurt hurt his shoulder on
18:42
day three of training camp and was sidelined for quite
18:45
a bit of time, so he's still catching up. And
18:49
because of that, I mean, obviously that's going to color
18:53
your perception a little bit of the safety room. But
18:56
I think they feel good about safety right now because
18:59
otherwise they would have went out there and they would
19:01
have added to Justin Simmons, who's familiar with Vic Vangio.
19:03
Speaker 2: They would have added him already, And I think the
19:05
Eagles did the right thing.
19:07
Speaker 1: It was a smart approach because Sydney Brown's been in
19:10
the building. Drew mccoopa, you invested a second round pick
19:13
in him, and there's Tristan McCollum who's a holdover. Andre
19:17
Sam's a holdover. He spent the twenty twenty four season
19:20
on the practice squad, So you have to see what
19:23
you have first before you go outside the building. But
19:26
all of those safeties that I mentioned, in addition to
19:29
reblank sh if, they all present something different and unique.
19:33
And I think Drew mccooba he still has some time
19:36
to get up to speed, and I think one that
19:37
does settle so ultimately be the starting safety. And until
19:42
you see what he's able to do working with the
19:44
full first team in a full time capacity, it's kind
19:47
of hard to say that they don't have enough there
19:51
at that position, because I very much do believe that
19:54
they do have enough at that position. They're young and
19:57
expect growing pains, But I think Reid blanket ship in
20:01
Maccuba is a strong safety tannem and they compliment each
20:04
other well. And Macouba brings the football intellect, the versatility,
20:09
the bass skills, and he plays with an enforcer's mentality
20:12
despite not having the frame to support that. He's kind
20:16
of built like CJ. Gardner Johnson. But because he has
20:19
the hallmarks of what Vic Vangiel looks like in his safety,
20:23
and I believe that Vicvangiel had a lot to do
20:25
with Macuba being selected. I think you feel good there.
20:28
The question becomes what happens with Sidney Brown. I think
20:31
Sidney Brown could have a role situationally, I think he's
20:34
going to be a big time special teams contributor for
20:36
the Eagles, so that is probably going to be his role.
20:40
He hasn't necessarily done anything to not secure it. But
20:44
throwing his body around and running around like a heat
20:46
seeking missile on Thursday night, I mean, not much has
20:51
changed to his game. He hasn't necessarily altered it and
20:53
You don't really get to see that in practice because
20:55
you're not wrapping up and tackling, but he does play
20:58
the game with an intensity, in a ferocity. I'm just
21:01
not sure how that's going to jive with Vic Vangio,
21:04
who prides who really looks for assignment sound players on
21:08
the back end, and there's so much responsibility placed on
21:11
that position that you have to be detailed, you have
21:14
to be disciplined where you can give up a big
21:16
play that's going to hurt the team. And then you
21:19
have Tristan McComb and Andre Sam, both players who I
21:22
talked about. McCollum is fundamentally sound, he's disciplined.
21:26
Speaker 2: You know what you have there.
21:26
Speaker 1: Vic vangiol likes Tristan McCollum and he's a good special
21:29
teams player.
21:30
Speaker 2: That's his role in all likelihood.
21:32
Speaker 1: Andre Sam may have something to say about that, but
21:36
he's also somebody who can help you on special teams
21:39
and we'll have to wait and see if there's a situational,
21:43
you know, scenario where he can help the Eagles. But
21:46
I think Tristan McCollum and Andre Sam are more so
21:49
special teams players. Drew mccoop is obviously the key here,
21:53
and I think they feel good about him because that's
21:56
why they took.
21:57
Speaker 2: Him where they did in the second round.
21:58
Speaker 1: And now it becomes getting him up to speed, getting
22:01
him reps. He largely repped with the second team Saturday,
22:06
and that's what he really needs. A player, a young player,
22:09
can only get better. They can only get caught up
22:11
by getting reps and working through some of those challenges
22:14
and growing pains and then learning from there. So that's
22:18
kind of where I land on all of that. That
22:20
is the abbreviated mailbag edition. Again, if you folks have
22:25
any questions, I'm more than happy to answer them for you.
22:28
Speaker 2: That's what these podcasts are for.
22:30
Speaker 1: They're one to inform, but they're also to interact with
22:34
you guys. I'm building an audience with these podcasts. I've
22:37
gotten a lot of really good feedback and I really
22:40
do appreciate those who've taken the time to ask me
22:43
a question. And I will always strive to answer as
22:45
many questions as I can, and I hope everybody who
22:50
goes out to open practice enjoys it.
22:53
Speaker 2: There's a lot to take in.
22:54
Speaker 1: It's always a pretty longer practice, it's entertaining, and hopefully
22:59
some of the different and you know, the different pieces
23:02
that I open with to start the podcast gives you
23:04
an idea of maybe what you want to look for
23:06
or direct your attention to, because there's so much going
23:09
on that I just think that you'll get a better
23:11
assessment of certain players watching those one on one drills.
23:14
But that's going to do it for this edition of
23:17
the Czecho Deily Andrew de Ceco's signing off, and I
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will catch you all on the next one.