Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily Post Postgame Show: Takeaways From Eagles Comeback Win Over Titans
Transcript
- 0:10Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome in to another episode
- 0:12Speaker 1: of DiCecco Daily. It's Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com.
- 0:17Speaker 1: And the Eagles pull off a thrilling 24-20 victory in
- 0:22Speaker 1: steamy Nashville, beating the Tennessee Titans in a game that
- 0:26Speaker 1: was probably a little bit too close for comfort for
- 0:28Speaker 1: some of you watching. I have a lot of takeaways
- 0:31Speaker 1: from that. We'll get to that. But before we do,
- 0:34Speaker 1: let's get some housekeeping items out of the way. ahead
- 0:37Speaker 1: of the game. So, Saturday around 4 o'clock, the Eagles
- 0:41Speaker 1: announced the elevation of safety Maximus Pulley from the practice
- 0:45Speaker 1: squad to have him available against the Titans. Now, bear
- 0:48Speaker 1: in mind, second year safety Drew McCuba was listed as
- 0:51Speaker 1: questionable going into the weekend with the knee injury, but
- 0:55Speaker 1: as you'll learn, Drew McCuba was available for the Eagles
- 0:59Speaker 1: and started and I thought did some good things. So,
- 1:01Speaker 1: the inactive list, which comes out at 11.30pm ahead of
- 1:05Speaker 1: all 1 o'clock games. Inactive for the Eagles were quarterback
- 1:09Speaker 1: Tanner McKee, who was the third quarterback, quarterback Cole Payton,
- 1:12Speaker 1: who's the Eagles' fourth quarterback, wide receiver Elijah Moore, outside
- 1:18Speaker 1: linebacker Jonathan Bernard, and guard Michael Morris. So the Eagles did,
- 1:21Speaker 1: in fact, have Drew McCuba for this game. I like
- 1:25Speaker 1: the way that he plays. He throws his body around.
- 1:27Speaker 1: He had a nice lick that he put on someone
- 1:29Speaker 1: at the goal line. And at 5'11, 186 pounds, you
- 1:33Speaker 1: don't typically see players that have that kind of mentality.
- 1:37Speaker 1: And sometimes that could lead to him getting banged up
- 1:41Speaker 1: if you project that over the course of his career.
- 1:43Speaker 1: But you can see the difference of having someone like
- 1:46Speaker 1: that back there. It gives you more optionality. You can
- 1:49Speaker 1: do different things with Michael Carter, who provides a lot
- 1:52Speaker 1: of versatility on the back end. And so they had.
- 1:56Speaker 1: all of their defensive starters available for that game. And
- 2:00Speaker 1: this was a really hot game. It was about 95 degrees.
- 2:04Speaker 1: The heat certainly played a part in it. It was
- 2:07Speaker 1: reported from those in Nashville that Nick Sirianni even needed
- 2:10Speaker 1: an IV after the game. But let's just get to
- 2:14Speaker 1: some of those takeaways because there were several. Going into
- 2:19Speaker 1: the game, I should say about a couple hours before
- 2:21Speaker 1: the game, NFL Network announces that Drew Kendall will start
- 2:27Speaker 1: at center, not left guard, and filling in at left
- 2:31Speaker 1: guard would be Cam Juergens, who moves over from center
- 2:34Speaker 1: to left guard. That was one of the possibilities that
- 2:38Speaker 1: I'd mentioned, though, full transparency, those who have followed along
- 2:41Speaker 1: all week, I expected it to be simply Drew Kendall
- 2:45Speaker 1: playing at left guard, a swap out. He'd repped there
- 2:48Speaker 1: all summer, repped at guard exclusively almost for the summer.
- 2:52Speaker 1: He knows how to play center. He did a little
- 2:56Speaker 1: bit of that in training camp, but when Landon Dickerson
- 2:59Speaker 1: missed time, or I'm sorry, when he needed to be spelled,
- 3:04Speaker 1: it was Drew Kendall. When he had his two rest days,
- 3:06Speaker 1: it was Drew Kendall filling in for him. So logically,
- 3:09Speaker 1: it felt like that would make a lot of sense.
- 3:10Speaker 1: But when you look a little bit deeper into this,
- 3:13Speaker 1: Drew Kendall is someone who has started 34 games at
- 3:16Speaker 1: center at Boston College. He was a All-ACC first team selection,
- 3:22Speaker 1: I believe, in 2024. So a really decorated center, poised,
- 3:26Speaker 1: cerebral type of guy. And I think just trying to rationalize,
- 3:30Speaker 1: if you're the Eagles, I imagine that in a matchup
- 3:33Speaker 1: like this where you have Jeffrey Simmons and a couple
- 3:35Speaker 1: of other impactful players on that defensive line you want
- 3:39Speaker 1: to do everything possible to put your best five out
- 3:42Speaker 1: of course but also put the the new addition in
- 3:45Speaker 1: a position where he's best suited to thrive and that
- 3:48Speaker 1: certainly would be center cam jergens has played guard before
- 3:52Speaker 1: he's a little bit bigger in terms of being able
- 3:55Speaker 1: to handle some of the some of those interior players
- 3:58Speaker 1: that i think even kendall at 305 that's slighter build
- 4:03Speaker 1: for being a guard, and so in this matchup, you
- 4:07Speaker 1: set yourself up with the best chance of winning. You
- 4:09Speaker 1: put Kendo at his natural position at center, and Juergens,
- 4:13Speaker 1: while he's played right guard in the past, he's never
- 4:16Speaker 1: played left prior to Sunday against the Titans, and he
- 4:19Speaker 1: filled in there. So I thought that the offensive line
- 4:24Speaker 1: gave up a little bit too much penetration. Granted, there's
- 4:28Speaker 1: a lot of talented players there, but It impacted the offense,
- 4:31Speaker 1: especially early on in that game. And I don't think
- 4:33Speaker 1: I even need to see the game twice to be
- 4:35Speaker 1: able to identify that. However, I thought Drew Kendall played
- 4:39Speaker 1: pretty well in his first start in a meaningful game.
- 4:43Speaker 1: So there's a lot to build off of that. But
- 4:46Speaker 1: I thought that Cam Juergens didn't have his best outing.
- 4:50Speaker 1: And again, this could be something as simple as the
- 4:53Speaker 1: line just needing time. to synchronize when you get more
- 4:57Speaker 1: time on task. Sometimes those things have a tendency of
- 5:00Speaker 1: working itself out. It wasn't a good showing for the
- 5:03Speaker 1: second consecutive week. They were a little leaky there, I
- 5:05Speaker 1: think is probably the best word for it, but they
- 5:08Speaker 1: were able to pull out the victory. However, is that
- 5:11Speaker 1: going to be sustainable for the long term? That's something
- 5:14Speaker 1: that When you look at the offensive line and how
- 5:17Speaker 1: the Eagles have really won a lot of their games
- 5:19Speaker 1: and what they're built upon, it's their trench step on
- 5:21Speaker 1: both sides of the ball. And in order for them
- 5:24Speaker 1: to do some of the things they want to do foundationally,
- 5:27Speaker 1: they have to make sure that they are doing what
- 5:30Speaker 1: they need to do from an offensive line standpoint so
- 5:33Speaker 1: that this isn't something that creeps up later in the season.
- 5:37Speaker 1: But they did what they had to do to win
- 5:38Speaker 1: this game. And Before we really delve into my takeaways,
- 5:43Speaker 1: I just want to set the scene for you. Because
- 5:45Speaker 1: the Eagles were down by three with just under two
- 5:48Speaker 1: minutes to play. And Jalen Hurts was given another opportunity
- 5:51Speaker 1: to author a comeback that would bring the Eagles to 2-0.
- 5:54Speaker 1: He did exactly that. And it was courtesy of a nine-play,
- 5:58Speaker 1: 65-yard drive in which he was sharp, accurate, and poised.
- 6:02Speaker 1: And the key play was the 19-yard strike to wide
- 6:05Speaker 1: receiver Devontae Smith on a third and six. which set
- 6:08Speaker 1: the offense up at the Titans' three-yard line with seconds
- 6:11Speaker 1: to play. And with exactly 14 seconds remaining, Hurts fielded
- 6:15Speaker 1: the snap and launched the pass toward the back pylon,
- 6:18Speaker 1: where second-year wide receiver Darius Cooper skied to reel it in,
- 6:22Speaker 1: showcasing good body control and tapping both feet in bounds
- 6:25Speaker 1: for the go-ahead score. And he found the end zone,
- 6:28Speaker 1: by the way, for the first time as a professional,
- 6:31Speaker 1: Darius Cooper. That was his 11th catch of his career.
- 6:36Speaker 1: The Eagles held on to win that one. Jalen Hurts
- 6:39Speaker 1: completed 26 of 37 pass attempts for 264 and two touchdowns,
- 6:43Speaker 1: along with two interceptions. Devontae Smith led all receivers in
- 6:47Speaker 1: this one, bringing in 10 of 13 targets for 110
- 6:50Speaker 1: yards and a touchdown. Dontavian Wicks, we'll get into him
- 6:54Speaker 1: a little bit shortly. He accumulated 74 receiving yards and
- 6:58Speaker 1: also came up big for the Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
- 7:04Speaker 1: Those two interceptions that I talked about could have proven costly, sure. Otherwise, though,
- 7:09Speaker 1: I thought Jalen Hurts was, again, pretty efficient in this game.
- 7:12Speaker 1: The Eagles quarterback was money on high leverage downs and
- 7:15Speaker 1: managed to move the football through the air without having
- 7:17Speaker 1: running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Dallas Goddard for
- 7:22Speaker 1: much of the game. But what I came away most
- 7:25Speaker 1: impressed with was Hurts' ability to throw with rhythm and accuracy.
- 7:28Speaker 1: He kept the offense on schedule, and on that final drive,
- 7:34Speaker 1: He was razor sharp and got a necessary boost from
- 7:37Speaker 1: his supporting cast. For the second consecutive week, the Eagles'
- 7:42Speaker 1: running backs couldn't find much running room. The Titans' defensive
- 7:45Speaker 1: line surged, they were often winning at the point of attack,
- 7:48Speaker 1: and they slowed any momentum from the Eagles' backs. This
- 7:51Speaker 1: has become a trend through the first two weeks. But
- 7:54Speaker 1: in fairness, much of the interior configuration was different this week,
- 7:59Speaker 1: which perhaps becomes more synchronized with more time on task,
- 8:02Speaker 1: which I outlined earlier. Still, though, the ground game is
- 8:05Speaker 1: a foundational aspect to the Eagles' offense, and for Sean
- 8:08Speaker 1: Mannion's offense to take full effect, it must first establish
- 8:12Speaker 1: consistency on the ground. Saquon Barkley, who left the game
- 8:15Speaker 1: in the first half with an injury but returned briefly,
- 8:19Speaker 1: averaged 2.3 yards per carry while Tank Bigsby posted an
- 8:22Speaker 1: average of 2.5. Third-year running back Will Shipley led the charge.
- 8:26Speaker 1: with just a 3.4 yards per carry average.
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- 10:16Speaker 1: The Eagles keeping the Titans in this game can be
- 10:18Speaker 1: mostly attributed to their second half tackling lapses. And we'll
- 10:22Speaker 1: get to my reasoning as to why. But running back
- 10:26Speaker 1: Tony Power showcased good downhill power and balance and fought
- 10:29Speaker 1: for yardage. Tajay Spears, who I highlighted as a player
- 10:32Speaker 1: to watch in this game because of his dynamic qualities
- 10:36Speaker 1: and how those tackling issues later in the game could
- 10:38Speaker 1: become problematic. Well, on a third and 22, he scooted
- 10:42Speaker 1: around the left side. He eluded tacklers en route to
- 10:44Speaker 1: a 27-yard pickup. Wide receiver Alec Iomenor also produced a
- 10:50Speaker 1: 41-yard catch and run. He hurtled Eagle safety Marcus Epps
- 10:54Speaker 1: in the process. The reasoning. The heat likely factored prominently
- 10:59Speaker 1: into some of the missed tackles as fatigue can compromise fundamentals.
- 11:03Speaker 1: But those are details you can expect Vic Fangio to
- 11:06Speaker 1: harp on. And that is exactly why I highlighted Tajay Spears,
- 11:11Speaker 1: who if you get him in space, he is slippery.
- 11:14Speaker 1: You get to the later stages of those games where
- 11:17Speaker 1: the heat becomes an issue. And all of a sudden,
- 11:19Speaker 1: even a team as proficient as the Eagles in terms
- 11:21Speaker 1: of fundamentals will have trouble bringing those type of players
- 11:25Speaker 1: to the ground. It happens all the time. That's why
- 11:27Speaker 1: I highlighted him. I also highlighted Wondell Robinson, who didn't
- 11:30Speaker 1: do much damage in this game. But that's something that
- 11:34Speaker 1: you can expect Vic Fangio to really focus on this week.
- 11:41Speaker 1: A positive development on a second quarter third and eight.
- 11:44Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts dialed up rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon, who
- 11:47Speaker 1: reeled in a contested grab over the middle for a
- 11:49Speaker 1: 14-yard pickup. Look, Lemon is still finding his way as
- 11:53Speaker 1: he makes up for lost time, but it's hard to
- 11:54Speaker 1: imagine some of these early touches not providing some sort
- 11:58Speaker 1: of a confidence boost. Conversely, the next time his number
- 12:01Speaker 1: was called resulted in a loss of two yards in
- 12:04Speaker 1: a play that was eerily reminiscent of last week. Now,
- 12:07Speaker 1: With Lemon, the quality of touches is important, and these
- 12:10Speaker 1: swing passes require better execution. I suspect his role as
- 12:15Speaker 1: the primary slot receiver to grow as the season progresses.
- 12:18Speaker 1: You'll see him used a little bit more traditionally. Right now,
- 12:21Speaker 1: they're trying to get the ball in his hands. And
- 12:23Speaker 1: I think that 14-yard reception right over the middle where
- 12:27Speaker 1: he took a hit as he was catching it, Those plays,
- 12:30Speaker 1: you start to stack them, and that builds confidence. That's
- 12:33Speaker 1: what you need from a young player who missed a
- 12:35Speaker 1: large chunk of the summer, and I think the Eagles
- 12:38Speaker 1: will continue to tap into that in these next few weeks.
- 12:42Speaker 1: And then I'm expecting Mekhi Lemon to be able to
- 12:47Speaker 1: go out there and function as the Eagles intended once
- 12:50Speaker 1: he gets more time on task and more familiar within
- 12:53Speaker 1: the offense. That's the natural progression. How about Darius Cooper?
- 13:00Speaker 1: The second-year wide receiver dazzled in training camp, but with
- 13:02Speaker 1: only so many targets and snaps to go around, Cooper
- 13:05Speaker 1: has embraced his role on special teams where he's been
- 13:08Speaker 1: a ringer. Cooper has often talked about pouring everything into
- 13:12Speaker 1: whatever role the team demands of him, a selfless quality
- 13:15Speaker 1: that mirrors the messaging of Nick Sirianni and the culture
- 13:17Speaker 1: the Eagles have established. He patiently waited for his number
- 13:21Speaker 1: to be called and delivered with a pair of important
- 13:23Speaker 1: catches in this game, none more critical than his game-winning
- 13:26Speaker 1: touchdown grab. Darius Cooper is emblematic of the notion that
- 13:29Speaker 1: when you work hard and you prepare, good things tend
- 13:32Speaker 1: to follow. Speaking after the trade for wide receiver Dontavian Wicks,
- 13:38Speaker 1: Eagles general manager Howie Roseman noted the trust the Packers
- 13:41Speaker 1: quarterback seemingly had in the receiver in big spots. Hurts
- 13:44Speaker 1: in the first half looked Wicks' way on a 3rd-and-12, 3rd-and-4, 4th-and-2,
- 13:51Speaker 1: and 3rd-and-12, all high-leverage first-half conversions. Hurts this summer developed
- 13:56Speaker 1: an apparent rapport with Wicks, and that has carried over
- 13:59Speaker 1: into the regular season. The fifth-year pro is known as
- 14:02Speaker 1: an elite separator with strong hands who will attack the football.
- 14:05Speaker 1: Those qualities have led to budding trust between the quarterback
- 14:08Speaker 1: and receiver. And through two games, Wicks, who, let's remember,
- 14:12Speaker 1: he went into the season with some questions. There still
- 14:15Speaker 1: may be some, but not nearly as many as when
- 14:18Speaker 1: the season began. He's been an X-factor in the Eagles'
- 14:21Speaker 1: passing game. I noticed J. Wicks Hunt revving up with
- 14:26Speaker 1: a few first-half pressures, and Nolan Smith found a sack.
- 14:30Speaker 1: He entered the sack column. But there were way too
- 14:33Speaker 1: many times, well, too many times. I don't know how many.
- 14:36Speaker 1: I have to go back and rewatch. But there were
- 14:39Speaker 1: times where I felt that Titans quarterback Cam Ward had
- 14:41Speaker 1: too much time in the pocket. This will be one
- 14:44Speaker 1: of my initial takeaways that I'll be focusing on when
- 14:46Speaker 1: I do give it a rewatch. But the silver lining
- 14:48Speaker 1: here is that the return of ace pass rusher Jonathan
- 14:51Speaker 1: Grenard is nearing. Grenard's presence will naturally command attention and
- 14:55Speaker 1: create opportunities for teammates. Tight end Dallas Goddard shined as
- 15:01Speaker 1: a primary target in Week 1, accounting for 77 yards
- 15:04Speaker 1: and a pair of touchdowns. But the depth behind the
- 15:07Speaker 1: 31-year-old tight end has been a major question. How would
- 15:10Speaker 1: the Eagles atone for his production with a pair of
- 15:12Speaker 1: blocking-centric reserves if an injury arises? Well, that scenario came
- 15:17Speaker 1: to fruition early in Week 2 when Goddard exited with
- 15:20Speaker 1: a knee injury. Veteran tight end Johnny Munt bumped up
- 15:23Speaker 1: in the pecking order while EJ Jenkins saw an uptick
- 15:26Speaker 1: in usage, and Munt totaled eight yards on a pair
- 15:28Speaker 1: of receptions while Jenkins wasn't targeted.
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- 16:18Speaker 1: We'll monitor Goddard's injury, but regardless, it's evident the team
- 16:21Speaker 1: needs more of an established pass catcher on standby. Not
- 16:24Speaker 1: having a dependable big body middle of the field target
- 16:27Speaker 1: to act as a safety valve left a glaring void
- 16:30Speaker 1: once Goddard exited. We'll see how things shake out, but
- 16:36Speaker 1: that is something that I've mentioned, and you saw it
- 16:40Speaker 1: come to life in the game. So we're already in
- 16:43Speaker 1: week two, and now that has come to the forefront,
- 16:46Speaker 1: those type of questions. We'll see what happens with Goddard.
- 16:49Speaker 1: I don't know. I haven't heard anything at this time,
- 16:52Speaker 1: but that's something that we'll certainly be monitoring. You may
- 16:57Speaker 1: have noticed last week that the Eagles fielded a kick
- 16:59Speaker 1: return tandem of Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley, but this
- 17:01Speaker 1: week it was Shipley and wide receiver punt returner Britton Covey.
- 17:05Speaker 1: Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that
- 17:08Speaker 1: Titans kicker Joey Sly has knuckleball kicks in his arsenal,
- 17:11Speaker 1: but I am curious to hear the perspective of special
- 17:13Speaker 1: teams coordinator Michael Clay this week. Covey, by the way,
- 17:16Speaker 1: continues to do a really nice job returning punts against
- 17:19Speaker 1: the Titans. Britton totaled 31 yards on two returns, including
- 17:23Speaker 1: a long of 23 yards. He takes a lot of
- 17:26Speaker 1: pulverizing hits, sure. But Covey is smart, instinctive, and tough
- 17:34Speaker 1: as nails. That's going to do it for this episode
- 17:37Speaker 1: of the Checo Daily. I'm Andrew DiCecco, and I'll catch
- 17:40Speaker 1: you all on the next one.