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Football at Four: Final Look at Rams-Eagles Matchups and Injuries · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Football 4 powered by the Inside the Birds podcast and
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  Speaker 1: it is brought to you by the Fanatic Sportsbook at
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  Speaker 1: Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. Inside the Birds you
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  Speaker 1: can get on all podcasting platforms and there is some
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  Speaker 1: big news with the Birds. The injury report is out.
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  Speaker 1: It is lengthy and it is not good. Zach Vaughn
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  Speaker 1: is out. Marcus Epps is out. Dallas Goddard we knew.
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  Speaker 1: Fred Johnson out. Devontae Smith is out for the game.
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  Speaker 1: He will not play as will Hollywood Brown not play
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  Speaker 1: as well. So if Smith is out, you thought Brown
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  Speaker 1: could maybe replace. We'll get into all that right now
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  Speaker 1: with Adam Kaplan from the Inside the Birds podcast, who
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  Speaker 1: joins me now on a kind of a lengthy day
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  Speaker 1: for the injury report. It's been a bleak day for
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  Speaker 1: Phillies fans, and now the Eagles fans are feeling it. Hey, Adam,
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  Speaker 1: what's going on?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Mike, look, it's tough, but Phillies, obviously not surprising.
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  Speaker 2: They continue to be who they are, a disappointment. But
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  Speaker 2: their season is over. We'll turn our attention to the
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  Speaker 2: Eagles as they host the Rams on Sunday, which, by
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  Speaker 2: the way, it's so odd. Week four, again, two straight
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  Speaker 2: years they're playing the Rams in Philly in week four. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: so you're going to see Jeremiah Trotter Jr. fill in
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  Speaker 2: for Zach Bohn. He's got a concussion. He was added.
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  Speaker 2: He got hurt in the game, obviously. He wasn't feeling right.
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  Speaker 2: He wound up not practicing. He's not playing. In terms
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  Speaker 2: of the start, Dallas got it out again with his
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  Speaker 2: spring MCL. He's had this injury before. Not a surprise.
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  Speaker 2: He may not even play next week when they travel
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  Speaker 2: to London to play the Jaguars. Devontae Smith, not surprised. Mike,
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  Speaker 2: let me just remind people, he's had this injury since
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  Speaker 2: early August. Playing on it does not make it better.
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  Speaker 2: You can get all the treatment you want. You can
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  Speaker 2: rehab it, but playing on it doesn't make it better.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get into the matchups, explain what that's going to
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  Speaker 2: look like in a minute. Fred Johnson, again, he got
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  Speaker 2: hurt in practice last week and he's got this knee injury,
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  Speaker 2: so he is out. And then Marcus Epps, yeah, this
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  Speaker 2: is a big one. He got hurt in the game
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  Speaker 2: with a groin injury. Michael Carter will start for him.
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  Speaker 2: They were already splitting time. Mike would not surprise me
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  Speaker 2: at all. If Carter plays well against the Rams on Sunday,
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  Speaker 2: then he wants to keep him a starting job. We're
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  Speaker 2: certainly going to keep an eye on that.
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  Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about some of the impacts here
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  Speaker 1: in the matchup. So some of these guys being out,
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  Speaker 1: who fills in? You kind of went over here, but
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  Speaker 1: how does that kind of change this game here? Smith,
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  Speaker 1: obviously a huge one. Vaughn, a real big one.
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  Speaker 2: Yep. all right so what mike when they go to
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  Speaker 2: eleven personal which is three receivers one back one tight
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  Speaker 2: end lemon just a lot which is outside cooper's outside
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  Speaker 2: derrick cooper that is event your top backup will be
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  Speaker 2: a larger more that they've run out of receivers mike
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  Speaker 2: that's all that they have but britain copy will be
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  Speaker 2: an emergency up backup slot receiver from a kyle lemon
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  Speaker 2: yes you know he's a pun and he also don't
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  Speaker 2: kickoff returns to uh... but if you come back to
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  Speaker 2: receive at this point and they've got They have one
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  Speaker 2: receiver on the practice squad, but Xavier Gibson's really just
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  Speaker 2: a returner. He's really not a receiver. Like, this is
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  Speaker 2: not good, Mike. This is going to be tough. When
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  Speaker 2: they go 12 personnel, which is two tenants, two receivers,
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  Speaker 2: it's Wicks, it's Cooper, and then it's either, and they
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  Speaker 2: could also do Lemon and reduce him, which means they
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  Speaker 2: would do what they do with him, which I saw
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  Speaker 2: in the offseason, which the Rams do with what they
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  Speaker 2: do with Cooper Cupp. and now with Pukunukuwa, is you
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  Speaker 2: start him out at the three-quarter outside receiver, then you
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  Speaker 2: move him in for the snap to help him with matchups.
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  Speaker 2: So it's going to be a problem, Mike. Lodgemore's going
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  Speaker 2: to get a chance here. Dax Cooper should play extensively.
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  Speaker 2: And with Dallas Goddard out, you saw how much it
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  Speaker 2: impacted them big time against the Bears. It's going to
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  Speaker 2: be hard for them to score, Mike. Theoretically, it should
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  Speaker 2: be very hard for.
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  Speaker 1: Them to score. Yeah, they have some injury issues as well, too,
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  Speaker 1: on the defensive side. One really big one, and even
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  Speaker 1: with those injuries, it still might be difficult for the
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  Speaker 1: Eagles to score because they have been offensively challenged, but
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  Speaker 1: they are getting a little break here.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so for the Rams, Terrence Ferguson, who was a
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  Speaker 2: second-round tight end last year, a pretty athletic guy. He
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  Speaker 2: won't play. In fact, he's not even practicing this week.
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't really hurt them that much in terms of,
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  Speaker 2: Having tight ends, they have five of them in their
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  Speaker 2: 53-man roster, but he's their most athletic. For matchups, it
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  Speaker 2: does impact them a little bit. Pukunukuwa, barring a setback
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  Speaker 2: with his groin-slash-hip injury, will play. He will be back
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  Speaker 2: in the lineup. Not good news for the Eagles with
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  Speaker 2: Devontae Adams and Pukunukuwa there. But the big one, this
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  Speaker 2: kind of surprised me. Aaron Donald will not play with
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  Speaker 2: a back issue. Now, all they said was Wednesday he
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  Speaker 2: was sore. Didn't say there's nothing structurally wrong. I listened
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  Speaker 2: to Sean McVay's press conference. I actually got the transcript
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  Speaker 2: about half an hour ago. He just said he saw it,
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  Speaker 2: and they didn't want to push it, it being an
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  Speaker 2: older player. And then the other one, which is big,
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  Speaker 2: Jalen Watson, one of the two starting corners, both came
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  Speaker 2: over from the Chiefs. It's a tall corner over six feet.
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  Speaker 2: He will not play. That certainly will impact the matchups.
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  Speaker 2: They're not very deep there. Old friend Emmanuel Forbes, who
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  Speaker 2: got abused by A.J. Brown. Mike, you might remember that.
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  Speaker 2: When Emmanuel Forbes was with the Commandos, He will start
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  Speaker 2: on the outside, and that's good news for the Eagles.
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  Speaker 1: Adam Gafford here. Obviously, you know, they have their injuries
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  Speaker 1: because Donald, we were talking about earlier in the week, hey,
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  Speaker 1: matching him up with Juergens in there could have been
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  Speaker 1: a big problem. So that gives them a little bit
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  Speaker 1: of reprieve of dealing with that. They also don't have
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  Speaker 1: Miles Garrett in this game as well. But getting Nakua back,
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  Speaker 1: it's going to be interesting to see what Philadelphia does
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  Speaker 1: to kind of match up with him.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, you have the two starting corners who are
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  Speaker 2: of good size and are very talented. You've got Adams,
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  Speaker 2: who's still great. I don't know if he's going to
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  Speaker 2: be a Hall of Famer, but he's still a great player.
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  Speaker 2: Pukunuku is back. Now, what we're going to watch is
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  Speaker 2: how does he move with this injury. We're going to
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  Speaker 2: talk about the weather because it's important. We're going to
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  Speaker 2: have some rain on Sunday. The thing that the Rams
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  Speaker 2: learned and why they brought back Tutu Atwell, they actually
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  Speaker 2: drafted him the second round many years ago. And they
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  Speaker 2: acquired him via trade from the Dolphins because they have
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  Speaker 2: no depth at receiver. So they brought him back. He
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  Speaker 2: knows the offense. And you're going to see a lot
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  Speaker 2: of 12 and a lot of 13 personnel on Sunday, Mike.
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  Speaker 2: That's what the Rams do. They started changing it up
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  Speaker 2: last season through the lack of depth at receiver. And
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  Speaker 2: they learned a lot. They've actually worked for them. In fact,
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  Speaker 2: they've led the NFL in 13 personnel. They were always
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  Speaker 2: around the lowest running it. But last year, because of
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  Speaker 2: depth as receiver, they learned a lot. And they drafted
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  Speaker 2: Max Clair this season at tight end. It's the second
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  Speaker 2: round of the draft at Ferguson. It won't play this week.
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  Speaker 2: And the second round last year. So they're a big
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  Speaker 2: tight end sort of worked offense. And the other thing is, Mike,
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  Speaker 2: when you look at matchups, the Eagles have done very
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  Speaker 2: well against the Rams offensive line, particularly Warren McClendon, the
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  Speaker 2: right tackle from Georgia who played with Jalen Carter and
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  Speaker 2: Jordan Davis at Georgia. He's not very good. They've gotten
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  Speaker 2: to him. In fact, B.G. got him when B.G. came
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  Speaker 2: out of retirement. So that's where the matchups could be won.
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  Speaker 2: And the Eagles, as we know, Mike, have not but
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  Speaker 2: won many matchups with their edge rushers.
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  Speaker 1: Another storyline Sunday to take a look at is, what
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  Speaker 1: are we looking at weather-wise? Because it's been bonkers with
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  Speaker 1: the heat today. Hot, hot, hot on a Friday. What
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  Speaker 1: are we looking at and how that could be a
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  Speaker 1: factor on Sunday?
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  Speaker 2: So, Mike, I know forecasts can change. It is scheduled
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  Speaker 2: to rain the entire game. I'm looking at the hour-by-hour. Now,
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  Speaker 2: The heat is not the problem. It's just on Sunday, Mike.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, it's going to be in the 50s. And
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  Speaker 2: then strangely, I'm sorry, low 60s. But, Mike, the wind,
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  Speaker 2: 8 to 10 miles an hour, that's not a concern. Yeah, look,
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  Speaker 2: 49% chance to 52. I mean, it looks like off
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  Speaker 2: and on. Maybe it's light rain. And then here's the deal, though,
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  Speaker 2: with it being potentially slick out there. Ball security is
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  Speaker 2: a big deal with Kyron Williams, with Saquon Barkley. Pass protection, Barkley,
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  Speaker 2: as we've been telling you now for two years, a
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  Speaker 2: poor pass protector. He's got to do better, Mike. They've
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  Speaker 2: got to get better. Here's another thing, Mike. With the
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  Speaker 2: issues the Eagles have had with their pass game, as
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  Speaker 2: you mentioned lately, the backs, like they have to help
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  Speaker 2: them in the pass game. They just have to do
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  Speaker 2: a better job. Will Shipley really needs to play more
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  Speaker 2: if they're down instead of Barkley. I don't know why,
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  Speaker 2: because he's the best pass protector. It's been very clear
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  Speaker 2: to us. We pointed out on our Inside the Tape
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  Speaker 2: show with Greg Cosell, they've got to figure out a
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  Speaker 2: way to do better in the screen game. By far
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  Speaker 2: the worst screen team in the National Football League. It's
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  Speaker 2: literally not even close by tape and by statistics. They're
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  Speaker 2: terrible on screen.
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  Speaker 1: Well, obviously, and Mannion talked about him the other day.
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  Speaker 1: He kind of talked about what's going on with the screen.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't give it a lot of depth there, but
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  Speaker 1: it almost sounds like he's acknowledging, yes, we need to
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  Speaker 1: do a better job there. But that being said, they
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  Speaker 1: have got to find something in this offense that is
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  Speaker 1: kind of their thing, because it goes back to what
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  Speaker 1: we've talked, you and I and Jeff and Andrew, during
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  Speaker 1: football for us, this offense really has no identity again.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, they wanted to start with a run. As
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  Speaker 2: long as Barkley's here, that will always be what they
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  Speaker 2: want to do. And the first half, they were phenomenal.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, Barkley would have had close to 100 yards
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  Speaker 2: if Tyler Steen didn't have that hook hold. When he
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  Speaker 2: got his arm around the guy's neck, you can't do that.
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  Speaker 2: But Barkley looked great, and they only had four carries
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  Speaker 2: in the second half because they got behind. So they
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  Speaker 2: need to get off to a better start with a
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  Speaker 2: run game or just continue to build on what they
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  Speaker 2: did last week with a run game. And then when
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  Speaker 2: they throw it, it's just Wicks. Here's another thing, Mike. Wicks, honestly,
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  Speaker 2: without their top two pass targets in Smith and Gosselin, Wicks,
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  Speaker 2: having thought about this at home, you and I are
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  Speaker 2: talking here, he's probably going to be their number one
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  Speaker 2: pass target. I mean, could Lemon maybe? I mean, he
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  Speaker 2: was better last week. I don't see it being Darius Cooper.
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  Speaker 2: Although Cooper, Jalen Hurts, trust him, you know, Obviously, you
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  Speaker 2: know what he did to win the game in Week
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  Speaker 2: 2 at Tennessee. But that's interesting, Mike. And Zach Gertz,
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  Speaker 2: who's on the practice squad, by the way, he's got
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  Speaker 2: two elevations. Even if the elevator, which seemed probable, who
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  Speaker 2: knows how much he can do at this point. It's painful, man.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be a tough one on Sunday, Mike.
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  Speaker 2: It's a tough one.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, they have some injuries. You mentioned Donald Watson, Ferguson,
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  Speaker 1: so a couple things there. That being said, and I
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  Speaker 1: know Adam's got to get out of here a little
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  Speaker 1: earlier today, but You can beat the Rams somehow, someway.
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  Speaker 1: They fall to 1-3. This is a big NFC matchup here.
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  Speaker 1: And if they come here, you're all of a sudden
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  Speaker 1: 2-2 with Jacksonville in London on the horizon. So big
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  Speaker 1: spot for both teams because if they fall to 1-3
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  Speaker 1: with Buffalo the following week, it's going to be an
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  Speaker 1: interesting storyline for the Rams.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, and then that awful loss to Denver. Just, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: they had it. We don't have time to talk about
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  Speaker 2: the rough calls in that game, but that was a
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  Speaker 2: terrible loss for them. against the broncos so yeah i
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  Speaker 2: looked at and let's not forget what happened last year
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  Speaker 2: they dominated the absolutely rocked them and then choked obviously
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  Speaker 2: the big the big block kick so yeah look the
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  Speaker 2: rams rightfully so they open at one and a half
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  Speaker 2: i think last time i looked they were a three
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  Speaker 2: point favorite this this this is look uh... the eagles
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  Speaker 2: have to do the best they can with what they've
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  Speaker 2: got oh yeah and don't forget um... with that bought
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  Speaker 2: out trot juniors gonna get his first start here this season.
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  Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be a
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  Speaker 2: tough deal, man. These backups, they've got to get the
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  Speaker 2: job done, and this is a great spot for Makai Lemon.
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  Speaker 2: This is an opportunity, and he needs to come up big.
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  Speaker 1: All right, well, we'll see how it all unfolds right
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  Speaker 1: here on 97.3 ESPN. It's the Eagles and the Rams,
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  Speaker 1: the pregame here starts at noon. The kickoff at 1.
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  Speaker 1: The boys are back next week with football at 4.
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  Speaker 1: Adam Kaplan, everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks, man. Thank you.