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Speaker 1: Daves and Garlo, who covers the Eagles for NBC Sports. Dave,

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Speaker 1: you're on with Ryan Edwards and Nate Jackson.

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Speaker 2: How are you? I'm doing well, guys, How were you?

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Speaker 1: We're doing great. Obviously very excited about this game, you guys,

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Speaker 1: you know, undefeated Super Bowl champions. Is everybody happy out

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Speaker 1: there in Philly? Or are you still doing Santa Claus?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean, no one's ever completely happy here, and

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Speaker 2: it's not just the fans. I mean the players themselves

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Speaker 2: have not been pleased with the standard they've played here

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Speaker 2: this year. They're four and oh but some tight games,

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Speaker 2: some bad has in there. They're finding ways to win,

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Speaker 2: and there's an art in that, and I think they

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Speaker 2: deserve credit for that. But I you know, I think,

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Speaker 2: to a man in that locker room right now, they're

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Speaker 2: especially on offense. I haven't been completely thrilled with the

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Speaker 2: way they played through four games.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, kind of lackluster offensive performance through four games,

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Speaker 3: but they found a way to win anyway. So where

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Speaker 3: do you think it's going to go from here? Do

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Speaker 3: you think the offense is going to figure it out

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Speaker 3: and then they're going to be even more potent? Or

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Speaker 3: is the offen going to just kind of piddle along

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Speaker 3: like this and they're not going to get as lucky

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Speaker 3: laden game and start losing games.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good question, and like from a more

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Speaker 2: holistic standpoint, it kind of reminds me of the Chiefs

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Speaker 2: last year, where you know, they're winning all these close

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Speaker 2: games and you're going, there's no way they can do

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Speaker 2: this the whole season, and then they end up in

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Speaker 2: the Super Bowl. So we'll see what happens with this team.

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Speaker 2: But offensively, you know, they bring back ten of eleven

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Speaker 2: starters from the team last year, but there were some

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Speaker 2: issues throughout the season. You know, you win the Super

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Speaker 2: Bowl and everyone kind of looks back on the season

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Speaker 2: through these rose colored glasses, and it wasn't perfect throughout

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Speaker 2: the season. There were some serious questions about the offense,

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Speaker 2: specifically the passing offense into December last year. So I

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Speaker 2: think some of these issues have persisted a little bit.

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Speaker 2: I think the bigger problem for the offense this year

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Speaker 2: that wasn't a problem last year is that their run

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Speaker 2: game hasn't been as effective. You know, last year, the

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Speaker 2: passing offense wasn't great. It was kind of inconsistent, but

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Speaker 2: they were able to lean on the run. They had

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Speaker 2: a great offensive line. Taekwon had an all time season

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Speaker 2: two thousand yard rusher. They haven't been able to run

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Speaker 2: the balls effectively this year, so I think a lot

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Speaker 2: of those blemishes offensively are a little bit brighter this year.

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Speaker 2: You're seeing them show up a little bit. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: I mean they have to figure it out. They're too

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Speaker 2: talented to play to the level they've played so far.

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Speaker 2: You have a quarterback making a ton of money, you

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Speaker 2: have two stud receivers and AJ Brown and Devonte Smith.

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Speaker 2: You have maybe the best running back in the world

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Speaker 2: in Saquon Barkley. The offensive line hasn't been as healthy

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Speaker 2: as we're used to, but still a lot of talent

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Speaker 2: up front too. So I think it's really on the

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Speaker 2: coaching staff to figure out how to make this thing work.

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Speaker 1: Wasn't the fan reaction to AJ Brown and some of

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Speaker 1: his social media antics and otherwise?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, AJ's an emotional guy and he's so

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Speaker 2: darn good. I mean, he's one of the best receivers

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Speaker 2: in the world, and you know, I think fans understand

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Speaker 2: their frustration. They'd probably prefer him to handle it a

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Speaker 2: little differently. This is not the first time he's gone

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Speaker 2: on social media and cause a little bit of a stir.

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Speaker 2: But as far as the frustration itself, I kind of

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Speaker 2: get it. I mean, he's not being utilized the way

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Speaker 2: he probably should be. He came into the season wanting

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Speaker 2: to really prove himself as one of the best, if

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Speaker 2: not the best, receiver in the NFL, and you know,

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Speaker 2: I think he's that talented. It's just the offense has

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Speaker 2: not really done much to help him out with that.

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Speaker 2: So the frustrations warranted. Does he have to do it

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Speaker 2: on social media? Probably not the best way to go

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Speaker 2: about it. But we talked to him this week and

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Speaker 2: he didn't back down from the frustration part of it, right, Like,

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Speaker 2: he still thinks that the offense needs to be better.

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Speaker 2: And the funny part about this whole thing is that

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Speaker 2: DeVante Smith is right there with them. It's just he

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Speaker 2: didn't tweet about it. You know, he talked to us

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Speaker 2: today and he expressed a lot of the same things

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Speaker 2: AJ told us earlier in the week. The only difference

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Speaker 2: is he waited Kyle to do it and didn't get

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Speaker 2: on his phone Sunday night, and that goes a long way.

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Speaker 2: But you know, as far as the concerns that AJP.

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Speaker 2: I don't think those are him alone, and it's you know,

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Speaker 2: everything comes with the caveats that they're four and oh right,

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Speaker 2: they're winning these games, but they know it needs to

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Speaker 2: be better because they're not a team that wants to

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Speaker 2: get to the playoffs. Thir team that wants to win

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Speaker 2: another Super Bowl.

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Speaker 3: So Sean Payton, head coach of the Broncos, had a

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Speaker 3: lot of praise for Vic Fangio in the job he's

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Speaker 3: doing with the Eagles defense. Vic Fangio is a head

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Speaker 3: coach here a couple of years back, and now he

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Speaker 3: seems pretty happy there in Philly. Can you talk about

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Speaker 3: the job he's done with that defense there?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's been spectacular, and you know, he

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Speaker 2: he came back to Philly. He's obviously as Pennsylvania roots.

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Speaker 2: He comes back to Philly, wants to finish his career here.

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Speaker 2: It's like a nice story. And then last year he

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Speaker 2: has the best defense in the NFL and just kind

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Speaker 2: of a master class from him. Last season, he gets

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Speaker 2: Zach Bond, who was you know, kind of a fringe

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Speaker 2: NFL player at that point, like a special teams guy,

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Speaker 2: turns him into the best linebacker in football. They go

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Speaker 2: out and draft quin On Mitchell, Cooper gen those guys

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Speaker 2: are great in year one, they're better in year two.

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Speaker 2: Jalen Carter takes a big step. Like all these players

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Speaker 2: just got better and better. It's the young defense, and

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Speaker 2: we're seeing it again in year two. They lost a

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Speaker 2: lot of pieces from the Super Bowl, guys like Josh Sweat,

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Speaker 2: Milton Williams, Darius Slay, but they've reloaded and you know,

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Speaker 2: even it's funny. Last week they gave up a bunch

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Speaker 2: of yards to the Bucks, but I thought it was

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Speaker 2: their best performance of the year so far. It started

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Speaker 2: to look like the version of the defense we saw

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four, and right now that defense is

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Speaker 2: kind of carrying the entire team. I've been really impressed

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Speaker 2: by him, his ability to get the most out of

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Speaker 2: his players, but also to game plan and scheme week

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Speaker 2: to week. It's been truly remarkable.

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Speaker 1: To watch Daves Dengarl joining us here covers the Eagles

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Speaker 1: for NBC Sports. Is it super Bowl or bust for

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Speaker 1: the Eagles this year? I mean, anything less than that

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Speaker 1: would be considered a disappointment, right, I mean, I guess it.

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Speaker 2: Depends who he asked. But the expectations are high and

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Speaker 2: they should be. I mean, this is, in my estimation,

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Speaker 2: the most talented roster in football. And you know, there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of factors that go into a health obviously

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Speaker 2: is one of them. They were lucky to be very

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Speaker 2: healthy last year, as they were in twenty two as

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Speaker 2: well when they got to the Super Bowl. But you

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Speaker 2: look at the collection of talent and there's that should

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Speaker 2: be the expectation. It's a tougher schedule this year, but

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Speaker 2: they've already gone through four really tough games with wins

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Speaker 2: and things they need to improve. But yeah, I mean

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Speaker 2: I think that they're not looking at it like that.

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Speaker 2: They're really trying their best to take it one game

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Speaker 2: at a time, which is a cliche, but if you

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Speaker 2: can kind of approach it like that, it goes a

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Speaker 2: long way. But you step back and you think, Okay,

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Speaker 2: I mean this is a team that the window is

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Speaker 2: clearly open. They just have to get out of their

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Speaker 2: own way sometimes. But if they do that, yeah, I

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Speaker 2: think that is the expectation is that they should be

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Speaker 2: competing for a Super Bowl.

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Speaker 3: So Cooper de Gene, the cornerback, is leading the team

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Speaker 3: in town, which is kind of unusual. Can you talk

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Speaker 3: about that defense and where they might be vulnerable. I mean,

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Speaker 3: that's a, like I said, an unusual stat there. Typically

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Speaker 3: it's a linebacker and it means, you know, maybe it

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Speaker 3: means that they're allowing these underneath catches and just tackling. Well,

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Speaker 3: what have you seen from this defense that kind of

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Speaker 3: contributes to that statistic.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's funny because normally that's not a good thing

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Speaker 2: when you see a cornerback leading the team in tackles.

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Speaker 2: But with Cooper gen it's a little different. He's playing

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Speaker 2: the nickel spot most often, so he's kind of in

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Speaker 2: the mix of all the action, and he is such

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Speaker 2: a sound tackler, so many of his tackles come pretty

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Speaker 2: close to the line of scrimmage, if not tackles for loss,

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Speaker 2: and he's been excellent. If there's one weakness on this defense,

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Speaker 2: it's the second cornerback position. They have Cooper Gene mostly

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Speaker 2: playing inside on nickel downs. They have Quinna Mitchell, who's

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Speaker 2: an ascending superstar in my opinion, at one of the

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Speaker 2: outside corner spots. He's been traveling with top receivers. That

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Speaker 2: second cornerback spot has not been strong It's a spot

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Speaker 2: vacated by Darius Lay and the off season Isaiah Rodgers

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Speaker 2: also left as a free agencies and playing really well

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Speaker 2: for the Vikings, so they started the year with a

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Speaker 2: Dori Jackson, former Giant, former Titan in that spot. Last week,

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Speaker 2: Healey Ringo, who former fourth round pick, got the start.

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Speaker 2: I think there's a good chance he starts again in

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Speaker 2: this game. But that's the spot if you're able to

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Speaker 2: as an offense, you want to try to attack. It

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Speaker 2: makes it tougher if you're limited weapon wise, then you

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Speaker 2: have Quenya Mitchell on your best receiver, kind of like

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Speaker 2: what we saw last week with the Bucks. They had

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Speaker 2: a mecha Buka and Quinnon just kind of stuck to

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Speaker 2: him all game.

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Speaker 1: Last one I got for you, Dave, really appreciate the time.

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Speaker 1: As far as this matchup goes between the Broncos and Eagles,

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Speaker 1: how do you think Eagles fans are feeling about this

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Speaker 1: or you guys kind of and in some ways maybe

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Speaker 1: looking past the Broncos a bit.

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Speaker 2: You know, I don't think the Eagles themselves are looking

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Speaker 2: past the Broncos. It's one thing I've been really impressed

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Speaker 2: during the Nick Siriani era. You hear about trap games

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Speaker 2: and what they might mean, and certainly, like this is

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Speaker 2: on paper, it could be a considered trap game for

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Speaker 2: the Eagles. They just came off a win in Tampa

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Speaker 2: place that's given them a lot of trouble a a

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Speaker 2: division game next week on a short week, So all

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Speaker 2: the telltale signs are there for a trap game, but

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Speaker 2: they haven't been caught in those traps under Nick Sirianni,

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Speaker 2: which I give him a lot of credit for. I

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Speaker 2: think that's coaching making sure your players are ready each

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Speaker 2: and every week. As far as like the fans confidence,

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Speaker 2: you know, not in a negative way. I don't think

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Speaker 2: the fans are thinking about the Broncos. They're more thinking

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Speaker 2: about the Eagles and what they need to do to

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Speaker 2: clean up some of what's kind of prevented them from

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Speaker 2: playing to their standards so far this year. So I

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Speaker 2: think they appreciate and recognize that it's a very good

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Speaker 2: defense come to town. But I think the Eagles do

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Speaker 2: it this way too, like if they can get out

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Speaker 2: of their own way, if they can do the things

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Speaker 2: they need to do, I'm not sure that they really

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Speaker 2: worry about the opponent as much as just doing what

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Speaker 2: they're supposed to do.

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Speaker 1: That makes a lot of sense. Really appreciate the time,

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Speaker 1: great insight, Dave, Thank you so much.

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Speaker 2: Man all right, guys, take care.

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Speaker 1: Thanks to Dave's and Garl