WEBVTT - Post-Game Show: Preseason Finale 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:28.320 I almost thought we were gonna have the Miracle of 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.600 the Meadowlands number four. Welcome to the Postgame Show, present 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.080 and by Rico here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com Chris 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.120 McPherson alongside Fran Duffy. So the Eagles lose sixteen to ten. 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.839 Christian Pago, the newly signed linebacker basically coming on just 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.839 to play this fourth preseason game, recovered a fumble when 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.880 the handoff went awry. The Eagles had one last chance 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.400 there in the red zone. Dan Evans of Bryce Strecks 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:53.000 on fourth down incomplete in the end zone, and the 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:55.600 Eagles lose sixteen to ten. So they finished the preseason 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.279 two and two. That's now in the rearview mirror. Fran, 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:00.959 we can now look ahead to the regular season September 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.399 tenth against the Washington Redskins. As exciting as that was, 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.480 the preseason is over. We can now give ready for 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:09.960 Week one. I think we're all excited here to take 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:14.000 on the Washington Redskins next Sunday down in Washington. It'll 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:17.360 be very, very exciting to see that division matchup in 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:19.760 Week one. There's a lot to talk about for that game. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.880 But first got something big this weekend. The roster cut 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.320 down to fifty three players happens this weekend by Saturday 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:29.279 four o'clock. It's a lot to talk about is beginning 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:31.360 into that period. We'll start to do that. In just 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.560 a moment, we're gonna hear from head coach Doug Pearson 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.679 and just a little bit, he'll recap what he saw 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.319 really tonight, it was all about protecting the starters with 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:43.080 the full ninety main roster at his disposal, he basically said, look, 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.240 we're not gonna have the starters. We're pretty much talking 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:47.039 most of the second team guys out there. I mean, 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.080 there are some key players like Derek Barnett didn't shoot 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:52.960 up tonight. Okay, Basically tonight was let's get through the 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.680 preseason healthy. A couple of roster jobs are still on 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:57.960 the line, let those sort themselves out on the field, 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.720 but by and large, get through tonight and look ahead 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:03.320 to the regular season. But it was interesting because it 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.760 provided a great challenge for the guys who did play, 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.600 because the Jets for the first quarter play their starters. 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.720 They had their stars are both offense and defense, So 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.959 we got to see these backups go against players who 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.240 are still gonna be playing on Sundays moving forward here, 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:22.639 so Fran, as we look past the preseason that's now 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:24.720 done and start looking at what the Eagles had to 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:26.959 do to get to the fifty three man roster max 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.359 to him by Saturday's four pm deadline. A couple of 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:31.280 key positions we want to look at. Why don't we 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:33.840 start at running back? And that was one coming into 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:38.200 tonight where you had Danelle Pumphrey, Corey Clement pretty much 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.000 it seemed like they're battling, possibly for one spot, maybe 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:42.560 there's a way the Eagles keep two. But then you 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.480 had five running backs total on the roster. What do 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.079 you think is going to happen there? Especially with Clement 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.240 getting the start tonight. Yeah, I mean there was interesting 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:53.080 to see Corey Clement get the start tonight, and you 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.080 saw the rookie take some hard runs there in the 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:57.960 middle of the field. He was able to run between 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.519 the tackles, something he's done all summer long. And Mike 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.160 Mayock said it on the broadcast, he thinks Corey Clement 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:05.079 is gonna be on this football team. As you see 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.680 the graphic beside me, you see that Corey Clement one 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:10.600 of his locks to make the roster Donal Phumphrey on 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.480 the bubble should we should mention as well. Donald Humphrey 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:15.359 left the game with a head injury was listening as 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.440 questionable to return. We'll see how that impacts his status 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.760 moving forward. But I think there is a way for 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.320 the Eagles to keep all five running backs on this roster. 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.760 Now will that happen? That remains to be seen. Well, 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:27.960 we've got about forty eight hours to see. But I 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:29.880 think there is a way for that to happen. You 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.639 certainly can. The challenge for the Eagles is going to 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:34.640 be you're gonna have to go light elsewhere. And if 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.000 you look at some of the position groups defensive line, 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:40.320 where they are stacked both at end and tackle, offensive line, 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.520 there's a lot of death there. You're gonna have to 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.440 let go of some quality plays. I think either way, Fran, 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.600 they're gonna be some good players who the Eagles might say, 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.720 let's hope they make it onto the practice squad when 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.440 they hit the waiver wire. Not gonna make it. They're 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.080 not gonna be able to get through. Other teams are 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:58.800 gonna see what the Eagles have on tape here and 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.280 say that's a good player. He may not make the Eagles, 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.560 but he'll make our team. The one thing you might 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:07.360 have to account for here is because the rosters are 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.760 going right from ninety down to fifty three, you basically 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.640 are going to have over one thousand, one hundred players 0:04:13.720 --> 0:04:16.840 hitting the wire at the same time. Personnel departments all 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:18.840 around the league. You look at the Eagles, you know 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.839 led by hwar Roseman, Joe Douglas, you know Dwayne Joseph. 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.520 On the pro personnel side, any wild the assistant director 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:26.599 or a player of personnel. Those guys have been working 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:28.680 around the clock the last few days kind of trying 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.000 to guess who's going to be cut from each team 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.520 and say, these are probably gonna be players who are 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:36.160 gonna be available, comes Sarady at four PM. So that's 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:38.120 gonna be the biggest thing for the Eagles here is 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.280 are there plays that they possibly could slide through now 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.320 with a running back situation there if you say clements 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:46.760 in you're trying to figure out what to do with Pumphrey. 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.800 The case for Pumphrey, in my eyes, is not so 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:51.839 much about me. What you've seen this preseason had a 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.359 couple of good returns, one put one good kickoff return 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.159 tonight You've seen him catch the ball at the backfield claimant. 0:04:57.200 --> 0:04:58.880 There are just times where he doesn't have an opportunity 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.320 to make plays. You've seen the ability to run in 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:03.719 between the tackles, but maybe not on a consistent basis. 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:08.200 To me, with him, it's not about twenty seventeen. You've 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.599 got Darren Sprowles, You've got Wendell Small, but we've got 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:13.160 la Garrett Blunt. I don't know what his role this 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:15.919 year would be. It's more of a long term projection 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.240 for him. Yeah, no question about it. And that's why 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:21.600 the Eagles used a seventh round choice to trade up 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:24.120 in the fourth round, so spending two draft picks to 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.040 bring Donal Pumphrey into the fold, because he's got that 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.960 dynamic playmaking ability, the ability to be a matchup problem 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:32.760 out in space. You saw him catch some passes out 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:35.280 of the slot last week against the Miami Dolphins. I 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.360 think that that's something that he can do early on. 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.680 But now, like you said, it is a long term projection. 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.840 You're not worried about Donal Pumphrey in twenty seventeen. You're 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.559 worried about how can he impact this team moving forward. 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.240 Darren Sprowls in the back end of his career. Will 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:51.680 he be here in twenty eighteen and beyond? Can he 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.800 impact this team when Darren Sprawls moves on the thing? 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.120 What Pumphrey is again? If you say, all right, well, 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:58.599 maybe he's I can help us this year? Can we 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.640 play with the practice squad? That's a case of do 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:02.360 you think he can get through the waiver wire? And 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.039 that would be a gambled Eagles may have to evaluate 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.200 over the next twenty four hours forty eight hours to 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.679 see if we do put him on waivers. Would another 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:11.320 team pick him up. The fact that the Beagles had 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:13.800 to move up to him in the fourth round speaks 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.360 to me that another team probably would say, we would 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:18.680 love to have him on our team. Next position up 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.680 for us here, wide receiver. Okay, one of the most 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:25.240 overhauled position groups in the entire offseason. Bring in on 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.400 Alshon Jeffrey, bringing in Tory Smith. You have those two 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:30.919 guys set as your starters on the outside. They trade 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.480 away at Jordan Matthew, So maybe some questions about who 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.520 will be the slot guy, but you figure Nelson Agilore 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.360 is going to be the guy there. Mac Collins Special 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.080 Team's Dynamo had the beautiful catch and run touchdown in 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:44.800 the first game against the Packers. He's your fourth guy. 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:47.240 What happens after that? In your estimation, Frank Well, I 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:49.520 think it really comes down to is what do you 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:51.560 really like at that position and what can the Eagles 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:53.919 go to use. I think you have Marcus Johnson, who's 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.240 got size and speed, the ability to impact the game 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.320 vertically down the field. Then you've got Bryce Tracks who's 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:01.960 been in the league for one year. He's also got 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.000 that speed, a little bit smaller than what you have 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.479 in Marcus Johnson. And then you have Shelton Gibson, who 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:08.600 you spent a fifth round pick on this year. He's 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.440 got the speed to attack the field downfield, vertically, and 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:14.000 he's just had issues with drafts throughout the course of 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:18.560 the summer. I will say this about Sheldon Gibson, He's 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:20.760 gotten better throughout the course of the summer. Every single 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:23.840 step during the process, he has gotten better. He's gotten 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:25.880 more consistent catching the football. He had a couple of 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:28.360 nice grabs here tonight. I think Shelton Gibson has served 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.840 himself well. It's a matter of just a numbers game 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:33.840 right now. He has he done enough to get ahead 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.320 of Marcus Johnson and Bryce Tregs. Fran You do a 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:40.160 phenomenal job of value these guys. Before the draft, Sheldon 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.360 Gibson didn't seem my kid to run a loud routes. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:44.880 His route tree was limited. Do you think that played 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.480 a part and maybe his slow progression early on in 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:49.640 training camp in the preseason. Yeah, I mean, it's something 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.080 he talked about. He was very open about that with 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:54.480 reporters throughout the course of the last few months. Is 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.120 that he was not asked to run a wide variety 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.680 of routes in West Virginia. He ran go routes, he 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.120 ran slants, he ran screens, and after that it was 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.080 kind of a mixed bag. So now you see him 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:05.760 coming to the NFL, and now he's got to run, 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:09.120 you know, exponentially more routes than what he was asked 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.400 to at the college level, and he's got to doing 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.040 at a much crisper, more efficient rate. It's just something 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:15.920 that he was not asked to do at college, and 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.480 that's a learning curve. And so what you happens is 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.640 is when players aren't necessarily doing something that's second nature 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.200 to them. Now they're not doing everything else is fast, 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.120 You're thinking through everything, and it's just it's it all 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.600 kind of compounds in snowballs and in factor in. He 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:32.200 struggled with catching the ball, and I think that's just 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:35.880 an issue where it was everything was kind of piling on. 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:37.760 It's like a snowball effect, like you would say fran 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:39.880 where he's trying to learn the routes, he's trying to 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:42.160 learn the offense, trying to be in the exact right position, 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.600 where now on top of it, he's struggling just to 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.240 hold onto football and it's just probably mentally he was 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.960 just drowning at that point. So it seems like that 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:51.960 he was picking up the pace and kind of developing 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.640 towards the end of the preseason. Again, the Eagles have 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.240 had so much talent at this position. You probably don't 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:58.640 see a spot for him right now on the fifty 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.320 three man roster. But again this is a situation where 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.160 if the Eagles we gonna want to keep five running backs, 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:04.960 I don't know if you can keep a six receiver. 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:08.120 You could, yes, but again you're going to cheat yourself 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:12.000 probably another position. But still, Marcus Johnson a strong training camp. 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.280 I mean early on he was running with the first 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.240 team unit when guys like Alshon Jeffrey was sidelined with 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:18.680 a shoulder injury. I mean, he was one of the 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.319 first guys in there, so he certainly is flashed in 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:23.640 the eyes of coaches. You had the beautiful touchdown, the 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.160 forty one yard touchdown tonight to cap off the preseason, 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:30.360 so really really good situation for him. Our next position here, 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.320 as we continue down the list is going to be 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:35.360 at a linebacker, So we're looking at the defensive side 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.480 of the football. Now where you look at the linebacker 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:39.760 position and you bring up what Mike Mayock and what 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.440 he thinks what the Eagles will do. Here, you got 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.400 the starters at this point here with Jordan Hicks in 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.839 the middle. You got the two outside guys with Michael 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.760 Kendricks and Nigel Bradham. But they think that deaf guys 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:54.040 were the big question coming into tonight's game because you 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.080 weren't quite sure about whether or not is Joe Walker 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:59.800 going to be your backup there. Nag Goods like your swing. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.600 I like all three positions. Words heath into it makes 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:07.120 Don Cherry Commo gruge Hill. Nathan Gary, how do you 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.240 think this kind of selled itself here tonight, here Fran 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.280 with this situation where you pretty much had all the 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.440 backups going in there and playing the extended amount of 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.760 time and then try and figure out where the guys 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:19.520 gonna fit in. I thought Joe Walker did a good 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.120 job flying around the football tonight. You know. I thought 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.520 Commo Gruge Hill played fierce and Downhill was very aggressive. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:28.960 This is the position to me where the eas An 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.280 have some tough decisions to make. But I think also 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:34.120 this is a position that could I think be you know, 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.959 kind of looked over and kind of addressed throughout the weekend, 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.600 because it's not really just about the roster cutdown to 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.439 fifty three on Saturday at four pm. Once the waiver 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.200 wire goes through on Sunday and you can start claiming 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.760 the players from the other teams, It's not just the Eagles, 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.200 you know, worrying about third players getting caught and try 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.200 and slide them to the practice squad. These are gonna 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:53.800 try to post guys from other teams. They are trying 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.319 to do the same thing. And I certainly think for Fran, 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:58.720 linebacker will be one of those spots that are going 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.120 to be addressed. Yeah, I think it's certainly possible. And 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:03.480 when you see the amount of reps that they got 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:05.600 for some of these young players at that position. You 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.320 talk about some of these young guys, Nate Gary the rookie, 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.880 and then three second year players. You've got Don Cherry 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.600 who was undrafted out of Villanova last year, Joe Walker 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:15.720 out of Oregon was a seventh round draft choice, and 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.320 then Commu gruge Hill was a sixth round draft pick 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.760 by the New England Patriots. So four guys all bring 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.120 different skill sets. They all have the ability to play 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.520 on special teams. But now it's how else can you 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.120 impact this roster? And I think all four guys have 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:31.560 really served themselves well throughout the course of the summer. 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.640 Joe Walker, I think you said it earlier. He really 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.120 flashed tonight. You saw his ability to get downhill make 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.520 plays in the run game. Don Cherry has made plays 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.839 every single week here this preseason. Kamu gruge Hill probably 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.800 the most athletic of the group. Nate Gary very athletic 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.920 as well, a college safety, much like gruge Hill, has 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:50.840 the ability to play special teams. Was a starter on 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.880 all four units this week and last week. So Nate 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.480 Gary is a guy that I think, like Mike Mayock said, 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.240 has the ability to stick on this roster. Now it's 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.199 a matter of who who else on the back end 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.679 can fill in. Interesting on Mayock's list there, that Walker 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.800 was the one bubble guy, yeah, of that group. So 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.640 maybe special teams plays a factor there, because that's gonna 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.600 be a big component for these backup line backers. Because again, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.040 if you go with your base package of Hicks, Bradham 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:18.640 and Kendricks, okay, you go to the nickel, it's gonna 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.480 be Hicks and Bradham and they're gonna play nickel more 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.480 than fifty percent of the time. So you figure that 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.720 you need all those backup guys to thrive on special teams. 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.080 Because even Kendricks last year, I think had about twenty 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.640 seven percent of the snaps played on defense because he 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.079 was not in the first team nickel package. So to me, 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:36.960 you have to make sure that those guys are gonna 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.120 be able to contribute in the third phase of the game. 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.120 I think that's gonna be a big factor when they 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.720 try to figure out the best fifty three man roster 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.400 possible here, no question, and that's why Como gruge Hill 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:48.280 has really got a leg up because he was a 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.320 guy who was a core four special teamer a year ago. 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.080 Nate Gary this summer has proven to be that guy. 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.840 Joe Walker and Don Cherry more on the backup across 0:12:57.880 --> 0:12:59.920 the board in those units. So that's why to me, 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.160 those first two Como Gruge Hill and Nate Gary kind 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.120 of have a leg up on Joe Walker and Don Cherry. 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.160 We'll see how it plays out though, because Jim Schwartz 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.200 he's gonna need some depth a linebacker, and if he 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.160 feels that Joe Walker or Don Cherry offers better value 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:16.120 as a linebacker than those other two do, then there's 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.280 gonna be some There's gonna be some discussions had. Let's 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.240 go to the defensive backfield. Okay, another position that has 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.120 been really overhauled since really the start of training camp. 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.800 Here you look at cornerback and the stars there you 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.320 feel pretty good round Darby on the one side and 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.120 Jail Mills on the other. Patrick Robinson, he was a 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.080 player who I was wondering if we might see him tonight. No, 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.480 did not play. Now again he says a lot, says 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.960 a lot. Well, it's one of those things where he's 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.480 been the league long enough, he's played the first three 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.800 priests in games. He's been with you all offseason. I 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.520 don't think you need to see him at this point. 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:48.880 I think you kind of knew what he was going 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:50.880 to be at this point. But he has played very 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:52.520 well since he was moved to the slot. Would you 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.800 agree with that? I don't know. If I would say 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.600 very well, he's played well enough, fair enough, I would 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.400 say he's played well enough. I think I think he's 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.040 found some there. That's the biggest star. It was very 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.200 very up and down on the outside. I feel like 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.320 he's stabilized the nickel position, and I think that's gonna 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:08.280 be the big question really for the Eagles with the 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.640 cornerback position is who's gonna play that nickel spot. We 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.240 know that Malcolm Jenkins can come down. You know they 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.880 have Corey Grahams, so they have a quality third safety 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.240 to put in there with Ronnie McCloud if they wanted 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.320 to do that. But to me, it's one of those 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.160 things where ideally, I think the Eagles would like to 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.240 have a true corner in that position. If it's Patrick Robinson, 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:30.640 maybe when you're facing some of the bigger slot receivers, 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.520 but the Eagles acquired Dexter McDougall from the Jets. We 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.760 saw him make his debut tonight, and he's one of 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.240 those smaller, quicker quarterbacks who when you're going up against 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.320 the likes of the Jameson Crowder in Week one against Washington, 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.360 the Cole Beasley's the Stirling Shepherds of the world, that's 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.680 the guy you would want in there to match up against. 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.640 So possibly it's a guy a chess piece, so to speak, 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.520 so that when you have the different matchups, you can 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:54.560 kind of put something a little bit more in your favor, 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:56.680 because that's one area where I would say that Malcolm 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:59.280 Jenkins has struggled in the past. It's with those quicker, 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.400 shiftier types of wide receivers. So if you figure you 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:04.960 have your two guys on the outside, Rasul Douglas is 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.200 making this team. The third round pick he started tonight, 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:08.960 you got some quality playing time, but you know he's 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.160 gonna be in the mix. So I think it's almost 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:13.840 like if you figure Robinson's there, who's gonna be the 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:17.240 fifth corner? Is it gonna be C. J. Smith, who 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.720 at one point was being discussed as a possible starter 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.680 on the outside or voting for playing time on the outside. 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:24.720 But of course that's before the Eagles got Ronald Darby, 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.720 they got Dexter McDougal. Or is it going to be McDougall. 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:29.840 Is he gonna be the fifth guy? It's you to 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.440 me if the Eels are making the trade this Layton 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 training camp, you know in the preseason that they must 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:37.640 have a plan for this guy. They scout him and 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:41.360 Fran you've scouted him. You know you included all twenty 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.280 two highlights of him and you're eagle eiding the sky column. 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.320 You know what was your take when you evaluate him 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.040 and saw what he's done so far in the preseason 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.360 with the Jets. Yeah, I think when you watched Dexter 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.760 McDougal this preseason, you saw a player that was really 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:56.880 kind of coming into his own in that scheme. It 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.920 was his second year in that defense. He has missed 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.320 so much time with injuries throughout the course of his career. 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.840 He had an ACL, he had shoulder, he had soft 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.800 tissue injuries in his hamstring and his groin. So he's 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.080 been working his way back. But you see a quick, aggressive, 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.040 competitive kid. He could play inside or outside. He was 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:16.480 a direct backup at both right corner and at the 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.800 nickel spot for that New York Jets secondary before the trade. 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:21.600 So he was certainly a player that I think they 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:23.960 were depending on for depth purposes, and I think when 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.240 you look at this Eagle secondary, I think he can 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.960 fill a very similar role. I expect that he's going 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:30.800 to be a factor, and I if I had to guess, 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.080 I would think that Dex McDougald will be on this team. 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.400 I know Mike had him listed on his bubble. I'll 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:37.880 be very interested to see where he ends up on 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.080 this roster because again, can't go heavy, Mike Listen, Billy 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.200 Brown is making as a fourth tight end. He mentioned 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.400 the fifth running back. Are they gonna go heavy on 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:50.520 the offensive line? You have the depth at linebacker, at link. 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:52.240 It's it's tough. You got out. You're gonna have to 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.280 cut some good football players, It's like you said, and 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:56.000 that's where you want to be. If you're a growing 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:58.440 team like the Philadelphia Eagles. They're trying to build up 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:01.200 this roster and bring in young talent. At some point 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.880 you're gonna have to let go of talented players. And 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:05.959 I think that's the situation they're in right Let's send 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:12.240 it to Doug Pierson, head coach, speaking now at MetLife Stadium, then, 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:17.720 well what you may do in yeah, you know, UM, listen, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.200 we've got we've got the next forty eight hours really 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:25.719 um to really go back and and and have some 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:28.760 good conversation. Um. The thing is we want to be 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:30.439 able to we want to be able to look at 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.439 the entire body of work going back to April when 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.240 these guys you know, came into our system and and 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.720 and where they're at. So, um, we've got some time 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.240 in front of us. UM, you know, but this this 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:42.120 was some good film for these guys and some good 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:44.760 uh opportunities, and we got to take a look at 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.600 the whole thing. What I've running backs realistic to carry? 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.920 Is it realistic? I don't know. I don't know. Um again, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:54.400 that's something that we'll we'll evaluate. Um. You know, um 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.480 could be based on other positions, but it's it's not 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:02.160 out of the question. Well, he had a great workout pregame, 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:04.439 so again he's he's he's right where he needs to 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.119 be going into the season. So uh again, just decided 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:09.280