Speaker 1: We've got a lot to get to on this episode
Speaker 1: of Inside Training Camp presented by Exfinity. It's Monday here
Speaker 1: at an Overcare complex and I'm Eagles insider Dave Spiderow
Speaker 1: along with Chris McPherson. The Eagles had a ten ten
Speaker 1: ten practice on Monday morning. What does that mean? Well,
Speaker 1: it was an opportunity to run through plays for the
Speaker 1: offense and for the defense and for the special teams.
Speaker 1: We don't talk about the special teams at all until
Speaker 1: the preseason starts days. Yeah, there's some big battles there.
Speaker 1: There's some big battles important there this season. And I
Speaker 1: predict that the kickoff game will be back in the
Speaker 1: NFL better than ever, more kickoff returns than ever. Teams
Speaker 1: are not going to kick the ball into the end
Speaker 1: zone and have it set up your say. I've been
Speaker 1: talking about that the entire spring. Is anybody out there listening?
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Anyway, today we've got to talk
Speaker 1: about the offense because Frank Reich met the media, Sam
Speaker 1: Bradford met the media, and the topic was wide receivers.
Speaker 1: Whether you believe it, Yeah, I mean we've been talking
Speaker 1: about it old since nineteen ninety nine, when Andy Reid
Speaker 1: came to town and won a lot with some lesser
Speaker 1: receivers like Todd Pinkston, like James Thrash, like Freddie Mitchell,
Speaker 1: and then not until CEO came to town did the
Speaker 1: Eagles breakthrough and reached the Super Bowl. Well. Offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: Frank Reich meeting the media on Monday morning talking about
Speaker 1: the wide receivers and mentioning last year's number one picked
Speaker 1: Nelson Agalore and what he's shown thus far in camp.
Speaker 1: It's still early, but it's good. I mean, everybody's got
Speaker 1: a receiver group has a lot of energy. One of
Speaker 1: the things you look for a receiver group is an unselfishness,
Speaker 1: I mean, because that's the way you get better. The
Speaker 1: ball doesn't there's only one ball, and there's you know,
Speaker 1: there's three four guys going out for a route. So
Speaker 1: we want to be able to evaluate every play all
Speaker 1: the time, whether the balls come into them or not.
Speaker 1: And so and I've always found over the years that
Speaker 1: you can get a lot out of evaluation even in
Speaker 1: a short period of time. And I want to see
Speaker 1: an unselfishness just in their attitude and you kind of
Speaker 1: pull them for the other guys. And an excitement and energy,
Speaker 1: and then there's always that part of the evaluation processes
Speaker 1: can you run all day? Can you run all day?
Speaker 1: And can you go when you're tired. So that's that's
Speaker 1: what we're in the process of getting into right now.
Speaker 1: I think there is some I think there is something
Speaker 1: too that you know, you see that in receivers, and
Speaker 1: I think a lot of that is just a confidence
Speaker 1: and the game slows down and those two go hand
Speaker 1: in hand. So we've said it all off season. You
Speaker 1: know that that's our expectation of Nelson. You know, one
Speaker 1: thing that does pop up on the film, even just
Speaker 1: in a couple of practices here with the pads on.
Speaker 1: He's got a quickness off the line of image. He
Speaker 1: has some vertical speed to challenge you deep and he
Speaker 1: just has very good footwork. And in this league, you
Speaker 1: have to be able to eat press coverage. You have
Speaker 1: to have to have to eat press coverage, and he
Speaker 1: had and he has a natural ability to get off
Speaker 1: the line versus press. And he's got to be able
Speaker 1: to use that to his advantage to help our team.
Speaker 1: And that is offensive coordinator Frank Reich, And we are
Speaker 1: here to talk about the wide receiver position one that Chris,
Speaker 1: I think it's fair to say lacks a true number
Speaker 1: one receiver, but there are some candidates that can do
Speaker 1: a lot of different things in this what I believe
Speaker 1: will be a versatile Legal's offense. Certainly you mentioned Tara
Speaker 1: Owens earlier, and there may not be a TEO, but
Speaker 1: I think it's to be harder for defense. Is the
Speaker 1: game plan for this offense because of the fact you
Speaker 1: don't know who is going to get the football. Jordan
Speaker 1: Matthews offers a lot out of the slot, even though
Speaker 1: you'll see him at times on the outside. Chris Gibbons,
Speaker 1: added in free agency, provides a little bit speed on
Speaker 1: the outside of home run threat. The Eagles want him
Speaker 1: to be a better on the inside so they can
Speaker 1: move him more around the formation. You have Josh huff
Speaker 1: entering his third NFL season. He's someone that they're trying
Speaker 1: to get the ball in his hands on jet sweeves
Speaker 1: and bubble screens because he can do a lot of
Speaker 1: damage with the ball in his hands. And then Rube Randall.
Speaker 1: He's been a proven playmaker in the NFL, and I
Speaker 1: think he was a little hurt that he only received
Speaker 1: a one year deal in free agency, and I think
Speaker 1: he has something to proof here. So this offense is
Speaker 1: wide receiver group may not have the quote quote true
Speaker 1: number one, but I think it has a lot to
Speaker 1: offer as your game planning against defense this season, Dave.
Speaker 1: And then there is Nelson Agilore at the number one
Speaker 1: draft pick in two thou and fifteen, a disappointing rookie season,
Speaker 1: a high ankle sprain, just twenty three receptions. It has
Speaker 1: not really been a smooth ride for Nelson agil but
Speaker 1: he's shown some flashes here in this training camp and
Speaker 1: has actually been quite consistent catching the football. Quarterback Sam
Speaker 1: Bradford talked about Aglare about what he's brought to the
Speaker 1: table and the chemistry that they are developing in year
Speaker 1: two together. We've all seen Nelson's physical abilities. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's explosive. You know, he's got a lot of quick twitch.
Speaker 1: You know, he's there, he separates at the line, he
Speaker 1: separates at the top. You know, I'm sure you could
Speaker 1: ask him, but you know I could imagine. You know,
Speaker 1: anytime you're a young player, doesn't matter what position you're playing.
Speaker 1: I think there's still part of that process where you know,
Speaker 1: you're thinking a lot, and I think, you know, as
Speaker 1: he gets older, you know, as he gets more experienced,
Speaker 1: as he sees more looks from defenses, you know, I
Speaker 1: think a lot of that will probably be cut out
Speaker 1: and he'll go out there and he'll just naturally react
Speaker 1: to things. And I think, you know, hopefully he can
Speaker 1: start doing that. But you know, I think he's shown
Speaker 1: some flashness, that he's made some plays where you know,
Speaker 1: he could really help us this year. So what can
Speaker 1: we expect from Agalore in year number two? Well, when
Speaker 1: the Eagles drafted him in the first round of last
Speaker 1: year's draft, they've talked about how explosive he was with
Speaker 1: the football in his hands after the reception. We didn't
Speaker 1: see a lot of that last year. We've seen more
Speaker 1: of it. I think Chris in this training camp, no
Speaker 1: question to me, Dave. The biggest thing is, I think
Speaker 1: we've been spoiled by how some rookie wide receivers have
Speaker 1: performed around the NFL. You look at Jordan Matthews and
Speaker 1: his first two NFL seasons. Typically, wide receivers need that
Speaker 1: year to mature, to get acclimated to the speed of
Speaker 1: the NFL and adjusted to opposing defense and what they're
Speaker 1: going to present. I really like the addition of wide
Speaker 1: receivers coach Greg Lewis and what he's instilling in this group.
Speaker 1: I just like the offense at Doug Pearson and Frank
Speaker 1: Riker bring it. I think you're going to see the
Speaker 1: players move around the formation more a wider variety of routes,
Speaker 1: so defenses can't key in on what the receivers are
Speaker 1: going to do when they're out there on the field.
Speaker 1: So I think from maturing in terms of his performance
Speaker 1: as well as the offense, I think big things can
Speaker 1: be expected for Aglore in year two. I think the
Speaker 1: theme for the wide receivers is competition. Everything is open
Speaker 1: at this point. No starting jobs guaranteed, although I would
Speaker 1: certainly say that Jordan Matthews the leading candidate and the
Speaker 1: most productive, the most accomplished receiver as an Eagle among
Speaker 1: this group. So we'll see. Gotta be consistent. It's the football,
Speaker 1: got to be reliable. We've got a bit of ways
Speaker 1: to go here in the month of August, says the
Speaker 1: Eagles tune it up for the September eleventh opener against Cleveland.
Speaker 1: We've got more to get to here on inside Training
Speaker 1: Camp presented by Exfinity. When we return, we're going to
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about a new feature that we have.
Speaker 1: It's called the Journey. It's something you're not gonna want
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Speaker 1: for those precious few that you have to be willing
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Speaker 1: breakthroughs that are light years ahead. Dave Spernaro, Chris McPherson.
Speaker 1: We are back here at that Overcare Complex, and you know,
Speaker 1: training camp is a wild ride. Whether you're a rookie,
Speaker 1: whether you're a veteran, and we're going to chronicle here
Speaker 1: in the series that we call The Journey, which debuts
Speaker 1: right now, featuring quarterback Carson Wentz and defensive back Blake Countess,
Speaker 1: two rookies trying to navigate their way through some foreign land.
Speaker 1: So all starts today. Camp is upon us. Fantastic to
Speaker 1: see the Eagles back training camp, back the Birds trying
Speaker 1: to get ready for the season. Oh my god, ray,
Speaker 1: it changes that this franchise has made since last season.
Speaker 1: New coach, new GM, new face, new attitude. Is this
Speaker 1: roster the better than the roster that end the last season?
Speaker 1: I think it is. God, it took a long time
Speaker 1: to get there, but we finally have football, and there's
Speaker 1: always an optimistic all right man, welcome back again. Hey,
Speaker 1: I hope you guys had a great break, much needed rest,
Speaker 1: get away from everybody, had a chance to relax a
Speaker 1: little bit, and hopefully you came back ready to go,
Speaker 1: eager and excited for this two thousand and sixteen, this
Speaker 1: upcoming season. Congratulations, I'm happy to have you over. I've
Speaker 1: honestly approached things the same way my whole life. You know,
Speaker 1: it's just take it one day at a time, try
Speaker 1: and get better every day, you know, block out all
Speaker 1: the noise. Don't worry about pressure, expectations, this or that,
Speaker 1: um and you know, at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: as long as I'm worried about what I can control of,
Speaker 1: things will things will turn out the way they should. Oh. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: there's a chip on my shoulder, you know, coming into situation,
Speaker 1: it's a blessing. But you know, I think of myself
Speaker 1: more than a sick round or so it's definitely a
Speaker 1: chip on my shoulder, and I'm just coming in to
Speaker 1: prove for my work. I like what I've seen from
Speaker 1: Blank Countess in the back end. And my message to
Speaker 1: these guys too, to the young players, is that special
Speaker 1: teams becomes a big, big part of their success, especially
Speaker 1: early on in their careers. How do you love? I
Speaker 1: see myself happening the team in there in every aspect
Speaker 1: that I can, and that will be on defense than
Speaker 1: that special teams. So I'm looking forward to that, but
Speaker 1: I definitely think I'll be a factor one buy what's
Speaker 1: on your memory. We got a long camp ahead of us.
Speaker 1: We got a lot of work to put in and
Speaker 1: you know, the biggest thing on focus on is just
Speaker 1: helping helping his team get better, getting myself better. And
Speaker 1: I can guarantee that whenever my number is called ever ready.
Speaker 1: I mean, you gotta stay focused all the time. Um
Speaker 1: you know, it might seem monotonous, but at the same time,
Speaker 1: we're focusing on something different every day. You know, we're
Speaker 1: learning something new every day. So for me personally, there's
Speaker 1: always something to learn and something new. Um. So, so
Speaker 1: it's been it's been really positive to have Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: basically rich sure if he's a tire rookie yere, well,
Speaker 1: we don't know it'll be his entire rookie year. We
Speaker 1: can't speculate that far out, but going into the season,
Speaker 1: there's a good chance it starts that way. So, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, right now, we're just gonna get Carson as
Speaker 1: many reps as we can, get him caught up, get
Speaker 1: him to where he needs to be. You know, there's
Speaker 1: just ins and outs of the offense, and I'm going
Speaker 1: on the field and coming into the meeting room just
Speaker 1: talking with the coaches and other quarterbacks. Just little things
Speaker 1: that I think you can kind of change with how
Speaker 1: you read things and little progressions that I think I'll
Speaker 1: continue to learn and get better with that. Have really
Speaker 1: showed me some things that have been good. They go,
Speaker 1: good ball, Sam, See how he hung on the post
Speaker 1: there a little bit, and back shoulder them. You've been
Speaker 1: running right in that safety here you go. Good, good,
Speaker 1: Give the inside a chance right outside down stay low
Speaker 1: there and I'm out. Stay low. That's better, Carson, much better,
Speaker 1: much better. It's way to stay lower. That's a good move,
Speaker 1: too good, too hands much better than yesterday. Much better.
Speaker 1: Go ahead, We're out of here. We're out of here.
Speaker 1: We're out of here. Everything about camp, just being around
Speaker 1: the guys all day at the facility, coming back to
Speaker 1: the hotel, being around them as well. It just all
Speaker 1: you know, is really positive for the team. Creates a
Speaker 1: lot of good bonding and all those things. So so
Speaker 1: far it's been really good. This is new for everybody,
Speaker 1: and we kind of get to know each other a
Speaker 1: little bit better. Um you see guys, your conversation, things
Speaker 1: like that. So it's definitely helpful just because we're all
Speaker 1: in a new environment. You know, at times, you know,
Speaker 1: you gotta you gotta think of the end goal, and
Speaker 1: that's um, you know, the games that are approaching, but
Speaker 1: at the same time, there's there's so much to learn
Speaker 1: every single day. You know, we're all in this together,
Speaker 1: and you can't get occupied thinking too far ahead. Well,
Speaker 1: you keep your big picture in mind, but it's all
Speaker 1: about the little things. To do the little things right
Speaker 1: and a stack of days and you'll be where you
Speaker 1: want to be. And I'm a firm believer in that.
Speaker 1: Just take pride in doing a little things well and
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you'll be where you
Speaker 1: want to be. Raised up there from our Eagles Network
Speaker 1: crew with the Journey. Can't wait to see future episodes
Speaker 1: here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. After this quick commercial
Speaker 1: break here on Inside Training Campers ended by Xfinity, we're
Speaker 1: gonna offer a quick preview of our one on one
Speaker 1: interview with middle linebacker Jordan Hicks. Hi. I'm Bo Allen
Speaker 1: from the Philadelphia Eagles, and this is the Alan from
Speaker 1: Bob's Discount Furniture. We named it after Bow. Thanks Bob,
Speaker 1: you're the man. It packs some serious power, power repline,
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Speaker 1: you do it, Bob, But man, do I respect it?
Speaker 1: You know? Players should respect that for big games. Nope,
Speaker 1: we swapped jerseys. Growing up. We had a basketball hoof
Speaker 1: in our driveway and that's all I used to play with.
Speaker 1: This past August, I happened to notice the bump on
Speaker 1: my foot, so my parents and I decided that we
Speaker 1: would go to Rothman at Jefferson. We found out from
Speaker 1: a biof seed that I had an osteosarcoma cancer. Scary,
Speaker 1: but the Rothaman doctors felt so confident in what they
Speaker 1: were going to do, and it couldn't have turned out
Speaker 1: any better. The Rothman Institute at Jefferson was able to
Speaker 1: get me back on the court and backs where I
Speaker 1: wanted to be. Dave's Finnaro along with Chris McPherson. Players
Speaker 1: are off on Tuesday, but we've got a lot of
Speaker 1: store for you here, including this one on one interview
Speaker 1: with the middle linebacker Jordan Hicks. A revelation in his
Speaker 1: first year in the NFL, and of course he endeared
Speaker 1: himself to Eagles fans by sacking Tony Romo and giving
Speaker 1: him that carbone injury, and later on in the season
Speaker 1: at Dawas returning the interception into the end zone for
Speaker 1: a pick six. One of the team's most prolific playmakers
Speaker 1: until suffering that season ending pectoral injury, he is ready
Speaker 1: to go here in twenty sixteen, and here's a quick
Speaker 1: snippet of our one on one interview conducted by our
Speaker 1: own Alex Smith. That's to me, that's my favorite part
Speaker 1: of the game, just because you know, it's so mental.
Speaker 1: I think I'm a fairly good mental linebacker. You know,
Speaker 1: somebody who's able to think, put things together quick process,
Speaker 1: you know what the offense is trying to do, and
Speaker 1: you know, based off the game plan. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think that's my advantage and I think I do
Speaker 1: a pretty good job at that. And so you know,
Speaker 1: when I get the opportunity to be in that situation,
Speaker 1: you know, with Coach Schwartz being able to have that
Speaker 1: type of faith, that type of trust in me to
Speaker 1: really put some stuff in my hands to make certain
Speaker 1: calls at certain times. You know, that's that's the game,
Speaker 1: you know, the chess game that I love playing with
Speaker 1: the offense and being in that position. Thank you very much, Jordan,
Speaker 1: and thank you Alex. Now you can watch that entire
Speaker 1: interview on Philadelphia Eagles dot com on Tuesday, and also
Speaker 1: last year's last year's third round pick, we had the
Speaker 1: journey with first round pick Carson Wentzon, sixth round pick
Speaker 1: play countess that will be available on demand tomorrow Philadelphiagles
Speaker 1: dot com. It is a player's day off, but there's
Speaker 1: plenty of content for you to check out Philadelphiagles dot com,
Speaker 1: including Dave your update on some key position. It's a
Speaker 1: bit early, but we've got a preseason game coming. The
Speaker 1: pads are on, the tackling will start, and there's some
Speaker 1: key roster positions to talk about. Offensive line, how about
Speaker 1: defensive end, how about the place kicker job. We've also
Speaker 1: got to figure out how it's going to sort itself
Speaker 1: out at cornerback and at the wide receiver positions. So
Speaker 1: a lot to think about as training camp gets turned
Speaker 1: up just a bit in terms of intensity and certainly
Speaker 1: the physical play in the week ahead, and he teas into, uh,
Speaker 1: you gotta wait till it's live. There we go for
Speaker 1: Chris McPherson. I'm Dave Spidero. Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1: An inside training camp presented by an ex Afinity. We're
Speaker 1: back on Wednesday, as the Eagles return to the field
Speaker 1: at the Novicare Complex, have yourselves a great Eagles Day.