0:02

Eagles Entertainment Welcome

0:07

Eagles Everywhere to the Eagles Insider Podcast

0:09

presented by Lincoln Financial Group. I'm

0:11

Eagles Insider Dave Spidero, and we're

0:14

getting ready for some hot and heavy

0:16

action in the NFL. We know that

0:18

next week free agency begins. Specifically,

0:21

on Monday, teams can start negotiating

0:24

with agents for prospective free

0:27

agents, so that's gonna

0:29

be fun. And then on Wednesday at four

0:31

o'clock the business year opens,

0:34

twenty twenty three officially arrives

0:37

and free agents can be signed. We

0:40

got a sense last week in the podcast

0:42

talking to Howie Roseman that the Eagles, who

0:44

have a lot of free agents, are going to

0:46

lose some players. That is anticipated,

0:49

and as a result, they'll get some compensatory draft

0:51

picks in twenty twenty four. So you've

0:54

always got to keep your eye on the now and

0:56

the future. Certainly there is

0:58

change coming the Eagles

1:01

coming off that outstanding twenty twenty

1:03

two season could look very

1:05

different in twenty twenty three. That

1:08

again not necessarily a bad

1:10

thing. Two first round draft picks,

1:12

six picks overall. Yes,

1:15

we are finally to the offseason. It's just it's

1:18

been a very short offseason. But doesn't it just

1:20

seem so so long after

1:22

a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs

1:25

in Super Bowl fifty seven, Yes,

1:27

it does. In this Eagles Insider podcast

1:29

presented by Liako Financial Group, I wanted to just kind

1:31

of take a step back from all the action

1:34

and get a little bit of perspective on this

1:36

football team. Later in the podcast,

1:38

we'll hear from Brandon Graham, who himself

1:41

is an unrestricted free agent. Will

1:43

he be back in twenty twenty three We don't know that

1:45

yet, but we know that in twenty twenty

1:47

two he was voted by his teammates

1:50

as the recipient this season

1:53

of the ed Block Courage Award.

1:55

It's a prestigious award presented

1:57

annually. Each of the thirty two teams has

2:00

an award winner, players

2:02

who exemplify sportsmanship

2:04

and courage and dedication, oftentimes

2:06

coming back from serious injury. We

2:08

know Graham, of course, in twenty twenty one,

2:11

went down second week of the season torn

2:13

achilles tendon. Came back in twenty

2:15

twenty two with eleven quarterback sacks, and

2:18

for that, his teammates I'm

2:20

sure very convincingly voted

2:23

him the d Block Courage Award winners. So we're here from BG

2:25

on that. But now

2:27

I want to get to just a little perspective on Jalen

2:30

Hurts and his rapid rise from

2:32

a second round draft pick in twenty twenty

2:34

the fifty third pick overall to

2:37

a player who was a finalist

2:40

for the NFL's Most Valuable

2:42

Player award and All Pro a

2:44

Pro Bowler. Accounted for forty three

2:47

total touchdowns in twenty twenty

2:49

two, including the playoffs. That's both running

2:51

the football throwing the football. Marvelous

2:54

season for a quarterback who's

2:57

just about to hit his prime.

3:00

Let's just go through the numbers real quick here. Twenty

3:02

twenty two. Completed sixty seven

3:04

percent of his passes thirty seven hundred

3:07

and one yards eight point one yards

3:09

per attempt, twenty two touchdowns,

3:12

six interceptions, and on

3:14

the ground thirteen touchdowns

3:17

seven hundred and sixty yards the

3:20

playoffs. Yeah, he was outstanding. Three

3:22

touchdown passes, zero interceptions,

3:25

on the ground five touchdowns,

3:28

and what a performance four total

3:30

touchdowns in Super Bowl fifty

3:32

seven. So we've talked a lot about him,

3:35

We've wondered just how kind of has it gone?

3:37

Step by step? I figured the best person

3:40

to offer a perspective on this former

3:43

Eagles quarterback, a member

3:45

of the team's Hall of Fame, esteemed

3:48

football analysts, and just

3:50

a great, great guy who's all

3:52

about the quarterbacks and all about the Eagles. Ron

3:55

Jaworski, I got him on the phone

3:57

a couple of days ago to talk about number

3:59

one Eagles quarterback to Jalen Hurts,

4:02

Ron, thanks so much for joining me here. I want

4:04

to talk about the Eagles, of course, but I'd like to start

4:06

with Jalen Hurts and try

4:09

to get your feel on how just

4:11

how far he's come. We see it as observers.

4:14

You're an observer with obviously a much

4:16

more highly educated view here,

4:19

like compare, I guess I'll

4:21

start with this. Compare what

4:24

you thought of Jalen when the Eagles drafted

4:26

him in twenty twenty and

4:29

what he is now. Well,

4:31

there's no question there's been an incredible

4:34

marked improvement in his game. You

4:36

know. I can think back to studying Jalen,

4:38

you know, through his days at Alabama and Oklahoma in

4:40

preparation for the draft, and quite honestly

4:43

I had him kind of projected in that area

4:45

that he went as a second round pick. I

4:47

know there were some teams that I had spoken to had

4:49

him with the first round grade. I would

4:51

say most of the people that at least I spoke to round the

4:54

league around that second or third round, they

4:56

really liked his game, but it wasn't quite polished

4:59

enough. Even though he came amount of great programs

5:01

like Alabama and Oklahoma,

5:03

he needed to polish up his game, and I

5:05

kind of felt the same way. So

5:09

it was kind of a natural growth that

5:12

we've seen to his you know, distellar year this year.

5:14

But I'm not surprised to see him

5:16

where he's at from a performance standpoint. What

5:21

questions did you have about him

5:23

coming out of college? The

5:26

one thing I always look for when I look at tape. You

5:28

know, people want to talk about the arm strength, which

5:30

obviously is very important, mobility which is

5:32

very important. But I kind of looked for the repetitive

5:34

accuracy because I think when you project players

5:37

to the National Football League, they've got

5:39

to be accurate. The windows are smaller,

5:41

the ball has come out quicker, it

5:43

just equates that everything for the transition

5:46

to the National Football League. Repetitive

5:48

accuracy account to me, is the thing that I looked

5:50

for after I studied game after game on a

5:52

young quarterback. What

5:56

does that mean, Drut? Is that mechanics

5:58

You mean, like the consistency in mechanics,

6:01

Well, mechanics are always important. In

6:04

fact, I was out at the National

6:06

Quarterback Club Big Galla

6:09

last week in Phoenix and Tom House is

6:11

there, and most people know Tom House is kind

6:13

of a loan for the mechanics of throwing, not

6:15

only in football but in other sports as

6:18

well. And my god, he's

6:20

just brilliant when he comes to talking about mechanics.

6:22

And I was mesmerized, you know,

6:24

with the discussion we had. And actually I'm going to head out

6:26

to LA sometime this offseason spend some time

6:28

with him and talk about the mechanics of throwing

6:31

because they are very unique. And as

6:34

you know, you know my work through the years out

6:36

of NFL films and studying quarterbacks and studying

6:38

coaching tape, I was someone of a wong

6:40

for the mechanics as well, because I think consistent

6:43

mechanics lead to consistent play

6:46

and consistent accuracy. And

6:48

I think that's an area where clearly Jalen

6:51

has improved. So

6:53

we saw him as a rookie. He started

6:56

four games late in the season. He

6:58

had a couple of really spectacular games at

7:00

some other games where it just didn't connect. We

7:03

knew that he was a very good runner

7:06

in those early days in Peterson's

7:09

office. What did you see from him at

7:11

the quarterback in the pocket as a decision

7:13

maker, at somebody who would go through his progressions?

7:16

Yeah, kind of what I thought I would see him what I've

7:18

seen as a lot of other quarterbacks through their evolution,

7:21

inconsistency. You know, even though he came

7:23

out of two great programs where he was well

7:25

coached, you know, he wasn't ready for the

7:27

rigors of the NFL, as most

7:30

quarterbacks are not. And in fact,

7:32

you know, I found a kind of interesting you know, in this

7:34

year's Super Bowl, you've got Patrick Mahomes and

7:37

Jalen Hurts, and you look at

7:39

Mahomes, who is more of a guy I think

7:41

is the better process

7:43

guy. And he looked how Andy Reid brought him

7:45

along and he played behind Alex Smith for a

7:47

year, didn't you know, didn't get on the field

7:50

because Alex Spentzel's a starter. And

7:52

I kind of liked that approach. No matter how good

7:54

you are, no matter how talented you are, I

7:56

think there's a certain element

7:59

of the game that you must learn only by

8:01

being around the players, being in the locker room, being

8:03

how to be a pro. Now, you

8:05

know, we can talk about Jayalen for hours because

8:07

we know he came from a, you know, a family background

8:10

of football. His dad was a coach, he's

8:12

a coach, his son, He's got great leadership

8:14

skills, he puts the work in. All

8:16

those things come to the forefront. But there's

8:19

nothing like being in the locker room, being

8:21

around the players, being around the coaches, and understanding

8:24

what it takes to be an NFL pro

8:26

quarterback. There's a lot that goes into it.

8:28

And I know from my experiences,

8:31

and I came in this league as a player in nineteen

8:33

seventy three, and I've seen a lot of talented

8:35

players just bomb out and bust

8:37

because they never really understood

8:40

all the outside distractions that come

8:42

into playing quarterback in the league. And

8:44

you know, they get distracted by the money,

8:47

the notoriety, the lack of

8:49

commitment, the lack of being the first one in, the lack of

8:51

round, and all of a sudden, you know, two or three years

8:53

later, there odd the league anyway, they go what happened? You

8:55

know, you got to put the work in. And the one thing I knew

8:57

about Jaalen he was going to put the work in. One

9:00

of those distractions were certainly a challenge. Anyway,

9:03

after his rookie year, a new coaching staff

9:05

comes in. How how how

9:08

can that impact a quarterback mentally,

9:10

confidence wise, and certainly you

9:12

know on a day to day basis, you've got to learn a whole

9:14

new offense. Man, you know, David,

9:17

you say that and it just sounds so simple,

9:19

you know, I mean, you got to learn

9:21

a new offense. And you know, uh, Now, Fortunately

9:24

in my career, which is long, I played

9:26

for numerous coaches and you know, when

9:28

I think of you know, the Dick Vermeils and Malty Schottenheimer's

9:30

is Don Shula's and you know the guys

9:33

that I played for um Man.

9:35

And you get a new system and all of a sudden,

9:38

it's like learning a new language. You spend

9:40

four or five years in one system, you know,

9:42

just through wrote memory, you've got everything down,

9:44

every redown, no where to get the ball and everything else. Sudden,

9:47

you know, you move on to another organization

9:49

or new coaching staff comes in. It

9:51

is very, very difficult to make

9:53

that transition. And that's how even in some

9:56

some place I know, coaches have kept

9:58

their system the same for the quarterback because

10:00

it's easier for the quarterback to keep his same

10:02

system than for the you know, the whole coaching

10:05

staff to change. So you know they they've

10:07

gone in that regards. In some situations,

10:09

other coaches committed, Hey, you're doing it my way and you

10:11

learn my system. So there are two ways to go about

10:13

it. But I think you know what I saw in Jalen was

10:15

the ability to just make that transfer somewhat

10:18

seamless, and that is difficult to do. He

10:20

had sixteen touchdown passes, nine interceptions,

10:23

ten rushing touchdowns in his first

10:25

full year as a starter, so it

10:27

took the team to the playoffs. So did

10:30

you think Jaws at that point that there

10:32

was going to be the next step? Like everybody

10:35

at this time last year was thinking, Okay, Jalen

10:37

Hurts, good job, nice step, But

10:40

boy, we're really going to find out in year

10:42

three if he is the guy. Did you feel

10:44

that way? No, I'm

10:47

being honest with you. I had reservations, and

10:50

my reservations were the

10:52

playoff game against Tampa Bay. I didn't

10:54

think he had he had a good game.

10:56

I did not think the plan was very

10:58

good fens to me. I thought the Eagles

11:01

were ill prepared for the blitzing scheme of Todd Bulls

11:03

that game and they got him. So I

11:05

really felt after that game, you

11:07

know, I was not going to annoy j Jaylen

11:10

as the guy for the next ten years, like we can probably

11:12

do that now, but I couldn't do that in hindsight

11:15

then because I was concerned. And

11:17

you know, when when people have bad

11:20

days or you know, bad games, two

11:23

things going to happen. They're gonna get better,

11:26

they're gonna get worse, They're not going to

11:28

remain the same. And fortunately,

11:30

you know, because Jayalen has its great character and

11:32

work ethic, we saw the

11:34

result, you know, an MVP like season.

11:37

So he got better after that disappointing

11:39

finish of the season. So you know, like

11:41

I said, a lot of guys in that situation

11:44

go south. He went north. And that's a testament

11:47

you know, to Nick Sirianni, these coaches, and

11:49

of course Jaylen himself as his own character.

11:52

Can you break it down technically, what did

11:54

he get better at? Like what did you see

11:56

when did you see it? In training? Camp. Did you

11:58

take a few games into the regulars to

12:00

see what got better with him? I mean you're gonna say

12:02

consistency for sure, but like, is there something

12:04

that we could understand maybe a little bit a little

12:06

bit better that um that the

12:09

kind of worth mechanics.

12:11

I keep going back to mechanics. But you're right,

12:14

and you're right. I'm glad to do because I and you

12:16

mentioned that. You know, people talked about his deep ball

12:18

a year ago, you know, two years ago when he was starting

12:21

to play a little bit. Oh, he was an acreate on his deep

12:23

ball. His arm strength isn't enough. Well

12:25

that that's that was all garbage his arm. You know,

12:28

I watched him enough on tape. I watched him out a training

12:30

camp. His arm was more than adequate

12:32

to make every throw in the game. The problem was

12:34

the mechanics. And there's a mechanics for throwing

12:37

the deep ball. You know how you you know it's super

12:39

eight your wrist to get the ball that knows the ball

12:41

up. How you have to have you know, the

12:43

ball leaving your hand exactly as your your back

12:45

toe is leaving the ground, so you get maximum drive on

12:47

the football that you throw the ball with air

12:49

under it rather than flat. Now there are times you have to throw

12:51

it flat. But but I thought

12:53

he was not sharp in the mechanics of the deep

12:55

ball. It wasn't his arm strength, it wasn't a deep

12:57

ball and accrescy. He just needed to get those mechan

13:00

and actual refined. And through the hard work

13:02

and discipline that the coaches put him through, he got

13:04

better at deep ball accuracy. And

13:07

clearly it helped adding A. J. Brown

13:10

making sure the offensive line was inside like Matt.

13:12

The Eagles did a really good job right putting

13:15

pieces around him. Yeah, Dave

13:17

you you you absolutely nailed it. You know, the quarterback

13:19

position is a dependent position.

13:22

You depend on other people doing

13:25

their job, and it starts

13:27

with the offensive line. And this, in my opinion

13:29

last season was the best offensive line

13:31

in the National Football League, and it should be intact

13:34

or close to intact next season, so he will

13:36

once again have the advantage you know, of

13:39

an offensive line that will give him time. And

13:42

I think this receiving corps has also got it got

13:44

better as a season. More on, I

13:47

remember a statement Drew Brees made to me when

13:49

I was calling Monday Night Football. I would spend time with

13:51

each NFL team out of practice on a Saturday

13:53

or a Sunday and talking to Drew Brees, he would

13:55

tell his receivers be where you're supposed

13:57

to be and I will find you. And

14:00

that's the one good thing about it when I when I look at this

14:02

this Eagle offense on tape on Monday morning,

14:05

they're where they're supposed to be. There's discipline

14:07

to them, and that is great for a quarterback.

14:09

That is strong coaching. You know, when I when

14:12

I see routes run and Jalen knows where that guy

14:14

he's supposed to be ten yards out of no cut, it's

14:16

got to be ten, not ten and a half, not nine and a a half.

14:18

And you see the discipline of the route running,

14:20

the coordination of the offensive

14:22

scheme. So clearly they are where they're

14:25

supposed to be and that helps Jalen and it's only

14:27

going to get better. And I

14:29

should probably add what I thought was really

14:31

kind of the turning point to his game this

14:33

season, Dave, was the fact that I thought

14:35

the offensive coaching staff, you know, obviously led

14:37

by Nick Siriannie as a head coach, but you

14:39

know, when you look what Shane did in this offensive staff

14:42

it was. It was a hybrid NFL

14:44

offense. As I look at it,

14:46

it had tremendous NFL consistent

14:50

passing game concepts that almost all

14:52

teams have as part of their repertoire, but

14:54

well defined, you know, well executed,

14:56

well coached, and disciplined by the by the

14:58

players. There's all the element of that zone

15:01

read game, which I think made this offense so dynamic.

15:03

And I think that's why I call it the hybrid. And I think

15:06

you'll see a lot of teams studying this offense

15:08

the entire offseason trying to replicate

15:10

some of the things that these Eagle offense did.

15:12

So they took the running ability

15:14

to Jalen Hurts, the intelligence of Jalen Hurts

15:16

to read the zone read, to read the linebackers,

15:19

to read the end, to read a tackle on any

15:21

of those reads that he had to make. And you know, I say

15:23

that like it's easy. It is ridiculously

15:26

difficult to do. Any mastered it. So

15:28

I love the hybrid offense. I love the talent

15:30

around him, and I think this team's gonna have a run offensively

15:33

for a long time right now with this group. I

15:35

want to get to the coaches because there's obviously

15:37

significant changes. I guess to that in just a minute. But let's

15:40

let's finish up the how Jalen played

15:42

this year. The playoffs were obviously a

15:44

tell three wins

15:46

or two wins in the third game and was a super

15:48

Bowl, and he was brilliant and super Bowl Yeah,

15:51

if you look at him, just what does that mean to you?

15:53

Evaluating Jalen Hurts and what

15:55

he did in the postseason the Super Bowl

15:58

specifically, well, I think one

16:00

it showed me how good this team really is. I'man There

16:02

were two big wins, I mean blow out

16:04

wins in the playoffs, so obviously disappointment

16:06

in the Super Bowl, but I will stand

16:09

by my belief that the Eagles

16:11

were the better team that just didn't win the football game.

16:13

And that's just sometimes the way it goes in professional sports.

16:15

You know, a play here or play there,

16:17

you know the determines the outcome of the game. But I still think

16:20

it was the best team in the National Football League a year

16:22

ago. Now can they replicate

16:24

that going in the next season? You know, the schedule

16:26

looks tougher, You're gonna lose some veteran players.

16:29

The dynamic always changes. But

16:31

I think when you look at this team, I think the

16:33

way it's built right now, it bodes well for the future,

16:35

especially with a young quarterback. What

16:38

about losing Shane and

16:41

now have promoting and having a new

16:43

offensive coordinator, having a new quarterback coach.

16:45

Will that impact Dylan?

16:49

Yes, yeah, it impacts everybody.

16:51

You know, there's there's a learning curve that everyone goes through.

16:53

It will not be a seamless transition. I

16:56

think it'll be easier with you know, Brian taking

16:58

over, you know, calling, you know, the the off running

17:00

the offense, because he's been there, he's been in this system. But

17:02

hey, when new people come in, there's always changed.

17:05

It's not necessarily exes and oh's. You

17:07

know, it's learning the style of each coach,

17:09

new coaches and how will they interact

17:11

with the players. And I think that

17:14

that's very, very important that that chemistry

17:16

has to be good. It's been really good for two

17:18

years. But I'd like to believe it'll be good.

17:20

But I don't know that. I would only speculate

17:23

because I think Nick has done a really good job of coaching

17:26

his coaches. And that's that's another thing that sometimes

17:28

we don't we already discussed,

17:30

but you know, the head coach has to coach his coaches.

17:33

You know, he's got to make sure they're doing everything the right way.

17:35

That's why so impressive what Nick

17:37

has done in a short period of time. But even if

17:39

it's more pressure on him right now because you know chick

17:41

on the defensive side, you can have a new

17:43

coach with a different system, not as different

17:45

system, but a new way of teaching. So,

17:48

Joe, where did Jalen go from here? I mean down

17:51

the line, there's going to be a big contract. Um,

17:53

teams are studying him more and more. They're gonna have maybe

17:56

a better game plan for his skill.

17:58

Is there still an up side to what he's done?

18:01

And how did he how did he get there? Yeah?

18:03

I don't. I don't think there's any doubt that there's still upside

18:06

in Jalen Hurts. His game is as good as he's

18:08

been. Um, you know a guy that has

18:10

that talent but also the commitment and the work

18:12

ethic. You know, if he just stays focused

18:14

and hey, you know, there's no reason for

18:17

me not to say he's not going to be a tremendously focused

18:19

guy. He's a driven guy. He's a motivated

18:22

guy that you know he's gonna say, oh boy, you know I was,

18:24

I was in running for the league MVP. I've arrived.

18:26

I don't think he has that kind of character whatsoever.

18:28

I don't worry about that at all. There's

18:31

nothing in his past, his history that leads me to believe

18:33

that, Well, he's not going to make the same commitment that

18:35

he made, and he's obviously going to make a

18:37

lot of money somewhere down the road.

18:39

I don't know how that will impact him, but

18:41

I doubt I will, because you

18:43

know the way he's been brought up, in the character and the backbone,

18:46

and you know the life that he's lived in, the great

18:48

parents that he has. You know, I don't think that will affect

18:50

him at all. But you don't know that. You just don't

18:52

know that when some people get the kind of money

18:54

that's a life changing, life

18:57

changing way to approach it when

18:59

you get in mill and millions of dollars. So everyone

19:01

reacts differently to that. But I just think

19:03

from a talent perspective, a coaching

19:06

perspective, you know, and a team and

19:08

talent around Jalen Hurts, I mean,

19:10

there's no reason this could not be a really good run for four

19:12

or five years or more. God,

19:15

will there be a Super Bowl hangover from

19:17

the tough loss? Well, I think there's always

19:19

concerned about that. But you know it's something

19:22

that you know, I can't predict. You

19:24

know, I can give you some insight because you know, hey, I

19:26

lost a super Bowl, you know, in super Bowl fifteen.

19:29

Um, you know we felt probably like this team

19:31

feels right now that you know, there was you know,

19:34

we were favored, the Eagles were favored, there

19:36

was. It was total disappointment to lose the football

19:38

game. But I think after you get over that

19:40

loss and I recollect,

19:42

you know, very very well, our our our team

19:44

in you know in eighty one that hey, we

19:46

were young, we were good. You

19:49

know, we lost a super Bowl, but

19:51

damn well, we're gonna be back, and you know, it's

19:53

it's just going to sure, how heart it is, Dave, It's hard

19:55

to get back. You know. We never

19:57

got back with a good, young team,

20:00

team that we felt would get back. So, um,

20:02

you know, for a real coach his butt off. The next year we

20:05

started out six and ozero and we got to the playoffs.

20:07

So we got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. So you never

20:09

know about that. You know, hangover

20:12

whatever you want to call a team, study you more in the

20:14

off season. They're more prepared for you. You

20:16

know, there's a lot of dynamics that go into the season

20:19

after a Super Bowl, you know, And I

20:21

don't know how this team will react, but based on what I've

20:23

seen through two years under this regime and

20:25

the way Howie and Jeffrey run this team, and

20:28

you know, sometimes we don't talk enough about, you know, Jeffrey

20:30

Lurry and Howie Roseman and you know,

20:32

pick and how he gets a lot of a

20:35

lot of notoriety the year that he's had this

20:37

year, in the last couple of years. But you know, I always

20:39

say, you know, Jeffrey Lurry really is he He's

20:41

a lynchman of this team. He's got he's got a

20:43

great field for this team. He's got a great field for what

20:45

he wants. This organization is now

20:47

and looked at, you know, around the National Football

20:49

League is one of the premier organizations. So you

20:52

know, I think when you have an owner that's committed the way Jeffrey

20:54

is and a general manager that's been as sharp and

20:56

on his game as as how he has been, and we

20:59

talk about the players, some great players the team.

21:01

I think the future looks very, very bright and

21:04

finally got It. Just feels good to

21:07

have a twenty four year old quarterback

21:09

three years in the league who seems

21:11

to have everything, the approach to the game,

21:13

the right way, the maturity level

21:15

that the talent oozes out of him. He's

21:18

not yet. It feels good to have a quarterback who's

21:21

just about to hit his prime as

21:23

the quarterback in the Philadelphi Eagle. I feel great about

21:25

it, Dave. It's actually when I was twenty

21:27

four years old, I was trying to get out of the hudling thirty seconds.

21:29

You know, this

21:31

young man's got a Super Bowl appearance under

21:34

his belt. You know, a Maxwell

21:36

Club Player of the Year award under his belt. I

21:38

he's recognized now as one of the preyer quarterbacks

21:40

in the league at twenty four. So yeah, how can

21:42

you not be excited about the future. I would.

21:45

I just throw caution to the wind. And

21:47

this is just me and probably other people may feel the same

21:50

way. I just sometimes worry about

21:52

running quarterbacks. Running quarterbacks

21:55

get hurt, and that as much

21:57

I love this offense and the scheme, that's

21:59

the one part that I listen the back of

22:01

my mind. By I just don't like to put quarterbacks

22:04

in Harmsley. And I know the people can

22:06

say you get hurt in the pocket, you get hurt any anywhere on it.

22:08

I know it. But the less opportunities

22:10

a quarterback has to get whacked upside the head

22:12

or at the knee or in the back, you know, the

22:15

better for me. Well, that's why our fingers across

22:17

Jaws every day. That's right, That's right, Dave,

22:19

Hey, thank you so much, Chows, I really appreciate it. Have a great

22:21

day, all right, Dave, see any offseason. Thanks

22:24

so much for that, Jaws. That was great. And now

22:27

for this week's extra points. Brandon

22:29

Graham, as I said at the top of the show,

22:32

the twenty twenty two Eagles Ed Block

22:34

Courage Award winner. What did

22:37

the award mean to Graham? We

22:39

talked about winning such a prestigious

22:42

award, voted on by his teammates,

22:45

and that's really the key right there, coming

22:47

back from a severe injury. Brandon Graham

22:49

eleven quarterback sacks in twenty twenty two

22:52

and the winner of this season's

22:54

ed Block Courage Award. This is this

22:56

week's extra points. Brandon you

22:59

are the winner of the End Block Courage Award and it

23:02

is an annual award. Every team has an

23:04

End Block Courage Award winner. It's a very

23:06

prestigious honor, voted on by

23:09

your teammates and recognizing

23:11

your comeback from a

23:14

devastating for many people achilles

23:16

tendon injury. Um, what does it mean to just

23:19

to a to have come back from the injury and be

23:21

to get that vote from your teammates? Oh?

23:25

Man, thankful? Um, you

23:27

know, first this thinking God and then you know,

23:29

on top of that, man, for me, just working

23:32

one day at a time, that was the that

23:35

was the key. I felt like, you know, because it

23:37

was tough in the beginning. Man, it gets hurt right

23:39

in the beginning of this season and you

23:42

know, you can you can definitely have a

23:45

problem on your face sometimes. Um, you

23:47

know, dealing with injuries in this game,

23:49

and you know the situation of how

23:52

the team was, you know, playing already,

23:55

and it was like, man, it just felt like you

23:57

you know, like, uh, it was a big letdown

23:59

at first, but then you know, my

24:02

mind chains Um, after

24:04

I got through that that first part of it, and man,

24:06

it was I just like you said, like you know, being

24:09

voted on by my teammates. My teammates start

24:11

to see the attitude I came with every

24:13

day, uh, one day at a time,

24:16

mentality enjoying the day, uh

24:18

season, the day, and man, it

24:20

got me to this point. And so, man, if

24:23

I could tell anybody, don't no, never

24:25

panic, just make sure that you you

24:28

know, on the task, and um,

24:30

you know that's what I did. Man. I just stayed focused

24:32

on making sure that, uh that

24:35

I was gonna come back. If people didn't

24:37

believe, you know that I was, you know, I was gonna

24:39

make sure that I put my best foot for to

24:41

do that. We

24:44

always hear about the Achilles tending. I wonder when

24:46

you got cut it off the field at Lincoln Financial

24:48

Field that day, was there a moment of worries

24:51

that this injury would end your

24:53

career? What do you know what? I

24:55

didn't had that word. Uh, you know, I

24:58

felt like I was gonna come back. I didn't know how

25:00

it was gonna be, but I knew that I had still

25:02

another year with the Eagles, um

25:05

with my guarantee during the year. So

25:07

I wasn't really you know, too nervous

25:10

at all. It was just more about me,

25:12

Like you said how how I would

25:14

come back playing and how I would feel

25:17

when there's actually time to go. Um.

25:19

But man, I credit you know the

25:21

whole staff man. Everybody played the part. That

25:24

boy Monty um Eddie

25:27

and the guys in the weight room, um,

25:29

you know ted them, you know, just with the conversation

25:32

every day and then uh yeah,

25:35

man, just the focus that you got to have, especially

25:37

the eating right, because that was my biggest thing to make

25:39

the sure that I ate right during the year.

25:41

But I really didn't have too much

25:44

of a scary, scary

25:46

feeling with it. It was just more about could I could

25:49

I still beat me? How

25:52

much? Finally did you? Hey, how much

25:54

did you miss the game in twenty twenty one?

25:57

And how great was it to get back on

25:59

the field in twenty twenty two

26:01

and you have a season that you had double

26:03

digit sacks and that the team he had

26:06

reaching the Super Bowl? How much? What

26:08

a crazy comparison to the challenge

26:11

of twenty twenty one and the reward of twenty

26:13

twenty two. Man, just let

26:15

you know, if I would have handled

26:17

that a little differently, Um, it

26:20

probably we probably don't well, I probably

26:22

don't be a part of this Super Bowl stuff.

26:24

You know what I'm saying, because you know people that people

26:26

really watch you, um when you go

26:28

through some adversity and try to see how

26:30

you handle it. And I'm glad you know I handled

26:33

it the right way. Um just you

26:35

know, I couldn't control what happened, but

26:37

I could control my attitude and how I dealt

26:40

with people, even during the time that you

26:42

know, I was hurt. And man, it

26:44

just it just proved to me that you

26:46

know, man, it's always something on the other side of that

26:48

coin. You might not see it yet, but it's

26:50

it's always something that's gonna come up it And so

26:53

I'm just happy, man. Even though we didn't win the super

26:55

Bowl, this was a magical year. Man.

26:58

It was so much fun. Enjoyed it the

27:00

whole everything. Man, just building the

27:03

build up to the game,

27:05

everything that happened during this year.

27:07

Um Man, just it just showed

27:10

me that I can still play in this league. For one, then

27:13

I didn't have to play as many snaps as I normally

27:15

played. Just to get one, I've had one of

27:17

my best years, you know. So yeah,

27:20

man, it was it was definitely a challenge

27:22

at first, but but boy,

27:25

the win to go out and do what we did this year,

27:27

it's only promising for us to come and

27:30

that will do it. For this episode of Eagles Insider Podcast

27:33

Presentybody Lincoln Financial Group. Next

27:35

week we will be into free agency.

27:38

What do the Eagles have in mind? What do they

27:40

have up their sleeves? How will

27:42

they build this roster back

27:44

to make another deep, deep

27:47

playoff run in twenty twenty three.

27:50

We'll find out very soon. It's

27:52

right around the corner. I want to

27:54

thank Peter Kelly, Kira Mahoney for putting

27:56

this all together and just making it so fantastic.

27:59

Rund Worthy, thank you so much for your time,

28:01

along with Brandon Graham, Ray Doyle.

28:04

Great work promoting this, publishing

28:07

this quality,

28:09

controlling this. It just takes a team to

28:12

put something like this out and very very

28:14

thankful to have a great team around me and to have

28:16

all of you tuning in each and every

28:18

episode. I'm Eagles Insider Dave Spidero. Thanks

28:21

for joining me. Everyone, have yourselves a great

28:23

Eagles day. Fly Eagles, Fly, and go

28:25

Birds.