The DiCecco Daily: Eagles Surprising LB Rotation, Takeaways From Coordinator Pressers

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3:02Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome into another episode of DeChico Daily. It's Andrew DeChico Eagles Beat reporter for inside the birds.com. And it's Tuesday, which means it's coordinator day. It was coordinator day at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. So we heard from defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, special teams coordinator, Michael Clay, and offensive coordinator, Sean Manian. Now one of the big talking points coming out of this presser, this availability centers around the linebacker position because you have Jihad Campbell who Vic Fangio said is playing okay, but before the game on the broadcast, they mentioned that Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was slated to start. Now, Vic Fangio said that that is an out and out lie. He never said that, but he did mention that the plan was to share snaps between Trotter Jr. and Jihad Campbell. And the reason being is

4:08when Trotter Jr. had to play against the Rams, he played well. And when you look at Jihad Campbell, and the way that he's played thus far, you can clearly see that he's athletic, he's rangel, he does some different things that Jeremiah can't do. But the other side of that coin is that you're seeing a player that isn't necessarily at least in my estimation playing within the confines of the defense, it seems like sometimes he's caught off guard, he's a little perplexed, and it doesn't necessarily have the same instincts that Jeremiah has where Jeremiah can see it. He reads and diagnosis things quickly. He's better at attacking downhill. He does give up some some opportunities, I think, in space in terms of coverage. But if you're talking about what Vic Fangio traditionally looks for in his linebackers, it's fundamentally sound, assignment sound players that are consistent, and you don't have to have a lot of apprehension about, or questions about whether or not they maybe understand their assignments, or whether or

5:08not they're going to be a high variance player on game day, where everything counts, of course. There are moments where if you watch Jihad Campbell, it does look like he seems to be swimming a little bit. Now, without knowing the full context, that's just based off of what I'm seeing watching the game live, talking to Jihad this week, maybe I'll get some more clarity as to how he feels, he's grasping the defense in year two. And yet the other thing you have to wonder, and Vic Fangio said, no, he doesn't think that that would be the case, is for a young player like this, who's a first-round pick. He essentially gets benched for Nikobe Dean last year, and when Nikobe was healthy, and I don't think that Jihad was playing poorly by any means. And then in this case, while he's not getting benched, you're having another player eat into your snap share. So, for someone who is seemingly trying to find his footing in the NFL, and you finally, if you're

6:09Jihad, you got your starting job back, but it probably didn't go according to plan, or quite like you wanted. Now, all of a sudden, you're having to share snaps, that has to do something internally to affect your mental approach, or things like that. You're only human. At least for me, you have to wonder, for my advantage point, you have to wonder if that would affect this confidence in any way, but they're professionals, and they'll go out there, and Vic Fangio is going to put those out there, who he feels are going to give him the best chance, and the defense, most importantly, the best chance of reaching their potential. And when I look at Jeremiah Trotter Jr., yes, he had 15 tackles against the Rams. He was very active. Tackles are not always the greatest indicator of how a player played, but what I'm looking for is his ability to process things quickly. He sees it, and he's one of those linebackers that is so fundamentally sound, and he has a good

7:13feel for what offenses are trying to do. That when you have a player like that, you're doing the defense of disservice by keeping them on the sideline. If you feel that there are certain moments in a game where he may elevate the ceiling, or raise the ceiling a little bit more, and that's not me sitting here saying that I think Jihad has been bad, because I just don't think that that's the case. I think that there are moments that he would like to have back. I think there are examples of a young player working through some growing pains, and I think a lot of the criticism that's thrown his way from the public is probably, I think it's fair to say, it's a little bit piling on, it borders on excessive, but if you have a player like that in Trotter Jr., that you think that his skill set complements what you're trying to do, if it gives you an edge, and that's not to say that you're taking Campbell off the field, I think that that's an interesting development,

8:13and something that I believe will help the defense moving forward. That was the plan, apparently, in the Jacksonville game, Vic Fangio said so, but it was never able to come the fruition because Trotter Jr., of course, was ejected from the game. I'm really curious to see how they go about this rotation. Is it going to be series by series? Is he going to ride the hot hand? Now, Vic said, if someone's playing well, he's going to leave them in. I equate that, though, Vic doesn't believe it's the same type of scenario when they had Orrin Birx. Orrin Birx was playing a little bit there, late in the year before he ended up taking over that job. But obviously, Nicobie got hurt in the postseason there in the Green Bay game, but there was a little bit of a rotation going on before that, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be to this degree. But it seems like he will ride the hot hand, and against Carolina, we're going to get a better sense of how he views this linebacker rotation. Of course,

9:19you have the stabilizing presence there in Zach Bond, who I thought was tremendous against the Jaguars, and he really has been pretty steady all season long. He won NFC defensive player of the week coming off that week one game. So I am really intrigued by the inclusion of Trotter in a more prominent role defensively, and what that could mean for the defense, especially when you're talking about stopping the run and doing some of those things that I think he really does a good job, and I think better at this point than Jihad Campbell. But if you're talking about playing in space, and in coverage, and someone who has unique athleticism and measurable like Campbell, you got to find a way to get him on the field and keep him in the mix because he can help you. There's a lot of things that I think he does well, but to be an effective linebacker and a thick fan, Jihad defense, you have to be instinctual, and you have to be fundamentally sound, and Jeremiah is that. So that speaks to why you're going to be seeing more of him.

10:22He also said it would have to be pretty miraculous for J-Lux Hunt to be able to play this week. So if you factor that into the injury situation that the Eagles have at edge Russia, to recap, Jonathan Grenard was listed as questionable and didn't play in the game. He's day to day with the ankle. Fall is the season where everyone gets busier, more calls, more customers, more chances for something to slip through the cracks, and staying ahead means having the right system, not just working harder. That's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Q-U-O, the business phone system built so you never miss a call. Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by over 90,000 businesses who rely on it to stay reachable and look professional every day. Money is on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free, plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash birds. That's Q-U-O.com slash

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12:27first half and doesn't return, your lineups can still cash. The prize picks injury protection policy help users win over $31 million in the 2025 season. Download the app today and use code birds to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. That's right. $150 instantly in lineups. If you win your first $5 lineup by downloading the app today and using the code birds, prize picks run your game. I understand that Vic doesn't traditionally implement a heavy rotation of edge rushers. But in this scenario, if you don't have J-looks hunt, let's operate under the assumption that he's not going to be available. And Grenard is, you still want to go a little heavier there because one, Grenard could be on a pitch count. And two, what happens if he gets dinged again and leaves the game early, you have to have more than three edge rushers in a game. And let's not also lose sight of the fact that AJ Epinessa and AK

13:30Abukati have been taking on, they have a pretty strong role in special teams. And you saw that on kickoffs and things of that nature. So they're going to be on the field as well and you got to have more bodies available. So, who in my estimation would make sense for a practice squad elevation this week? Kishon James Noobie, the Eagle's seventh round pick, who they drafted. And I like them. I like the player. I think he is undersized, but he's more of a speed rusher. He did some good things in camp before he missed a lot of time with an injury. But this is someone that was productive, whether he was at Montana Tech or Idaho. And he's someone that to me is a player that is one, he's on the practice squad. So he's developing right now. But I would make the argument that had he not gotten hurt. Maybe he makes the roster because I view him as sort of the Patrick Johnson

14:35type of impact on special teams where he runs a four or five. And he does have some good athletic qualities. So yes, he's well traveled. He began at Montana Tech. Then he went to Idaho and he finished that new Mexico. And he's 6 1 240 pounds. So not a big guy. But at this stage of the game, if you don't have Jaylick's hunt, you need another body to help get you through the game. And he's someone who has been working on the practice squad. He lockers alongside Cole Wiesneski. They seem to be striking up a pretty good friendship. I often see them talking. And what's really interesting about James Nubi, and I talked to him about this on Friday, he was really excited about going to London. And when I asked him what you're most excited about, what you're going to be really focusing on, apart from the game, it was the building and the structures around the area. And this is someone who at Montana Tech was a civil engineering, like was majoring in civil engineering. And he

15:37wanted to really focus on that. He focused on the engineering degree. And I talked about the building and the constructions with him. And he was sort of, he takes an interest in that. And this is a sharp-minded guy. You get that from talking to him. And I just thought that that was an interesting nugget there to throw in when talking about James Nubi. And I can't help but wonder if circumstances would have been different if he had been healthy because he did do some good things in the preseason finale. And he's a draft pick. I think he gives you, you know, at least as a developmental prospect, some promising attributes to work with. But again, when, you know, I know we're early in the week, but these are things that I start to think about as the week progresses. And if you're not going to have Jay Wax Hunt potentially, getting James Nubi to add another body and you're guarding against the possibility of Garnard, either one being on a pitch count or two, leaving the

16:40game early, you just have to have more bodies there. Everything in life comes down to choice, doesn't it? Whether it's choosing the team you're root for, who you listen to, or how you power your home, you deserve the freedom to choose your own adventure. And that goes for your power bill too. Right now across the US, Americans have the potential to harness limitless, clean, affordable energy. We could be powering our hospitals, our schools, our farms, and so much more. In some places, this abundant local power is already helping lower utility bills and creating jobs. But depending on where you live, you may not have the option to choose limitless energy for your household. That has to change. We should all get to choose the energy we pay for cheaper, cleaner, limitless energy is out there. Let's find more ways to use it. Head over to energylimiteless.com to learn more about your energy options. Hey, family fans, game day is stressful enough, parking, traffic, long lines. We've all been there. But when it comes to your cannabis,

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18:45But the Eagles are going to have to get creative. The safety position is another interesting scenario this week when you look at Michael Carter leaving the game and not returning with an abvenment injury. Kenny Moore was pressed in the service at safety for the first time. And Vic Fangeaux seemed pleasantly surprised with how he performed. So that's a name to keep an eye on both Kenny Moore and Michael Carter. I will be kinging in on their availability this week in practice. Kenny Moore played 44 snaps, I think, and he left the game healthy. But Michael Carter, because the Eagles are so light at the position is someone that I will be really watching. And Marcus Epps as well, he's been out for a couple weeks with the growing injury. And you also have Cooper DeGene there along with Drew McCuba. But that's a pretty light room right now. So going into the week, I can tell you that that is a position group that I will be kinging in on along with edge rusher and how those developments really go along in the coming days. We also heard from

19:46Michael Clay, and he talked about not executing on that kickoff and said that they got too deep in the recovery. It didn't get off blocks and things like that. Nick Seriani, you know, it's really took the bullet and he said he appreciated that, but they didn't go out there and do their job as a unit. And he got into the different intricacies of the thought process and everything into it. But you know, I thought he was very transparent. As he always is, very, honest and took full accountability. Michael Clay has always done that. He's always been about that since he's been the Eagle Special Teams coordinator. And that's a play that's that's going to hang around for a while with this team. And you're always going to think about the wood it could have showed up. But the bottom line is is that they just didn't execute. They executed on the previous three kickoffs. I'm not counting the run back that Cameron had to start the game because it didn't count. But that was a game in which they were really undermaned as a personal protector. That's normally well-shipply, for example. They had to go to Cole Payton, the third string quarterback.

20:52I believe Marcus Epps is the backup personal protector and he was out. So it's really on all hands on deck scenario when you're talking about special teams and trying to get different guys in there that maybe haven't done it a whole lot or some in some cases at all in an NFL game. And you make the best of it. And that was a bad time to have a blunder. And that's kind of what happened. And it is what it is. I don't necessarily question that as much as I do the sequence before that kickoff even happened leading up to the field goal. And I'm not going to relitigate this whole thing. We've talked a lot about it over the past couple podcasts. But I just wanted to add a little bit of an insight there for what Michael Clay had to say. Sean Mannin was asked if he would like to see Jay when Hurts run a little bit more and what factored into it. And he mentioned that every game plan is a little bit different. Every week presents different challenges. And this week they wanted to be more pass-oriented. So it didn't really factor into the offensive game plan this week. But

21:56that's not to say that it won't maybe another week. But that was basically my read on what he had to say. He also mentioned that he didn't think that Jaylin Hurts is calf injury. And let's not forget on Friday he popped up as a full participant in practice. But was listed with a calf injury. And he had no game day designation. And it's easy to kind of draw a correlation that maybe that factored into him not running as much or being as mobile or maneuvering the pocket. And Sean Mannin didn't really think that that played much of an impact in that. So that kind of answers that question. And obviously I'll be keeping an eye on seeing if that pops up again this week coming off that that game there in London. But Jaylin Hurts has to run a little bit more in order to really make this offense a little bit more dynamic. That is something that is sorely lacking. His ability to create yards with his legs and force defense is to play the Eagles a little differently is such a critical piece to this offense right now where they're really searching

22:58for answers and trying to find their way. And Jaylin being a triple threat he includes his mind in that. It's an element that makes this offense potentially special or at least in the past it has. And to deprive that of the the pride of the offense of you know the lack of mobility and not running the football I think is taking away a really really important piece that separates it or could get things rolling a little bit being that plus one in the running game it all the sudden it changes the game it changes the way that defensive coordinators play you they have to honor that and I think to a larger point it helps the running game that much more. Those are just some of my Tuesday takeaways I'll have plenty more for you throughout the week as the Eagles prepare for the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. But for now that's going to do it for this episode of the Checo Daily I'm Andrew DeChico and I'll catch you all on the next one.

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