 Hey guys, you're listening to the Town of Football podcast and this is our analysis of the NFC East prior to the 2018 NFL season Thank you guys so much for joining us on this podcast. It's hot outside burning up It's summertime you guys are outside of school or if you don't go to school. That's fine. It's whatever. I hate school Do you hate school? I hate school, man. I graduated. It's yeah I He's doing the air quotes. I Graduated to and I learned nothing and now I have 20,000 in student loan debt I luckily don't have debt, but I have a lot of regret for four years of college Did you and me both not the debt part because I'm I'm still paying for that but Back to football my name is a son con. I'm the host of this show Town of Football So we've been doing this web series Or this whole podcast series where we talk about each division and football eight divisions four in each each division and today We're gonna get to our third division that we're talking about in the NFC and that is the NFC East That's the Cowboys the Redskins the Giants and the Eagles. We're gonna talk about them in that order and We're gonna continue With getting more of you guys more of the fans on this show joining us Here today sitting right across from me is a guy named John Castle who is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan John. How you doing? You have to say Super Bowl 52 champion. Oh, okay Eagles fan ladies and gentlemen. I Let's backtrack. Maybe I can cut this part out. But what I meant to say was fan of the 2007 No, no 2017 season. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we were kind of like But anyways fan of the Super Bowl 52 World champions the Philadelphia Eagles doesn't that sound amazing feels amazing. It's it's been a long time coming finally has But John you're gonna be joining us and tell us a little bit about your background. Would you grow up? How'd you become an Eagles fan? Yeah? So I grew up in Redding, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour. I guess Southeast or northeast north. No, sorry Northwest of Philadelphia. So I got to drive southeast to get there and Just everyone that area is just diehard and Eagles fans. So He's just kind of around it all the time and then eventually you decide that you want to like really dive into it So that was for me around the fourth grade when we just kept going NFC championship And it's a championship and it's a championship and that's when I kind of really dove in and started to latch on to the Eagles and They broke my heart for years and I just stuck with it and And it paid off. So here we are Finally did pay off. It was it was kind of exciting And also I think I saw a video of you and your reaction I think it was on snapchat or instagram or something of You watching the Super Bowl and your reaction dude. It was a long time coming. You know I thought I would cry. I really thought I was gonna cry like when we won the Super Bowl But I think that the only reason I didn't cry Is because I got married like a few weeks before So I had already had like that really high moment and then everything below that is like, uh, whatever So, right. I didn't really cry, but I couldn't I couldn't believe it. What was going through your head when you saw that, uh He always got the go ahead touchdown But then there was about two and two minutes 21 seconds something on that left for tom brady Did you think that he was gonna come back? You know, um, so we We scored the touchdown and they had like the huge dramatic review of when erz reached out to the fumble it or not And during that time I was like, oh, of course, it's a touchdown and then when they called touchdown It like hit me that we've seen this so many times before of he's gonna go right down there And I think we were down we were up four or five or something I think we were up five So a touchdown had it had to be a touchdown And everybody was already calling him like the goat, right? So you see it like The goat's gonna go down to get another ring beat the eagles break their hearts And I just couldn't I was prepared for it and I was like Here we go, you know, we got really far and I set into like an almost depression of That's too much time like if it was like 40 seconds I would have felt okay, but it was like two minutes with timeouts and the two minute warning I was positive. We were losing that game at that moment. I was like we're losing this game and then uh You know, we hadn't got to him all night. We hadn't touched him one time We hadn't sacked him at all which was the strength of our team And the second play when brandon graham hit that ball out and barnett jumped on it Barnett was a rookie by the way, which was really cool. That was really cool that he was on the field for that When he jumped on that ball, that's when I kind of realized we're gonna win the super bowl We're gonna win. I'm almost crying now. I was like, we're gonna win the super bowl for the first time and it's gonna be like Man, but but before that happened. I didn't I was positive. We were losing I would I would have bet my house on it that we're gonna lose that game dude. It was um Speaking from the perspective of falcons fan that played in the year before Um, I was kind of the the opposite when it was 28 to three. I was like, oh, we're winning We're definitely winning and then when they scored a touchdown and I think got a two point conversion out of it as well I was like, oh man, we're still winning And then they scored another touchdown. It was the moment where uh julian edelman got that one catch when they were down by eight Um, that I was like, oh, yeah, we lost even though we were up by eight. I know that yeah We were gonna lose but well, I think again like if I think that if the falcons didn't blow that lead That I wouldn't think that we were gonna lose the game I think that was part of it too was because like If you can come back from 28 three like if you can win a super bowl off of that you I mean down Seven five with two minutes left even if they hadn't you know blown like won the super bowl before Right, it just solidified like he's he's gonna do it. It's what he does like that's just kind of what he did so But regardless Yeah, you'll get one. Don't worry. How well later we'll get one. You'll get when I'm 76 with grand children You're getting it. I'll see um But yeah, we wanted to bring you on here to talk about the nmc east Uh, not just the Philadelphia evils, but all the other teams Um as well, let's start with the dallas cowboys What do you think of this team going into 2018? Um I don't know. They're kind of hard. I feel like to judge because Their best asset was kind of hurt all year with zeke, you know And so I guess the question of the season for me with dallas is Ken dak prescott carried that team because the teams that you really trust like green bay you trust green bay Atlanta you trust philadelphia New Orleans la proved it last year and then even the afc pitsburg all those teams have a quarterback that You know come heller high water They're going to carry your team and last year dak didn't really do that like he kind of did towards the end But that's when they got zeke back. So I think zeke coming back is going to help them But I think that this is going to be a year where they're going to have to decide is dak Going to be our guy like are we going to go forward with dak prescott If he has another year where they go 13 and three and he lights it up again Yeah, but if they go nine and seven eight and eight seven and nine, I think that he's probably gone Really? Yeah, I do. It's a hot take. It is a hot take. I think I and I well, I mean because think about it. He like Is this guy is a fourth round pick Like if he if you if he's really as good as you think he is you would have picked him in the first round You would have got him around one two or three you passed on him four times. So like Do you really believe in him that much to begin with and he had um I mean, I know he wasn't great as that first year, but his first year he had zeke He had the best line in football. He had witton. He had des bryant He had a bunch of weapons and the strength of their team was the running game So right but last year it all kind of went away. It all kind of went away Like the defense kind of suffered a little bit zeke was out Um des wasn't that good and you kind of saw like he's good But are we going to pay him? You know a hundred and thirty a hundred and three million dollars over five years is good, you know And I mean I think that that's the decision that they have to decide is is that what we want to do Because if not they can get I mean they're Dallas they can get a free agent they can get I mean they don't they're not married to Dak Prescott and I think that if this year He doesn't show that he's that guy. I think this might be as you know I think they might consider moving forward with someone else next year. So say that that does happen in 2018 where So everything you're saying is true. He doesn't do as well. They move on Ultimately looking back after this season Would you say that it was a good decision for the Cowboys to go with Dak Prescott over Tony Romo? Oh man, I mean, I don't know that's so hard because Roma was old like he was kind of on the down but I don't know man I think long term that they probably made the right call with going in another direction over Tony Romo because he got hurt And just he was injury prone. He was old, but I just don't know that You know, I think that they made the right decision picking the other guy I just don't know if Dak is the right other guy, you know what I'm saying I don't think that he's the right other quarterback in my opinion in my like I just think that he's very reliant on The team around him Which I mean, that's fine if you can sustain a team around you But those guys that are going to be 10 15 year mvp quarterbacks that are going to win you super bowls They don't have like they're not always going to have a lot around them They're not always going to have the best defense or a great running game or a great offensive line and You kind of he kind of needed that in my opinion in his rookie year And then when you took it away, he kind of regressed a little bit And so I think that this is going to have to be the year where he shows everybody I'm worth that money Because because if not they're going to have to make it like they're going to have to make a decision on it Are they going to pay him or not because I think his contract's up in two years So I think this is probably the year he's going to have to show that he's worth that money That's no, that's that's a good point for sure. Just I was just thinking in my head historically Like you would think that it would be the right decision to go with the younger guy whenever they ball out But historically it just hasn't worked out started As far as back I can remember with calling capricant alex smith They traded away alex smith the older guy so that I could go with capricanik Yeah, he was hot for like two years. Yeah, but then now you're looking back. It's like, well alex smith was a better decision same thing with Maybe andrew luck and patin manning andrew luck is a really good quarterback And yeah, I don't think he's really hit his highest potential yet But as of right now patin manning has gone to two super bowl since they've gotten rid of them. So Just an interesting take. Um What do you think are the chances that the cowboys make the playoffs this year? Um I have their record at nine and seven and I don't think that's going to get them in the playoffs But i'm not going to give them like a hard percentage, but i'll say maybe Four, I mean give or take 45. I just don't think they're going to be good enough. I I mean like I have their schedule right here. So they're going to play carolina, seattle, detroit and houston all before their bi-week That's like their first five weeks and all those teams are really similar to dallas, but their quarterbacks are better Like they're all really similarly built, but they all have a better quarterback So I think those games they'll probably lose those Then they have atlanta new orleans and indy all after the break Which again are teams that they should probably lose to But I think that they I mean obviously they're not going to lose all those games But those are just really tough. That's a tough, you know Those are just tough opponents and I think that they're gonna win some lose some probably come out at nine and seven ish I can see that. I can see that. I think last year they went nine and seven as well. Yeah. Yeah, so I could be wrong, but I but I mean they do I have here they're getting back zeke So that's going to help them. Yeah, he'll hopefully be there for the full year for them Um, they're getting shone lean back, which was big because he was out all last year. So that should really help them But that guy, um, what's his name? Irving got suspended though those first four games. That's sure. Yeah, so like Is that how much is that going to hurt them in their first four games? Are they gonna struggle with that or they're gonna because if they can come out three and one with those first four And their defense really gets bolstered about Week five they might have a shot, but I think that nine and seven for me Just reading off that schedule It's hard to see them, you know, getting to the playoffs because the NFC I think is way more competitive than the AFC as of right now Um, so you have those teams like Detroit like Carolina Um, Atlanta that are fighting for like those wild card spots. If not the division spot Um, but it's going to be tough for Dallas to get a division title with philadelphia division So and I have one this is an interesting point looking at that. I just thought of this So if you took those Carolina, Seattle, Detroit, Houston Atlanta, New Orleans and indy, right? I have a feeling if you looked at that schedule before the season Dallas would be favored to lose all those games before any injuries or anything like that But I wonder if romo was the quarterback How many of those have flipped? You know what i'm saying like how many of those would have flipped if it was romo Like would romo be favored against the panthers and cam newton probably probably probably so that right? There I think is going to be the thing is like it's not that their team Is that is a nine and seven team? I just think that they're playing opponents whose quarterbacks are just better and I think that's going to matter And I think that that's going to be the the factor of like well We went nine and seven if we had someone a little bit better Would we have maybe went 11 and five 10 and six which could make a that's I mean that's to make a break playoff right there Yeah, so I think that that's probably going to be the theme of their season Um, let's move on and let's talk about the washington redskins So speaking of quarterbacks they got in or they traded in for alex smith. Um, how do you think this team is going to do in 2018? I don't know. I like alex smith a lot, but I just don't they don't have any weapons They just don't have like to me. I don't just jordan reads a beast jordan read as an animal but outside of that I mean you look at the success. They had the last two three years. They had garson They had um, who's the running bag that tore it up morris, right? Yeah, morris was great for a few years And then they had to shawn jackson with jordan read and there was just plenty of options And I just don't think they have that this year and when you look at alex smith His best years. He had a lot of Really good playmakers in space with a really really smart head coach Like you look at um, san francisco He had harbaugh and then in uh, kansas city. It was andy reid both those guys are just offensively really good Like they just are really good at adapting their quarterbacks really good at west coast stuff of getting guys open in space on mismatches So jay gruden hasn't shown me he can do that But alex smith has kind of shown that he needs that because if you look at his first seven years He didn't have that but he got better over those seven year time and he's a much better player than he is But I don't think that he's gonna be have enough around him to really do anything Yeah, because he's kind of like a Not average. He's like a second tier quarterback 32 quarterback anyway And I think that that plus average weapons with a great tight end isn't gonna do it Yeah, you physically jordan reid is a good tight end. He hasn't been really that productive me because of the injuries or The emergence of verne davis who's seems like an ageless wonder um james and crowder as well as someone that's A slot wide receiver that might do well But I I could see your point where? You know where the weapons compared to like two or three years ago here in washington Is that why they treated for alex smith? Maybe he's someone that can You know manage the game really well. Yeah, despite who's around him. Yeah, possibly. Um, and they've got a guy chris thompson Who showed out in a couple games, but he's more of like a receiving kind of back as well. So um Do you think that they'll make the playoffs? I have them um seven and nine and Here's their I hear some of their schedule stuff too. This is their first five games They've got arizona who's gonna get back david johnson. They were gonna be I think they're gonna be really good They got arizona Andy with andrew luckback. They got green bay with, um, rogers back They got new warlands and carolina in their first five games. It's tough and like dallas That's a really tough first five games So I could see them I think they might go two and three in those and or maybe even one and four Really slip and then kind of come up later, but it'll be too late. I just don't think that they're I just don't think they're talented enough is the end of the day with the redskins. It's not that they're bad I just don't think that they're talented enough and I think they're playing teams Especially in their own division that are more talented and those first five games are gonna be tough for them So I have them going seven and nine. Yeah, no, it's it's definitely a tough conference like we mentioned before Um, but yeah, we'll see how they do Um going into 2018 We're gonna continue talking about All the teams or the remaining remaining teams in the nfc east the giants and the phytophyte eagles But first I wanted to talk to you guys about patreon So patreon is the number one way that you can sponsor your favorite content creator So you can sponsor anyone that makes contents you can sponsor a videographer a youtuber a podcaster Um a stripper. I guess they they make content. I guess they take off content It kind of counts. I guess but um What you can do is you go to patreon.com Um, and you can search for any content creator and it's kind of like a go fund me, but it's monthly You choose how much you want to pledge every single month and here at town of football We just kick this off and there's perks for you pledging. So if you Pledge five dollars a month Um, you'll get a free t-shirt sense here If you pledge just as little as a dollar a month, um, you get a free town of football rest ban but if every single person that, uh Pledge just one dollar a month That that was listening to this pledge just one dollar a month. We would have enough money to To grow town of football tremendously. Um And you can go to patreon.com slash time to football and kind of read up on Where your money goes towards all the certain projects that we've got planned in the future So that's p a t r e o n dot com slash time the number two football patreon.com slash time to football John I got to say You're one of my favorite people that I've uh Talked with on this on this podcast. Yeah, you just you got that man You you you get the hot take on some stuff. Some people are very conservative. Yeah, you know, but you're like, no, I like Dak Prescott, dude, you're probably gonna be wrong though. Who knows who knows? I mean And honestly, I don't like Dak Prescott because I remember the first year when he Him and Carson were rookies at the same year and everybody said Dak was better and they're so dumb for saying Dak Prescott is I know Wentz had his numbers were worse His records were worse people who said that Dak Prescott was better than Carson Wentz did not watch Carson Wentz play football That guy wasn't he wasn't animal like he could get out of He's first of all He's actually more athletic than Dak Prescott. He's quite he's faster. He's quicker. He's stronger His combine says it the tape says it all that says it And he did What he did with what he had was amazing It was incredible. So it's nothing to get I I don't like Dak to begin with And I think that that might have fueled the hot take but I do think that Dak Prescott needs to prove that he's the guy Yeah, absolutely. I think that uh Going into year two for Carson Wentz. Um, I was really big on him. Yeah, um, I was like, dude This guy's gonna throw over 30 touchdowns. Yeah, and he threw what 33 33. Yeah, um And it would have been the MVP if he didn't get hurt that would have been the MVP. I agree. I think that uh You know the MVP this this is probably a different topic for a different day But the MVP it's gone to like the best quarterback. Yeah, it's not the same as like an NBA or NFL It's not MLB. It's not the same, but it's it's not which I mean last year Carson Wentz was definitely deserving of that if he played all you know 16 games, but um, I mean if you want to go with the best quarterback last year Honestly, it could have been russia wilson. I think he did it all. He did everything Uh, yeah, no, I see what you're saying. I think I read a statistic where he was like He accounted for 75 of their offense. Yeah, because with his running too. It's ridiculous. Yeah, that's ridiculous Yeah, I don't that's really hard to argue. That's really it's really hard to argue I think I don't think that I would trade russia wilson for Carson Wentz for one season straight up right now But if someone wanted to I would understand why I would understand why like if some eagles friends were like, yeah, I would rather have russia wilson than uh Carson Wentz I'd be like, yeah, I can see why you know the eagles actually almost had russia wilson. Yeah, you know that Yeah, I was reading it kind of it worked out, but we almost had him We interviewed him and uh, and we said we wanted him to his face and he said all right Go get me and then the seahawks had him two picks before we were gonna take him Did you uh, so in the end though, you prefer Carson Wentz over russia wilson? How it worked out I think that he I think his ceiling is higher I just think he has a higher ceiling But I mean russia wilson's proven like he he's shown that he can do it But I think that the projection is that Carson Wentz can also do it and maybe better The projection is right and I mean right now like he's like I mean who if you were gonna pick for the next 10 years A quarterback Carson Wentz would be at least three He's top of the list. Yeah. I mean like him and luck if he's healthy Are like you would take you just would take them over anyone else, but wilson has done it already So like I would understand why if someone said wilson's better. I'm not gonna argue. No, definitely. I just I don't know um But going back onto the teams that we were talking about in the nmc east Next up man, we're just itching to talk about the eagles aren't we it's a we're getting there We're getting there closer. That's for last. Um Definitely in the third team though. We're going to talk about the new york giants. So what's your take on them? well, um I I don't feel bad for the giants, but they had a rough break last year with obj getting hurt and I mean that just he had again They had that was a team that had no weapons and elie getting benched for who who is even the backup that for that game That's right. Geno Smith the other new york quarterback um They had a rough year and I don't think they're going to be that bad this year Yeah, I think that they're I think their biggest question is can they block for elie because last year they couldn't their offensive line was awful It was just not very good And you can add a great running back to that or project your great running back But if their offensive line isn't there You know, how good are they really going to be? But I have a feeling they're going to be a lot better than they were last year Yeah, so we go to their offensive line the guy Nate soldier out of new england The drafted guy will hernan is who's projected to be at first round. They stole him in the second round So it's gonna be better definitely, uh, at least they can run towards the right side. We say calling barkley a lot better um Do you think that's gonna be tough to stop the the run game? No, I'm um For the eagles. No, we'll get to that. Um, I don't know. I think that barkley It depends how good he is because like he could be zeke or he could not like everybody's saying Well, he's the next zeke and zeke was unstoppable. He could also be christian mccaffery, you know where it's like he's good, but like I mean, he's just another guy back there right now. Right. So I guess the question is I think that I think that zeke. I mean not zeke. I think that barkley will have a really good year if the offensive line is Significantly better. I don't think that he's going to come in and be the difference maker By himself. I think him plus a revamped line could be Pretty good and just the fact that odell beckham is going to make it really hard to stop the run Because you can't load the box because obj he will burn you like he'll run right by you. That's a touchdown So I think that getting him back is also going to help the running game in return Gonna take pressure off elie, which is going to make him play better. So I think they're set up for a pretty good year I think so too. I um, I was talking to actually Michael watson who was on this podcast previously. I know right um Actually, he was sitting in the same seat that you're sitting right now. Uh, this is I love you, mikey We were talking about the the giants. I think um And we were talking about sake one barkley. I think yeah, we're talking about the anaphyl draft how the giants sit in the draft um Can I interject right there by the way? Yeah, for sure. They should not have taken barkley it too Really especially with baker mayfield going one. That was not smart Really when's the next time they're gonna pick in the top three? Oh, that's when's the next time they're gonna be that bad everything lined up everything lined up for them to go get darnold Like everything was there for the but I mean I just don't under I'm glad they didn't because now they got to figure it out after elie's done So so if the if the browns took sam dornold, then it would be okay. I mean in my opinion I think you take bark like if darnold goes one I understand that if you're not really sold than anybody else There's no way the giants didn't think that I mean sam dornold was the guy Yeah, he was the guy and I think that having him behind a two-time Superbowl mvp quarterback Would have been ginormous for them. I think that would have been huge But I think if they made the the win now move And I think that they I think they I don't know when they're gonna pick in the top three again. That's a good You know, like when are they gonna pick there again? That's true. They could have traded. I mean they even could have traded down to five Uh to denver denver could have had chubb there. They could have done anything with the pick I don't think the running back was the right choice. Not because he's not gonna be good I just don't like they might not ever get in the top three again for years Yeah, like what are you gonna do? Who's who's gonna be your guy? Eli's got two three years left In a division with karsten wence in it. You're gonna have to have a quarterback You're gonna need somebody so when when uh mayfield went one And they didn't take sam darnold. I thought that was a big mistake I understand why they took barkley. I get it because he's He was the best player in the draft. I don't think that he was the right pick for them Yeah, that's a good point. I think that uh I mean, I I thought it was a good pick picking barkley. Um But I mean, I'm looking at more of like the browns perspective where they shouldn't have Taken baker mefield number one. Yeah, they could have taken they could have had barkley and mayfield If they just would have taken barkley one and four. Yeah, they definitely could have And then in that case if that were to happen that the browns did take sequin barkley, then yes, the Giants Take sam darnold I don't know man. It's it's they haven't had a run game since like that whole duo with amad bratshaw brain and jacobs. Yeah But but but but that was a duo So like but even that point is how much is one guy gonna How much is a running back gonna change your franchise? Well, I was actually going into what I was gonna say Reading up a stat Nate burleson of nfl network when I was talking to michael about this he said that Whoever is in the top five and total Scrimmage yards for the running backs like they're receivers in the top three and receiving yards that year it happened with Deandre hopkins and lemar miller. I think it was like two years ago or last year Happens all the time with levy on bell and antonia brown and Odell he gets like 1,200 1,300 receiving yards and last year the running game only got like 800 yards total Yeah, and two years ago. It was like around that 700 800 yards So imagine if like sequin barkley can now can get like 1,200 1,300 yards What's odell's potential? Well, I understand that but think about like Think about is the value of barkley at two better than getting someone else in the fourth round Like that's the question is like because last year alvin chimera was the best rookie running bag. He went in third Oh, no, kareem hunt was I think the best running bag. He's third round pick, right? Yeah, so at four net taken at four by the jags. He's great. Is his value that much more than Taking kareem hunt in the third round. That's a good because if it's not Then why do you take a running back that high? I think that's the thing with like Taking a running back. No one's saying that barkley's I don't think barkley was a bad Pick as in he's gonna be a bust I just don't know if the value for what that does For your team is worth taking it above a guy who could be your quarterback for 15 years Especially when elie is like two years away from retiring two three years away. That's my point is like a really good point like are you like A great running back is a really good asset, but it's it's it's value It's like is this one really worth taking it this much higher? Let me this is let me put it personally for like i'm a guitar player. So for guitars I could have this third this uh eight thousand dollar guitar fantastic guitar Is the eight thousand dollars worth the extra six grand to pay for the two thousand dollar one? Which is also great, but not as great. It's not that one is is better than the other It's how much more better is it worth to pay for it? Right. So I think when you're looking at especially running backs like Is barkley going to be that much better than any other back in this draft? Is he going to be barry sanders and the rest of those guys are going to be patin hillis? You know like is that if that's the case then take him But especially where the nfl is going with if you don't have a quarterback You're dead in the wall. It doesn't matter how good the rest of your roster is. I don't think that that was the right pick Interesting. I don't think I just don't think it was. I mean you're changing my whole perspective on everything Yeah, I mean just like man. I'm changing people out here. No, I just I think he's going to be great I think I don't want to play against him. He's going to be an animal, but I just don't You could have had kareem hunt in the third round, but he took for net at four Not for that not the four nets are going to be bad Not that hunts better or four nets going to be better or whoever But you could have had kareem hunt in the third round and gotten another piece with the fourth pick And I think that's the point with the giants is They'll be better now and I I have them going 10 and 6 11 and 5 I think they're a dark horse to win the division. I think they're going to be a lot better But I just don't yeah I I think they're going to be a lot better because all the pieces from their from their 11 and 5 season are still there They have the frame of it except they got rid of ben macadoo, which was offensively horrendous and everybody assuming health is going to be back but I think that long term They made the wrong decision on that pick But just because you could add sam darnold and you could have had him sit for two years behind ila manning And compete with carcin once for the division man. That's crazy. That's a crazy way to look at it. Um That being said, I don't want to play them next year. I think they're going to be scary So you so you got I'm assuming we haven't gotten to the egos yet, but Giants are going to make a run for the the division title I do okay, okay, especially because no one has repeated the um nfc east The nfc east champion hasn't repeated since 0 304 It's been a long time since it's been back to back champ. It's just every year. They're just kind of like The nfc east is like I in my opinion I think it has the best overall rivalry in football from team to team because they're all so close like one year dialysis can go 4 and 12 and you can beat up on them twice and the next year they can go 13 and 3 and win the division And then it could flip again next year And I think that that is kind of like the theme of the division And I think that the Giants might be that team that that comes up and wins it I hope not, but I had them go on like 10 and 6 11 and 5 Nice Nice dude, you you have a good way of uh convincing me To go against my points You are you are it's it makes a lot of sense. I got Beth to marry me. So I do I'm pretty persuasive Um John I think it's time to talk about your favorite part of this podcast um The philadelphia eagles So coming off a great season a great super bowl victory for the organization the fans the whole city Are they gonna be better? Are they gonna be worse? Okay Oh man, I think that they are going to be A better team with the worst record. I think they're gonna be better than they want than they were the year they won the super bowl They're playing a division winner schedule. So they're gonna play Um, that makes a difference because they're gonna play the vikings and they're gonna play the rams And I think both of those games are no minnesota's at home la's on the road. Yeah, so they're gonna play those two That does make a that I mean that's a difference. You would rather play chicago than minnesota. It just is what it is So they're gonna get two Additional games that are pretty tough. Um, they're getting everybody back. I have a list of people who they're gonna get back They're gonna get wence back I have another that's a big one. Yeah. Yeah. So wence is gonna be back Hopefully the reports are that he's doing fantastic in camp jason peters is back Darren sprawls is back everybody kind of forgot that he was hurt darin sprawls Going into the season if you would have said who's the eagle's best offensive weapon You would have said darin sprawls. Hmm. You like he you like I think uh, he broke the record two years ago for total Scrimmage yards. Yeah. Yeah, I think I think it was about four or five years ago with the saints Yeah, well, I think he rebroke it in philadelphia. I'm pretty sure he rebroke it. Yeah, that's crazy. Check me on that Don't quote me I'm pretty sure he rebroke it But he I mean he was at least the most proven offensive weapon on bagels if not the best at the time So he's he's gonna be back We're getting jordan hicks back. Um, that's a big one and then we added mike wallace on the outside got rid of torey smith Um, torey smith was supposed to be somebody who kind of stretched the field. Um, he I mean he was okay I think mike wallace is an upgrade Um Our draft pick dallas goddard. I think is gonna be really good. I think he's gonna be good because he's not he's in a unique spot where he Is a first or or high second round talent who's not being asked to be the starting tight end like when you look at, um Like when detroit took eric ebron a few years ago, he was supposed to be their starting number one tight end dallas goddard isn't gonna have that pressure So I think he's gonna be really good, but I don't think he's gonna be He's not gonna have the numbers, but I think his impact is going to be really great. So I think he's a big addition He's a good replacement for traper. Yeah, he's really good emperor. I think brent selic. Yeah, brent selic has gone to traperton. I think is I'm sad he left man. He's part of that feeling special I'm sad he left. Um, so yeah, I think he's going to be a good replacement and then marcus weaton I don't know how many how much time he's going to get but I think he's an addition Um And then the strength of our defense last year was our defensive line Everyone came back and we signed halody nada and traded for michael bennett So if you take the strength of your team and make it better, I think that I mean, that's just incredible I don't know how they did that. That's amazing. Um sydney jones is a big player for us. He was our cornerback We took him in the second round last year out of washington. He was supposed to be a top 20 ish pick and he tore his acl So he fell in the draft. We took him when he was hurt. He didn't play at all for us He'll be back and then So, all right, I'm not Do we trade nick foals for another player because that could happen too Like like you have a piece there where foals just coming back. Could you trade him for something? That's going to help you win now or an asset like that. So I think that they're going to be More talented and more together and a better team But I think they might have a worse record and I think the hardest thing for them Is they're gonna have to adapt and this is doug peterson They're gonna have to go from being the underdog To they're the hunted now like everybody's gonna want what they have And I think that for them like last year that underdog role was huge for them Like yeah, even as an eagles fan I lashed on to that like I was pissed off that teams didn't pick us to win I was upset that we were an underdog at home to the vikings that made me angry Like that made me angry that we were a home underdog in every playoff game that we played Like that makes me angry like they're the hunted now Everybody wants what they have and so I think their mindset is going to have to be like Just because we got one like are we going to be content with getting our one or are we going to want like Are we going to pursue this harder and I don't There's just been so much celebration from the players over it that I don't know if they have that mindset yet And I think they could be in for a rude awakening week one week two week three Like that that atlanta game is going to be a big A big tell force because that's going to be the banner celebration That crowd is going to be going absolutely crazy raising the banner. It's going to be amazing But we took what the falcons wanted and the falcons were right there and didn't get it like That's every team's thought process and the eagles took it And so now they're the hunted they're going to get every team's best shot Their mindset is going to have to change from this underdog little engine that could story to we have to defend this title And if you want it from us, you got to take it from us Like you are going to have to come take this ring off my finger And I don't know if they can I just don't know if they're going to do that Man so and not to mention that the falcons Are a better team much more in sync Uh, you you're looking at me like they're uh, okay Do you think okay well I think so I What do you mean by they're a better team? Offensively they're going to be much more in sync. Oh, I thought oh, I see. I thought you meant better than the eagles Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. When you said better team. I thought you were saying than the eagles Okay, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah, no the falcons will be better. Yeah, they'll be better um Yeah, so not not to mention the falcons are will be better in general compared to how they were in 2017 Gunnen for like, you know, like you said, they're now the hunted gunner for a going to get their best shot So that's going to be pretty tough. Um, also Our statistician Just filled us in and my statistician. I mean my macbook Daren's bowls did not break the record with the eagles. It's still still with the saints in 2011 close Uh, actually the only times that he was on the list. He was first with the saints He was 26th with the chargers And 35th with the chargers see all my credibility is gone now. See I'm gonna everything I said is going to be wrong everything Don't listen to me John has no idea what he's talking about. So when you guys listen to this podcast, we're just it's just going to be my voice Just asking questions and then cut me off. Yeah, that's that's all that's going to happen. Um I just there's been so much celebration And the parade the parade at the super bowl at the broad street was unbelievable. I had friends that went to it and they were just like It's just you know, it's like this in every sports city I think but people don't unless you're kind of in it. You don't really get it like The eagles the flyers the sixers the fillies like If if they're doing really well You're doing really well and if they're not you're not and it's that it was really that simple for the eagles like Their fans are so die hard because that's just like what people have to look at like in the city. It's like You know, you see people who are like Grown 65 year old men that are just like literally crying. I just won a super bowl before I die That's what that's like my wish before I die is to see this And it's something really special that the players are aware of And I think that now that they've given that to the fans and they've kind of like released that like You have this championship and we gave this to you and it was like This incredible story of this underdog city and like that's kind of what Philly is with rocky and with invincible and vince papale And all that stuff And the team embraced that And it just feels like for me Like when I was watching it It just felt like that all the anger and all the sadness from all the other years just went away For me and I'm sure that's like Feeding into the team because for me it's like we got it like we did it Like if we never win another one I've seen one But the eagles can't have that mentality. They just can't but I know a lot of fans do it's like man I saw the super bowl. I saw us win a super bowl when I never thought I would kind of like how calves fans feel I'm sure with the brawn like if the brawn leaves. It's like whatever man. You gave us a title Go do your thing a lot of fans feel like that And because the fans kind of feed the team so much I'm afraid that the team is is having a hangover party Where they're kind of really excited that they won the super bowl And i'm not sure if they're going to be able to flip the switch And just be the be the hunted Yeah, because yeah other teams haven't had that Yeah, you know like we were talking about Atlanta. Atlanta hasn't had that yet now Grand Atlanta as a city isn't as big of it like Has a sports fan base as compared to maybe like philadelphia and other sports cities out there like pittsburgh chicago Yeah, uh, boston, but Um, yeah other teams organizations players on those teams are gunning for that. They want that high They want that moment to go to the super bowl and the eagles i'm sure they want it too But do you want it more than you want to stop thinking about the last one? Like do you just are you just going to hold on to the last one or are you really going to let it die like duc peterson said at the at the ring ceremony He said this ring ceremony for us I think it's time for us to put this to bed and to let it go and to like it's time to move on And that message is what he said, but I just want to know if players are really feeling that I want to know if they're like really like Embracing that I know karsten wence is because karsten. That's that's a good thing is because wence He didn't play in the super bowl So he has something to prove like he's still hungry for that ring because even though he's got one He didn't win it. He wasn't the guy who won it, but I'm just a little concerned that they're not going to be able to adapt to that being the hunted What's even concerning to me is they're playing in la and yeah, that's where it's where it all happened I set into such a deep hour depression after that I was watching the game and I saw the hit and I didn't think any I I was like, ooh, that's kind of bad But he stayed in after that he threw a touchdown Yeah, and then walked off the field because he's the goat Just kidding. He's not the goat, but he um You know when he went to the locker room. I was like, okay He didn't come back and then there was no report, but everybody just said that they were shaking their heads And I remember we won the game and it was a great game It was close and nick foals threw that first down that sealed it My wife I was so upset and my wife looked at me. She's like, what's wrong with you? Like why are you not like why are you sad? And I just remembered I said, that's it. Like that's our season Like he was we're done without nick foals and everybody and like Everyone felt like that everybody felt like their season was done. So Take that like We went from the highest of highs to we're winning the Super Bowl mid season So we have no shot to then we won the Super Bowl All that emotion the eagles have to drop it like that because you got to get to work and you got to go Win another one go win another one and I don't know if they can do it and I'm scared as an eagle spin You're talking about They're gonna be a better team with a worse record What's the record this year? I think 11 and 5 ish I think around what the that I think they're gonna be really close with the giants I think they're gonna be I think they're probably both gonna finish 11 and 5 10 and 6 and one of them is gonna It depends how the rest of the nfc is I think that 10 and 6 won't get you in as a wild card I think 11 and 5 could I think that I think that the eagles are gonna have to go 11 and 5 to make the playoffs And I think that they're they're probably gonna go 11 and 5 ish So you've got The Philadelphia Eagles Winning the division title is a new york giants I'm gonna say the eagles are gonna win it. I think it's gonna be close. Yeah. Yeah here. I have their schedule up too. So They're gonna play Atlanta. That's gonna be that's a playoff team. That's that's gonna be a that's so that's a playoff opponent They're gonna play Tampa Bay without james that they'll win that Indianapolis is gonna get back andrew luck So while on paper you'd think they'll beat indianapolis andrew luck's gonna be back So how much better they're gonna be? Tennessee was a playoff team So right now let's call that four playoff caliber teams. They're gonna play minnesota That was a playoff team. I think new york is going to be a playoff team. That's six playoff teams They play carolina jacksonville. That's eight playoff teams. They're gonna play dallas Uh, I won't call them a playoff team, but that's still a hard divisional opponent. They're gonna play new orleans. That's nine Playoff teams. They play new england not new england. They play new york again They're gonna play LA that's 10 playoff teams and they're gonna play the um I'm not the rockets. Why don't I just say the rockets? They're gonna play houston with uh Yeah, yeah, I don't want to keep blanking. Deshaun watson who will probably make the playoff. That's 11 playoff teams That's crazy. Yep So that with the fact that like you're gonna get all those playoff teams best shot I think if they're like, I think they're more talented But everybody's gun informed now like everybody's gonna want to take them out and you're gonna get 11 Really good teams that you're gonna have to play. So I think 11 and 5 is where they're gonna sit 10 and 6 Okay, okay. So and then second you got the new york giants. Yeah around there like 11 5 10 6 as well and then I have uh dallas and then I've got Washington All right, you take on the nfc east john I love it. Thank you for so for joining us on this podcast. Yeah, um so I kind of sent you this question before so that you can you can kind of think about it and I kind of Think I know the answer to it, but we always ask every single guest on the show What their favorite moment of football is so whether it's like professional football college football you played football like what a what is your favorite football moment? Can I give you two? You you sure okay, so my my well, I'll I'll give them in reverse order. So my the second favorite one was um The game went to Sean Jackson had the kickoff return for the touchdown against the giants That was a good that game. I turned it off and walked away I I was hanging out with my friend Vince and we were down 31 7 with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter and I clicked it off It was I was like this is stupid I was so mad because we were playing so well and then new york came in or we went to new york and we were playing like Absolute garbage And I was sitting up there My friend that I turned on xbox were playing xbox and I just hear my dad go. Oh Oh, and he's just yelling like every four five minutes And we had just been piling on these touchdowns on the comeback And my dad's like john you got to turn this thing on and I'm like I don't want I don't want the heartbreak dad Just leave it. We're not going to win And my dad said we tied it up turned it on and I turned it on And for some reason I think that was a that was a fox game And I have two fox stations and one of them is on delayed So I watched the tying touchdown we threw that he vicked through to macklin and macklin tied it and then new york went three and out and um When they kicked it to shawn jackson he returned that touchdown I could not believe it. That was one of the coolest moments. I've ever seen in my life Just because it was just funny because of my dad was oh Oh John This is really funny and it was just I thought that was a good representation of what that season was gonna be with the research and some like vick and it was really cool at the time but then we kind of flamed out and lost to the packers, but then my favorite moment was when Brandon Graham stripped on brady and uh barnett dove on it that play for me That play is above the philly special play for me like all the time just because like the philly special thing was cool But that play sealed the super bowl and of rookie dove on it and brandon graham was like You know that was a cool story where brandon graham was picked by Howie roseman But then when chip kelly came in brandon graham was kind of garbage with chip kelly and we almost traded him and then for him to get back under the The teachings and kind of philosophy of an andy reed kind of guy and to make that play and to win us the super bowl on it Was so cool. So that's my favorite moment. That's really cool. Yeah Geez Must be good to win super bowl It's like every other every I can barely remember every other season where we lost It's just like it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's it's amazing I want that feeling at lana. It's amazing. Please win Do it for all of us. Um John again, thank you so much for for joining us. This was awesome. This is fun. We'd definitely love to have you come back um You want to give a shout out to anyone or you? Thanks, babe. Let me go away for an hour to talk about sports. Thank you. I appreciate it and um Yeah, just all my friends here. I love you guys. Hope you guys enjoy this podcast and fly. It was fly, baby By the well, can I give you another one by the way? Yes, my wedding was super cool How my groomsman did that so everybody who's listening I got married here in georgia on the day when the eagles played the falcons in the the divisional round last season and My groomsman speech my best man vince gave this really cool speech And then at the end he just played the eagles fight song and it was like the that was so cool I did not see that coming and I thought that was really cool. So that was really cool. Yeah, so that's a shout out All my friends up in philly. Thanks bethany for letting us steal your man um And for all of you guys, uh, if you're watching this on youtube, just know that we do have a podcast on itunes If you're watching this on or listening to this on itunes, we have a podcast up on youtube and also other video content as well Uh, but regardless when you go to itunes, make sure you rate and review this podcast Give it five stars because it definitely helps us out. It tells us that you love this content Um, follow us on all the social media sites to just search time to football on everything facebook instagram whatever Search time to football. You'll find us. Follow us subscribe Uh, thank you guys so much for joining us. Um And we do hate school, but stay in school. Please stay in school