Drive Time: Eagles Perspective with Fran Duffy

the latest from those guys. And we'll also pick the week seven NFL games from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drive Time Podcast, Maggie, Daffiehirs. As we do every single Thursday, we head to the opponent sideline. Let's go ahead and welcome in my guest today, fran Duffy. You guys know who he is. He joins us every year during the draft cycle. But now as we get once every represidential campaign to pick his brain

on the team. He actually covers Eagle Eye and the Sky podcast for the Eagles Podcast Network, also the Journey to the Draft podcast. Fran Duffy Fran, good morning to you, sir, and thank you for joining us.

things rolling. They haven't had a losing streak since the twenty twenty one season, so they'll be looking to not let that happen here this weekend.

team than I do. And when I was watching the Eagles, I noticed a bunch of explosive plays, vertical passing game, very consistent running game, but some not errors, but just not the efficiency in the short intermedia game we're used to seeing. So I wanted to just kind of put that question to you, What have you seen in terms of where they've excelled offensively and where they've struggled so far through six games?

And you go down the list and each of them have kind of taken turns on a weekly.

the past game, it's all there. What they've said over the course of the five to zero start and then certainly last week even still that they have not played their best game yet. They have not played a complete game yet offensively, And that's what has made it kind of funny because I think everybody in the outside, yeah, like you know's there's still kind of like a feeling out period. Obviously, there have been some changes on a

personnel front. You know, there's some swapping up front along the offensive line.

all right, the offense isn't quite the same feel. But then you also like step back, you're all right, let's just look at the numbers. And when you look at it from like an EPA standpoint, from a success rate standpoint, this is a team that's in the top six, top seven in pretty much every like impactful category.

at a high rate. And that's kind of a good place to be at right where it's like, all right, we haven't peaked too early. We're still like climbing that ladder, and you hope that you want to be going to kind of hit full stride by the time we get into like November December.

I'm throwing a ball on a comeback. Like outside the podcast, Sam, there's not probably anybody else in the league that can do that. You know, he's a freaking powerlifter playing quarterback back there. He's just such an impressive, impressive player. And you mentioned, you know, Brian Johnson the new play caller, and obviously the right side of the offensive line was

banged up last week. And on top of that, two of those picks are never going to happen again this year, like the one that gets you know, batted off someone's thigh pad and goes back to the defensive line for a pick a one where his arm gets hit mid throw. Like that one could happen, but it's just very fluky occurrence, is what I'm trying to say. But I want to get your your just general feel for how you think

he and Brian Johnson have worked together. Excuse me, how that relationship has kind of started, where it is right now and where you see it going here for the Eagles.

relationship was already there. He's been the quarterback coach here over the last couple of years under Nick Sirianni, and then stepped into the offensive coordinator role this offseason, and so that relationship is rock solid and now. But again, anytime you have a new coordinator or a new play caller, there's still just going to be like kind of like

that feeling out period. And every team, as you know, like every team every single season, you're gonna have different strengths and weaknesses just because of natural turnover and development and evolution. So it's like, all right, those first few weeks of the year are always about what is what is our identity? What do what this is this version of this team do best, you know, and just kind

of figure feeling out where that is. But I think right now there's a lot of reasons to be excited about Jalen Hurts, this pass game, this offense.

But one thing you can count off for this Eagles team, because even though the passing success right right now I think is forty four percent swift and hurts, I think our second and third or third and fourth overall quarterbacks had running backs in success rate on the ground. Tell us about this run game. I'm also just kind of curious to get your gauge on whether or not Lane Johnson plays this week high ankle sprain. I know he's trying to get back out there and played, but just

his his potential absence or not. And then the running game. How have you seen a playoffs so far?

and his ability to kind of gut it out. So that'll be something certainly to watch for in the next couple of days and see what his status is. But I think when you look at this run game, Travis, what has really stood out to me over the years. You know, Jeff Stoutlin has been the offensive line coach here since the twenty thirteen season, so he's been here through you know, I guess it's three different coaching staffs, right.

He was bought in by Chip Kelly was here for the entire Doug Peterson era and then obviously here with Nick Sirianni, and what has always stood out is, yeah, like they're going to have their their core principles right there in terms of, hey, this year, we're going to really major in the pin pull sweep or the different versions of inside zone or outside zone, right, you know,

whatever whatever that is. But they've always been extremely multiple, so that in any given game, whatever your weakness is as a defensive front and the way that you fit the run and how you line up to certain formations, hey, you know, we are going to attack that weakness if we feel like there's an area there, you know. So they've basically they've got all the different clubs in their bag to use a golf reference, they got it, and

they know how to use all of those clubs. So depending on what your weakness is on the ground, and they're not afraid to spam the same play over and

over and over until you adjust. And we saw that it was week two against the Minnesota Vikings where they came out and ran the same formation, the same play call, the same basic like inside zone play from the same formation like seven eight times in like a two drive span and just said yeah, like go ahead, stop it, like try try and stop it, and until you guys adjust, we're going to keep doing it. And that might seem like boring from a play calle exam, like all right, here we go, let's inside zone.

He looks like he's three forty, which again that's not a small guy, but the way he's put together, Like there are like probably five people on planet Earth that are built the way Jordan Mylotta is and move the way that he does.

And he said, well, the best teams can they team the opposing defense knows what's coming and they can still do it successfully. And if I just may add a variable to Jordanilata as well, not many humans can move like that or built like that and have the pipes that guy has, if I do say.

it was not mistaken. Just give us the kind of one on one here behind to sigh and what this defense looks like so far through six games under his guidance.

the NFL and learning under Fangio. And so you know, that was something that he kind of talked about in his introductory press conference, was outside of like what he wanted the identity to be. He was like, look, there are a lot of teams in the NFL that are

trying to run some version of the Fangio defense. Was like, but I'm a guy who actually like learned under Fangio for more than just a year, right, Like, he is a guy he was kind of brought up in that system, and I know that he and coach Fangio are close to this day. So I would say, like, from the bones of it, it's similar, but there's always gonna be tweaks and there's always going to be some differences. You're

always gonna put your spin on things. Certainly, you know Sean is going to lean into the strengths of this defensive line and it's been as one of the best lines in football.

straight or two straight weeks. He's had at least two sacks, and he's had a sack and at least the last three games he had a broken thumb to start the year, was playing with a cast.

any good. So I think the big thing in this game will be ken the Eagles do enough to force it to hold onto the football and allow that defensive line just that extra tick to be able to get home.

scrimmage offensively or defensively. Jordan Davis was walking the center back all game long.

at the end of Friday. But so banged up back there, how have they kind of managed the attrition they've gotten there? Because a couple of guys in ir Justin Evans, whom I forgetting one of their potomatics. I'm in the middle of the football field, and I'm kind of wondering that it seems like the attrition hasn't just occurred at the corner safety spot, but in particular down the middle of the field where might be so successful in the passing game.

How do you think that might kind of shake out come Sunday night.

the secondary is going. But through six games they have had six different starting combinations just because of all the injuries on the back end. Now, this was a team that was blessed with really good injury luck.

Brown can make a return here this week. He has played both safety and some in the nickel over the course of this season. And you just want to be able to get some fresh bodies back there, because you know they're they're bringing guys up off the practice squad.

lined up, Where's Jalen Watta lined up? You know, you have to kind of talk through all of that, and is going to be very much an execution style game for this defensive back seven in terms of understanding where everybody is. You know, even like you talk about like the spine of the defense Nikobe Dean.

All these long Tyreek Hill touchdowns are typically a coverage bus at some point where a safety doesn't get enough depth or doesn't get to his you know, part of the half field responsibility he has, so going to be paramount for the Eagles. Get that stuff stort on the back end. I end these interviews the same way each time. Friend, the Eagles win the game if and the Dolphins win the game if and then you can fill in those blanks for us.

And even then they were still in position to win the game, and then with a two minute drail at the end, right, so they can't They won't be able to afford to do that here this week because this Dolphins offense obviously on the other end of the spectrum from that Jets passing game. So I would say that would be the case, and I think the Dolphins, you know, the Dolphins win this game if they're able to really

just kind of keep things rolling offensively. But I would say more and more importantly for them is if this this defense can you know, do a number on this Eagles offense. If you're able to keep them in check, you keep them in the in the teams, in the twenties. I think obviously that that probably spells victory here for the Dolphins brand.

It's a trope as old as time right, football teams want to improve as the year goes along and ultimately play their best ball in December and into January and hopefully into the second month of the new year, as Frandelphi and I discussed there on the podcast, and so for myself, as a podcaster who covers football, I would

like to do the same. And the reason I'm telling you guys this is because I kind of want to redo the way I do assistant coach coverage or really media in general, because I feel like if the podcast has too much of that, it gets a little bit redundant and it gets a little bit not what you guys are looking for, because you can find that material on the YouTube channel, and I'll do my best to give you as much from the assistant coaches who don't

go up on the YouTube channel. But I just want to go ahead and put that disclaimer or that initial kind of preface on this next segment because I'm only going to run a few bits of sound here. I want to talk a little bit about Frank Smith and the questions I asked him about tous footwork because I find it very fascinating. And then I'm also going to give you some sound from Eric Studisville, who talked about

the selfless nature of the running back room. And those two topics were basically what I wanted to cover here from all the stuff we heard in those press conferences. And again you can find them on YouTube. They'll be up there. I believe both OC's will be on there, or I should say both coordinators will be on there, and then we'll see about the assistant coaches. But I just think that it's a better idea for the podcast to play some sound and then kind of give you

some thought perspective behind that because you come here. I think from my perspective, right, you can listen to any podcast and you can find sound bites from a press conference from anybody, but you want the perspective of the host. I think that's how it works. So I'm gonna do that. So I'm gonna give you two sound bites here from Frank Smith and you can go find you know, Jalen Hurts is great, The front is tough. It's a tough challenge for us I'm gonna save those sound bites for

the YouTube channel. I just don't think it adds a lot to the podcast. Does that sound good to you? Guys on the same page here, let's go ahead and talk about these two comments from Frank Smith when I asked him about Tua's footwork and how sharp it is.

And because if you didn't know this, and you'll hear Coach explain, footwork and the core fundamentals of any sport generates through your base and your footwork that in football, the quarterbacks footwork and the timing of the drop essentially operates within every other category of the offense for it to be effective. So the timing of the routes marry up to the timing of your quarterbacks drop his hitch. You know, one hitch is your first read, your second

hitch is getting back to your backside read. Whatever the case may be, it all stems through where your feet are. And you know, that's why I love the quote that Tua gave us that Darryl Bebble taught him to be where your feet are, because not only is it a great philosophical approach to being present, which I think we could all stand to do, a little better job in that regard. When I'm watching you know, late night TV before Caroline goes to bed with my wife and Cameron's

already in bed, Let's be in that moment. Let's not be on Instagram. You know what I'm saying, Like, I think we can all take from that. So I'm getting way off the rails here. But the reason I wanted to put this out there was because, yes, be present, but also, man, the way to us feet work at that position on a football field. It's one of the many nuances of his game that I think is overlooked by people who either just don't care to fine tune every single detail of the game. And if that's how

you want a fan, all the power to you. Man, watch the game in a way that makes you enjoy it the most. But there are folks that you know, want to deliberate. Is that the right word on these You know X quarterback could do? Why in this offense? Like, no, Man, that's not how it works. If you want to have the nuanced conversation, put in the requisite work, the prerequisite

work to be able to have that conversation. So when you tell me that Jalen Hurts could execute this offense at the same level of two a tongue of Biloa quite frankly, and you know, sorry, not sorry, you don't know what the hell you're talking about, because it's just not true. And if Hurts were here, I'm sure Mike McDaniel would craft an offense that is perfectly sued to his skill set. It's not the same as to a skill set, just like justin Herbert's skill set is nowhere

near what Tua Tongue of Iiloa's skill set is. And I get that. The big strong arm and the you know, the fact that he can run a forty yard dash and a tenth of a second faster is what people kind of cling to and that discourse that we see. But if you better understand the nuance, you'll better understand why Tua is producing the way he is, and you won't make an ass how to yourself on national TV or on your podcast that gets twelve views, whatever wherever

your platform is. We could all do better to better understand this game. And the more you realize you learned about this game, the more you realize you don't really know anything about this game. Let's go ahead and hear from Frank Smith when I asked him about how Tua's footwork gives the offense more expansive options.

point that you can always build upon. So I think you know, when you look at all sports just in general, I mean, whether you're a offensive lineman blocking, you're a wide receiver getting release, you're you know, a defensive back and coverage, or you're taking a jump shot, footwork and fundamentals translate through all sport, and it's easy to bypass that and go into schematic things or loftier things, but ultimately, all sport breaks down to core fundamentals and an execution

within your fundamentals, and when you play that way, it just for allows you to operate a high level.

face mask and it's dropped. But perfect throw and really high level execution, or a twenty five yard comeback from the far hash to the perimeter to Tyreek Hill, where O'Sullivan's saying that is plenty good enough arm, plenty club to get that ball to that spot, driving the football down the field when he's praising Tua for the deep post to waddle where the backside safety just happened to fall into the right coverage accidentally, which I thought was

a good perspective that I didn't personally know he's talking about to a chucking the ball sixty yards in the air and having plenty of arm, having more creativity outside of structure, having the world class anticipation to play within the structure, and the accuracy to make this offense hum like we've become used to. And you know it's again this podcast serves to kind of inflate my own ego

at times. I totally understand that. But like I remember texting Seth and oj after watching the tape on Monday and being like, guys, we messed up. We should have given a game battle to a tongue of Biloa. I know plenty of options out there, but this tape was freaking great. And so for JT. O. Sullivan to come up and basically confirm that makes you feel pretty good. So I watch that and I share it with the audience on Twitter and just think it's important to understand

the nuance of this game. And one of the things that he talked about was the ability of the Dolphins to get to different launch points for their quarterback because of the sharp and consistent footwork of Tuatunguaailoa. And if you go back to his game at Alabama, that was

his entire game. I'll never forget. The first time I was praising to a colleague or to appear was my buddy Kevin Dern, my first ever podcast co host, and I said, look at this speed out the to A throws against single coverage to the perimeter, to the boundary the X receiver. He throws this speed out right on the upfield shoulder before he gets out of the break, and it's perfectly timed in a way that he is able to execute this despite sticky coverage. And it all

starts with the footwork and the base. This quarterback has always had this in his arsenal. He's improved it, he's fine tuned and turned it into an absolute superpower that creates the rest of his game and the rest of his ability to pass for almost two thousand yards and six games and lead the league touchdown passes and every other category that he leads in. It all starts from

that footwork. And you watch that Carolina game. There's like reverse pivot drops where we fake run to the right and Tua starts to drop back to the right and flips it back to the left side. There's a play where he angles his drop to a deeper part of the pocket to create more time for him to set up for the throw, to double triple hitch up into

the throw. Like, you have to understand that Tua is so curseword good at this stuff that it creates these opportunities and it's the reason why he is one of the greatest quarterbacks we have in the league right now playing at a super high level. So I want ahead and ask Frank Smith to fall up to that. Where have you seen him improve in that regard, Because again at Alabama it was great, but now it's even better.

For the quarterbacks. It's the big strong arm and the speed, right, but two was a physical freak and the things that pretend most to positive quarterback plays. Does that make sense? Do we all agree? We all on the same page there?

That's my rant. I want to finish up this segment with this sound from coach Eric Studisville because he was asked about how the team in the running back room in specific or specifically celebrated the Chris Brooks angry run on Sunday against the Panthers, and he gave us a great detailed answer on how unselfish that room is. Here's Coach Studisville.

So when Chris Brooks has that run, everyone's excited. When Devon runs down the field on seventy six yards, one of the first guys down there is Raheem Moster cheering him on. You see Savon Akman running on the field. When somebody scores, alec Ingold does something, everybody's happy for it.

This is it's such a fun room to be in because you have a high character group of young men who are in there, who are truly being unselfish and probably one of the most selfish positions there is in a game of football.

quick segment. It's the week seven picks. Let's go ahead and fired up a bounce back last week for you boy. Eleven and four brings us to sixty five and twenty eight on the season. Let's do the math on that, Travis, sixty five plus twenty eight. That's ninety three sixty five divided by ninety three shoot sixty five divided by ninety three sixty nine point eight. So that's a seventy percent percentage. We still have a way to go to get to the perfect seventy two percent if we want. Let's go

ahead and fire up the music. Play it right now on Thursday Night Football. I know Trevor Lawrence is probably gonna play tonight, and I know I'm probably gonna regret this decision because these Saints are banged up as well. But give me the home team on a short week in a building where the home team typically plays pretty good football. It's been ugly offensive ball for the Saints so far. And I know fans are up in arms about Pete Carmichael's work is a play caller and Derek

Carr is the quarterback. But I think tonight in the Big Easy on a late night where they get kind of crazy out there a chance to pull off an upset against a team who might be a little bit tired after two games in London, coming back to America and playing a game last week, and now on a short week. Give me the Saints to pull off the upset over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Give me the Bucks over

the Falcons and a critical NFC Show South showdown. Well, I mean to for one team to win the right to get bounced in the wildcard round, right, because that's gonna happen in NFC South this year. I'll take the Bucks. I think the fighting Baker mayfields bounce back, and I'm just I'm not. I like the Falcons as a team, but the quarterback position and the offensive design really rubbed me the wrong way. Not gonna pick them a whole lot the rest of the year. Give me the Bucks.

Give me the Raiders over the Bears. I guess just because Justin Field is out and the Bears are a tire fire. Otherwise, Saint or the Raiders are also that, but their quarterbacks also probably out. But just give me the Vegas for the Raiders. I don't know who cares. Give me the Colts over the Browns, even though that quarterback that is playing. Give me Gardner Minshew over Deshaun Watson because I just think he's a better guy. Give

me Washington over the Giants. I think the Giants kind of shot their best shot against Buffalo, and it was pretty sad shot offensively, Tyrod Taylor, Daniel Jones, whatever, gave me the Commanders in that one. Baltimore and Detroit might be the game of the week. SAMs Miami Philadelphia. I think I'm gonna go Baltimore here, although I'm very conflicted. I don't really have a great reason for you guys. A choice's playing good football. I was wrong on them

in my preseason predictions. But give me Baltimore to get that victory. I'll take the Seahawks over the Cardinals. I'm probably not gonna pick the Cardinals the rest of the way. Pittsburgh over the Rams. I don't love that choice because Matt Stafford's playing like back at pre injury Matt Stafford. He looks fantastic kind of carrying that Rams offense right now. But the Rams offensive line against the Pittsburgh pass rushes

where I kind of tilt the scales here. Give me Pittsburgh to find another victory, to get to four and two when they should be like probably one fun Give me the Packers over the Broncos again. The Packers' offense, like the Saints I mentioned earlier, just has been disastrous lately. But I think they get to bounce back here. It gets the defense that has struggled to get stops all year long. A big game for Miami is Kansas City

and the Chargers. Hopefully. You know our boy Herbert Can can clutch up in the fourth quarter here, And I know the stats about game winning drives, but how about picks in the fourth quarter and all the opportunities you've had this year that you haven't executed on. Give me candisated to win that game, But let's go Chargers. Knock the Chiefs down. Peggy Hears Dot first seed in the AFC. I will take Miami over Philly. You heard about why

on the Wednesday podcast and on Monday Night Football. I don't care if half the nine Ers stars are down, I'm still taking them over the Justin je Jefferson lists Minnesota Vikings. Those are your picks. That's the podcast. Let's go ahead and get out of here.