Front of the show.
Joined us last week prior to the Super Bowl, and now I'm bringing them on to brag. Sean Sayadsumer sports Sean, Happy Wednesday, buddy, how are you?
It feels good. You know, it's not just about being right, it's about the process, It's about the analysis. I do feel good about you having to come on the show. Predicted that Eagles win. Certainly I think a little bit different and then most people would have expected in terms of how it looked. But for me, it was still a fun game. I'm not sure if it was for you.
Well, certainly you called it, and I wanted to bring you on to kind of reflect on exactly what you saw and then talk about the game, how it unfolded, and whether or not it kind of went into lockstep with what you were expecting.
You know, it did in terms of the way that the Eagles defense approached the Kansas City Chiefs. Where the Eagles defensive plans, it was not particularly complicated. We're going to play a bunch of zone coverage. We're going to make you make the right decision over and over again. Just rush four guys, send zero total blitz is an entire game. I mean that is Vic Banje the defensive coordinators approach two games in general, So I could you
know how that was? What I didn't expect was you know, really Zach Bond interception that pick six from Cooper Degene where you're making the play that I mean, Mahomes is throwing that ball because you have no business being in that spot, just based on how everything played out. So I thought it was an excellent example of the Eagles really really just hitting the highest level of their people. Where I think of our best defensive line play this entire season, I mean, Josh what may have played the
best game of this career. So I'm not going to pretend like I would have predicted all of that. I'm not gonna depend like I would have predicted the final score in that game. But the way the Eagles came in, I mean, it is what we talked about last week in kind of how they approached the Chiefs.
At what point I've been asking all of my NFL guests so far this week the same question. When did you and again I know you predicted Philly was going to win the thing, but while you were watching the game out, what point did you.
Say, Okay, that's a wrap, they're not coming back.
So I think that when I started to get the thoughts. I mean, honestly, it wasn't until after the like kind of middle east of the third quarter, because you go into the half twenty four or nothing, and I mean, it's really really hard to come back from that. But Mahomes has literally done that before against the texting the fears out, so I didn't want to count it out. But you could start to feel it pretty early on just I mean the first third down right, the Eagles
are making it really hard on the Chiefs. Cooper degen is being super physical, kind of pushing around Travis Kelcey a little bit. You can start to feel it. You can start to see it. You see even when Sae Kwon Barkley is not brising off big runs, Jalen Hurts just getting rid of the ball, playing super comfortable, playing on time. Start to feel but look, I'm back in the back of my mind, I need I need to see double zero, you know, to coulet Patrick Mahomes out.
So really it was once you got in that middle of the third quarter, I've had Devonda Smith touchdown. I was like, all right, I don't need to be silly anymore. There's no way these guys are going to be able to come back.
So I know you've already touched on the defensive game plans schematically from Vic Fangio prior to Sunday, as you and I talked about last week, Patrick Mahomes eight and oh against Vic Fangio.
So let's dig a little bit deeper.
Did did Vic Fangio do anything different this time around? Or was it just kind of the classic schematic attack that he always likes to implement. But he has the horses now and Kansas City couldn't keep up, So it was a.
Little bit of you know, some stuff was the same, some stuff was different. They play a little bit of a different coverage. They really, you know, prioritized having multiple people watching Travis Pelsey, even if they're not in a
dedicated kind of bracket or a double team. And the way that the pass rush was working, where instead of you know, being the fast guy running outside that offensive tackle, they were running straight through those guys, and that you know, closes the areas for Mahomes to be able to scramble a little bit. So I really enjoyed seeing that just from an overall pass rushing plan for the Eagles. I
thought that was a good job. I mean, I actually I felt like any Reid didn't do the best job in the game where we can think of maybe an example or two where they're getting the ball a little bit further down the field. Obviously we have that drop to Hopkins. Of course some of those touchdowns coming later in the game. I would have really liked to see him just literally the fact, throw the balls the outside, make those cornerbacks tackle over and over because the way
that Fandia was playing, it would have required that. And we saw I think the future down thirty four nothing by this time. But you know, zabywhere that you catch a quick throw when on Mitchell Tantathle you you able to get yards. I think, you know, maybe turning that a little bit earlier would have not won the game, but I think it would have made it a bit closer.
I want to follow up, even though you just alluded to my follow up question, did you see because one of the reasons why I picked Kansas City in a close one like most of America, is Andy and Mahomes.
Typically figured out.
Andy Reid makes the adjustments, Mahomes finds a way to win, did at any point outside of what you just alluded to, because look, you know a lot of people say, well they.
Didn't run the football.
Well, you're down big, so you've got to get chunk plays and you have to rely on a generational talent in Patrick Mahomes. But was there anything specifically, Sean that you saw Kansas City tried to do that simply just didn't work.
You know, it felt like every single thing that they were really trying to do didn't work. Where you can't throw the ball picked because the defensive is really good and coverage, you can't throw the ball in your immediate because guys are dropping passes. You can't throw the ball deep because your offensive line is not holding up enough from a home to be able to take that extra step and let that thing flock. So it really felt like none of that was able to work at all.
And you mentioned, yeah, it would be nice if you could run the ball. You know, there's a clip of Nolan Smith putting Tray Smith like on his are really pushing him far back. I mean, the Eagles were more physical than the Chiefs were upfront. They really were able to push them around. I'm not really sure if any plan would have worked on that day, it felt like the Eagles really came in so lost into every single
thing that the Chiefs were doing. So I'm not even sure like you see some of those kind of second a half adjustments. I guess you call them that for the Chiefs, but I mean, when you're down that big, it's such a big hell of the climb, and it just felt like, you know, the team or the better aster than top to bottom ended up winning. Here.
Let's move over to the other side.
What did Steve Spagnolo tried to do defensively? Because look, Kansas City, over the course of their recalibration of just kind of changing their approach A lot of it probably based off personnel one a lot of games this year based off of Steve Spagnolo in that defense, it just did not do much of anything to provide pushback against Philly. What did Spagnolo try to do and how did Philly counter that to make it ineffective?
Spagnola, I thought, really approached this game in the exact right way. Sakuon Barkley was largely shut down. I think when you look at the Eagles how he's played the entire season, that is what you want to start with, and so for them to have that success is a really good thing. Now, the problem is that Jalen Hurts has had the best game of his career where the best two games, or maybe two of three games in his career have been this game and then the NFC
Championship game. So when you look at how the Eagles looked in week eight, in week ten, you know it didn't feel a Kirts was going to be able to do this. So I think the approach was really exactly correct. And as you got later and later you are able to get a blitz that ends up getting a sack.
But for Hurts to play at that high of a level and really take everything that Stags is trying to do and throw it right back in his face by making those cliff throws, by turning some of those escapes into throws to receivers instead of just you know, you're spinning around in a circle, you end up sack. And for him to be confident and quickness process I thought was super impressive. So I was, overall, you know, pretty fine.
It's back as the approach. I think the bigger takeaway its Hurts really really stepping up to the moment, what sort.
Of because a lot of the conversations, certainly around prior to the game was the questions that a lot of people had about Jalen and the questions that a lot of people out about Nick Sirianni.
So I already asked you about the Jaalen portion of this?
What sort of questions did Nick Sirianni answer as a Super Bowl winning head coach?
Now?
I mean it is it's so fun to think about just his story. Fun for me to think about it from the outset. I can't imagine it was as fun for him going through it. There was like legitimate, totally like reasonable calls at the beginning of this year, like are they going to bring Sirianni back? What does he
do for this team? After a week four, going to the bye week, you know thoughts of all, right, well, this guy's gonna get fired and being offensive assistance somewhere next year where he's never going to be able to get this chance again. I just think that there are things that happen in an NFL locker room, in the NFL building that a head coach is responsible for that
it is unquantifiable. And you start to hear some of the stories come out, whether it's where I writing his handwritten note size Rodgers who mixed the season for a gambling suspension, whether it's you know, talking to m Kobe Dan after his injury and figuring out different things to get him in the best spot. And I mean that you think about the locker room overall. Obviously these are
incredibly talented players. There's still personalities right where Ajo Brown had early in the game or earlier in the season, he had said out loud and he said the correct thing, like what's not working. It's the passing game. And so for him to be able to navigate all that, for him to be able to navigate his relationship with Jalea hurts where you know sometimes in the media it hurts.
Is like not that he is unfriendly to the media, but I think he's trying to, you know, get through his day and he's trying to get back to the real hard work of it all. So you think Syrin he
does deserve credit. Now what is it exactly for? I think it is some of those kind of human human assets that we just don't get to see unless, like you see that the way that he high fives his players on on the sidelines, or you see the way that the players do take on that personality a little bit where Suriani is gonna like almost like you have
a shield for other players. Where there was a game last year against the Seahawks where Hurts and ager Brown make this kind of odd decision for a specific player ends up as an interception and SERIALI just goes up to the media. It's like, look, that was my call,
and now do I want people to lie to the media. No, not necessarily, but for him to take the fall on that and to kind of make himself look like a little bit of a fool in that situation for his players to be able to, you know, just continue to work on what they need to work on. So seeing that for Sirianny, it's got to feel awesome, because no one can ever remove Super Bowl champion head coach from his resume.
So when you win, you're gonna lose coaches and you're gonna lose probably players and want to get paid. So Kellen Moore bounces to take the Saints job. What sort of hole does that leave and who do you think? Do you just give me some candidates to take that gig?
Yeah? And more leaving well, when Johns and Gannon had left over their last Super Bowl, if the Eagles were like kind of unprepared for it, just based on a communication with Gannon for what they thought was going to happen. So they've been ready for this eventuality. So Kevin Patula is one guy in house that they certainly like. He'll get some sort of look. I think Dradd Johnson quarterbacks coach or Texan is a guy who will end up
getting an interview if they're doing a full interview. I assume they have to do in the interview process Jess because he was someone that also an interviewed with them previously, a few other internal candidates, you know. For the situation overall, it's it's kind of a dream job. You have the best offensive line in the league, you have a Super Bowl VT quarterback, you have a very good running back,
you have really good receivers. So all the things are there that I hope that they go outside the building. I think that's my initial leading just so you can get a little bit more creative. You can move that offense forward where look the way that Sayklon Barkley ran this year, I think he's going to be fantastic. It's not like he's old or he's not going to be able to do it. There is a chance. So just based on variant think you're not able to hit all
this home runs. So I would love to see even like a guy like Key Martin, the quarterbacks coach in Baltimore, who we've seen Lamar Jackson continue to evolve as a passer really and to bring in a guy like that, I think could be a lot of fun.
So one more thing on the Eagles, And I've got a couple of other big picture NFL questions, and I've asked, you know, the NFL guys who have stopped by this week kind of this similar question, because when you look at the landscape of the league, we often talk about, you know, guys like Lamar and Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in their late twenties. Jalen's twenty six and Saquon's
twenty eight. AJ Brown is twenty seven, DeVante Smith is twenty six, And yes, they have some decisions to make on other pieces, but the main portion of this roster is either in or entering their prime. And I'm not a hyperbolic radio host, but what are you willing to say about potentially the type of I don't know, era of Eagles football that we're in for. Should they be able to keep the bulk of this team together for a number of years.
I mean, it really is looking pretty good, and I think that is for a few reasons. Then you look at the way that Howard Rosenan that justin Laurie as the owner, the way that they handle contracts is so so smart. They do pay guys a little early. I'm like, you have to hit on some of those, right because you know, you can pay a receiver ask for one good year. If they're not good in that second and
third year, it really comes back to bite you. But you know, Devonte Smith Adrian Brown are already under contract, Jalen Hurt already under contract. So to be able to take care of those guys already and then pay Dickerson Jurgens like, you're taking care of really really core aspects of your team pretty early. Their defense is spending is not that high. So I'm actually very interested to see what this offseason looks like for that where they're going
to probably lose mill and Williams. There's a good chance they lose that bond. Darius Slave is getting a little bit older. I think when I look ahead to next year, I always think, well what about You know, a specific team is more likely to look a little bit closer to average, whether that's something that's not good or something that's very good. It's so hard to repeat as a top defense by statistics year after year. I love it Fandrio, you know so much and watching this defense, I really
enjoy going through this roster. You still have Dylan Carter, you have the gene in year two, you have Mitchell in year two. You have so much talent on that team. Sometimes fifty fifty balls just end up at touchdowns instead of interceptions or incompletion. So, you know, I just worry about this the coin flip, and just appreciating how many things have to happen for you to be able to, you know, climb that top of them mount. And of course you know the commanders and Jayden Daniels, they're they're
really going to be pushing. But this team is in like a good financial health situation where you will see things about people saying, oh, you know, like the bill's gonna come due eventually, and you know that can be true. Like player, they're gonna get a little bit older. It's not gonna happen for a little bit now. They're gonna keep you know, you push that, you kick the cand
down the road. In terms of having to you know, have this kind of salary count blow up, you're able to kind of manipulate it in a few different ways that I just wish other teams would do that in the same way. You know, teams just should, Like if you learn anything from the Eagles model, it should be that because you're going to have to pay multiple players a lot of money, it's not a league where you can afford to not do that. So I'm excited to see what the Eagles look like going forward. I really
just want to see gillen Hurt continue to grow. You know, he unfortunately is going to have another new offensive cornator as we just mentioned. I want to see him as a really, really positive passer going into next season.
Certainly, it would be a fools out Aaron to believe the Kansas City is done, you know, with their quarterback in his twenties and a transcendent generational head coach Kelsey thirty five, maybe it's it for you know, you know, maybe that's it for him. What does the offseason look like in Kansas City to ensure that they continue to capitalize on a generational talent under center.
Well, a big thing is going to be what you do with that offensive lot where you had problems that both tackle stops the entire season. Your star right guard is going to be a free agent and is going to get paid a lot of money by someone that maybe someone other than you. And as you mentioned, you know, Kelsey whatever, even if he does come back, he's not a player that is going to be, you know, look the same early in the season as he is later
in the season. So even if pure tart, I mean to talk about what's gonna happen with Chris Jones, I do think Chris Jones still has a lot of good football played. And as you mentioned, it's so hard to like bet against Patrick Mahomes, But what are we doing here? We got luck, not lucky or unlucky, but yeah, it happened in the Super Bowl. I do think they're going to come back. I want to see this team though, like get to kind of another iteration of their offense.
I really like watching Xavier Worthy grow over the last few weeks we saw it, you know, in kind of garbage time in that Super Bowl. This guy can run by every single player on every single team, and Patrick Maholmes can throw it exactly where it needs to be in those situations. So I actually want to see this offense get back to a little bit more of that downfield attack as opposed to like, you know, we're just
gonna get five yards on the inside runs. We're gonna throw the ball quick and that, and you know it really starts with that offensive block.
So I will take advantage of having a smart football guy in the show to ask you about my Jets who it looks like they're going to move on from Aaron Rodgers and thank goodness, he's a locker room cancer and he's bad at football.
So what's next for my guys?
Give me a little hope, and not even hope for next year because they're not going to be in it next year, but maybe hope that there's a plan in place that at some point they'll be a competitive NFL football team.
Yeah, I mean, I mean even on the just at the high level. I enjoy, you know, the hires that they were able to make. I think Aaron Glennons desically have the right kind of person that you want to bring. I really really like pen Rank from the offensive coordinator they have there, the work that he did in a trot with Ben Jonson. I think that's the right direction.
You have a very talented roster, like I don't want us to forget that where guys Aina Williams Saft Gardner on defense, of course, I think the offensive line, you know, but there are some positive spots on there. I think that the decision to say, hey, like Aaron like you know, we're moving forward. That's also to me a signal of a smart organization just based on where Rogers is, based on what it means for the teamal is it you have to have a year of Tyrod Hyler. Everything's getting insolved,
you know. I don't want to tell you to not watch football next season like there is. It can't. It's going to be a little bit of a tough ride. I grew up in the area, so I understand how many times you have to hear like Jeff's rebuild, Jeffs rebuild. I think when you look at some of the hires that they made up and down and even like the senior advisors and things like that, where you're bringing people with experience, I think just in the right areas. It
gets me excited at that level. Now it really is gonna pend how things happen on the field, where you're obviously in a division where no, you're gonna be looking at Josh Allen a whole heck of a lot.
So let me just kick the tires with little offseason stuff. Big names that you think could be on the move. I am curious as to your take on Sam Darnold, who once upon a time actually thought was the answer for my team under center. But teams out there that are maybe a piece or two away names it could be on the move and offseason ahead, what do you think it looks like.
I mean some of the big tradens. Of course, Kee Higgens is going to be a big one if the Bengals aren't able to figure it out. Tray Smith, as I mentioned though, I mean he's a really really good guard from the Tone City Chiefs. I mean, those are those guys I think the Patriots would have circle. Just as you're trying to fill so many holes on your roster, I think when you look at you know, DJ reads from your Jets there's a chance that he ends up somewhere else. Is he ending up in San Francisco? I
think where Donald ends up to be fascinating. He it feels like it could be a situation. I don't know. Maybe it's a Las Vegas, just a place where you have the kind of holdover quarterback another year. I think Josh Sweat, you know, is it Arizona. I think a guy like Milan Williams is coming off by Super Bowl is the charger. Adding the agency is exciting, even if there's not you know, one hundred names that you can't
wait to look at. But like Frezency, it's just so important, like you want to fill your roster to the point where you go into the draft and can actually just choose the most talented player instead of choosing a player and say, hey, if we don't, you know, hit on our right guard in the draft, our team is totally foiled.
So I think it'll be interesting to see, you know, what teams are making, what movement in its patches to move that happened, you know, immediately when kind of those transactions are able to start happening sometimes a little bit later in free agency as well.
Last thing, Seana Saidulers, give me the coaching higher you like the most, and the coaching higher the left your scratch in your head.
Okay, so this is this is a good I think the easy one to point at as a scratching your head one is Dallas with Schottenheimer at the same time, like, yeah, do we expect Dallas to do? I guess anything that would would be like a process that we would love. Probably not. I think that maybe there were a few other names. I think that was more of a process based one. I would have liked to see, you know,
interviews just kind of in different directions. I think that in terms of the ones that I like, you know, Ben Johnson is an easy I really do like Liam Cohen and Joson, But I think that one is a fun one. I think it's the right bet to make. I am a little bit biased. You know, you want the young offensive coordinator type person to be running your organization.
I just still believe in Trevor Lawrence. I think what Cohen gave in Tampa Bay with Jason Mafield and really morphing his offense from a little bit more, you know, in their run game that really really evolved over time. So I think that I'm excited about that now. I think one of my favorite things about head coaching hires, here's a chance that, like Schoenheimer, is the best head coach that ever existed. We just don't know until we're able to see it. So I'm excited for Colling as
a chance it doesn't work out. But that's probably my favorite one where Ben Jonson, I think is also an easy answer as well.
Sean, where can people go find your work? Bud?
You can follow me on Twitter at Science Teams and just put out a little article just about a big fan Joe, you know what he's meant to be and my career and also just about his entire season. So always appreciate the follow I'm gonna do a lot of free agency stuff with Zimmer Sports to feel offseason.
Thank you, my friend. Appreciate the time. Be well with chat soon, Okay, so much appreciate it. Sean Saya joined us last week. He was the one NFL guest we had that was like, this could get loose man, Philly could smoke him, and they certainly did.
So appreciate Sean Son today