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00:00I think California Girls is my favorite, like the chalk classic.
00:09God Only Knows is up there.
00:12It's coming later.
00:14This one and God Only Knows.
00:15Those are probably, if I had to choose, those would probably be the top two.
00:18For me.
00:18For me.
00:19And I look forward to the Fritz thing.
00:22So I got to throw this out there because he put it out there yesterday.
00:25Okay, here's a tweet from Boban yesterday about this athletic competition we got coming up.
00:30He says, reading read from his tweet, he says,
00:33I can't believe I thought my arm might have been shot.
00:38After throwing twice now, I might have to make a comeback.
00:41Arm is feeling spry.
00:43Okay.
00:44Good for him.
00:44Put spry in all caps.
00:45He did.
00:46And I'm happy for him.
00:47I mean, you know, didn't want to see the kid get hurt.
00:50So now you're being, wait, what?
00:54Demeaning, I think, is the word we're looking for.
00:57Right.
00:58Why I'm being demeaning.
00:59There's a lot to demean.
01:03Hence my demeanment.
01:04There's a lot to demeanment.
01:06I don't think that's the word.
01:07Ben, have you been following this the last 100%?
01:10What do you think here, man?
01:11I think it's going to be a fun competition.
01:14A lot of demeanment.
01:16Are you going to get in there and catch for it, Ben?
01:18I've nominated you as a potential catcher.
01:19I know that.
01:20I know.
01:22You're welcome.
01:22It depends on the time and place, but I wouldn't be averse to it.
01:26I mean, see, look at this.
01:27Yes.
01:28That would be fun.
01:28Yeah.
01:29That'd be awesome.
01:29He's part of the show.
01:30Put the gear on.
01:31Put my cup on.
01:32Something to consider.
01:33Yeah.
01:33So we've got to get, I mean, he's got to get eight defenders.
01:36You know, eight others.
01:36He's the pitcher and he gets to bring eight defenders.
01:38So we've got to really figure out who the umpire is.
01:41Like, no games.
01:42Like, no shadiness, you know?
01:44Like, I know they were talking about Tim Donaghy for the basketball, you know, ref.
01:48I'm like, no way.
01:49I'm not taking a guy that can flip him a hundred bucks, flip, Fritz flips him a hundred bucks
01:53and wins.
01:54I'm not doing that.
01:55No, seriously.
01:55Tim Donaghy?
01:56You think he would do that in that situation?
01:58I mean, I know I would.
02:01Like, oh, he'll give you a hundred.
02:03I'll give you one-on-one.
02:04You know what I mean?
02:06So you got more money than Fritz.
02:08Why don't you just say that?
02:09I think, listen, Steve Javvy lives around here.
02:11He's a retired ref.
02:13You still see him on TV.
02:14Steve Javvy's dying to do this.
02:15Listen, I think Steve Javvy's probably a WIP leader.
02:18Hey, whoever knows Javvy, tell him to hammer, wants Javvy to be our basketball referee.
02:24I could get my friend Mark Lindsay.
02:26And who is he?
02:27Is he one of the refs?
02:27We played Aston Middletown together.
02:30We went to Malvern and graduated Malvern together.
02:33And he's been an NBA ref for the last, I don't know, 20 years.
02:36I mean, there's so many from here.
02:37That's very, yeah.
02:38Tom Washington is from here.
02:40He's a crew chief of his group.
02:42Whoa.
02:43Yeah, okay.
02:43No, I appreciate that.
02:44This is a real deal here.
02:45Yeah.
02:46I mean, there's an embarrassment for whatever ref has to do this, though.
02:49It's like, man.
02:51Sorry, Mark, for throwing your name out there.
02:53All right.
02:53Well, someone that knows one of these guys, Tom Washington lives here.
02:56He's been reffing a long time.
02:58Javvy, obviously, is an NBA ref legend.
03:01So someone get to one of these guys, and we need refs.
03:04I mean, I'll take Javvy as the baseball umpire.
03:06We need umpires.
03:07You know, we need an umpire, and we need a first-base umpire and an umpire behind home plate.
03:12We don't need a second-base and third-base umpire, but we need two umps.
03:15First-base home plate.
03:16Just putting it out there.
03:17All right, 215-592-9494.
03:20Let's go to Corey in Potsdown.
03:22Corey was with us yesterday.
03:23What's going on, Corey?
03:24What's going on, guys?
03:25It was so good to meet everybody there yesterday.
03:27I feel good about putting faces to names now, or names to faces.
03:33I don't know how that goes.
03:33I can't remember.
03:34It was fun, Corey.
03:35That was great, man.
03:36Real quick, a big shout-out to Nick from Bucs.
03:40What a sweetheart.
03:42Got his number yesterday.
03:43Him and I and Jen, we talked for a while, and he was awesome.
03:46So, want to give him a big shout-out.
03:49And also, a conversation that him and I had yesterday.
03:52Mr. Richie, you are a good-looking man.
03:58I want to say this right now.
03:59Have you ever heard the phrase, I'll kick your coverage?
04:02Oh, yeah, buddy.
04:04Good point.
04:05Yes.
04:05I agree with you, Corey.
04:07Thank you, though, for the compliment.
04:10Watching you on YouTube, I now know why you look like a real man now.
04:16Wow.
04:17Because your woman takes care of you.
04:20Well, thank you, Corey.
04:22That's great.
04:23She's amazing.
04:23Yeah, she was awesome.
04:24I really enjoyed being on Hanks.
04:26She was so cool.
04:26James, you hadn't met her before, right?
04:28First time.
04:29It was awesome.
04:29Yeah, we had a moment.
04:30That's great.
04:31It was awesome.
04:34Joe, I just want to say, it was good going back and forth with you about our little heartache
04:39from that Tampa Bay game when I brought up Joe Jerovicious.
04:43And we went back and forth.
04:45We each played right before leading off to that.
04:47So, let me say, well, you're right.
04:49Let me just say this, everyone who doesn't know the conversation, which is everyone else,
04:52Corey, but you and me.
04:52Anyway, so, Corey says to me, on my deathbed, meaning his deathbed, he goes, on my deathbed,
04:59shortly, right before I die, I'm going to say two names.
05:03And I'm going through my brain.
05:05I'm trying to solve.
05:06First, when I go, Nick Falls.
05:08I'm thinking Falls, because it was the first Eagles Super Bowl.
05:10And before I even get to the second name, Corey goes, Joe Carter and Joe Jerovicious.
05:18I'm like, oh my God.
05:20So, Corey, that's how deep it is for you.
05:22On the deathbed, you think you'll be thinking of Jerovicious and Joe Carter.
05:26I literally said to you, Joe, we could win six straight championships.
05:31And on my deathbed, that's the only thing I'm going to think of.
05:35Only because I thought that those two teams were so good.
05:40And to go down the way they did, I don't think it'll matter how many championships we win.
05:45I'm always going to remember those two names.
05:47Well, listen, we all have that pain, you know, for however long we've lived,
05:51for what represents the old days when our squad lost.
05:55I mean, my older siblings still talk about, you know, the 77 fills.
05:59Obviously, people go back to the 64 fills.
06:02Those ones hit especially hard, too, because 08 hadn't happened yet for us.
06:06For people our age, like, that we had not won yet anything.
06:09Zero.
06:10But, Corey, I will tell you this, and I hope this resonates with most people,
06:13because I want people to feel more joy in their heart than less.
06:16I can tell you unequivocally, the Jerovicious one doesn't hurt me as much as it used to.
06:25Because the Eagles won a Super Bowl and then won another.
06:28I'm not saying it doesn't still cut, but it's not the same, man.
06:31It's not like it was before 2017.
06:35Now, the Joe Carter one, for me, still hits just as deep.
06:39Because of the age, I think.
06:40I think the age I was.
06:41And it was the first true, real, like, big moment heartbreak we had had like that.
06:46In a championship, that type of thing.
06:48Well, it was such a singular moment.
06:50It was only two times ever it's happened.
06:52Yeah.
06:53I mean, there's really only two times I can think of where a championship dream,
06:57not in a prior round, died in a second.
07:01Joe Carter and Patrick Kane.
07:02Like where it ended in one second, you went from the dream being alive,
07:07to a second later, the dream has died.
07:10It's the only two I can, you know.
07:12Now, Kawhi, but that was in the second round, you know.
07:14Yeah, it did.
07:14Yeah.
07:15Anyway, Corey.
07:16Joe Carter one hits me more because I loved that Phillies team.
07:21Me too.
07:21That was probably one of my favorite Phillies team.
07:24Yeah.
07:24That's why that hits me hard.
07:25As far as the game yesterday, I actually became that guy that I usually despise at Phillies games.
07:33I was that guy that was talking so much with everybody.
07:36Every time something happened, I went, what happened?
07:39What happened?
07:39Yeah.
07:40What happened?
07:40That's okay, Corey.
07:41It was a great time yesterday.
07:42It was fun.
07:43Give me a fictional tough guy or gal.
07:45Who do you have?
07:46He's more crazy, I guess, than tough, but I'm still going to throw him out there.
07:50Martin Riggs from Lethal West.
07:52Yeah.
07:52He's both.
07:53He's both.
07:53Listen, he jumps off a building to help a guy not commit suicide.
07:58I mean, that was a big-time move right there.
08:00So, no, Riggs was.
08:01Big-time move from Riggs there.
08:02I mean, listen.
08:03That's, you know.
08:04It was awesome.
08:05Yeah, a little unconventional.
08:07Probably not.
08:07But successful.
08:08Probably not in the playbook, but it worked.
08:10All right, coming up in a minute, something Ross Tucker said it was recently, which kind
08:13of framed our conversation today.
08:16Really interesting from Ross.
08:18We'll get to that in one minute.
08:19All right, guys, Father's Day, obviously, is coming up soon.
08:21My advice, get him a great gift from Family and Company Jewelers right there on Route
08:2670 in Marlton, New Jersey.
08:28They've got a tremendous selection of Father's Day gifts.
08:31You know, one of the best, certainly, you can get is the handcrafted pocket knife from
08:36designer William Henry.
08:38You know, they also have chains and pendants and a massive selection.
08:42Not of ties.
08:43Not of ties.
08:44Of designer watches.
08:47So skip the ties.
08:49Ditch the ties this year for your father, your grandfather, whoever it may be.
08:53Get him something different.
08:54Get him something special.
08:56Get him a gift from Family and Company Jewelers online at FamilyJewelers.com.
09:00They're wonderful people.
09:01Junior, the entire squad down there.
09:03FamilyJewelers.com.
09:05Well, you know, the Eagles, speaking of squads, were an incredible team in 2024.
09:08Absolutely, ridiculously good.
09:11And Saquon first said it a couple weeks ago.
09:14And then Ross Tucker said it two weeks ago.
09:17They don't think the Eagles have gotten enough national acclaim.
09:20And I agree with them.
09:21Matter of fact, all of us here agree with them with what they accomplished.
09:24Let's listen to something Ross said on our show two weeks ago.
09:28I'm wondering why last year's Eagles team has not gotten more discussion as being one of the all-time greats.
09:37I agree.
09:38After the fourth game of the year, when they went to the bye, they didn't lose again the whole year when they had their quarterback.
09:46I mean, that is very, very rare to do.
09:49And then when's the last time a team was really that dominant in the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl?
09:58I mean, that felt like the Super Bowls when we were in the 80s.
10:01Remember when we were kids and every year was a blowout?
10:04That's what it felt like.
10:05And by the way, they didn't just do that.
10:07They did that to the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champs who were trying to be the first team to ever win three in a row.
10:14And they got annihilated.
10:16I can't really put my finger on why not a single person outside of Philadelphia has had a serious or honest discussion about where this Eagles team ranks among the all-time greats.
10:31Listen, you guys know I go on these different Odyssey stations all over the country.
10:35Not one person has brought it up.
10:37Not one station has said, where do they rank among the all-time greats?
10:40I have no idea why that's not even a thing.
10:42I totally agree with Ross, guys.
10:44I mean, we watch these shows, the ESPN shows, the NFL shows.
10:48You consume stuff on social media.
10:49I haven't seen one.
10:50Not one.
10:51The most outrageous thing, Joe, is that ESPN spent all last year documenting the Chiefs' entire year.
10:58Because they thought it was going to, you know, end in a coronation, a three-peat.
11:02And they're coming out with it.
11:04I mean, is that not insane?
11:06Well, so that's one thing.
11:08I'll take it to a different level.
11:09To me, I mean, I don't have a problem with them coming out with that video.
11:13I mean, that should be interesting.
11:14Oh, I'm going to enjoy it immensely.
11:15At the end, yeah.
11:16I would put it, here's the way I would frame it as it relates to ESPN.
11:20ESPN, 24-7.
11:22They spend hundreds, thousands of hours just, I mean, look, so do we at WIP.
11:27I'm not, this isn't me throwing, what's this thing, stones at glass houses?
11:31Oh, yes.
11:32Like he who is without sin.
11:34If you're a 24-7 entity, you're going to have a lot of stuff to conversate about.
11:40But here's what we know.
11:41ESPN doesn't spend that much time talking about baseball.
11:43They don't.
11:44They spend the most time talking about football and basketball.
11:46That's what they do.
11:47That's what they do.
11:48And if you're going to spend that much time talking about football and you have no football
11:51for six months, which you don't, you don't actually have games for six months, you would
11:56think somewhere in there, somewhere in those six months of this show and that show and let's
12:00do this and let's do that and let's cycle this material and let's recycle it and let's
12:03recycle it a 17th time.
12:05Let's recycle it a 700th time.
12:07You would think somewhere along the line that it gets to, huh, Eagles are really good.
12:11By the way, they freaking thumped a team in the NFC Championship game.
12:14They thumped a team in the Super Bowl, which was Mahomes and Reed, going for three in a
12:18row.
12:19It was as non-competitive as could be.
12:21It looked like Alabama versus Notre Dame a decade ago.
12:24Right?
12:24I mean, it looked so ridiculous.
12:25It looked so ridiculous.
12:27The other team didn't cross midfield until late in the third quarter.
12:31By the way, Eagles had a 10-game winning streak during the regular season.
12:34By the way, they had the number one ranked defense in pro football.
12:37By the way, they had a running back to gain 2,000 yards.
12:40And it doesn't dawn on anybody on a national level.
12:44As Ross said, to have a real conversation about this is obviously one of the best teams
12:48we've seen.
12:49I think it's incredible that it could be so on the down low that our quarterback is making
12:56it his personal mission to make this season different than all the previous seasons of
13:01a Super Bowl winning team that drops off.
13:04I do think he's going to look at it differently.
13:07Yeah, but that's a whole different, that's what's ahead.
13:10Listen, they can do that and good for them.
13:13I'm a fan.
13:15I get to enjoy this as a fan.
13:17And as a fan, I find it kind of offensive that our team didn't get more recognition
13:24and acclaim.
13:25Look here, all right, let's go through my reasons.
13:28And you guys tell me, let's go one by one.
13:30Tell me if you agree.
13:31And then ultimately tell me what you think the number one reason is.
13:34Or if there's a different reason, I don't state.
13:35And by the way, Ruben Frank will join us in about five minutes.
13:38Here are my reasons of why I think the Eagles have been shortchanged.
13:42One reason is the lack of national belief in Hurts and Sirianni.
13:47Now, the irony, obviously, is you guys know I don't have the greatest belief in Hurts,
13:51but I certainly have more, I think, than some people nationally have.
13:54The combination of those two.
13:55Do you guys agree that that's a reason?
13:57Yes.
13:58Hurts and Sirianni doubt.
13:59And maybe even dislike of Sirianni.
14:02Yeah.
14:02Okay.
14:03Second reason.
14:05That they, that the, the nation, this goes both media and fans, they struggle to wrap
14:12their mind around, they don't want to crown the Eagles over the Chiefs because the Chiefs
14:17have one more.
14:19And maybe they view it as disrespectful to like, just sort of skip over the Chiefs.
14:24You know, like, like, think of it this way.
14:2667 Sixers.
14:27People, a lot of people said around here, one of the greatest teams of all time, maybe
14:30the best NBA team of all time for a long time, maybe, maybe of all time.
14:33But the Celtics had won eight in a row.
14:36So like Red Auerbach's like, don't put the 67 Sixers above my team.
14:41My team just won eight in a row.
14:42But I know people still alive that say, yeah, but the 67 Sixers were better than any one Celtic
14:48team.
14:49So nationally, though, they get swept away because the Celtics won eight in a row.
14:53Chiefs had won two in a row.
14:54Chiefs had won three in five.
14:56I think there are people that are like, I can't get down with putting the Eagles above
14:59the Chiefs because the Chiefs have won more, which is true.
15:03But the Eagles weren't playing against the Chiefs from a couple of years ago.
15:06They were playing the Chiefs in 2024 squad.
15:08Do you guys buy that theory?
15:11Yes.
15:11Yes.
15:11Yeah.
15:12And it's a pro-Andy, pro-Mahomes thing.
15:15Okay.
15:16Next theory.
15:19The nation didn't recognize, didn't really understand how great the Eagles defense was because
15:23they didn't know the players.
15:26They didn't really know Cooper DeGene, Quinion Mitchell.
15:29Like, Quinion Mitchell, the ball never gets thrown his way.
15:31So how can they know him?
15:32They don't know him.
15:32He was a rookie.
15:33And he rarely even see him on the TV screen because no one's throwing the ball at him.
15:37Well, there's a reason no one's throwing the ball at him.
15:39Kaelin Carter, interior defensive lineman, not deep in his career, not really understood.
15:43Ball in this nondescript linebacker who, yes, flashed, but not in a way where they say
15:48this guy's, you know.
15:49So you had four great defenders.
15:50I think all four of them weren't viewed as, you know, do you guys agree with that theory?
15:56Yeah, there are no names.
15:57I mean, you know, they kept pointing out Chris Jones on the other side.
16:00So, yeah, you don't have the big names.
16:01Yeah, and they're not flashy.
16:02Young, inexperienced.
16:04Not Dion.
16:04Yeah, they're not, yeah, exactly.
16:06These aren't guys who every other player in the NFL knows their name.
16:10You know, like when they fill out the ballots for the Pro Bowl every year, there are certain
16:14guys who are right at the tip of guys' tongues.
16:17Sure.
16:17Those players who have 10 years under their belts and they're always, you know, on commercials.
16:23They're always, you know, front and center.
16:25We have young, under-the-radar guys who will someday be those guys on commercials.
16:32Right now, we've just got them in their great play and they haven't been sort of corrupted
16:38by all the other stuff.
16:40Yeah, no, they're just not that well-known.
16:42All right, I got two more theories.
16:44The final score of the Super Bowl.
16:47Flip that final score.
16:48Flip what happens in the last quarter with Andy Reid, okay?
16:52Andy Reid didn't get enough criticism, as far as I was concerned, for leaving his players
16:57in to try to prop up a score so that in 20 years it'll look better.
17:01If Nick Sirianni had done that, could we discuss the amount of criticism he would have gotten?
17:07That's interesting.
17:08You said Andy Reid, oh, he's Andy Reid the god.
17:10I mean, guys, the final score is 40-22.
17:13We all know it was a 40-6 game.
17:15Correct.
17:15That probably could have been a 56-6 game.
17:17Do you realize when they scored, when it went from 40-6 to 40-14, do you know how much
17:23time was left in the game?
17:24Like a minute?
17:25Almost.
17:26Yeah.
17:26There were two minutes and 54 seconds left.
17:28It was 40-6 with two minutes and 54 seconds left in the Super Bowl.
17:31One of the lamest things Andy Reid has ever done and never got any criticism.
17:35Yeah, well, you're right.
17:36So that's 57 minutes into the game, James.
17:38And so I think that final score hurt the way the Eagles are viewed historically.
17:43I mean, because, you know, John, you and I grew up with the Bears, and you know the 46-10.
17:48I was stumbling earlier on the one with Montana, but I know it was there about James.
17:5155-10.
17:52James went right to 55-10.
17:53Like, these kind of scores resonate in your head.
17:56The drubbing stick in there.
17:58It was unlikely, I guess, that you would see such a lopsided score, and so they really
18:05do register in there, and they don't go away.
18:07The final one I'll say, and then we'll get to Ruben Franken phone calls.
18:10If you agree or disagree with our sentiment that the 2024 Eagles have been shortchanged
18:16historically, with no national discussion about, you know, that they should rank, you
18:21know, amongst the top five or top three in recent years, top one this century.
18:25They might be top one this century.
18:27No one says it.
18:28I think there is some anti-Philly sentiment.
18:31Ben, does that resonate with you?
18:32A hundred percent.
18:35We are not liked nationally.
18:37We're just not.
18:38And they just don't want to give it to us, right?
18:39And the stereotype will go on forever.
18:41I guarantee it.
18:43I agree with you.
18:44Well, we did throw snowballs at Santa Claus, so, you know.
18:47That rhetoric, it's just enough already.
18:50It just won't go away.
18:51No matter what we do, no matter how we act, or how many championships we win, that will
18:58stick with us.
18:58Mahomes did not pass midfield until late in the third quarter.
19:01Exactly.
19:02That doesn't count?
19:04I mean, guys, I'm not saying the Eagles have to be viewed as number one all time.
19:06I'm not saying that.
19:07I know there are some incredible teams, some of which I didn't see.
19:1072 Dolphins, Steelers in the 70s.
19:12I get it.
19:13I saw the Niners in the 80s.
19:14They were amazing.
19:15I saw the Cowboys in the 90s and the Niners in the 90s.
19:17They were amazing.
19:18Here's what I know.
19:19This is one of the best teams I've seen.
19:21I know that.
19:23And I also know they may be the best this century.
19:26And I also know I heard zero people say that nationally.
19:29Zero.
19:30It's kind of irritating.
19:31And you're talking about one of the, probably the top three quarterback of all time.
19:36Which one?
19:37Mahomes.
19:37Oh, beating him.
19:38Yeah.
19:38That doesn't cross midfield until the third quarter.
19:42That doesn't get brought up?
19:43No, it doesn't get brought up.
19:44Let's talk to Reuben Frank and get his perspective on what he makes of this.
19:48And then we'll get to, you know, the Eagles moving forward, obviously, with training camp
19:51in six weeks.
19:52Let's talk to Reuben right now from NBC Sports Philadelphia and one of our own here at WIP.
19:56Good morning, Reuben.
19:57Hey, guys.
19:58Great to have you on the show.
20:00So, Reuben, you've heard what we've been discussing there in the last few minutes, at least.
20:04So, two-part question.
20:05Do you agree the Eagles' 2024 birds got shortchanged after the Super Bowl with the acclaim?
20:12And if so, why do you think it happened?
20:14You heard some of my theories.
20:15Why do you think it happened?
20:17Yeah, it's a great question.
20:18And you're right.
20:19Like, those blowout scores.
20:20Like, if I say 44-6, you know what?
20:23Only one thing comes to mind.
20:25The 2008 Cowboys game at the end of the season.
20:27Of course.
20:27Those blowout scores, like, there's just something about them.
20:32And you're right.
20:33I think those last two touchdowns did change the narrative a little bit.
20:38But, I mean, it's always been this way.
20:39I mean, you know, national people never give the Eagles credit, never give Philadelphia
20:43credit.
20:44I, for one, don't really care because, like, we know what we have here.
20:47So, like, who cares?
20:48Kind of what, you know, they're saying.
20:51So, I do.
20:52Look, look, I could tell you I could sit in front of a psychologist and say, I know I'm
20:56supposed to not care.
20:58I know I'm supposed to have enough self-esteem that it doesn't bother me.
21:02It does bother me, Reuben.
21:03It does.
21:04I waited my whole life to see a championship.
21:06I saw it.
21:07Then I saw a second.
21:08And, you know, I'm going to puff my chest out a little bit.
21:10And I want the nation to understand that we, as a fan base, and let's be real, more than
21:16anything, the Eagles, the Eagles players deserve the acclaim.
21:19I mean, because, Reuben, I think there is a legitimate argument that this was the best
21:25team this century.
21:27They had the number one ranked defense.
21:29They had a 2,000-yard running back.
21:31They had a 10-game winning streak.
21:32And they absolutely decimated two teams in the final two games, one of which was a back-to-back
21:38champion.
21:38That's incredible.
21:40Yeah, I mean, I guess my thing is, like, as long as we know what we have here in this
21:46city, like, who cares?
21:48I mean, I get that you do, and that's valid.
21:52I just, you know what?
21:53We know here, and that's all that matters.
21:55How much do you think is anti-Siriani, anti-Hertz as the nation processes those two?
22:02No question about it.
22:03They don't fit the model of what people nationally want in a head coach and a quarterback.
22:09They're not classic NFL.
22:12You know, you're not looking at guys that fit the mold of, you know, whoever it is, Chuck
22:21Knoll and Terry Bradshaw or, you know, Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.
22:25They just, they're different.
22:26They're different.
22:27And it's kind of one of the reasons we love them here.
22:29But, yeah, who cares?
22:33Ruben, we had Trott Jr. had a real opportunity this summer, getting a chance to get in there
22:42a little bit more with some of the linebacker injuries in this situation.
22:46What is our inside linebacker room looking like right now with all of the health challenges
22:55we've got going on?
22:58Yeah, Trotter, it's been a great opportunity for him.
23:01And he's an athletic guy, and he's really smart.
23:05He's so different from his dad.
23:07It's so funny.
23:07They're just such different players.
23:09But we don't know when N'Kobe's going to come back.
23:12What a shame.
23:13And you just hope he does come back 100% at some point.
23:17We don't know what Jahad Campbell is.
23:19And, you know, it's easy to just say you plug him in when he's healthy, and he should be
23:23healthy by the opener, I think.
23:26We know what Zach Bond can do.
23:27But there's a lot of questions there, certainly.
23:29And the potential is there to have the best linebacker crew this city has seen in, you
23:35know, in forever.
23:36I mean, gosh, when's the last time?
23:38I mean, we've lived, think of the linebackers we've lived through over the years.
23:41You know, from Keith Adams to, you know, to Mark Chaney and Moses Foku.
23:46And I don't want to...
23:47Keith was tough.
23:49Keith would strike you.
23:50Keith was a tough dude, but come on now.
23:53Come on now.
23:54He was a little undersized.
23:57That's all.
23:57I've been shaming both of you guys this interview.
23:59It's great.
23:59I am enjoying this so much.
24:01Come on now.
24:02What about Smile Mondin?
24:05Matt McCoy.
24:06I mean, we go on and on.
24:07Sure.
24:08Well, Smile's in there now, starting during this last minicamp, wasn't he?
24:14He got some reps with the ones, yeah.
24:16That's incredible.
24:17Rube, do you think Jihad Campbell will be ready for week one?
24:20Do you think he will play in week one?
24:22I think it could be close.
24:23I think if it's not week one, it'll be soon after.
24:26Just based on what Vic said, that he expects to see him in August.
24:29Yeah.
24:30So, if that means the last day of August, then probably not.
24:34You need a little more time if it's the first day of August, which it probably won't be.
24:38But I think he'll be out there pretty early.
24:42I can't wait to see what he's all about.
24:43I mean, the guys rave about him.
24:46And, you know, Zach Bond was just going off about him the other day and just how similar he is to him as far as his ability to do a lot of different things.
24:53Good.
24:54Line up in different places.
24:55But we haven't seen it yet.
24:56So, who knows, but I think the potential is there to have really an elite linebacker crew, which I can't tell you the last time we had that.
25:04Well, they had, obviously, with the Seth, Byard Evans, William Thomas crew.
25:09That was something.
25:10And then in the 70s, when you had Bergey and LeMaster and Bunting, you had some really good players.
25:15But it's not been – and Trott, it certainly had some – you know, there was – Sean Barber and him, I guess, didn't overlap.
25:20But you had Carlos Simmons with each of them.
25:22So, you had two excellent ones.
25:24Yeah, they were good.
25:25And I think, I mean, Seth and Willie T only overlapped a couple years.
25:29A couple years.
25:29A couple years, yeah.
25:30So, but we're talking about the potential to have this group together for the long term, which, you know, that just hasn't happened.
25:37All right, Rube, let's get to last week and then as it relates to the coming season.
25:41So, you had a chance, obviously, to get your eyes on the guys in a practice.
25:46What stood – or maybe that was a couple days ago.
25:48These days are all running together.
25:49Or what stood out to you when you got a chance to see the team?
25:53What are some of the main observations you took away?
25:57Well, in the big picture, I think the biggest takeaway is that this does not look like a team that just won a Super Bowl a few months ago.
26:04They don't look like a team that's resting on its laurels.
26:08They don't look like a team that, you know, is kind of, you know, pumping out its chest and saying, you know, we just did this.
26:14I mean, they're putting in the work.
26:16They never talk about the Super Bowl.
26:19You know, they're just looking forward.
26:21And I think that comes from Nick and just the tone that he sets.
26:26And, you know, I think every Super Bowl team says that.
26:29But it seems like this team is doing it.
26:33And I think there's so many changes and there's so many new guys that, you know, they don't – they didn't experience that.
26:39So, you know, they bring a lot of energy and it's been encouraging.
26:43It's been good to see.
26:45There's certainly not a team that's going in there saying, you know, we did this.
26:48We're just going to – it's just going to happen again automatically.
26:51They're putting in the work.
26:52Ruben, what are the odds that we try to improve the cornerback position with a guy from Green Bay named Jair Alexander?
27:03I just don't think that lines up with what Howie's trying to do this year.
27:06I mean, he wants to be younger.
27:08Jair Alexander has missed a ton of games.
27:10He's averaged like seven and a half games over the last four years.
27:14I think they're high on Keeley Ringo, and I think they should be.
27:17I think he's got a chance to be a player.
27:20This whole offseason has been about getting younger and getting faster, which means getting cheaper as far as contracts go.
27:28Now, if Keeley has a bad training camp and Dory Jackson's not working out, he's kind of an older guy, you know, maybe you might see him move.
27:37I just don't think that one makes sense because they – you're looking at a guy who's going to miss half the season if the last four years are any indication.
27:45So, I think he's only 28, but he's had a ton of injuries, and generally guys like that don't just start automatically getting better and healthier when they hit 28, 29, 30.
27:56So, I just don't see it happening.
27:58So, Keeley Ringo, in your mind, is the front runner, and then a Dory Jackson, the experienced veteran that, if need be, they feel as though they are comfortable depending upon if – for playing time?
28:13Is that how comfortable they feel with a Dory?
28:16Yeah, I think that's the plan, and I think they want Keeley to win that job.
28:21You probably want the veteran, and he can back up the slot.
28:24He can – you know, Dory Jackson can do a lot of things, but I just – I don't think you want him starting.
28:30I don't think you want a 29-year – it's all about youth this year.
28:35I mean, that's how he said that, just in the way – and when he talks, and he said it in the way he signs players, the way he drafts.
28:41And, obviously, you're going to draft young players, but the whole depth chart is all about being young, being fast, and being healthy.
28:48And those things all go together, and I just don't see – unless Keeley Ringo is not what they think he is, which is possible.
28:55You never know.
28:56But I thought he played well as a rookie.
28:58He's had two more years.
29:00You know, I expect big things from him.
29:02And, you know, he's been around some good corners since he's been here and learned a lot.
29:07He's fast.
29:09He's only 22.
29:10Yeah.
29:10Wow.
29:11I think he's the guy.
29:12Good deal.
29:12All right, Rube.
29:13Rube, final thing here, man.
29:14I know you're a big music guy.
29:16With Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys passing away yesterday, best Beach Boys song is which one?
29:22You know, I saw Brian Wilson in 2015, and it – I mean, it was life-affirming.
29:28It was just unbelievable, and he was – you know, he wasn't getting around real well.
29:34He wasn't – you know, he wasn't speaking.
29:36He was speaking haltingly, but he came out, and he said, I'm going to play a song that they say is the best song I ever wrote.
29:42And then he paused, and he goes, they're probably right.
29:45And he said, this one's called God Only Knows.
29:47Yeah.
29:48Wow.
29:48Yeah.
29:49That's really – well, I appreciate that perspective.
29:51So he said it.
29:52That's awesome.
29:53Wow.
29:54Yeah.
29:54That's awesome.
29:55It wasn't a dry eye in the house at that point.
29:57It was really cool, and yeah, what a genius.
30:01Awesome.
30:01Love it.
30:02Rube, stay well, pal.
30:03We'll talk to you soon, obviously, six weeks until training camp.
30:06Looking forward to it.
30:07Thank you, Rube.