👋 Good morning! Spot-on take from Cuz yesterday.

Unfortunately, we ain’t getting the Reds.

Maybe that is a good thing. When the Eagles have won Super Bowls, they have traveled pretty darn tough roads. When Villanova finally broke through in 2016 after all of those first-weekend exits, they played the toughest six opponents possible. Conversely, when the Sixers got that cake draw in 2021, they goofed it up in extraordinary fashion. Maybe championships around here are meant to be won by going through a gauntlet.

That is what I will be telling myself, anyway. Watching Shohei and Teoscar have a home run derby last night, it felt like Phillies-Marlins in 2023. Just a colossal mismatch. I have sweated out interleague series in mid-June more than that Marlins wild-card series. Never over until it’s over, but I am not optimistic about the 83-win Reds’ chances tonight. That would mean Sánchez-Ohtani on the bump in Game 1.

(Getting into that very gettable Dodgers bullpen is gonna be a huge deal.)

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As always, you can reach me at [email protected]

We will lead off with the Birds today, because we will be leading off with the Fightins at minimum the next four newsletters. Said! Said!

And I will preface what I am about to ask by noting that I am not angry. Not even a little bit. Coming off a Super Bowl and sitting at 4-0 on the title defense, I am cool as a cucumber. On a scale of Nick Sirianni Sideline Demeanor to Jalen Hurts Anytime Demeanor, I got my Kangol on, my earring in and Frankie Beverly’s dulcet tones filling the air.

Caveat aside, here is the question I find myself thinking about following the first month of Eagles football: Is this more like 2023 or 2024?

Certainly some recency bias rummaging around in my head. There are some other ways this thing could go besides “worst team in the NFL at the end of the season” and “best team in the NFL at the end of the season.” But, you know, I do see some similarities…

It would be unfair to harp on the point differential and not point out that the Eagles have played a tough schedule. Their opponents are 9-2-1 against everyone else. Compare that to the other 4-0 team in the NFL, Buffalo, whose opponents are 2-10 against everyone else. The Bills are playing 1-AA football, as far as I am concerned.

“Weird” is the main word that I would use to describe this Eagles start, and some of that has to do with roster construction. Eagles fans are not used to a team that looks like this, and that goes for the strengths and weaknesses. For so long, this franchise was successfully built front to back. They poured resource after resource into the offensive and defensive lines. And early on, the strength of this Eagles team appears to be their defensive back-seven.

When was the last time that linebacker was the Eagles’ best position group? Seth Joyner and Byron Evans? Even when things were going good, they have just tried to get by at that spot. Well, now they have Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell. If that is not already the NFL’s best LB group, it will be soon as Campbell continues to improve. On the back end, Quinyon Mitchell is already one of the best corners in the league. Cooper DeJean is a difference-maker, and the best tackler on a team that tackles quite well for the most part.

That back-seven partially is why I am so optimistic about the defense, and also why 2023 is an unlikely outcome. The floor is too high for this group, but they are also the youngest defense in NFL. Upside is there, too. In another super-modern reference, Vic Fangio said the following at his presser yesterday: "Bud Grant used to say for every rookie you play you can add one to your loss column. I don't necessarily agree with that, but that's what he used to say." The Eagles got away with two killer rookie mistakes on Sunday, but like most rookies, Campbell and Drew Mukuba will learn from them.

(I fully expect Uncle Vic’s thoughts on the M*A*S*H finale next week.)

So, even if the Eagles are the only NFL team without a sack from an edge-rusher, that is OK. Uncle Vic still made Baker Mayfield uncomfortable all game.

Now, I did not think the offense would be this weird. Three great halves out of eight, but also three terrible halves mixed in there. Three-and-outs should not come in bunches like this, but that can happen when you cannot lean on your rushing attack. One of the Eagles’ superpowers last season was that they could run the ball when the defense knew they were running the ball. Not right now, though.

As Fran pointed out on Monday’s show, there is blame to be handed out everywhere for the run game issues. Chief among them is that the offensive line is just not creating the same holes.

It was at this point last season when the Eagles leaned more into Saquon Barkley. And I wonder if they have to go the other way this time around, at least in moderation. A.J. Brown drama aside — A.J. sending cryptic tweets after another rough outing is not “a media creation,” by the way — they need to get more production from both Brown and DeVonta Smith. Jalen Hurts looks good for long stretches, I swear! Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni, let Jalen cook a little.

The proof of concept is there. Hurts and the offense were cooking in the second half against Los Angeles and first half against Tampa Bay. If the offense can follow the defense’s lead from last season and land on an identity, we will be cooking with gas.

Now, can they find that identity? To be determined, but I am excited to find out.

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Uncle Vic, not a fan of the new K-balls: Vic had to get this one off his chest, nobody even asked him about it. The man was not happy about giving up 58 and 65-yard field goals last week. Let me tell you about Tom Dempsey…

In other news, the Eagles will have a new long snapper this week after placing Charley Hughlett on IR. And no, unfortunately not Rick Lovato.

🫧 The roster bubble gets smaller: The Flyers cut 11 dudes yesterday. And as always, our crew had great coverage:

I am gonna break down the cuts and non-cuts into four groups…

(1) The guys we knew were gonna get cut: Do not worry about this group, which includes the projected Lehigh Valley goaltending duo of Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason. Denver Barkey, too, he was always headed to the AHL.

(2) The guys we didn’t know were gonna get cut: Two biggies here: Alex “Bumpy” Bump and Emil Andrae. Little disappointing for Bump to not make it after the “Too good for development camp” label this summer. Meanwhile, Andrae seemingly did not have a chance to make the roster because the Flyers want A Big Guy to hold the fort down in Rasmus Ristolainen’s place.

(3) The forwards still on the bubble: If Nikita Grebenkin is on the roster, there is one big question left: Are the Flyers gonna keep Jett Luchanko? In large part because the other option is to send him to the worst junior hockey team ever, I say yes.

(4) The defensemen still on the bubble: Big guys. Not that exciting, honestly: Adam Ginning (probably on the team), Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert.

Baseball players working out in an empty stadium: Well, here ya go…

Seriously, the next two days will provide a ton of Phils coverage. Red October preview tomorrow and then an NLDS preview on Friday.

Matt Strahm makes $7.5 million: Prior to last season, the final year of his previous contract, Strahm signed an incentive-laden extension. He initially signed for two years, $15 million… but the full second year would only be guaranteed if he threw 60+ innings in 2025 and then passed a physical.

Well, Strahm threw 62.1 innings in 2025. And this week, he passed that physical. Strahm will be back next season.

Quentin Grimes, the last man standing in restricted free agency: After Jonathan Kuminga signed a two-year pact with Golden State, that is. As the guys broke down on the pod, this is not good. Is this seriously a luxury tax thing?

Anyway, today is decision day.

And it looks like Jared McCain had his surgery on his thumb. Remember, the recovery will be around six-ish weeks.

We are almost at 50,000 subscribers on the ol’ YouTube! Why not help us get a little closer there?

No real games today, but the Phils are gonna pack 30,000+ into The Bank for an intrasquad scrimmage. That is pretty cool.

Your tentative Wednesday schedule at ​PHLY. Busy day​:

Let’s make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
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