👋 Good morning! So, Taylor Swift is apparently a big Xavier Worthy fan.

I tuned in to the most-listened podcast ever (not a bad listen!) and the most famous musical artist in the world said the following at one point: "I became like a person who was running through the halls of my house screaming, 'We drafted Xavier Worthy!' And my friends are like, 'Who body snatched you? What do you mean we drafted Xavier Worthy?'"

I had no idea T-Swift was such a Xavier Worthy fan! She really should have presented this year’s Cockatoo Good Award for the best performance by an opposing player or coach. What a missed opportunity. You can get her on Cameo, right?

The Friday links. Spread the word, spread the word:

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Righteous Felon Craft Jerky.

This Chester County based company has the perfect snack that satisfies your hunger and provides the right amount of protein to fulfill your body’s daily needs, and they have been doing it for over a decade. if you are the kind of person who wants a deal and snacks delivered right to your doorstep, you can order online using discount code PHLY20 for 20% off. Righteous Felon has all kinds of cool variety packs and bundles on the site.

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

I would like to start off by saying that heading into the 2025 NFL season, the Eagles’ issues should very much be considered “first-world problems.” This is not like when Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia declared that 26 of the 29 other NBA general managers would trade their entire situation (roster, cap sheet, future draft picks) for the Suns’, when I am not sure that three of them actually would have.

The 2025 Eagles have some potential stumbling blocks, but this is still a loaded roster that is also far from all-in. The elite players are already locked up long-term or are gonna get paid, there is young talent on the roster (including a Super Bowl-winning QB) and there is a bunch of future draft capital that can help fill in the gaps. Howie Roseman, good at his job, news at 11.

But for this season, if things go wrong, what might be the specific reason? I am planting my flag on The Weak-Link theory. This idea got brought up multiple times on yesterday’s Eagles podcast.

You guys know I love a cross-sport analogy. Modern NBA basketball is very much a weak link game. In a star-driven league, it has become increasingly important that your fifth-best player is well-rounded and does not take a ton off the table. We saw this idea in action during the Sixers’ failed playoff runs over the past five years. On offense, a non-threatening shooter like Matisse Thybulle gums up your spacing and takes away room to operate for Joel Embiid. And on the other end, a weak defender like Seth Curry will get hunted into oblivion by the opponent’s best players. Seth was on an all-time heater from beyond the arc against Atlanta in 2021, but he gave it all back by making Kevin Huerter look like Michael Jordan.

Well, the “hunt the bozo” (credit to Kyle Neubeck) ethos can also apply to football. And in particular, I feel like the Eagles secondary could provide a perfect test case for it this season.

At three of the five starting positions, you feel legitimately great.

So, all that sounds great. But what about the other two spots?

I do need want to break down the safety and CB2 competitions today, as we have done that a bunch already. But think back to last year and ask yourself the following question: Who was the Eagles’ weak link on the back end? For my money, it was C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who could be attacked in the red zone at times. That is… not that bad at all! CJGJ is still a very good player. But replacing him with Sydney Brown/Drew Mukuba and Darius Slay with whoever seems like two potential downgrades at the moment.

(Speaking of the CB2 battle, should Howie have matched that two-year, $15 million contract Isaiah Rodgers got from Minnesota? Feels like The Gambler would be running away with CB2 right now.)

The Eagles have elite talent elsewhere in the secondary, excellent linebacker play and a defensive mastermind calling plays to try and mitigate the potential weak links. But if the Birds are getting iffy play from those spots, I am curious to see how it all plays out. Specifically, can the elite talent overcome the weak links?

You can also apply the weak-link theory to the offensive line. The Eagles have deployed the best o-line in the NFL for the past decade not only because of elite talent (Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson) at some spots, but also a lack of true weak links. Stefen Wisniewski/Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Isaac Seumalo and Mekhi Becton were probably the “weak links” on the Super Bowl participants. Some voodoo magic from Jeff Stoutland in 2017 aside, those guys were all good players. Last season, Becton was an elite run blocker.

The good news is that Tyler Steen has by all accounts improved as training camp has moved along. If that is the case, the Eagles starting offensive line should be fine. But the Landon Dickerson injury also served as a warning that the o-line depth is a good bit thinner than in past years. Can you thrive with Brett Toth as your weak link? I hope we do not have to find out.

Honestly, I hope we do not have to find out at all. Maybe Kelee Ringo improves like young players often do or Adoree’ Jackson provides veteran competency. But if things go bad, I think it will be because The Weak-Link Theory rears its ugly head.

Joint practice observations: Nice to see Jihaad have a nice day.

Beers for the boys: Even if it was a little snippy-snip, Landon Dickerson walking one day post-surgery is a reminder that NFL players are built different. I would be posted up in my bed, watching Sopranos episodes and crushing Cheez-Its.

Of course Landon has beers for his fellow offensive linemen (both teams). Nothing like a light domestic on a 90-degree day in South Philly. And of course Baldy was also right in the mix. I am sure Cuz will ask him about that on his next appearance.

Birdseed: The links, the links, the links…

Tyson Foerster seems to be OK: Foerster, one of the Flyers’ most exciting young players, signed a two-year bridge extension this offseason. Some risk on both sides, depending on whether or not Foerster breaks out offensively.

But buried on Day 1 of free agency, Danny Briere announced that Foerster had this mysterious elbow infection that the Flyers did not have much of a timeline on. There was concern that Foerster might not be ready for the start of the season. It was weird and concerning, and frankly, rather Sixers-y.

Well, these are the Flyers and Foerster appears to be OK. Good news.

Washington 3, Phillies 2: The ebbs and flows of a baseball season, man. That is a pretty rough loss, to make it three in a row for the Fightins.

On the plus side, the Mets blew another one. Remember when I floated Ryan Helsley as a target in my “Eugenio Suárez + Bargain Bin Pitcher” trade deadline strategy? Kindly get out the zapper from Men in Black and forget about that one.

The first half of that wishlist is looking a little more prescient, because the Phillies offense decided to disappear again for some reason. That is very much the fear with these guys. Three runs total in their past three games, and one of them was a garbage-time Bryce Harper homer. Seems like the fanbase is generally starting to take notice of Nick Castellanos’ mega-slump, too.

This was not a good Rob Thomson game. With a fully rested bullpen, I think you just need to take six good innings from Jesús Luzardo and run moving forward. And if you send him out there for the seventh, you probably gotta get him when he walks the leadoff guy. By now, we know that Luzardo is flammable and a game can get away from him in a hurry. For the rest of the year, Rob needs the Joe Banner/Bill Belichick game-plan with Luzardo: Better to be one inning too early than one inning too late.

And then bunting Edmundo Sosa in the ninth inning? Not Topper’s best night. Oh, well. Win the next three and all is forgiven.

Six-man rotation: It is a rite of passage for every Phillies season, the six-man rotation in August. Aaron Nola will make his return on Sundee in Washington. We will see how many times through the Phils stick with the six-man.

Schedule! Kyle and Devon podded about it, and here it is in all its glory.

Three games against Boston before November 12th. Oh how the mighty have fallen!

The Sixers and Celtics provide a decent contrast this year. Boston probably has a higher floor, because we know that Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are gonna play. But the rest of the Celtics’ rotation is pretty rough, particularly in the frontcourt. Brown-White will be overtaxed as top options, particularly because the spacing is not nearly as pristine as in recent seasons.

The Sixers probably have a higher ceiling for one season until Jayson Tatum returns, but their record range could legitimately be from 20 to 50 wins. I do not feel like talking about them more than that today, in an effort to conserve my energy for the season.

Phils-Nats all weekend, plus Eagles-Browns on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. I am always down to watch Tanner McKee cook, but preseason games should exclusively be on Thursday and Friday nights.

Your tentative Friday schedule at ​PHLY​:

Have a great weekend. Let's make it a good one today.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS