Eagles Entertainment Welcome Eagles Everywhere to the Eagles Insider Podcasts, presented by Lincoln Financial Group. I'm Eagles insider Dave Spidero. I'm here at the Novicare Complex. We are getting ready for the New Orleans Saints. I realize there's a whole lot going on with this football team, with your emotions. Let me begin by saying happy and healthy New Year to everyone out there. We have a lot of football left in this twenty twenty two season for the Philadelphia Eagles, and I want to make sure that our entire family, including you and you and you and you and you, are there every step of the way, all right, So let's get you caught up before we get into the meat of the Eagles Insider Podcast here. Injuries are of course at the forefront of everybody's mind, and let me get you caught up on everything as we conclude the day on Wednesday, as we tape this episode, no word on Jalen Hurts and his availability for Sunday game against the New Orleans Saints. Nick Sirianni saying this week that we'll see what kind of progress that he makes. If he's healthy, he will play, but Jalen Hurts must be healthy to play against the Saints. Gardner Minshew through for three hundred and fifty five yards, two touchdowns two interceptions against the Cowboys. The Eagles have full confidence in Minshew should he be the starter against the Saints. The Eagles had to walk through practice on Wednesday. We'll find out a little bit more on Thursday here as the Eagles get ready for New Orleans and every turn home to link at Financial Field. After three consecutive weeks, right tackle Lane Johnson will take the option of rest, recovery rehab rather than surgery to repair an abdominal slash groin injury that has bothered him the last several weeks and that knocked him out of the game in Dallas. And the hope is that Johnson will be back. Here as Sirianni talk about Johnson and about how tough he is UM, and the hope is, of course that he'll be back, but really no timeline on Lane, but there is a chance that he'll be back for the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, he's one of the toughest guys we've ever been around. UM and obviously says a lot about how he cares about his teammates, who he is as a teammate. UM, and you know he's in pain. Um that he's just gonna do whatever he needs to do to get himself ready to play. And and and that's that's for his teammates. So it just speaks of his toughness and his desire to connect and how much all his teammates mean to him. Quarterback of Vante Maddox out quote indefinitely end quote with a toe injury. No update there. CJ. Gardner Johnson, the fine safety who's been out for four weeks after suffering a lacerated kidney against the Green Bay Packers. He's eligible to come off injured reserve and open that twenty one day practice window. That word has not come as of Wednesday, so we're waiting and we're seeing Gardner Johnson. It sounds optimistic. He's been around. He was in the locker room on Wednesday, look good, smiled a lot, really really upbeat. So unlikely that he plays against the Saints, for sure, if the Eagles win on Sunday, or rather when they win on Sunday, certainly won't play against the Giants. But then CJ. Gardner Johnson, let's hope fingers crossed that he's good to go whenever and wherever the Eagles begin their playoff run. So that's kind of your update. Jordan Davis kode from the game in Dallas. No word on his availability for Sunday. So the Eagles come into this game with some question marks. Who's going to play right tackle? That was a question asked many times in the locker room on Wednesday. Nobody saying nothing. So as long as the Eagles can keep that a mystery to the Saints, the more of the Saints after prepare and then who's going to play in the cornerback spot replacing Maddox. Josiah Scott has been that guy. It makes sense that he continues to be that nickel cornerback for the Eagles on defense. All right, that's the injury update for you. As the Eagles get ready for the six and nine New Orleans Saints. We'll get our first look at the Saints in just a bit here. A team that had high hopes for the season has had a bunch of injuries, some poor play at quarterback, and in the NFC South, They're still alive. A faint heartbeat, but a heartbeat nonetheless, so we'll get that first look at the Saints. Our extra point today will be a visit from our honorary captain on Sunday from the nineteen nineties, defensive tackle Andy Harmon. Are you old enough to remember Andy Harmon? One of the first undersized pass rushing defensive tackles. He visits, and we're also going to hear from Eagles punter Brett Kern, who has been with the team here a couple of weeks. Eagles in good shape with an experienced leg, a good holder as Eagles come down the stretch the final two games at Lincoln Financial Field and then the playoffs. Brett Kern has been in every big game except the Super Bowl. He'd love to be there this year. We begin our Eagles Insider Podcast presented by Lincoln Financial Group. Brandon Graham in studio. It's been a dream year for BG. Comeback Player of the Year, no doubt about it. One on one with Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, I'm thrilled to be joined by Brandon Graham on the Eagles Insider Podcast presented by Lincoln Financial Group. I'm gonna say this, did you make a New Year's resolution last year that you were going to come back and have a dream season, because I feel like, Brandon, this has been literally a dream season for you. Man. You know what around this time last year, I was thinking, oh man, I can't wait to see what how I come back next year, next year, And then you know, I was hoping that we made a run. Even if I didn't come back. Oh I wasn't coming back to the end of the year. But man, you right though, Like, um, I dreamed about it, but you don't know what it's gonna be until you actually get here. Man, I couldn't have asked for a better season, coming off the bench, about to get double digits hopefully, and you know, just making this run towards a Super Bowl. You you had said all along that the rehab was I just want to dig into that a little bit, just the mental part of it, because I feel like that's such a key for people who have setbacks. Um, and you just approached everything with such a positive mindset. Why Brandon, what were there times when when you were getting carted off the field against the Niners. What were you feeling did you remember, like you ever draw from that? Oh? Yeah, you know, I was. I remember looking up at the sky well at the scoreboard at the time and just looking like, man, damn, it's something serious because I didn't I never had Achillers before. I just knew it felt mushy and I was just like, oh man, and I tried to step on it and it was just like, okay, it's not that bad, but I know it's something. And boy, they told me Achilles. I was just like wow, and I was like, you know what, it's all goods like at the end of that tunnel, I'm gonna be back. Luckily I just had signed a new you know, got more guarantee because that's when I figured, okay, well, at least I got one more year to try to prove myself and I'm gonna just work my butt off. And I just tried to flip it because I knew the season was over. I knew I was gonna be out, you know, but I just didn't know, you know, what it was. And once I knew that, it was just like, Okay, let me start attacking this head on, get to spend more time with my family. I just started looking at depositives before I started hitting the negatives, because the negative started to come at the end of the day when you're like, ah, man, all the plans you had for this year and now you gotta wait till next year or something. But it was still good. And you're in your twelfth year, and this is a young man's game, and there's always a fear in every player's mind. I believe that the end is nearer even now. Even now, it's like, man, I only got a couple of months left because I'm on a one year not knowing hopefully we do it right and holding that ring at the end, and then that'll be my pitch for next year, Like, hey, let me run it back with you. You've played thirty nine percent of the snaps, you have nine quarterback sacks. You'll get into double digits. I believe. I'm I'm predicting its sack plus on Sunday against the Saints. Do you think you're playing football vintage Brandon Graham? You know what, I never heard of it like that, But yeah, man, I honestly I feel great. I don't feel like I played a whole season. Of course, you know, the guys that's playing more, you know, probably feel different than what I feel. But at the end of the day, it's like, man, every time I get a chance the opportunity out there, it's like, go is you know, you gotta take full advantage of them reps. And so that's my mindset. Man, when I go out there, I'm relieving guys. They don't warm them up for me, and now it's uh time for me to knock them out. That's how I kind of look at it. And so man, I've just been having fun with it, no pressure. It was an adjustment at first. It wasn't as easy at how it is now because you know, it was hard to kind of adjust the plan thirty nine percent, like you said at the place. But when I started seeing like, man, you fresh out here and this boy out here time, all you gotta do is make sure you make them quality reps. And once I changed my mindset on that, man, I just know it's a mindset that you gotta have and you gotta kind of block the easy route, the easy route to pout and say, ah, I wish I could do this, I wish that, But you know, you just gotta talk to yourself in a better way when when you're in those stressful situations. There was a moment in training camp when reporters kind of made a big deal about you being a quote unquote backup, and like, I don't consider you a backup? Does that? Is that an offensive term? Um if you look at it like that, because at first it was like, uh, man, you're right, I am, that's what it's gonna be because in training camp, you it's like everybody getting the same amount of reps because they want to see everybody. But no, you know what it was, it's like that my like, I know the media is gonna try to you know, build a build a wedge in between you know, some some guys, and that's just their job. But for me, I tried to be bigger than that, bigger than that part because I knew we had a good team. I knew he was gonna have to work all year together. So you know, I was just like, man, let me just be the best Brandon Grandma could be. Uh. And if I got to come off the bench, that's cool too, because we all starters in my eyes, because we all all playing good. Um shoot, I mean, Hadds was a great addition. He's been playing his butt off all year, you know, hard grave, fletch, uh sweaty, you know what I'm saying. There's something. Um. I just I just try to just have a great mindset through it all, man, because we really do got something special and I don't want to mess it up. When did you know that this team could be something special? Having gone through it back in seventeen other seasons really good teams. When do you know, Brandon, we we all asked you every single day in training camp early is it? Hey, how good can this team be? You're like, oh, when do you know? You know, during the season a little bit, when you get tested a little bit. I know, the first game we played Alliance, you knew we had something good, but I felt like we need to tighten up on defense a little bit, in our run defense. Then as the season kept going, I felt like one Sue and those guys got here. That's when I started feeling like, Okay, I knew where our holes was. Let's plug them up, and them boys did with them two coming in and relieving the starters, you know, and getting them rest or they can come in fresh too, and man, it's been a great addition for them too. And I just felt like once we plugged that part up and our past defense has been good. Man. I just I've loved our chances because obviously the defense got to be stout because we know about the offense already, but we had to make sure that we compliment and well. And then on special teams. I felt like special teams gotten better too as the season went on. So I feel like now from like November December area, you know, that's when you start to see like, okay, we can really do this thing, Brandon, I wonder I do want to get into you specifically because we're a remarkable season two Defensive Player of the Week honors Walter Peyton Man of the Year nominee from the Eagles for Team Grant. We want to make sure that fans vote for you. It directly impacts your ability to help those in need and will tell people how to do that. But Eagles lose to the Cowboys on Christmas Eve. You know, you try to spend time with your family, you're having a good time on Christmas. I got a lot of reaction from oh deve is everything okay? Like how did the team respond to the loss? Like like the Eagles had never lost a game before? Right? Did you get that kind of stuff? I did. It's just been a minute since we felt that like it. Even Washington. Everybody just wanted to make the excuse of man, we just played bad and we did, which we did, but we still took a loss, and so we gotta deal with that. We got to learn from that and then we move on. But then we go on our run again. Then we lose to a team that everybody just wanted to beat. And boy, you know them feelings. Everybody was emotional probably when you heard what you just heard. It's like, man, you've got to say, hey, you know what, we can always be beat any given Sunday. Now, that's what it showed us. Look when we turn the ball over three or four times and we and then we don't make plays on third down, we can lose. We can lose. This is easy. You know what I'm saying. I don't care what the record has been. People don't respect that. They respect what you do that Sunday, and you know, because they got a game playing that they got to carry out and they want to make sure that they bring their best against what's supposedly the best. That's what the league saying. We the best. We got to go out there and improve it every week. But we gotta know that the target on our backs, and man, I'm like, just bring it on. It's all about your attitude on how you do it, and you know that it ain't gonna be perfect, and sometimes you're gonna take els and hopefully it's not. Now at this point, we can't take else because you go home at that point, you know what I'm saying. So I feel like a lot of guys we had a lot to learn from that last game. Even though Gardner was in the still we're still a team and we still could have pulled it off, but we got to make sure we give ourselves the best shot by not turning the ball over and then taking the ball away. We're talking on Wednesday, the Saints come to town on Sunday. We know what's at stake. Brandon to win clinches the NFC home field advantage, a bye week, which I know you will love NFC's title. What's the move in the locker room? Give us, give us the t as The kids say, everybody is loving the position we're in. We're in and they say, we just need one so that the guys can can get a little rest and get ready for this this real stretch. And I mean we're not looking too far ahead. We got to play these Saints this week because they still in the hunt too, and we just gotta we just can't play around with them because they are a good team, good offense, defense is top tier. Uh. They just have been just turning the ball over a lot and that's what we've seen. But they make play, uh. I mean, they got a unique way of how they run their offense, and we just got to make sure that we come and accept the challenge on Sunday. You've been in the NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice. What does that mean to you? Man means man, the first time, first time in the in the season of my whole career that I've had two in one in one uh in one one year and man, like I said coming off the bench too, you know, So it's been it's been just I've been such in an awe man of just this whole season of where we can go as a team, and then some of the individual wars I didn't got, and what I can accomplish for the first time in my career getting double digit sacks no pressure, but just just something that just that just popped up on you where you're like, man, I got hay and a half. Man, I could do this day and I get a half in this last game. Come on, come on, baby, you know. But it's all good. He's a way man. I'm just out here having fun honestly and trying to slow slow time down because man, I'm just when you're having fun. Boy ah, just enjoying these these moments right here. Yeah, multipating Men of the Year nominee. Um, what does that mean to you? That's that's big right there. Man, win wanted to I mean, not win, but just be nominated. Uh as man, just show you that you're doing something. You're doing something right, but just know that you know the work is not done. Just keep on keep being you. It just let me know to just keep being me, keep keep trying to be better at what you do. Keep motivating and inspire other people, because I'm sure somebody's looking at me and saying I want to be that, and I just want to make sure that I always give them something to want to be. And you know, and I want you to exceed what what it is that I'm doing, because you know that's only gonna make this organization better and make the league better. And so man, it just made me want to just keep working, keep keep enjoying. Um, you know, just little things of giving my time to people that don't that you don't even know that you're helping, you just being I'm just being me. So man, I'm thankful for appreciative and I hope that Um, while we had the Super Bowl, I win that thing and then we go win the other one. If Eagles fans, when you see the social team put out a tweet on Facebook, on Instagram, like it, share it, Uh, this this helps Brandon Graham and Team Graham his foundation. The top three players I believe receive extra money to give toward their foundation. Obviously, the top one is the Walter Payton Man of the Year, a winner and nobody more deserving than Brandon Graham. Brandon this your Team Graham offers its time and resources to organizations and causes in Detroit, mentoring girls and boys, giving away clothes, feeding the homeless and needy families, in addition to fundraising events. How bad is Detroit? You know what? Detroit is on the rise right now. It's not as bad as he used to be. Dad Gilbert has definitely cleaned up a lot. Uh. And then some of the you know, people that's behind the scenes have just cleaned up the city. Man, it's up and coming right now. Now. My upbringing it was, it was, It wasn't social media, but you know, I know that I was able to roam around a little more than what our social media and kind of scared everybody. Now where you can't you don't be out as much as you used to be because you know, it's just as a kid, I used to be everywhere. And I know my mom if she if we had social media back then like it is now, she would have been nervous for me to be in certain areas because of what you see on a lot of things. But I just think that social media kind of makes it look worse than what it probably is because it's not as bad as as Philly. Philly bad too, you know, same thing. You know what I'm saying. CITs are bad, but at the end of the day, they got their pockets and then they got their good parts. They bad, and you just know where to go where not to go, and sometimes trouble come knocking at the door and you can't can't help that. But I know for me, my upbringing was my mom always street lights come on in. As much as I hated it, I appreciate it even more now knowing what I see now, and that's how my kid is gonna be the same thing. I also believe, BG, that you will be the d Block Courage Award winner when the team votes on it. I don't know if you guys have voted on that. And it's an award given to a player who comes back from an injury or comes back from a hardship. And I also believe that NFL Comeback Player of the Year. It's I can't man, I can't think of anybody more deserving. And you said it when you got hurt, that your goal was to come back and be the NFL's defensive of the NFL that I didn't say that, and that was just me, you know, just putting it out there, just saying I'm gonna work my butt off. That's really what I was saying, and and make sure that I'll do whatever I can to come back strong for the team since I got one more um and I just want to make it my best one. And boy, it's it's superseded everything that I even thought about to be in these these nominations or you know, the talks of Comeback Player of the Year, a Block Courage Award, then U you know wanted man, just a nominee. You know how that's gonna stick with me even forever. You're like, now you know what I'm saying. It's just man, I'm just enjoying it, man, because yeah, because you never know how it's gonna love you never lost the last one for you BG. On Sunday, the Eagles play at home, finally after three road games. What is it like? Do you cherish it if I don't know who's being called out through the tunnel, but when your name is called and you hear the crowd, what does that do to you? It gives me chills and it gets me ready to go because it just, you know, the love that you know just because you hear the roars for certain people. And then I didn't realize until my wife has sent me a video just how loud it really was, because when you en it, you doing your little dance, all that stuff, you don't hear it as loud as you hear when you hear the offense go out and you hear Kelsey, you hear jayalen Hurst and them guys, And to get that same respect. Man. It's just you know, I just every time it don't get it. Don't get old, definitely don't get old. Love it man. Hey, keep good luck against the Saints. Thanks for your time. Eagles fans, make sure that you help BG win the Walter Payton Man of the Year. It is very important for everyone. Brandy Ram, thank you very much for your time, and beat the Saints on Sunday. I appreciate you. Man. Brett Kern has been in the NFL for fifteen years. A year and a half with the Denver Broncos, then he got cut. Then he goes to Tennessee thirteen plus seasons, their outstanding career three times and All Pro three times, the Pro Bowler, just a terrific punter. Eagles needed one. When Aaron sip Boss went down, Brett Kern was available and now he's an Eagle. And let's get to know Brett Kern right here. As the Eagles on special teams every bit counts this week going against a Saints special teams unit that goes after the punter, Brett Kern. One on one, we welcome in the new Guy to the Eagles Insider Podcast presentbody Lincoln Financial Group Brett Kern fifteen years in the NFL. Man, you do you do? You have you kind of ever reflected and gone, I can't believe I'm still here. Uh sometimes in the off season, but not really. Honestly, I think I just try to take it. Um. I've learned over the years to take everything game by game, literally, practiced by practice. UM. And you know when whenever my career's over with, whenever that is, then I'll sit back kind of enjoy what it was, and UM go from there. It is it? Um? Is it great times? Or is it? I remember Sean Landetta telling me long ago, UM that every year he thought he was going to get cut, and it wasn't like an enjoyable experience in the NFL. It was stress and always feeling motivated and frankly worried that he wouldn't be here the next day. Was it like been? Was that been that way for you? Yeah? It's it's every year. You know, Like I said, you go into each year not knowing. Uh, you know, you have to prove yourself every year, whether you know, I got done with the Pro Bowl year and I still felt like, you know, I have to prove myself again. So there's really never a time to kind of sit back and kind of enjoy. You know, whether you're seven years in you enjoy. Hey, I've been in the league of seven years or in my case, you know, I'm going on fifteen. Like, um, I have a lot of great memories and being able to take my family to the Pro Bowl and do all that kind of fun stuff, and you know, a lot of memories with the Titans, you know, make an AFC Championship game, and a lot of great friends that I've made over the years. But I don't feel like there's ever been a time where I can just sit back and and be content, because I don't want to be content, because the moment I'm content, I'm gonna get laughed and someone's gonna take my job and and and uh, you know, I won't be in the league anymore. How did you become a punter? Grew up in a soccer family. Dad was a goalie, played professional for a little bit until he shattered his kneecap playing, And I played soccer just grinded and grinded, and at some point I just got burnt out. And my high school for wall coach. He was a gym teacher. Both of them were actually and uh they just kept hey, man, like we see you kick a football and gym class. You can do it, you know, but in New York a group in Buffalo, Um, you can't play two sports in the same same scenes. Really, yeah, I can't do can't do both. So it wasn't like I could you know, kick on you know, for for football and play soccer as well. So uh, in tenth grade, I decided to make the switch and went over to the to the football side. And I realized, you know, to get a scholarship to play soccer is pretty hard. Um, but football at that time when I was coming out, about half to schools were we're willing to give a full ride to a kicker or a punter. Uh. Now, it's obviously you know, clas through one hundred percent. So I figured that was my way to get college paid for. And I went to the University of Toledo. I met my wife there, which is the best part, and I got to start all four years. Uh and then um, you know, the rest is history. The interesting thing, I obviously didn't know you in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine you signed with Denver. You have a great rookie season and then you got cut from Denver midway three and a second, Like what happened there? What was that? Crazy? Yeah? That was that was weird. I mean I was, you know, my rookie years, My last was the last year with coach Shanahan, Mike Shanahan, and um, you know I got to play with uh, you know, Brian Dawkins when he went to Denver and and all that kind of stuff, and John Lynch and uh, the veteran leadership there was. It was. It wasn't yeah. I mean you want to talk about walking into the locker room rookie year and you're next to John Lynch and all that. It was, um big eye opener. But uh yeah, you know the next year, you know, coach Shanahan got fired and they brought in Josh McDaniels for his kind of first go round as a head coach, and um, you know, it was just one of those things. I think they wanted their guy in there, and uh, you know I did well enough to win the camp battle. Uh, started off the season really good, and then we were playing I was either Monday night or Sunday Night football. I can't remember which one, but we were playing at the Chargers. Darren Sprowles was back there. I was supposed to put the ball out of bounds pretty darn close for going out of bounds, and um, you know, Darren did his thing and House called it and I just remember thinking, I'm I'm probably done. That was my first, really kidding, my first big mistake that I made, uh that year. And uh it was bye week, so you know, I had the whole bye week. I thought I was good, and then I came back after bye week and didn't have a playbook in my locker. Back before there's iPads and all that kind of stuff, and um, Matt Prader was the kicker at the time. He's you know, out in Arizona and he, um, you know, he started laughing, thinking, hey man, they just you know, you're the punter. They forgot your playbook all that kind of stuff, and you know, ten minutes later, somebody comes and grabs me and said, hey man, we're gonna We're gonna let you go. So it was pretty devastating because my son at the time was six weeks old. Uh, you know, my wife and I just found a good place to rent and um, you know, that's that's the business part. And it felt just it can, it can smack you pretty hard. And and so then obviously the next day I got picked up off waivers from the Titans and was there for, you know, thirteen and a half years, and hence the feeling that you're never you're never safe. You're never safe when you haven't experienced like that, especially when you're you know, for at that time, I was putting pretty well. I was off to a good start, and you know, I just got released because I made a mistake because darrens Rowles and darrens Prowls and I remember when I was with the Titans played the Chargers again, so I had to face him again on I think it was Christmas night, and I remember going up to me. I was like, dude, man, you already got me cut once, can you please? You know, I don't know, I don't need to go through this again, and he kind of laughed. But yeah, I think that's that experience that I had early on in my career. Really, regardless of how many Pro Bowls or whatever stats whatever you have, like, it's just you need to keep performing and you need to be consistent doing your job in order to keep your job. How would you compare the feeling you had in oh nine versus the one you had I guess in twenty twenty two before the season win. Things didn't work out in Tennessee. Yeah, through it so many right, Like were you prepared for it? Yeah? I mean when I saw I knew too. Like I was coming up on the last year my contract. You know, I wasn't the most expensive, but I wasn't the cheapest. So you know, along the way, there's different things that you battle. You battle the fact that you're young. You might battle that you're older. You might battle that you're the most expensive. There's different things every year that um coming to play, just from a business standpoint, and so um, you know, I think, Uh, when I saw a stonehouse kick, I mean, he's a tremendous leg. Uh, you know, we were just completely opposite punters. And I just remember telling my wife after I saw him punt the first session I came home, I said, look, I'm gonna give it my all. Um, I know what I'm good at with with what I can do, but it might not be good enough. And she and she just encouraged me along the way. So you know, just try your hardest, and what happens happens, and when that day comes, you know, we'll we'll go through every situation to see what's out there. So, um, yeah, I felt like I was. It wasn't one of those where it kind of really caught me off guard, like what happened in Oh nine. Um, you know what happened this offseason was more of a slower. You know, I didn't even play in the last preseason game, and I kind of knew, like, man, this is this is gonna be it. This is the end of my ride in Tennessee, and but you know, just kind of see what what God has next. For fans who don't understand the phrase that you used a different kind of punter, I mean I understand there's your there's tact to different tactics in punning and different player your string. Could you explain that a little bit of that, Like what, how would you describe yourself as a punter? What are you good at? Yeah, I'd say I'm probably more. Um, I always like to relate everything to golf, So you know, when I was going against Stonehouse, he was more of the Roy McRoy. Let's just you know, let's smoke it off the tea and um, very uh powerful tea shot. I'd just say, you know, he's a very powerful lay can can compound it. I feel like I'm more like, um, like a Jordan's Spieth, you know, kind of around the greens. Um, you know, I try not to hit touchbacks, try to have uh, try to pin guys with you know, within the ten and um, you know, just hit my spots, hit my corners directionally because when I came when I first came in the league, it was you had to be directional because it was the darren Sproles, the Devin Hester's uh you know, Dexter mccluster when he came out, and I mean that's you know, just some of the guys and you felt like if if you didn't have direction and I mean, you're you're in trouble. Uh. And so that's why I felt like, if I got really good attractional punting, I feel like, you know, I could play for a while. So uh, you know there's guys that go out there and they can just you know, bomb it and high hang times and you know, big punts and um, you know, there's other guys like me that kind of like to you know, hit your spots and try to put it outside the numbers every time so your coverage knows where it's going. And so there's just different uh. You know a lot of the Aussies they have different types of punts that you know, returners don't like, and so there's just different types of guys out there. And you know, I've kind of stuck to what I feel like I'm good at and try to get better at it, better at it every year so I can try to play as long as I can. What has it been like, Brett, joining your your grizzled veteran you've seen it all. What's it like joining a team that's been so successful this year? What do you what do you give me? Give me your thoughts on the energy in the building, kind of the vibe, the just how everything's working for the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah. I mean I think the first and foremost thing I noticed when I got here was, um, just how everybody's a tight unit. Um. You know sometimes you know, I've been on teams in the past where certain guys only talk to certain guys and um, certain position groups hang out with certain position groups, and you know, I came here and within the first week I could tell, Um, everybody's talking to everybody. Everybody. You know, you sit down for lunch, guys are sitting together. Doesn't matter. Hey, the old lines are not just gonna sit with the old line. And it's it's little things like that that Um, you know, you can tell us the tight group. Um, and um, everybody has the same goal in mine. Uh. Sometimes with teams that's not the case. Guys are out for contracts, certain things, certain that and you might have that, but it's not it's not evident at all. And this is a really tight group with some really great coaches, and uh, you could tell what the goal is and uh, everybody kind of has their eye on the prize. You're back in the Northeast. We're gonna be going into playoffs here. It's gonna be Philly. Um, what are the challenges? I mean, you don't even know the stadium yet, have you. I've played I've played there three times. Um. Once was when it was you know, preseason, it was eight degrees outside, so the ball was flying. But you know, I mean it's that's I mean, that's football Chicago was you know, it was probably one of the I told my wife. After the game, I said, that was probably one of the top three hardest games I've ever had a pun in just because the wind was really hard and trying to drive everything, trying to drive everything. Uh, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. So um yeah, but I mean the northeast and northeast, I mean you just you're gonna get who knows what it could be, you know, forty and sunny, and it could be you know, like this weekend coming up for for a lot of teams, just just brutal. So um, you know, balls and flies far maybe not as high, but you still have to make great contact and still do your job the best that you can and uh more or less embrace the elements rather than complain about them, and uh, you know, do the best you can. How exciting is it for you to be in the chase for the ring? It's awesome. You know. I got a little taste of it in twenty nineteen. Uh, the Titans going to the a FC Championship and and losing. Yeah, no, me too. Um, you know, losing to the to the Chiefs. How we did. H that was tough, But to get a taste it makes you m you know, I didn't get my first playoff game until my tenth year, so once you experience it, you want more of it, and so to be able to get an opportunity to come here to fill in however, however I can to do the best that I can for this team to help him win games. That's my goal. Are your kids old enough to understand? Oh yeah, I got a thirteen year old, ten year old, a six year old. So my son's old as he's thirteen, and he's been in locker rooms. He even worked helped with the Titans training camp this year, was there every day, you know, folding towels and doing all that kind of stuff. So he understands this job and everything that comes with it. And actually all all my kids really do. So that's all they've known. Where they first calls Daddy, I want a Jalen Hurts Jersey. What was the Uh, yeah, it was, Well, my son Bryce, he knows aj just from being in the locker room back when he was with the Titans. But yeah, Jalen's on his fantasy team, so of course you know he was. He was kind of freaking out about that, maybe with the opportunity to meet him, but yeah, he did. He just enjoys football, and uh, you know, we've been watching games ever since I out released. I've been watching games every Sunday just to kind of stay, um, kind of locked in to kind of what happens because I never know. I never knew that if I was gonna get a phone call, I might have not got one all year. But I wanted to be prepared just in case. And um, try to watch as much football as I can to be ready. And what do you how much do you kick when you're like at your like during the week, when you're in Tennessee waiting for that call? Yeah, Tennessee. I was once a week. Um, I get the local high school. Yeah, it was a local high school, which was hard because I've been used to, you know, being in an NFL facility where you have all the tools to get ready, to get warmed up and all that kind of stuff. And when you're kicking out of high school, you just you know, you show up with your bag of balls and uh you know, you you bring your thorough gun and you got to try to do the best to get loose. Um. You know, I was working out at Lifetime Fitness, Uh, down in Nashville, and uh, you know, you just stay ready, and I think more of anything, you got to be physically ready, but mentally too, because um, you know, when you when you kind of take your mind off of it, it's it's really hard to to get back into it. And so, um, you know, just staying mentally ready and physically ready for whenever I gotta call. You have a bunch of k balls in your in your garage, yeah, fifteen of them actually to be exact, fifteen of them, and you know, just uh, the hard part was I didn't want to go when it was raining. I felt like I needed to kick on certain days, but I couldn't because it was raining and all that kind of stuff. You don't want to ruin those balls, you know, because you don't know when you can get them next. So Brett Curran, thank you so much. You have a meeting to go to. I'm not paying your fine. Thank you so much for joining me. Appreciate, welcome, welcome to Philly and good to get to know you. Awesome. Thanks. The New Orleans Saints are six and nine still alive in the NFC South. John de Chesier covers the Saints for New Orleans Saints dot com and he joins me on Eagles Insider Podcasts presented by Lincoln Financial Group. John, thanks so much for joining the Eagles Insider podcast presented by Lincoln Financial Group. The Saints coming Down, I know the fans, um I have, you know, many many thoughts here with obviously win clinches everything, and you know, the first round draft pick from the same the things are still alive. I'm I'm kind of just curious the perspective from New Orleans. I think a few weeks ago everybody kind of wrote this New Orleans Saints off. There's a team that was dead done, never to be heard from again, and here you go with two straight wins and you're still mathematically alive. What is happening with this football team? Well, I mean, I think a lot of people still have their reservations about about the team, especially a team is going to play a Philadelphia team that's been able to kind of wipe up the floor rhythm for the last two seasons, so it's gonna be difficult for him to win out. And yet, you know, you always want that glimmer of hope, whatever it is, whether it's one percent or if it's ninety eight percent, you just want a chance to be able to get in. So they've given themselves a chance. They're gonna need a whole lot of help. They're gonna need Tampa Bay to either lose out or lose one and tie one, and they're gonna have to win out. But you know, least there's something to grasp onto in a season that's really really been difficult for the Saints. They've got a ton of one score losses. If you reflect back to the Monday Night game against Tampa Bay a couple of weeks ago, where they're leading sixteen to three in the fourth quar, leave sixteen to three with about three minutes left in the fourth quar and end up not losing, not winning that game. You reflect on some games like that, and you know, the Saints really and truly have no one to blame but themselves that they're in position where they need a whole bunch of help, but at least then in a position where if they get that help and if they help themselves, then they've got a chance. Why has it been so difficult to win those games? What is just kind of in the overall perspective of the season, what has not gone according to plan for the Saints. Our team has just been unfortunately terribly you know, undisciplined in terms of penalties, and it's turned the ball over a ton of times. You can't win in the NFL at the rate that the Saints have turned over the ball and at the rate that they have committed penalties. And so when you mix in those two factors and then you race Michael Thomas for basically the entirety of the season, and you erase Marshaun Lattimore on defense, you're missing big, big important pieces of what you want to do. Jarvis Landry on offense really hadn't had much of a season, and then you mix in the mistakes, the airs, the turnovers, the penalties, and now suddenly you seem to be fighting from behind a lot more than you ordinarily would. And then in the SATs, you know, the Saints have been one of the worst luck teams, if you want to call it that, that I've ever seen. I mean, the injuries for this team have been substantial and significant, and to guys who really really are big contributors, and they've had to kind of navigate around that also. So it's just been one of those things where it's been a perfect storm of bad almost and yet you know again the six and nine and they they've got a little bit of a chance, but it's just been one of those seasons where they haven't been able to put it together. When they have been able to put it together in games where they hadn't turned it over and they hadn't committed the penalties they've been they've been winners. I mean, it's been that simple. When they play clean, they generally win. But they haven't played clean enough. All right, So let's talk about the offense for UM going into this game. Just kind of the state of the same going into this game. Uh, you know, they're getting some getting some big plays in the past game. Obviously, Kaysom Hill is a huge part of what you do. I think everybody's UM, you know, looking and going, hey, Rashid Shahid is a blazer and is a great vertical threat. And then you know Albn Kamara does it all. Is that kind of what Eagles if you if you're up in Jonathan Gannon's preparation room, are those the three weapons he's most concerned with? Yeah, pretty much. And I mean it's the same thing gonna gonna be competitive in the game. If they're gonna win the game, they're probably gonna have to do a boy controlling the clock and being on the ground. We've we've seen from you know, from watching Philadelphia this season, the best way to beat that team is to keep that offense on the sideline watching because it's such an explosive offense. And that's what the Saints have been able to do in the last couple of games, and they've been able to win. They've been able to run the ball. You know, Camara you mentioned and Taysom Hill you mentioned. The combined Russian total fills two guys in the last two games of fifty seven attempts, so almost thirty attempts you know per game from those two you know, Camaro with forty one of those carries, and so they've kind of, you know, realized that, Look, if you want to win games, and the best way to not turn it over instead I put yourself in a position where your third night and your third and twelve and those kinds of things where you have to throw it. If you can stay ahead of the sticks and if you can run it effectively, you can give yourself a chance to win games and so they've been able to be to do that on the ground, and really kind of amazing that they stuck with it against Cleveland because they fall behind ten nothing, and generally that's the recipe for a team to kind of abandon the run, but the same stay with it. Camara did his thing, Taysom Hill did his thing, and they were able to kind of grind it out against the Round. So you know, that would be the recipes that they would have. I would imagine against Philadelphia's They're gonna have to grind it out. They're gonna have to keep the ball, they're gonna have to not turn it over, and they're gonna have to put that Philadelphia offense on the sideline watching the game as opposed to being on the field flinging it around or in Jalen Hurts's playing, then you put him in that his own read and that option, and man, he is so difficult to deal with. It is Kamara the vintage that has been such a Pro Bowl, All Pro just dynamic threat. Is He's still that player he is. For some reason, the usage of him this season has not been what we would expect it to be. He's been healthy, he wants the ball. He's a guy who, you know, generally and traditionally has not been a twenty to twenty five carry per game guy. He you know, they'd like him when he's you know, thirteen fourteen carries and maybe seven eight catches, but for some reason, that usage has not been there this year. Now, he has fumbled four times, lost four fumbles, and also he's missed some assignments and third down bliss pick up. You know, he's one of those guys who in the past, he's been pretty clean when it comes to pick up in the past rush and yet this season he's struggled with it at times. And so maybe that's been one of those reasons where he hadn't been in all the time. But you know, he's the saint best offensive player, and I don't think there's any question about it. He is their best offensive player, and he might be even when Michael Thomas is healthy. And this touches haven't been what you would expect them to be for a guy of his stature and his caliber. Now they have risen the last couple of games, and that's helped the Saints offense tremendously. You know, he's had a couple you know, two hundred plus yards of the last couple of games combined, and he's had about, you know, forty five fifty touches. So that's the album camera that the Saints need to be successful, and that's the guy. He's healthy enough, he wants the ball again. But it's just been one of those things that's been a little bit perplexing, maybe because they've fallen behind, been playing catch up, but he wants the ball, and he's the guy who if this team's going to be successful, he needs the ball. On defense, Look, the Saints are really just putting up great numbers. I mean, no more than twenty points since Week nine. How are they doing it? John? What is the what is the state of the defense looking like coming into this one for New Orleans? Well, they find a pretty good groove and even though they've had some injury that lineback with Pete Warn't Pete Warner with having a Pro Bowl season that linebacker, and then he got injured and then Kaden Ellis came in for him, and Kaden Ellis picked right up where Pete Warner left off. So they've really gotten some good play there. But they've placed through some injuries. But I think One of the big revelations has been the rookie cornerback of Linzey Taylor. He has played his rear end off. I mean, he has really played well, and he's fearless. He doesn't care who it is, man the man. He wants to take that challenge. And so I think that's helped out tremendously for this for this defense, they hadn't gotten to the quarterback quiet as often as they had during a stretch. You know, it's kind of you know, tailor baff just a little bit the last couple of games. But they've also played a really mobile quarterback in atlant and Desmond River and also you know, and Deshaan Watson. It's tough to get those guys on the ground, but they were able to get Watson on the ground when it counted later in that game. But you know, the defensives really kind of kind of come around. They have not stopped to run the way they have the previous four or five years, when they were a team that was allowing maybe ninety yards of a game on the ground and you know, maybe three point seven yards to carry. This year has been a struggle stopping teams from running the ball effectively, and so that's why you know, they've had to be better in the passing game because they haven't been able to sip teams from running the ball the way they're normally accustomed to doing, and they haven't able to make teams one dimensional. They you know, they kind of were with the Falcons because the Falcons didn't want to throw the ball at all with the rookie quarterback, but they were able to run for two hundred yards, So you know, for that kind of I don't want to say backfire because they won the game, but it was it was a lot more of a struggle because they weren't able to take away the running. Any NFL, if you can't take away the run, it's hard to stop much of anything if you can't take away the run. So they've had difficulty with that this season, and yet they've been a really pretty good pass defense team, so you know, they've been kind of reliant on that aspect of us. I always look at it. I always find it like who in the NFL can actually match up with a J. Brown and Devonte Smith And it always kind of came back to the Saint Um. You feel like that's a amatu that New Orleans can compete with. Well, if you've got Lattimore, it gives you a whole lot better chance of being able to do that. And we're not sure if he's gonna be able to play in the game, but he's been out since the Seattle game, I think in October, and with that, with that ad the abdominal injury, and so if he's not back on the field, you know, you feel pretty good about a Lionte Taylor, you feel decent about faston the DEALO. But you know, we're talking about two of the premier receivers in the NFL. And you don't make a living play in one on one against a J. Brown and you really don't make a live playing one on one against Alonte Smith. Those guys aren't aren't just they aren't crafty receivers. These are guys who get open and beat you. You know, whether it's Routes or AJ Brown can be physical with you. So they're really difficult to deal with. And so if the Saints are going to play a man, the man, you know, Alonte Taylor is going to be probably the guy who you know, I don't know if he would pick up a J. Brown or not, but he plays physical enough, he's got enough confidence. But again, we're talking about dealing with two guys who could be Pro Bowl receivers, two guys who when you put them out there one on one, if you're Philadelphia, you feel really, really confident in those matchups that people want to match up against them one on one. And if Marshaun Lattimore isn't playing, and he hadn't played in the long time he Missy was playing, he'd have to knock off a ton of rust. Then it's going to be difficult. John. Finally, let's talk a little about the relationship between the Eagles and the same Some trade made, um, how do you feel, you know, looking back the first round trade, how that work out for New Orleans Eagles? Of course, getting New Orleans first round pick in twenty twenty three, what did New Orleans do with the pick? How's that worked out for you? And then the C. J. Gardener Johnson trade, Well, the pick, the end up moving up and then picking Chris Alive the receiver, and from that standpoint has worked out? You know, well, Chris Alive has been you know, he might have been the offensive rookie of the year. He's missed a couple of games here lately, but he has been a real, real revelation. Uh. He's a guy who who can run the entire route tree, he can run past people, he seems to live open. He's got a real good connection with whatever quarterback is playing. So you know, from that standpoint, the Saint feel pretty good about it. Now. Of course, you don't expect to be six to nine and giving away a high pick in the CJ. Gardener Johnson trade, and then CJ comes and plays extremely well for Philly before he gets injured. So you know, it's one of those things where you know, at the time you feel like you know, you feel pretty good, and then you know, the guy gets on the field and he has the best season of his career CJ. Gardeners John and then all of a sudden, you know you're not playing to the standard that you believe. If you're the Saints, you instead of giving up a pick maybe in the mid twenties, you're giving up a pick that you know might be top ten or fifteen. And so now, of course it looks awfully, you know, not like you wanted it to look, but you know it is what it is. Now you take Chris Alive, who's been really, really good for this team. He is a foundational piece who is extremely intelligent. He came in playing like a veteran, and he has looked like a veteran each and every day he's been on the seal. So you take that foundational piece and you build around it. The Saints that we're gonna have to figure out what they want to do with their quarterback in the offseason, you know, and if you don't have the free to be able to do it in the draft, you don't have a first round pick, you know, where do you get one if you're looking for one. But they feel really good about alive am the way he has played. You know, he's one of those guys that you feel like, probably Philly feels like with DeVante Smith and A. J. Brown. If you can get him out there one on one, you feel really good about your chances. I know A Love has had a hamstring. What are his chances I mean we're talking earlier the week here, what are his chances of playing on Sunday? Well, you're hoping, I mean he missed last game with the hamstrings, and we'll see what happens with it. This week if he can't go, and Jarvis Landry is already on the injured reserve Michael Thomas after the season, that that trickles down to Rashid Shahid, the undrafted rookie who has been a revelation for the Saints, you know, nineteen catches and averages about twenty yards of catch and a couple of touchdowns. And he's another guy who seems to have really developed. I know, I didn't think that he was a receiver when the Saints, you know, signed him as an undrafted rookie. He was a return guy and he was a really good return guy, and who knew that he was going to be so effective in the past game. But he's been really an effective compliment to Chris Alave when a love has been on the field, and even last week when a lot they wasn't on the field, he was pretty much wide receiver one for the Saints against Cleveland and handled things pretty well. So you hope a lot he's going to be out there. That hamstring is tender. It wouldn't allow him to play last week, and we understand with skill position guys, the hamstring is crucial and vital and if it's not quite right. And if a guy can't do what he's normally able to do when it comes, you know, comes out of breaks and in terms of acceleration and those kinds of things, if he's compromised, then he can't play. That was our first look at the Saints. Now this is our extra point. A visit from the old school, smallish defensive end gamer, good pass rusher, still one of the all time leading quarterback sack masters in Eagles franchise history. A visit from Sunday's honorary Captain, Andy Harmon. The Eagles play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, as we usher in twenty twenty three, and we're gonna do that with one of our former players who I've known for so long. I was one of the young guys. He was a baby boy back in nineteen ninety one when he was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round. Let's please welcome back fromer Eagles defensive tackle Andy Harmon. Good to see you there. Andy. You're looking great, so are you. Thank you very much. Happy New year to you. Yeah, well, well that's a lie, but thank you very much. You've really settled in in the corporate world there, haven't you? Hey, Andy, what's it gonna be like coming back? You know? Do you feel like you're gonna have a flood of memories thinking back to those nineteen ninety teams. You were here from ninety one to ninety seven, Such a cast of characters, such interesting football times here, it actually was. We're so looking forward to it. Um, we're bringing the whole family back in. It's my wife's birthday on the thirty first, so it's gonna be fantastic. So U, Philadelphia is the best place. I live in the Ohio near Cincinnati, and going to a Cincinnati game is you might as well just fall asleep there in the game. That's nothing like Philadelphia. The fans are fantastic. It's pretty well, well, it was interesting times in Philly back then, for sure. So for those who don't know, it's very interesting, Eddie. If you look at the list of all times sack leaders in Philadelphia, there's your name number eight all time, thirty nine and a half career sacks, second to Fletcher Cox among defensive tackles in team history. And it was rare that defensive tackles were pass rushers that had that they had that kind of skill set. So I ask you, do you think you were ahead of your time? I'm not telling my wife I was. I tell you what it was. You know, Fletcher Cox is a beast, He's unbelievable. The whole defensive line they have right now is playing great. But you know, when I was there, I had a great cast around me, and I just you know, you just work hard and try to make things happened. And you know what the players we had it was, they made it easy for me. Yeah, what was it like for you? Getting hey, getting drafted sixth round nineteen ninety one Kent State, coming to Philly, What was that experience like? And then walking into a locker room with Reggie White and you know, Jerome Brown and Clyde Simmons and all starstruck. Absolutely. So when I was at Kent my junior year, we had the longest losing streak in the nation Division one. We were horrible. So for me to even think about playing in the Pros the next year, it would have been absolutely impossible thought. But you know, and then that year as I was drafted, I was drafted as a defensive end to back up Reggie and Clyde. Maybe I get into camp and Clyde held out, so I got to kind of work my way into the starting lineup. So I tell you, I mean talk about we went to London for the first game, the first preseason game in London. I'm in Wimbley Stadium, starting against the Bills. Are you kidding me? Like, coming from Kent State, we haven't won a game in years, and uh, it was super exciting. And then my first game was when once I actually made the team. UM was in Green Bay and at that time we stood um numerically, so I'm standing next to Reggie White mike goal of Jerom Brown's just a few people away. I mean, let's talk about starstruck lambeau Field seventy degrees. I mean it was amazing a day that A day that ended in a very somber way. Ramba Cunningham getting injured to open that season tough one. Um, you know what was the personality of that locker room, like Andy Well, Uh, it was amazing. Those guys were I mean they were they were buddies guys for the most part, and they that defense had their an unbelievable attitude. Right there were there were buddies guys and so you know, I just came in. I never met buddy, but just to the way they they played the game was was amazing and in the locker room absolutely very interesting. Key to your success because it was it was a different thing. I mean, undersized defensive tackle, very quick off the ball. As you said, you you really just your your skill was one of the skills other than being a great athlete, being so fast and you had great leverage. You know, you didn't quit at all or anything. What made it work for you so well? Well? Once again, being around some wonderful athletes and they're making plays, and you know, you just kind of feed off each other. My first year, Reggie would tell me, hey, you know, Andy, don't worry. You can practice for me all week. I'll be there for you on Sunday. So my first year just getting to know everything and learning from these guys, they were amazing. Clyde was such a teacher. Um, he was an amazing person to learn from. So Um. Then get out there and you know, everybody just wanted to perform and do the best, and they all supported each other. Andy, do you look back a lot on those days? Did you share it with your kids who obviously we're not here at that time, and that that dad played professional football, and hey, here's some here's some tape, let's watch dad played professional football. Yeah, we definitely don't watch any tape for sure, But yeah, I mean we talk about a little bit when we're watching the games and such. But you know, it's it's half my life ago. Um, it's a lot of great memories. But my kids really don't want to hear about it. Yeah, that's true. Jerome Brown, Well, I believe Jerome Brown was a training camp roommate of yours. Maybe, Yeah, we're on the road, on the road. My first had my rookie season. When we were at road games, he he was my roommate. But basically he would pull up a little black book and he'd get on the phone. UM's really before cell phones, and he would make a few phone calls and then he'd looked at us watch and he'd say, okay, Andy, um, you have to go. I perfectly perfectly. I thought he was gonna be the one who was gonna blow the blow the curfew and you were gonna like have to pretend to be two guys in two different beds. I mean, I don't know I don't want to know. I just spent a lot of time in a lobby. I don't want Hey, Bud Carson defensive coordinator. Um, you know, we we have been very proud of the way this defense has performed this season and Jonathan Ganne is building something really great here. We look back at some of the great defenses and Eagles history, Jimmy Johnson's great ds. Uh, Bud Carson, Um, what was what was Bud's defense all about? Budd had it was complicated? Um, we had all these they called him automatic front and coverages, bts. We're blitz the formation. So every formation the offense had that week, we would we would have a blitz and a regular front for that. But then on Saturday he would change the whole thing. And Uh, I felt really bad for you know, for the for the linebackers, for Byron Evans and maybe Andre Waters trying to make their adjustments back there. But Reggie would always just say to me, Andy, just tell me where we're going. So we were always on the same page. It was fine. Yeah, do you do you look at think of Reggie and just think of just what an amazing all time best of the best of the best football. Oh, through all these years. I mean, you know, thirty years later, here we are, and Reggie White's still the best of all of them. Absolutely, I mean he was he was amazing, Um, and to watch the things he could do to grown men was it was unbelievable and uh and it was almost effortless for him. And you know, it was super sad that he died so young. It's really really hard to believe. But um, you know, you don't know when you're in life, were you what happens. But I'm just blessed to have him in my life for the time we had him. Yeah, for sure, we all feel that way. Edy, What was it like coming from Dayton, Ohio to Philly and kind of how would you just you mentioned earlier, but how would you describe the football culture in this town? It's bar none the best. I was actually talking to a client of mine yesterday. He's a Kansas City fan, and they he grew up in Kansas City and we played out there, and I told him how great that play in that stadium was and how loud it was, and so we were talking about it. I Mean, like I said earlier, the Bengals, you go to that game, it's like sitting in a living room, people might be cheering. I mean in Philly. Now, I played at the Vets, so that was a whole different story too. But absolutely one of the funniest stories is the w IP was having a contest where if someone could get married at halftime. I don't know if you remember this, but we were standing on a tunnel waiting to get back out, and it was kind of dragging on, and we're like, what the heck? And so we go in there and that we're kind of squirting out the tunnel a little bit, and we're like, are they booing? Are they booing like this? This? This woman and man are getting married out there, right, they're super excited about it. Well, here as we squirm our way out and it's just about over here, the whole stadium is mooing. This lady on her wedding day, and I'm sure she loved it, right right, I mean, you have to know what to expect. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Hey what are you doing these days? You talk about a client? Are you what kind of business are you in? That's all I own an insurance agency. Cool, simple, look at life is good? You look great, you feel you wake up, you wake up every morning and remind your knees, remind you that you played at Veteran Stadium. Yes, I love it. And he took some weight off that's help. But yeah, that's the Veteran stadium was a little rough on the knees and beating hips, that's for sure. You look great. So was Ballace's offensive line. Yeah, that's true. They were. They were big, big dudes, many were they were. They were in tackling Emma Smith. Couldn't have been a picnic either. So hey man, look happy holidays. We'll see you in a couple of days here. Looking forward to ushering in the new year. Former Eagles defensive tackle Andy Harmon, thanks so much for spending a few minutes with me here, and we look forward to really celebrating and ushering in the new year in style on Sunday. We're super excited, Dave, thanks for having me. Great to see you again. Great to see you. Thanks so much to Andy for joining us. That was our extra point for this Eagles insiderer podcast. I'm Eagles Inside to Dave Spadaro, Thank you all for joining me here. Thanks to Peter Kelly and Kiera Mahoney and a great team of people that Peter has overseen here for the year our podcast just rocks and Rocks and rocks. We thank up the Eagles Media relations team and Eagles Locker room for being such a willing part to sit down and be open and honest and have great conversation with me. Thanks to Ray Doyle for all of his work for putting this together. We're really proud of the work we've done in twenty twenty two, and we will strive for more in twenty twenty three, beginning on Sunday, when the Eagles play the New Orleans Saints. A lot on the line of victory clinches the number one seed in the NFC Playoffs, a bye week and home field advantage for the Eagles in the NFC postseason, So the Eagles need to win on Sunday. What a great way to usher in the new year. Everyone. Make sure you join us then for our Instant Reaction podcast from Lincoln Financial Field. Hopefully a very happy locker room there. I'm Eagles insider Dave Spidero. Thanks to all of you for your support throughout twenty twenty two. Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous twenty twenty three. With all of us, we're in it together. Thanks for joining everyone, have yourselves a great Eagles Day. Fly Eagles, fly, and go birds,