When Mark Schlereth Shared Advice With John Kincade
The other day, I went through notes that I kept during my years at ESPN Radio and when I worked with Fox NFL Analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth.
Veteran hosts and mentors told me early in my career to take notes while hosting radio shows. Over the course of a shift, a host might hear interesting thoughts from a co-host, caller, or producer. These gems may help create content later that week, month, or even in a future year.
These particular notes were from all the way back in 2011. I was doubting some NFL teams heading into the season based on my belief that they had overachieved the previous season. I received great advice from Schlereth, but until a few days ago, I had completely forgotten it.
What Do You Think Was Flukey?
Schlereth asked me to make a case as to why I thought the previous year was a flukey situation when a team overachieved. The more we dove into the conversation, I realized I hadn’t thought this out well enough. I wrote in my notes:
“He owned me.”
When explaining why I had doubts, I understood that many of the accomplishments were repeatable.
How Does This Apply to the 2023 Philadelphia Eagles?
The Eagles have experienced a meteoric rise under Nick Sirianni. Whenever a team goes from 4-11-1 to 9-8 to 13-4, there will be questions.
We’ve heard of catching “lightning in a bottle,” and some fans think the 2022 Eagles season was an example of that. I am NOT in that camp. Here are the things I’ve heard from skeptics;
The division was weak last year! Verdict: FALSE
The NFC East had three playoff teams, and the Washington Commanders stayed in the hunt most of the season. In fact, the NFC East was stout. You could say the conference was a bit weaker than normal, but the division had a playoff pedigree.
Jalen Hurts can’t run like that and succeed. Verdict: QUESTIONABLE
Yes, running quarterbacks tend to get banged up and decline far quicker than their pocket brethren. Hurts is just about to turn 25 next week, and his mileage is less than other NFL quarterbacks since he started as a backup.
Jalen Hurts isn’t a pocket passer. Verdict: FALSE
Hurts had the best completion percentage as a pocket passer last season. He most certainly benefits from having great weapons at his disposal, but he makes excellent use of them, and he doesn’t just rely on his feet.
The 2023 schedule is tougher. Verdict: TRUE…BUT
Yes, the schedule is more difficult in 2023. The stretch after the bye week from Weeks 11-14 includes a real gauntlet:
- Week 11: at Kansas City Chiefs 11/20
- Week 12: Buffalo Bills 11/26
- Week 13: San Francisco 49ers 12/3
- Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys 12/10
While 7-2 or 8-1 is possible before the bye week, the schedule certainly thickens.
Mark Schlereth plans on joining The John Kincade Show before the start of the 2023 NFL season to talk about his expectations for the Philadelphia Eagles and the rest of the league.
Watch The John Kincade Show live on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page on weekday mornings from 6am-10am.
Assessing the Eagles Biggest Needs At The Start of Training Camp
Linebacker
Linebacker is almost always a need for the Eagles. Last season with TJ Edwards and Kyzir White at LB, may have been the best LB room they have had since Jeremiah Trotter was here. And even then, it was one of the weaker positions on the team. And with both of those guys leaving in Free Agency, it is easily the position with the biggest question mark going into the season.
The answer, for now, is Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow. Hopes are high for Dean that he can be as great here as he was at Georgia. But he barely saw the field last season, so we don’t yet know if he is a starter at this level. Morrow is probably fine as a Kyzir White replacement. But he is average at best. Next to an inexperienced player in Dean, you may want someone more dependable.
Of all the positions, there is probably the most room to improve at LB. Dean certainly deserves a chance to start. But Morrow? They can do better. Will they try to though? Anyone who has followed Howie Roseman’s career knows how little he values the LB position. But with so few holes elsewhere, he may just be willing to make a move for a better Linebacker.
Potential fits could include Patrick Queen, who is now buried on the Ravens’ LB depth chart, and Devon White, who requested a trade from Tampa, although Tampa currently says they will not oblige that request.
(Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Safety
Is Safety a need? They are going to need to take a look at how Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown look before they know. But even if both those guys do look good, it should not be put past Howie to make a splash here anyway.
Budda Baker is in the last year of his deal and wants to be traded out of Arizona. Jeremy Chinn is in the last year of his rookie deal in Carolina. Both have been in trade rumors, and both have even been attached to the Eagles. Even if the Eagles love Sydney and Reed, they may make that splash, have the young guys play behind Baker or Chinn for a year, and then trust them to step in next season.
I don’t know if they need to do that. Terrell Edmunds is a solid starter, who won’t make many mistakes. And both Reed and Sydney show a lot of promise. But just like last year having Jordan Davis did not stop them from adding Suh and Joseph, Brown and Blankenship may not prevent them from adding at safety if a big name is available. If there is a chance to get better, why not take it? Giving Brown time to adjust to the league without the pressure of being a starter may be what is best for them long term.
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
WR Depth
There is a sense from some Eagles fans that the Eagles have a need at WR. And sure, adding another WR could never hurt. But is it a need? Whoever they add would likely be their 4th option in the passing game after Brown, Smith, and Goedert. And the Eagles do already have Olamide Zaccheaus and Quez Watkins as their 3rd and 4th WRs. And now they even have D’Andre Swift, who can be a dangerous weapon in the passing game.
Zacchaeus had 533 yards on 61 targets last year. 61 targets is probably about the most the 4th option could expect to get for the Eagles. And not many teams are going to get more than 500 yards from their 4th option. In fact, the only team last season whose 4th option had more yards was the Chargers. And unlike the Eagles, they did not have two WRS with 1000-yard seasons.
If there is a chance to get a very good WR to pair with Smith and Brown, go for it. But Zaccheaus is about as good as you can ask for as a 4th option for a team. And while we are not happy with Quez after last season, if he is your 5th option, you are in very good shape too. Not to mention Swift at RB. The Eagles are not lacking in weapons.
(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
TE Depth
Dallas Goedert is a top 5 Tight end in the league. He is probably the most explosive Tight End after the catch in the league, is a great blocker, and regularly made clutch catches on 3rd down. The problem is what is behind him. Jack Stoll is a good blocker but offers very little in the passing game. Grant Calcaterra has potential as a pass catcher, we just have not seen enough of him yet. And Tyree Jackson was a camp standout a few years back but has not been healthy since.
They could use a better backup at Tight End. But if the backup Tight End makes the list of the biggest needs on your team, you are in very good shape. If Goedert gets injured, it would hurt. Grant Calcaterra may be good enough to fill in for a bit, but it is hard to trust him long-term. With that said, how many teams have great TE depth? If Kelce gets hurt for the Chiefs, it is Noah Gray behind him. George Kittle has a rookie behind him.
Most teams don’t have great backup TEs. And if you look around the NFL, Calcaterra may actually stack up to most backups. It is a need, but not one that really makes sense to address right now.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Punter
This may actually be their biggest need. Arryn Siposs was bad last year. He was not very good the year before either. They cannot have him be the punter again to start this season.
The Eagles brought UDFA Punter TY Zentner in to compete with him. Zentner has a massive leg. And at Kansas State, he had a knack for pinning teams behind the 20. Something that Siposs struggled to do. That said, people who watched him closely say he can sometimes have an accuracy problem.
If Zenter shows up and looks good, great. Make him your punter. But if he does not snatch the job from Sippos, then they need to go out and find a better option. The Eagles Special Teams last year, besides Jake Elliot, was by far the worst part of the team. And that started with Siposs’s poor punting. He was in the bottom 10 in every significant punting category. They can do better. Check that, they have to do better. They don’t punt much, but when they do, their punting can not be as bad as it was last year.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
