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Mid-days On The Fanatic: Weekdays 10am – 2pm

ESPN Debuts, and the Anniversary of The Audio Vault

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Author Andrew Salciunas and Dylan MacKinnon
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 05: A view of the logo during ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, California.

See what Andrew Salciunas found in The Audio Vault today. Every day on The Anthony Gargano Show, Andrew dives deep into the station’s Vault to pull out audio relevant to the day. That may be things that happened on this day in history, a famous Birthday, or more. And today is a special day for the Vault because it is the 1-year anniversary of the Audio Vault’s debut. So in addition to visiting some things from this day in history, they revisited some things from the very first Vault, including the debut of ESPN.

Here is the full lineup from today’s Audio Vault:

  • On This Day in 1986, Dan Marino Threw His 100th TD
    • Audio Of His 100th TD
    • Marino Talking About How He Thinks He Would Fare In Today’s Game
  • The Anniversary Of Tupac Being Shot
    • News Report on the Shooting
  • ESPN Debuted On This Day In 1979
    • ESPN’s Orginal Jingle
    • The Start of the First ESPN Broadcast
    • The Introduction of Sportscenter
    • The First Live Game on ESPN
    • Chris Berman’s Hot Mic Moment

You can listen to the full Audio Vault below:

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Week 1 Power Rankings Round Up- Are the Eagles Due for Regression?

Week 1 is finally here. On Thursday, we get the first real NFL game of the season. Then Sunday, the Eagles take the field for the first time when they head up to New England to take on the Patriots. Our first chance to see if this team can match what it did last year. Will Jalen Hurts look like an MVP again? Can the defense be as dominant as it was last year? We start to get answers to those questions, and more, Sunday at 4:30.  

Most Eagles fans are probably fairly confident in this team. But how does the National Media view this team? Do they think there will be a regression? Or are they with us and already have the Eagles penciled into the Super Bowl again? 

The week 1 power rankings are out. And while in the grand scheme of things, power rankings mean nothing, lots of people still check them out every week. There is a reason every single website does Power Rankings, people read them. We love to say we don’t care what the National Media thinks. But we do. Even if we only want something to complain about and want a reason to make ourselves out to be Under Dogs. 

So what does the National Media think of this Eagles team heading into week 1? What issues do some of them foresee for the Eagles? Let’s check out what many of these Websites are saying about the Birds. 

Here is where all of the National Websites ranked the Eagles in the Week 1 Power Rankings:

  • NFL Network (2)

    “They currently have only Quez Watkins and Olamide Zaccheaus behind them on the roster. Thus, losing either Brown or Smith for an extended period would fundamentally change the makeup of this unit. Right now, it’s not a worry. It’s the kind of thing normally not taken into massive consideration until it’s a problem.” 

    NFL Network focused on talking about each team’s biggest issues and questions. For the Eagles, that was WR Depth. If your biggest problem though is depth, that is a decent problem to have. The other elite teams all had questions about one starting group or the other. Yes, the Eagles will have a problem if one of their starters gets injured, but that can also be said about most teams. 

    Check out their full power rankings here.

  • The Athletic (2)

    “Worst-case scenario: Regression hits hard for a team that was exceedingly healthy and turnover-lucky in 2022, and a more difficult schedule drops Philadelphia to second place in the NFC East. The defense takes a big step back after so much offseason turnover, and Jalen Carter is more of a typical rookie defensive tackle than an immediate Javon Hargrave replacement.”

    The Athletic gave the best-case scenario and worst-case scenario for each team. Their best-case scenario was basically just that the Eagles pick up where they left off, Hurts continues to grow, and they run through a weak NFC. But the worst-case scenario is interesting. They were exceptionally healthy last year, and as good as Jalen Carter is, they are relying on a rookie being great his rookie season. But again, if your biggest issue is, what if people get hurt, you are in a good spot? That tells you it is hard to find big concerns for this team. 

    Check out their full power rankings here.

  • CBS (3)

    “They are now the hunted, which will make getting back to the Super Bowl tough to do. They are still are loaded with talent, but the Super Bowl hangover is usually real.” 

    Is the Super Bowl hangover for the losing team real? The Bengals still made the AFC Championship game last year, and looked great, even if they started slow.  The Chiefs made it back to the AFC Championship game after losing the Super Bowl to the Bucs. The Niners missed the playoffs after losing the Super Bowl, but that was because almost everyone got hurt. The Rams missed the playoffs after losing to the Patriots. And before them, the Patriots won the Super Bowl after losing to the Eagles.

    It feels like it is kind of overstated. 3 of the last 5 Super Bowl losers made it back to at least the Conference Championship game. The two teams who did slump after losing the Super Bowl did not have an elite QB. The Rams still had Jared Goff, and the 49ers had Jimmy G, and he missed most of that season. They wound up playing CJ Beathard for most of the year. The Eagles have Jalen Hurts. As long as he is healthy, they have a lot more in common with the Patriots, Bengals, and Chiefs, than they do with the Rams and Niners. 

    Check out their full power rankings here.

  • Sports Illustrated (4)

    “The Eagles clock in at No. 4 on our preseason power rankings, because I can’t shake the feeling that they are due for a bit of a regression. On paper, everything they’ve done has made so much sense, but that was also true of their team after their Super Bowl LII victory against the Patriots.” 

    People keep saying they will regress, but why? What about last season can they not replicate? The offense is almost all back. 3 of the 4 double digits sack guys are back. The CB room is all back. The things that made them special, are all still there. Just saying that team will regress because you feel like it, is not real analysis. If you don’t have a real reason to say they are going to regress, why say it at all? 

    Check out their full power rankings here.

  • Pro Football Talk (3)

    “They have an incredible roster. The challenge will be forgetting about last season’s near-miss and repeating the climb with a target on their back.” 

    As we already established, the Super Bowl hangover thing is really a thing, at least for the losing team. If anything, it seems to make teams hungrier. There may be a target on their back, but that was also true for most of last season when they had run away with the NFC early on.  

    You can read PFT’s full Power Rankings here. 

  • Pro Football Network (2)

    “Until we see the defensive regression with our own eyes we will not count on said defensive regression. This defensive front, particularly on the edges, is as dangerous as any we have seen in recent years.” 

    At least somebody is pointing out that you shouldn’t predict regression just because you feel like it will happen. This defense is still very talented. Until they show on the field they are not as good, we should not be acting like there will be a major regression. 

    Check out their full power rankings here. 

  • Fox Sports (2)

    “Can new coordinators Brian Johnson and Sean Desai keep things humming with Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon off to head coaching jobs? Can the Bird Dawgs — Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean and Nolan Smith —  step up and star for a defense that lost five starters? I fully trust that the Eagles’ stars will shine, but the performance of the reinforcements is a crucial story to watch.” 

    Those are all fair questions to ask. They are relying on two new coordinators with little to no NFL experience. And they are relying on some young guys to step up. There is good reason to think those things will all happen. But we do need to see them show it.  

     You can check out their full power rankings here. 

  • Yahoo Sports (2)

    “D’Andre Swift appears to be the early leader over Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell. Swift couldn’t earn the trust of the Lions’ coaches, and he couldn’t stay healthy either, but running behind Philadelphia’s line could lead to a major breakout.” 

    Swift could be a secret weapon. Last year the one dimension the Eagles lacked on offense was an RB who can be dangerous catching the ball. Swift changes that. That is one more thing teams need to worry about when they already had to worry about Hurts running, the two WRs, and Dallas Goedert. 

    Check out their full power rankings here.

  • 97.5 The Fanatic (1)

    “The Eagles had the most loaded roster in the NFL in 2022. Howie Roseman somehow kept their key pieces intact and added tremendous talent on defense in the draft. No team in the NFL can confidently claim to be better than the Philadelphia Eagles.”

    Finally, somebody with sense enough to put the Eagles at 1. Check out our own full power rankings below:

    NFL Power Rankings 2023: Season Preview

  • Overview

    Average Ranking- 2.333

    Most people seem to agree they are the 2nd best team behind the Chiefs. Which is fair enough given the Chiefs won. Some people for some reason put the Bengals ahead of them, and Sports Illustrated also put the Niners ahead of them because they just feel like the Eagles will regress, even if they have no actual reason to make that claim.

    But for the most part, Eagles fans have no real reason to be upset. Most National Outlets are recognizing this is still a very good team, and are digging for reasons to knock them.

 

Andrew Salciunas, “The Choonis,” has done it all at the station - screening calls, working events as a member of the street team, producing 7 days a week, doing updates, and now hosting his own show. Now with a wife and kid, his life experiences are far different than when he first started, but this “regular guy” knows how to relate to anyone. He writes about the Flyers, Phillies, Sixers, and Eagles.

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