Inside The Tape With Greg Cosell: Breakdown Of Philadelphia Eagles DB Michael Carter II, Nakobe Dean

Inside The Tape With Greg Cosell: Breakdown Of Philadelphia Eagles DB Michael Carter II, Nakobe Dean

[Music] Hello, welcome to a special edition of Inside the Tape with Greg Cosell. I’m Jeff Mosher alongside Adam Kaplan. And of course to break down tape is Greg Coell. Now it’s usually we do a pregame show but obviously the Eagles are on the buy. So, we uh bring in Greg because the Eagles made a big move to bring in a defensive back, Michael Carter II from the Jets in a trade, and we’ve covered it on a lot of angles, but we haven’t gotten yet, Greg, a tape breakdown of Michael Carter II’s skills. So, let’s take it away. What do you see of Michael Carter II from the Jets? You know, it’s funny. I went back and I I I looked at my evaluation. He came out in the 2021 draft. Yes. And um I liked him. Um, you know, I knew that he would be a slot corner in the league due to his size. Uh, 5’9, 5/8, 184, ran really well. Um, you know, I thought he played uh, man coverage really well at in college. Um, he’s got he had a really strong athletic profile, speed, twitch. Um, I said he transitions as a as a slot corner. He did play outside in college, but he he hasn’t in the NFL. But it’s interesting. I I in the NFL what really stands out because I’ve liked him in the league too is he’s become a really really good zone corner and I would say that that’s probably become his strength and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Eagles made that move because that’s what he is. He’s a zone corner. Now keep one thing in mind. Joe Casper who’s the safeties coach for the uh Eagles. Yeah. He coached him at Duke. Oh that’s a good question. That’s right. That’s right. I forgot about that. Yeah, he obviously knows him well. So does Joe Douglas, but yeah. Wow. Yeah. So, um, you know, it raises questions clearly because right now, everybody knows this is not a profound statement, guys. Everybody knows that they don’t know what Bennett is at corner. They do know what Jackson and Ringo are and they’re not good enough to be NFL starters at this point. So, will they give Bennett a shot? Possibly. Um, is he off IR? Not yet. Not yet. Practice still before the buy, right? Okay. So, let’s assume they give him a shot. But the the the interesting fact is is Carter is purely a slot, but he’s a very good one and he’s a zone corner. I can tell you one reason that they’re playing a lot more man this year momentarily and why they’re playing a lot more single high this year. But, but um it’ll be interesting to see because Carter is a good player. if he becomes a slot corner and they feel the need to play Deene outside more uh because Deine’s just a good football player. Now, he may not be the best outside corner in the league. You know, he’s not that guy, but more than likely he’d be better than what they’re putting out there. Now, it it seemed Greg that, you know, you had the scheme change, coaching change with the Jets this year and he just didn’t fit because that they they draft traded for Jarvis Brownley and Carter’s before he had his concussion, his snaps were cut. Yeah, because they want to play because Aaron Glenn wants to play more man and more of a zone corner because the Eagles ultimately want to play more zone. Now, think of it this way and and and this it all starts really up front. You know, we’ve talked numerous times, boy, they’re playing a lot of cover one this year. Yes. You got to think of it this way. And I I thought about this, you know, quite a bit and um you have to remember that Milton Williams is gone. Milton Williams was a a physical player, a more physical player than a jomo. So Milton Williams could execute sort of that two gap gap and a half scheme up front. Okay, which fits way better with Zack Bond. Zack Baughn is not necessarily a downhill take on player. He’s a rangy player. That’s his game. He’s really good at it. He’s a rangy athletic player and he’s a great coverage player, but he’s not a physical player in in a strict sense. So what happens now when you have a JMO playing because he’s much more of a one gap penetrator is now you need to get somebody else involved in the run game. So now you need a safety to play down and that’s one reason why they’re playing more single high this year because they need a safety involved to stop the in the run game and and it doesn’t play to what Bourne’s strengths are. So and Borne’s a terrific player but every player has clear strengths and you know clear limitations. So, it all really starts up front as to why they’re playing more single high and more man when in fact, you know, the normal response would be it it’s just on the back end, but it’s not. It all works together with a domino effect. So, Greg, um, going back to college, Michael Carter at Duke, he played safety there, and we know Vic likes guys who can play safety and nickels. So, do you see this as a really good scheme fit? And and I also wonder I wanted to ask you, has Vic played dime much as a coordinator in his career? Because I feel like he has an opportunity here to either play a neutral or dime whether you call Carter a safety or or a corner. He definitely played dime when he was in Denver because I can remember the dime player and now I just can’t remember his name but he was came from Texas and he was a big-time recruit at Texas and never became a great college player but then he played dime for a couple of years in Denver and now I God it’s making me crazy but he did play he was their dime essentially their dime safety because I can see him making a great interception against Dak Pres. just got a a play that I broke down in the matchup show. I just now for the life of me can’t remember his name. I’m sure what if I pull up uh Denver’s um defense. Yeah, while you look at that, Adam, it’s really something. We talked about optionality, but never really it just hit me last night. Just thinking about the 2017 team and when they when they brought in Corey Graham, it was for depth, but then he played well and they started to play that big nickel/dime because Graham was a safety or a corner because he played both. But that package really became a big part of their defense that year. Um and they really went with one linebacker a lot. I forget. I think it was um it was Kendricks right after after Hicks got hurt. They felt like they had more depth in the secondary than at linebacker because at that point they were down to Kendricks and and remember they were pulling Don Elerby out for the playoffs. So um I don’t the Eagles are not that thin. They have good linebackers but it’s certainly if you want to match up against the Cowboys, against the Packers, against the Lions who could spread you out. It’s nice to have a dime package like that. We could have that versatility. Um, was it was it Kaden Sterns, Greg? Yes. Yes. Kaden Sterns. Here’s what happened. It was Sterns. Yes. The Eagles brought him in last year. Remember he he was the one who tore the ACL and his they loved him and then what happened is because Vic was here was here last year obviously they brought him in. What was he on and off the practice squad Jeff? They kept cutting him. Bring him back. He’s out of football. It’s awful. It’s a shame. I know. Yeah. No, no, he’s the player. He was a big- time recruit, big- time five-star, played at Texas, had, you know, was a solid college player, but not a superstar, not a high draft pick, but he was the dying player for Vic in Denver, I think, for two years, if if memory serves me correctly. So, if you get Will Parks too was there, remember Will Park? Oh, I remember Will Parks. Yeah, you’re right. So, so he has a history of dime and the Eagles are very predominantly nickel and they’re successful in it. But yes, if they just want to get a good defensive back on the field, let’s say they’re getting good play from Jakori and Bennett and they’re fine and Cooper’s still the nickel, then you still can go to a dime package getting Carter on the field if you want to match up against a five wide look or even, you know, a couple of tight ends who who might, you know, be Tuck Tucker Craft against the Packers, right? They they’ve got Watson back. They’ve got Craft, they’ve got Dubs, they’ve got um somebody else who I’m for Oh, Matthew Golden. So, they can they can put a lot of receivers on the field. Yeah, the you know, he did play meaningful snaps at at safety at Duke. No question. Um I just don’t think I mean, look, if you play dime, uh you can certainly play Dime with um you know, four corners, two safeties, three safeties, three corners. I mean, there’s multiple ways you can play dime. Obviously, I would just see him as an interior slot, right? He’d be an interior player, right? Right. Not necessarily a deep safety or a box, just a a coverage guy. Yeah. Look, we all know, and I and I know this for a fact that they do not want to move to Jeene, but at some point, you’ve got to put your best people out there. Exactly. And if they feel like they can’t handle the corner position, particularly if they continue to feel, which by the way will lead us into Dean. We’ll get to the reason Dean’s going to play more in a minute, as he did last week. But if they just feel like they can’t handle the outside, you know, have to continue to play more man, more single high, then it’s very possible that move could be made. Fascinating, man. Fascinating. So, uh, you know, look, the Eagles didn’t have to give up much for him because he just didn’t fit with the Jets. But, but Jeff, there’s an opportunity here to And the guys, you know, Carter signed for a future season. So, it’s not like if it doesn’t work or it works, they have to decision to make. They have him under contract, so they don’t have to use him right now, but they got him for very little. And there’s just to me, this trade’s all about upside. They gave up nothing, literally nothing to get him. When you have a coach on your staff that coached him and knows the kid, you know, then then you feel pretty comfortable. And I’m sure Joe Casper had much to say about it as well, obviously. And I’m sure they feel very, very comfortable with bringing him in. And so did the guy who drafted him, Joe Douglas, who works for Howy. And I’m told he works for the coaches a lot. So there you go. You put this this the capture stuff I wasn’t aware of. That’s great. And this happens a lot by the way, you know, and and you guys know this um um that there there’s often when guys get into the league, okay, because don’t forget all these guys are evaluated by teams and then, you know, teams don’t draft everybody that they like. That’s there’s not enough, you know, draft picks to do that. So, a lot of times if a player gets cut from another team or they see that he’s available, if someone in in the front office says, “Hey, you know, we really like this guy, you know, if he’s available, let’s go get him.” That happens a lot. And then guys, because it’s based on fit, you know, guys can become good players. We tal, hey, we talked about that with Josh Job. It’s it’s just I find this very very interesting how that plays out. There’s no real rhyme or reason for it. And sometimes it just works out. Sometimes the fit’s better. Sometimes the guy matures as a person. So, you know, whatever the reason, you know, maybe the room is just better for him and he, you know, he he has better relationships with the other players in in the room, you know, I mean, there there’s probably 10 different reasons. Yeah. Hey, at very least, at very least, right, the Eagles did not have somebody. I’m sure Vic Fan is not comfortable with any of his options in the slot. If Cooper Dejim were to get hurt, forget moving outside to chase an angle. Yeah. Yeah. That’s the other issue, right? Uh, no, I mean, clearly M. Mc Williams is not that guy yet. Uh, we’ll see. And Perry Nickerson’s a nice guy for a game. If you need some backup depth, but you know, if you if you need someone to play like a starter, you have Michael Carter. Yeah, I think his mother probably resembles that remark. Yeah, sounds good. Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic, long lines. We’ve all been there. But when it comes to your cannabis, Camden Apothecary makes it easy. 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And he played more against the Giants and the Vikings, so we saw an uptick in his usage. What did you see on tape from Nico specifically? There’s a lot that goes into this as well. By the way, I think Dean played well last week. You know, I think Dean Dean has a great feel for playing in in the run game. Um, he shoots gaps really effectively. He’s got a very quick trigger. He sees it well. Um, there’s an aggressive nature to him. But now, let’s let’s put this in perspective. In an ideal world, in an ideal world, what the Eagles want to do is start out almost every play in a quarter structure. Okay? That doesn’t mean they’re going to play quarters on every play, obviously. So, in the Eagles defense, safeties are absolutely critical. One could argue that Reed Blankenship is the quarterback of the defense. He’s the critical piece because they want to make adjustments on almost every play based on what the formation is based on any number of factors that the offense shows you. They want to be able to make adjustments on literally every play. Okay? That’s why you often hear in a Vic Fangio defense that it’s so intellectually intensive and safeties are the critical piece because they they they’re like the quarterback. they see the whole picture. Okay. So now what what’s happened this year and just so people understand, you know, I I I did speak to someone because I was trying to get a feel for okay why Dean is going to play and you know why because Campbell, you know, is clearly a better athlete. That’s not even in question, right? The issue has become that de uh Blankenship has had to do too much work in basically positioning Campbell. M so you know as good an athlete as Campbell is it just has become too much and it you know and and Blankenship is so good at this but it’s taken away from from you know him. So whereas with Dean he doesn’t have to do that. Dean knows the defense backwards and forwards and doesn’t have to you know he knows what to do. You don’t have to you don’t have to deal with Dean as far as that’s concerned. Right. So, they know that Campbell is a far better athlete and um he’s definitely going to play and you know down the road he may well be the guy. Um but they just you know right now Dean just gives them so much more in terms of the execution of the Vic Fanjo defense. Greg, going back to Dean’s college tape because now you look last year he was terrific. You earlier on his career he was still learning. What did you think of him coming out of Georgia? uh like everybody concerned about his size, but he was a terrific blitzer. Um what year did he come out? This would be year four now. So the Yeah. 22. All right. I’m going to pull it up because I don’t remember, you know, I don’t have that right in, you know. Yeah. Off the top of my head. You don’t have the 2022 draft every single person right in top of your head. You know what? I didn’t I I wasn’t studying that last night when I went home. Really? No, he was probably on the uh 2006 fourth round going through all those guys. Um I said Dean is a shorter and smaller than desired stacked linebacker with highlevel run and chase qualities who’s most effective as a run defender when he can be clean to the football. Although there were snaps in which he proactively played through contact to make tackles. Um, he played in a Georgia defense that asked him to shoot gaps and blitz a good percentage and featured multiple stunt concepts that accentuated his downhill explosiveness. He showed excellent short area quickness and explosiveness in the box. Um, blah blah blah. But I ended up saying that given the similarities in size, Dean reminded me of Nick Bolton coming out of Missouri. That’s a good one. Wow. Very good one. He’s a good linebacker. Yeah. And and by the way, you talk to anybody at the Eagles and they’ll tell you that the last seven, eight games last year, he was phenomenal. Not just good, but phenomenal. Yep. Yep. I mean, they got the best linebacker out. They got the best stack linebacker play they’ve had in, you know, maybe since the 70s. I don’t know. They’ve been And I also think they realized, and it’s probably a function of Vic Fanjo, um, that linebacker plays really important in his defense. That was always the case. I remember talking to people when Vic was in Chicago and people said to me linebackers are critical in his defense. So I’m sure he’s made it clear to Howie Roseman because you know all through the years you know you a lot of people made sarcastic jokes about the fact that Howie wasn’t interested in linebackers and uh and now I’m sure Vic because Vic I’m you know he’s not the kind of guy that pulls a lot of punches. So I’m sure he made it pretty clear that linebackers matter. I mean, Jeeoff, when we started this thing in the spring of 2018, it it just was it was a carrier over what Greg’s talking about disposable linebackers. They’re in, they’re out, they’re in, they’re out, and now Campbell and Dean and Bon together, this might be the best. It’s got to be right up there in the NFL right now in terms of talented inside backer. Yeah. Incredible. I I’m pretty sure I can remember a starting nickel tandem of Nate Gary and Duke Riley, which Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. cut it. I mean, that just does not cut it. So, by the way, just just so people understand because I really like Dean here. Here was my last line before I made the Nick Bolton comparison. I said, overall, there was an explosive feel to Dean’s game, and that will likely translate effectively to the next level. Despite his less than ideal size, there are not many inside linebackers with his combination of play speedrange and short area explosiveness, and feel for working in confined space with burst and velocity. So I really liked him coming out. Obviously, you know, I couldn’t remember all that. That was, you know, four years, three years ago. But right, remember Jeff, he he dropped to the third round. We we had heard it was strictly there was though he’d never missed a game. His body type, Greg, you know, we talked to enough people you were concerned and you you mentioned it. You were concerned. Would he hold up now? 5’11 and a half 229. Now he’s put on mass he’s put weight on. So people understand how much I watch. Guys, here’s what I did. I watched Clemson, Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, both Alabama games, the Michigan game, and all his tackles, tackles for losses, and quarterback sacks. So, I saw a lot of plays of Nico Dean when he came out of Georgia. Wow. Interesting. Good stuff. So, I’m wondering this, Greg, based on what you what um we know you shared with us there, did you observe on on tape, did it seem like Reed Blankenship was not playing at his best? I mean, obviously you don’t know if what a guy is going through his head, if he’s mentally overloaded, but you can tell if he’s slower or not as instinctive as he used to be. We haven’t really talked about ReL. Here’s what I was told because, you know, I’m not charting Reed Blankenship on every play, right? Obviously, and if a guy’s not making tackles all the time, you know, I don’t know exactly what his, you know, should he be lining up two yards inside the the numbers, should he be lining, you know, that’s all that’s really, you got to be in their meetings to know that. Yeah. Yeah. I was told that Reed Blankenship is having an unbelievable season and that people who are just looking at tackle numbers or interceptions are totally missing the point that he’s he’s had to do more mentally this year than he did a year ago just you know even because of Makuba because Makuba is not at the level of Gardenner Johnson in terms of his understanding of of the whole game and that he’s doing more this year and playing at such an incredibly high mental level and that people like like PFF that just look at his tackles and give him a bad grade that they have no idea what he’s being asked to do. That’s interesting, Adam, because you know, as as we’re talking about here, they have a No, I don’t think anybody in the coaching staff would say Campbell is doing a bad job. He’s obviously learning the defense. He’s athletic. He’s explosive. That first game against the Cowboys, he’s defending tight ends down the alley and, you know, breaking up passes. He has a fumble recovery. So, they’ve got to find this balance, right? Well, that’s why they’re not giving him the edge, true edge rusher snaps in terms of rushing the passer is they’re trying not to put too much on his plate. Nico is so advanced a mental standpoint. He he is so far ahead of not only Campbell of understanding the defense, but you talk about his ascension really, Jeff, it it it started in training camp last year after that bad night practice. something happened and the light went on and he just kept rising and rising. Greg said he had heard like down the final stretch before he got hurt. He was incredible. He might have been their best defensive player. Certainly one of their best. That’s and he’s healthy. Like he’s healthy. That’s the thing. I know the defensive staff loves him. And and just so people understand too about Campbell because I know we get asked this. We’ve discussed it. The Patreon guys have asked me this as well is they don’t feel he has the strength to play on the edge, you know, in a fourman line. They just don’t feel he he’s strong enough at this moment in time. Don’t forget, he’s a rookie. You know, he who knows what’s going to happen with another off season. You know, you just don’t know. But they just don’t feel like that he he has the strength to do that. Makes sense. Makes sense. Give him an off seasonason in the wait room and maybe you got something there. But again, they they’ve given him a lot to do, you know. They’ve given him a lot different roles to do. And it’s it’s remember what is this his fourth year as inside backer? This was it or Oh, Campbell. Yeah, we were talking about when did he as a freshman? Was he an inside? Did he switch from edge to backer as a freshman? As a freshman? Um I can’t remember. Don’t remember. I think he got switched pretty early on. Yeah, might be his fifth or sixth, but the bottom line is he his majority of his football career, he was an edge rusher and now he has to learn how and he has to learn it not only the Alabama system, but the way that they teach it here in Philly. And by the way, the people that think, “Oh, we played in the SEC. It’s like the NFL.” You got to disregard the other people who think things like that. Yeah, it’s college football. You still have to adjust to the NFL level, of course. Yeah, it’s college football. Yeah. Hey, I still like a good night out, but I’m not always in the mood to drink. And that’s why I looked for a great alternative and I found one. It’s called Souls Out of Office Gummies. You get the same light, happy buzz, but you don’t have the hangover. There’s no sugar and you don’t get that awkward feeling the next morning. They help me unwind and ease into my evening without the alcohol or the next day fog. 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You know, the next time the Eagles play is going to be Monday night in Lambeau Field against a very good Packers team against a very smart offensiveminded head coach who has a very good feel for play calling and how to exploit weaknesses. So I you you can understand wanting sacrificing athleticism to get the knowledge and the wisdom and being in the right spot and lining up the the defense correctly if if Nico Dean continues to and not look not every co coach really wants to make adjustments on almost every play you know and that’s you know that’s a Vic Fanjo thing I mean you know and not every coach does that and because you have to feel really good about your players because if one guy does something wrong you know how that screws up the whole defense Right. So, and by the way, that game, assuming Green Bay does not stub its toe versus Carolina, that’ll be 6-1 and one versus 6 and2. I mean, that’s a huge, huge game. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. No doubt about it. All right. Great stuff. Great stuff, Greg. Thank you very much for your tape breakdown on both Michael Carter, Nico Dean, and even your intel. It’s been very good. Uh, that will do it for this special edition of Inside the Tape for Greg Cosell and Adam Kaplan. I’m Jeff Mosher. We’ll catch you all next week. [Music]

On a bonus bye week “Inside the Tape” with Greg Cosell, Greg gives his tape observations on new Eagles CB Michael Carter II and what he’s seen from Nakobe Dean over the past two games..

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