HEATED DEBATE: Will Sean Mannion's Scheme SAVE Eagles? | 94WIP

Ajouté : 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]debate week. So, here's the question.

[00:00:03]And and John or James will go first. And the question is >> John or Elliot, I'm sorry. The question is will the new scheme fix the Eagles offense? Now, do either of you have a preference in who goes first?

[00:00:17]>> Uh it's up to John. He he can pick.

[00:00:19]>> Okay.

[00:00:19]>> I'll go first then.

[00:00:20]>> There it is.

[00:00:21]>> Congrats on the victory by the way, Joe.

[00:00:23]>> Thank you. And going first is what Eminem did at the end of 8 Mile and that that played well because he's like these are all the bad things about me. What do you got to say now? I don't think John is going to take that approach. I'm just guessing. So, although there'd be a lot of subject matter there. Um John uh >> [laughter] >> He saw a little sly guy.

[00:00:40]>> This guy. Congratulate him on a what?

[00:00:41]Give him a congrat on a win.

[00:00:43]>> Well, I'm ripping out I'm ripping John, not Elliot.

[00:00:45]>> Okay, yeah.

[00:00:45]>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh cuz it's about self-deprecation, which is what Eminem did at the end of 8 Mile. Listen, Elliot, if you're old enough to know, you would know, but >> Oh, I know the words to all those rap battles.

[00:00:54]>> All right. Uh who was he competing against, Elliot?

[00:00:57]>> Uh I forget the name of who he was competing against, but I know the rap.

[00:01:00]>> Papa Doc.

[00:01:01]>> Oh, you're right. Papa Doc, yeah.

[00:01:03]>> How much do I have to teach people around here today?

[00:01:05]All right.

[00:01:06]>> apparently.

[00:01:06]>> Apparently. All right, the question is John Ritchie will go first. The question is will the new scheme fix the Eagles offense? James Seltzer, please ding ding ding it and let's rock and roll.

[00:01:20]John [bell] Ritchie, will the new scheme fix the Eagles offense? The floor is yours, sir.

[00:01:24]>> Yes. I absolutely was worried about the new offensive coordinator having ever called plays. I know people will cite that as a as a drawback, as a negative.

[00:01:34]I was very worried about the offensive line under the way that they underperformed last year and the injuries that they accrued. Uh so, it's not going to be easy, but if the offensive line bounces back, and I think they will, this scheme can fix a whole lot. Uh Uh, this scheme This scheme has been around since 1970.

[00:02:00]I don't know if anyone realized that.

[00:02:01]Bill Walsh invented the West Coast concept in 1970 to help account for a backup quarterback in Cincinnati who could not throw the ball. They He needed to come up with a way to move the ball with the quarterback who just wasn't very good.

[00:02:18]And this is an offense that works and has worked with much less than what the Eagles have personnel-wise for what is that? 56 years?

[00:02:29]Why would teams like the Eagles keep coming back to the West Coast offense if it didn't work? And I know this offense better than any other personally because this is what I ran when I was at Stanford. This is what Basically, I've been in this offense mentally since 1995 when I transferred to Stanford. I was 20 years old.

[00:02:53]I have to hope that Chris Cooper, the new offensive line coach, leans into the tradition here of offensive line coaches with Juan Castillo and then Jeff Stoutland.

[00:03:06]There's a real tradition of overworked excellence with offensive line coaches here in Philly.

[00:03:11]>> I will remind you, sir, there's about a 90-second limit to opening statements.

[00:03:14]>> Fortunately, this line is much healthier this year.

[00:03:20]Last year at this time we had our left guard, we had Cam Jurgens, our center, both having back surgery. This year Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson are both at camp and practicing. So, I'm looking forward to enhanced health by the offensive line, enhanced play by Saquon Barkley, who we can get into that later. But, the Saquon's lack of success last year was due to an offensive coordinator who was over his skis.

[00:03:50]Jalen's lack of success last year was due to an offensive coordinator who was over his skis. This year, we will line up under center more, we'll have more play action, we will run the ball as, you know, we we know Saquon's excited about this offense because of the McVay success, the Shanahan success. Again, why would we why would we why would teams keep coming back to this if it did not work? And it's not just the run game that'll make this offense better, it's the protection system. The protection system that goes three-step, five-step, five-step in a hitch, seven-step, seven-step in a hitch. It all times up better with what the wide receivers are doing. Those routes work in in the same concepts in the same time.

[00:04:36]Any anyway, this offense is going to be plays that start out looking the same and end up different, and that's what works in the NFL.

[00:04:44]>> hear from more of you. Thank you, sir, for that opening.

[00:04:47]>> Do I get 2 and 1/2 minutes as well or >> Uh 2 and 1/2 >> [laughter] >> Five.

[00:04:51]>> It was a dissertation. Uh Elliot Shore Park, your opening statement, sir.

[00:04:54]>> Yeah, so I read an article recently, and it was talking about how last year the Rams started using more tight ends, right? They wanted to go more tight end heavy. And what you saw was, as that worked and the Rams were awesome at it, teams around the league started to copy that. Teams started to run more tight end sets. Teams drafted more tight ends in the in the draft this year. The Eagles themselves did it in the second round.

[00:05:16]Spoiler alert, no one was good at it besides the Rams. If you look at what the Rams did and when teams tried to copy them, they didn't do it as well.

[00:05:23]And why did they not do it as well? It's not because they can't design the plays.

[00:05:26]It's not because they can't coach it up.

[00:05:28]It's cuz they don't have Sean McVay.

[00:05:29]They don't have Matthew Stafford. They don't have Puka Nacua. And they don't have the tight end the Rams have. So, it is all good and well to talk about the the advantages of an offense and what things can do. It just doesn't matter unless you have the players. And that's what we found out last year. The Eagles since 2022 have scored more points than the Rams have. Why is that? Cuz they have better players than the Rams have since 2022. They've had AJ, they had Devonte, they have Saquon, they have Jalen Hurts who is an elite quarterback.

[00:05:57]And the reason the coaches have been great is because they've played to Jalen's strengths. This new system does not play to Jalen's strengths. Can he do it? Maybe we'll find out. I think betting against him is probably foolish, but it's certainly not his strengths now. You don't win in the NFL by copying. The Eagles have not been a great organization over the past, you know, 10 years by copying. They they've been forward-thinking. They've been trendsetters. And my worry is we are all acting like they're going to buy this offense from, you know, whether it's McVay, Shanahan, and things that we've seen and just try to copy it. Jordan Davis said he's going against it in practice and one thing he likes is it's giving him a chance to go against offensive schemes they saw last year.

[00:06:38]Doesn't sound original to me. I don't think Jalen under center is going to throw people in a tizzy on the defensive side of the ball. So, bottom line is the scheme doesn't matter. It's the players and the players have to play better.

[00:06:50]>> All right, Sean, your retort. Thank you, Mr. Parks, for the opening statement.

[00:06:52]Sean, your retort on it's about the players.

[00:06:54]>> It's very simple. It is about the players and that's why Sean Mannion is building this offense around what everyone does best. First and foremost, Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts and again, I cannot tell you how many times I sat in meetings with Donovan McNabb, a guy who was criticized for not using his legs enough when he got more advanced as it as a down the field reader of defenses, a thrower of the football.

[00:07:26]Donovan McNabb was always asked, "What do you like here? What do you like here?

[00:07:31]What do you like here?" Plus five, plus 10, plus 15. What do you like in, you know, the high red zone? What do you like when it's third and 15? It's always going to be what Jalen feels most comfortable with within the parameters of this offense. And again, the offense works because the route concepts pry wide receivers open. The route concepts force defenses to be wrong. And you add that >> did it not work last year when teams tried to copy it? Why were teams worse at running >> Because teams don't have three tight ends who are worth anything.

[00:08:09]>> the point.

[00:08:09]>> Tight ends are not effective on their own. Tight ends are effective within a scheme.

[00:08:15]>> are doing >> And our And our personnel is amongst the best in the NFL because Howie Roseman drafts that way.

[00:08:24]>> You just said that what the coaches do and what the coaches did with McNabb is what his strengths are. In what world is this offense Jalen's strength? Like can he do it? Maybe.

[00:08:34]>> Jalen Sean Mannion's already talking about how wonderful it's been throwing across the middle with Jalen who has opened up his opened up his mind to the idea that what they were doing before might not have been what's best for this team. Jalen is open to learning and I'm positive he can throw over the middle because that's what they're doing now.

[00:08:54]That's what they're doing effectively.

[00:08:55]>> the middle because he's done it less than any other quarterback in the NFL.

[00:08:59]Again, we can talk about >> Because the offense was ridiculously simplistic. The offense before >> that oversaw the best stretch in franchise history and has scored more points than the Rams scheme that everyone seems to love so much, right?

[00:09:12]It's so simplistic that it's been more effective. And why is that? Because they have better players.

[00:09:17]>> last year was four verticals in every Because we had A.J. Brown who wanted to catch the ball down field and we had a quarterback who was told go run around, buy time, and find guys down field.

[00:09:31]We're relying on your ability to escape.

[00:09:35]This season, it's all about how do we protect you to give you the best chance to see all of the progress downfield.

[00:09:45]>> about that stuff last year. This idea that this idea that they're just figuring out they can put a quarterback under center is not true.

[00:09:51]>> apply these concepts last year.

[00:09:53]>> couldn't do it. They're hoping the players can do it this year.

[00:09:56]>> the players can do it. It's a It's a It's a freaking route. Hey, go run to 10 yards, put your foot in the ground, and cut to the side, okay? Guy in the slot, run directly downfield.

[00:10:09]>> think the coaches run away from that? Do you think Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo are watching this new offense and being like, "Whoa, what's a crossing route?" Obviously, they they know what crossing routes are.

[00:10:19]>> They did not pair routes to pry guys open. They did not run They did not >> you think that is? Do you think they're unable to do it?

[00:10:26]>> But see, but that's just not the case, right?

[00:10:28]>> Because we had an offense that was simplistic. It was overly simplistic.

[00:10:33]>> a question, Elliot. I hear what you're saying, trying to get out with John.

[00:10:36]Elliot, why do you think they didn't do it?

[00:10:38]>> Because they built the offense around the players' strengths, and they had great players. So they So they leaned on the great players, and it was the way to win. They have won more than the Rams have. They have scored more points than the Rams have. And then by the way, everyone loves to like >> They leaned too heavily into what Jalen did.

[00:10:54]>> into it if it worked?

[00:10:56]>> BECAUSE THEY SAID GO RUN around and buy time rather than protect him.

[00:10:59]>> scored a ton of points over the past year.

[00:11:02]>> You can't tell me that's the wise choice. Go >> run around and buy time until guys break open.

[00:11:07]>> team in the league over the past year.

[00:11:09]>> back when, Juan Castillo would be in meetings 24/7 every day devising ways to protect Donovan McNabb.

[00:11:17]>> And what do you think Jeff Stoutland was doing? What do you think Jeff Stoutland was doing?

[00:11:21]>> I'm telling you right now, they said drop back and use your God-given skills to buy time. That would not happen with the West Coast offense. We have The West Coast offense >> WE HAVE >> WE HAVE ANARCHY.

[00:11:34]>> THREE-STEP PROTECTION, five-step protection, seven-step protection, seven-man protection, six-man protection, five-man protection. You got slide, you got gap, you've got every form of all this doing is to protect you.

[00:11:49]>> All these schemes, the the coaches knew about it. You think Shawn Mannion who's coached for two years >> apply it.

[00:11:54]>> Because the coaches didn't apply it.

[00:11:55]>> they did not apply >> They couldn't apply it. That's why they didn't do it.

[00:11:59]>> not apply hot routes, they did not apply sight adjusts. I'm promising you I never saw that under the last offense offensive regime. That's impossible to me. That concept, go do this on your own Jalen, is what has gotten us into this predicament where we need a new offense >> keep saying that.

[00:12:24]>> Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, Elliot, hang on a second. Hang on a second.

[00:12:27]>> James, do you have a question cuz we clearly have a logjam here.

[00:12:32]Do you have a question, [laughter] James?

[00:12:34]>> I don't even know how to jump into this.

[00:12:35]>> I think we're one question time and then a vote cuz I think the battle lines have been drawn. James, do you have any one question for either or both?

[00:12:44]>> Uh Richie >> By the way, a reasonable question is how do you two see it so differently?

[00:12:48]>> Yeah, well, you know, Richie, how do you respond to uh Elliot's point about the actual production that the Eagles have scored more points than the Rams with the offense?

[00:12:57]>> Great uh personnel.

[00:12:59]>> Yes, thank you. I'm happy you said that.

[00:13:00]That's the entire thing that we're debating, right? They've had better players. So, what's going >> And so now you actually you put a legitimate offense with that incredible personnel, an offense that was built to take lesser talented teams and make them excel, and we are through the roof.

[00:13:17]>> Can I ask Richie a question? Is that allowed?

[00:13:19]>> Please.

[00:13:19]>> That's allowed.

[00:13:20]>> If it's so simple as just running this offense, why don't all the teams do it?

[00:13:23]And why is it not as effective as when do do it?

[00:13:26]>> I because teams can't coach guys don't perform as well as they need to.

[00:13:32]We have, again, personnel that outdistances the other teams.

[00:13:39]Other teams do run this. Most teams run either this or the number system. Now, the running to side is on its way out.

[00:13:48]It's all coming back full circle just just like the best things always do.

[00:13:54]This offense has been in full effect since 1970. It's grown in popularity, it's waned as other things came to the forefront. The wildcat, everyone said, "How are we going to stop that?" They stopped it. The running to side, "How are we going to stop that?" They stopped it. This has been out there since 1970 because it works for teams, but other teams copy this and it works.

[00:14:18]>> work but you keep saying it's working.

[00:14:20]>> Uh uh Elliot Elliot, I got you. All right, it's voting time. Well, closing statements, no?

[00:14:25]>> I don't think we need closing statements. I mean, what's what's the point? What's the point? We all understand [clears throat] where everyone stands.

[00:14:31]Ashlyn, I'm going to do you real dirty.

[00:14:33]>> Oh, I already know where I'm going.

[00:14:35]>> Ashlyn gets the first vote. And what I like about today's scenario, there's only three of us, so there's no potential tie. Ashlyn, James, and I will get a vote.

[00:14:43]Ashlyn Sullivan, who won the debate? The question was, "Will the new scheme fix the Eagles offense?" Who won the debate, Ashlyn?

[00:14:52]>> Elliot. Absolutely smoked Richie. I thought he was more concise. I thought he didn't lead with emotion. I thought he led with facts. And I just believe his argument better.

[00:15:02]>> James Seltzer, who won the debate?

[00:15:04]>> Yeah, I I'm fully with Richie on this. I think Elliot did a fantastic job uh presenting his point, but Richie's correct. Mannion's going to help the offense. It's going to be great. Um I'm on Richie's side. I vote for Richie.

[00:15:16]>> All right, so let me say what I heard just so everyone knows why I'm voting the way I'll vote in a moment. I heard John say, essentially, it will work because the West Coast offense works.

[00:15:30]I heard Elliot say, it doesn't matter if you don't have the players, and I heard Elliot say this offense offense won't play to Jalen's strengths.

[00:15:41]I am voting for Elliot Shore Parks as the winner of the debate because I do not believe John effectively answered that this offense does play to Jalen's strengths. He stated it, but he did not convince me.

[00:15:58]I vote for Elliot Shore Parks as the winner of this debate.

[00:16:01]>> Well, I guess I just got one THING TO SAY.

[00:16:03]>> BANG! [screaming] >> [laughter] >> AND NOW I KNOW HOW IT feels to be >> The hammer!

[00:16:09]>> That was good.

[00:16:09]>> Credit where it's due.

[00:16:10]>> There it is. All right, the debate >> fun, John. I'm not in studio with you, so I can't say it, but that was a lot of fun. Good stuff.

[00:16:14]>> Would you give him a hug right now?

[00:16:16]>> so.

[00:16:17]>> Oh, John, [laughter] what are you feeling? Come on, man.

[00:16:19]>> No, I I think it's hard to explain things to people whose ears are closed.

[00:16:24]>> Huh. I would agree.

[00:16:26]>> Okay. And there it is, debate week. The fun, the pageantry, the absurdity.

[00:16:31]Debate week on WIP. Elliot, thanks, buddy, for joining us.

[00:16:34]>> Talk to you guys later. Thanks.