August is here, which means the summer sports doldrums are almost a thing of the past. Football season is just around the corner, with fans across the state preparing themselves for the high school, college and NFL gridiron bonanza simultaneously headed their way.
It’s the beginning of the busy season for football talking heads as well. National football analyst and podcaster Ross Tucker, a Wyomissing native who played in 42 NFL games from 2001-05, still lives in eastern Pennsylvania while jet-setting across the country during the fall to broadcast college and NFL games for CBS Sports (TV) and Westwood One (radio). In the midst of his preparation for both seasons, Tucker will be at Soul Joel’s in Pottstown on Wednesday for a live taping of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast from 4-6 p.m.
Tucker, also a Philadelphia Eagles preseason analyst, will be on the call for the Birds’ home opener on Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals. At Soul Joel’s, Tucker will talk through his AFC and NFC predictions for the first hour of the podcast taping, with the final hour being reserved for a Q&A session about the Eagles/NFL season, Tucker’s career or anything else that is on the minds of football fans. There will also be a meet-and-greet after the recording is complete.
“I never played for the Eagles, and it’s not just an Eagles-centric show,” Tucker said during a Friday afternoon phone interview after leaving Birds camp at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia. “But (my wife and I) are still in eastern Pennsylvania because both of our families are here. My wife has a fourth-generation family propane business that she helps run, and we have two little girls who get to be around their grandparents. It’s awesome.”
That said, as a football player who grew up in the area and played collegiately at Princeton University, the former offensive lineman loves talking ball with Eagles fans.
“I typically make sure to say hello to every single person that’s there, which is important to me,” Tucker said. “I want whoever comes to know they have a chance to meet me, take pictures, whatever they want. That’s fun, and it’s an hour of content that gets edited into two different episodes.”
Tucker had plenty of thoughts on the upcoming Eagles season, with the team coming off a Super Bowl victory for just the second time in franchise history.
“Obviously they still have a very talented team, no question about that,” Tucker said. “Two years ago after they went to the Super Bowl, (general manager) Howie Roseman talked about trying to run it back. This year there’s a lot of new faces, especially on defense, that fans won’t be as familiar with. It’s not just the same team again.
“Schematically, I think (head coach Nick) Sirianni has been pretty clear that he wants to be adapting and evolving. He felt like things went stale in 2023 based on how successful they were in 2022; they did a lot of the same things the next year and weren’t as successful with it. Like anything else in life, they are trying to learn from prior experiences.”
For the most part, the Eagles did run it back on offense, and for good reason. Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert all return at the top of their games, as do four of the five starters on the vaunted offensive line. The team does bring in another new offensive coordinator in the form of Kevin Patullo, though he has been here the entirety of the Sirianni era.
“Patullo is intimately familiar with what they’re doing, with the things Hurts does well and doesn’t do as well,” Tucker said. “The reality, though, is we don’t know how good he’ll be at calling the plays. The most important part of being an OC is calling plays and we won’t know if he’s good, bad or indifferent until he’s out there doing it.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Darius Slay is now in Pittsburgh, Josh Sweat plays for Arizona, Milton Williams headed north to New England, Avonte Maddox signed with Detroit and longtime defensive line stalwart Brandon Graham retired.
So, where does that leave holdover defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit less than a week until the team’s first preseason game?
“There’s a bunch of open spots now,” Tucker said. “The safety next to Reed Blankenship; the corner across from Quinyon Mitchell; the linebacker next to Zack Baun. There are certainly defensive line snaps up for grabs. They have a lot of confidence in young guys who played well at the end of last year: Jaylx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis. Do they pick up where they left off? Do they improve and play better?”
If the offense avoids injuries to the star players and the younger defenders don’t regress, Tucker said the “Eagles have a chance to be really good.”
With the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys (Micah Parsons) and Washington Commanders (Terry McLaurin) dealing with trade requests from two of their most important players, the one thing the Eagles are particularly enjoying coming off the Super Bowl victory is stability. Players and coaches departed from last year’s squad as always is the case, but everybody who is back seems content to be here.
Someone else still happy to be here is Tucker, who will be on the microphone for anywhere from 20 to 30 NFL and college football games this season. There’s nothing like it, especially in the Philadelphia region.
“I have a game or two every week between now and the Super Bowl, and I love that part of it,” Tucker said. “I’m living my dream job. It was cool to go to an Ivy League school because of football, and the next thing I know I’m in the NFL for a while. If you talked to my friends, they would tell you God made me good enough at football to get these broadcasting gigs – my calling – of calling games on TV.”
Visit https://souljoels.com/shop/tickets/rosstucker/ to reserve tickets for Wednesday’s event.
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment