Judging The Birds' Moves (FT. Ray Didinger) | The Philly Sports Convo

well for everybody watching and listening uh when it comes to Eagles football there's only one person to talk to uh the Hall of Famer himself Ray didinger uh Ray it is always a pleasure thank you so much for doing this I really appreciate it oh my pleasure so uh there there's a there's a lot to talk about um but my first question before we start talking football um are you retired are you semi-retired what what are you calling it these days because um I guess the full retirement didn't last too long right uh yeah um I formally retired in May um two years ago so we're coming up on two years uh and uh but you know I've I still am around I'm still doing some stuff I mean that very first year uh the Eagles wound up going to the Super Bowl so both WIP and NBC Sports Philly asked me to come back and work through the postseason and that whole run up to Super Bowl which I did um and then I've continued to do things for both I mean I I I'm on WIP once or twice a month um you know NBC Sports Philly uses me now and again like around draft time things like that so um but I'm at a good place in the sense that um you know I can really pick and choose you know I can kind of decide how much or how little I want to work when I want to work uh and it's and it's good so I'm I'm still kind of got my hand in and the phone still rings and one of the things I've learned over the last two years is seems like everybody in the world has a podcast so um that's true I'm doing I'm doing a lot of these kinds of things but it's all good I mean it's uh I I enjoy it I mean it's what I've been doing my whole life um and you know we've had some pretty good stuff to talk about in Philadelphia the last couple years you know Philly's going deep into the postseason Eagles coming within 30 minutes of winning a Super Bowl a year ago really um it's you know there's been there's been a lot of good stuff to talk about and um you know and I'm only too happy to do [Music] [Applause] that well I think as long as you're willing to do it you will always be in demand my friend um were you surprised because I I remember when you broke the news of of your retirement on WIP and I think it was only what a couple of weeks before you actually did step away from the radio and from and from NBC Sports Philly were you surprised uh at the outpouring you got because knowing what I know about you I get the feeling that you don't realize the impact that you had on people and you still do have on people uh I think that's very true uh I I I was surprised I was real surprised um I my plan was I mean I had known I had known you know months before that I was going to retire I mean I had my contract was for both both for WIP and for NBC were both coming up at that time at the end of May uh and I knew I really knew like around Christmas New Year's that that was going to be it that I was not going to I was not going to sign a new contract I was I was ready you know I was just ready to retire uh and so I had made up my mind then uh I told Glen macnell my radio partner for 21 years I felt like I felt like I should tell him that that I had kind of decided that this was going to be it and um and he said well how do you want to handle it and I said you know um you know that final day you know the final day I'll just say hey this is my last show and he said no no no no that that you know that really won't do he said I really think you need to give our audience a chance to say goodbye um so so you know I I certainly didn't want to turn it into a uh um a farewell tour uh I I didn't want to I didn't want to make a big big deal out of it uh but the station kind of talked me into saying look why don't you announce it if you're going to be going out at the end of May at the end of your contract announce it at the beginning of may you know at least give people three or four weeks if they want to call up and you wish you well say goodbye they'll have a chance to do that so that's what we did uh and but yes to your point of about um the way people responded to it the outpouring yes far more than I imagined I mean I got um oh gez um probably about 600 cards and letters wow and then and then probably you know I mean I couldn't I couldn't begin to count how many emails poured in uh from people that most of them you know 90% of them I didn't even know uh but just for sending along their good wishes and saying how much they had enjoyed uh my work over the years newspapers TV and radio um and that they were going to miss having me on on on the radio on the weekends and that was um that was really nice I mean the stuff that people said that that sense of appreciation uh and how people had just been paying attention you know uh that was nice to know so it was uh it was really really uh a very very nice warm feeling you you're one of the few people in in our industry and again you you you you reeled off you know newspapers TV radio uh books uh you you've written a play I you've done a lot of stuff and you've been a success in everything and I don't know anybody who has a bad word to say about you and I can't think of too many people who I could say that about yeah um a few people have mentioned that um that um we the business um is it's a contentious business um there's a lot of back and forth um there's a lot of anger and ranker the time um but it I it hasn't um I haven't been involved in a whole lot of that and I think you know people have asked me to explain that I don't know that I can explain it other than to say that I just kind of feel like um for 53 years years I've just kind of been tried to be just an honest guy yeah you know not not a not a sensationalist not a big pot sterer uh not a guy that thrives on controversy uh a guy that has certainly not been afraid to be critical but when I've been critical I've been fair about it sure uh I haven't uh you know I haven't gone after people personally uh I've I've just tried to do my job in in an honest straightforward way and um you know I think people people kind of respect that you know and I think the fact that I'm from Philly you know born and raised here um I think people understand that U you know I'm kind of one of them and uh and when I speak and when I talk and when I offer opinions you know people kind of think that uh I'm speaking for Philadelphia you know that I'm I'm kind of you know I'm kind of a guy that uh you know I'm kind of a guy that they would have liked to have sat next to in the 700 level you know or or a guy that they would have liked to have uh stood next to during one of the Phillies World Series parades you know that that I'm of the community that I'm of Philadelphia and uh that I've been part of this for a long time yeah and and that's you know that's and the fact is that's really all I ever tried to be I never I never thought about being a quote unquote celebrity uh I never I I never went for the Big Splash I just tried to do my job from day to day in a good honest way and if that's how people if that's how people kind of remember me and that's kind of how people uh feel about me now I I'm good with that well I'm I'm glad I'm glad you decided to come back even on a you know on a limited basis you're doing uh stuff with the WIP Morning Show I know like you said you're uh back occasionally in NBC Sports Philly let's let's talk some birds because as we record this on Wednesday evening the 13th of March Lots going on and forgive me because I'm battling a cold so sorry for the coughing um sequan Barkley did the signing surprise you and and what are your thoughts on it a little bit a little bit uh we began to hear rumors about it you know a couple weeks ago that it was clear it was clear he was not going back to New York uh so um there word team's interested and couple weeks ago you began hearing the Eagles are real interested uh that surprised me a little bit because they have not been um over time a team that spends a whole lot of money at the running back position right they just not that's just not the way they do things generally so the idea that they would pay the money to bring in a pretty big ticket running back is a little out of character for them uh but I mean I certainly I certainly thought it was a good idea uh I I think that U you know I I've been a saquan Barkley fan from from all the way back to Penn State I mean I I just think he's a real special player and you know you could get a good argument back and forth about whether he should have been the second overall pick in the draft and then you get into the whole idea of how high in the draft you take running backs and all of that kind of stuff but if you just evaluate saquin Barkley as as a player and as a teammate and just a person uh I mean he checks all the boxes I think and I've thought that for a long time so the fact that the Eagles were in on that was a little surprising to me but I thought you know I I would like to see this happen because um now having said that I think the real key to this acquisition is how do you use him right you know if if if you're going to go and make this kind of investment and it's a significant investment now I mean you're talking about you're going to be paying him more than $12 million a year Eagles haven't paid a running back that in a while if you're going to make that if you're going to make that kind of investment in him then you better have a really wellth thought out well-conceived plan about okay how are we going to use this guy uh I think that he uh I I still think at 27 I know he's had some injuries but not really over the last two years I mean he's been pretty healthy the last two years uh I still think he has a you know a a lot a lot of good football left in him yeah agree how are you know how are how are the Eagles going to use him how's the new offensive coordinator Kell Moore going to use him um you know we saw when Kell Moore was the offensive coordinator in Dallas uh we saw the the many many ways he used Ezekiel Elliott uh and I could see saquan Barkley being that kind of player too running the ball between the tackles yes uh but also catching a lot of balls out of the Back Field yeah uh I could see if that's really what they have in mind and I'm assuming that it is then I think it's a pretty good plan um saquan Barkley has never run behind a good offensive line in the NFL he just hasn't you know the Giants have tried different combinations on the offensive line and none of it's worked I mean if you if you watch the film you know week in and week out Giants offensive line play is it's it's really poor uh and so whatever yardage Barkley has gotten over the last six years he's pretty much gotten it on his own now you bring him here and you put him behind this offensive line uh on an offense that has the kinds of playmakers that the Eagles have with Smith with brown with Goddard you put saquon Barkley out there and you know sometimes line him up in the back field maybe sometimes put them in the slot sometimes you could even split them out wide um that's um that's a lot of Firepower out there and if Kell Moore tries to use him the way he used Zeke Elliot in Dallas I think that could be a pretty exciting combination so you you mentioned all the weapons and now another one with Barkley how much pressure is on Jaylen Herz next season huge huge because I mean we we can talk all we want and certainly everybody's been talking about the last few days all the moves that the Eagles have made pretty good ones really if you look at some of the players to bring it in um but none of it matters if the quarterback doesn't play right you know I mean you can you can have all of these guys uh but if Jaylen Herz doesn't play like the guy that you pay are paying him to be and the guy that you expect him to be um then then the whole thing doesn't work it's only going to work if he plays like the jayen Herz that we saw two years ago if he can get back to that level yeah then they really have something but last year I mean there's no getting around it I mean last year he took a major step back uh and now you just have to hope that with a new offensive coordinator uh and uh the addition of Barkley uh that they can that he can kind of find it you know get and get it back again but I don't know you know I don't know how much of it was a regression on his part oh and how much of it was just U what I just thought was a was a poorly designed poorly called poorly executed offense yeah I guess I guess we'll find out I just I yeah I I just thought the overall scheme uh and the down to down play calling uh and and a lot of the stuff that was coming in from the sidelines was was part of the problem you know just you know I don't know that anybody really really fully appreciated what a good coach Sean Sten was yeah when he was here two years ago I think you kind of know now when you see the difference in this team plus the difference he made going to Indianapolis in his first year um he's a really really good coach and they missed him big time so now you've made some changes in the offensive staff you bring in a new offensive coordinator guy that's had success before um and I think they're going to bring in some new ideas which they needed because last year this offense was just stuck in mud so if Herz does not revert back to 2022 if he has another year in 2024 like he had this past season could you see them even with the cap hit could you see them trying to move on from Herz I mean we saw what Denver just did with Russell Wilson so taking a big cap cap hit is not unheard of these days no no uh I I would be very surprised yeah okay I I I I would be very surprised I think that they're uh you know I'm sure they were disappointed in last year I'm sure Jaylen her's a disappointment last year but I still get the feeling that as an organization they're still all in on Jaylen Herz and they should be I mean you know just two years ago he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Patrick Mahomes for the MVP yeah um and this year was a you know this year was not a good year for him or the whole team but there were a lot of circumstances contributing to that um it's now we'll just see with a new coach a new system and a real high quality running back in the back field with him you know how much of that he can get back now what were your thoughts on uh on on Nick serani were you of the thinking that you know look he he won a lot of games we had three playoff appearances a Super Bowl appearance or were you of the thinking he oversaw the biggest collapse in team history did you support him coming back um yeah I did I I thought I really didn't when the unraveling began uh down the stretch in the regular season season um and the conversation began that serani might not survive this uh I was you I was one of the people said I I don't see that happening you know I mean the guy's this is his third year here you're going to the playoffs for the third straight year under him uh it wasn't more than a month ago that they had the best record in the NFL I mean the guys if you if you if you talk about an entire body of work his entire body of work pretty good I thought so the idea that oh no he's if if they lose down in Tampa Bay no he's going to be gone I didn't think that however when I watched the Tampa Bay game uh and I saw the way the team played that night and how they just got totally handled by you know what I think is a pretty mediocre Tampa Bay team I mean it's a team that the Eagles just dominated in week three I mean the Eagles completely outclassed them in in that same stadium back in September yeah now in the playoff game you're going to go down there and you're going to get throttled like that um when I saw how how bad that was I began to think you know what maybe he is maybe maybe Jeffrey is going to make a change I it it would have surprised me uh and it would not have been it would not have been a decision that would have been very well received around the NFL I mean people would have said that you know Jeffrey lorry's got a pretty quick hook on this guy um and so I thought that he would survive it however um he he's got a lot to he's got a lot to answer for you know and when a team let's face it I mean there's no other way to put it they they did not show up in Tampa Bay for a playoff game right for a playoff game I mean they had as bad as they stumbled down the stretch in the regular season Once they got to the playoffs it's a whole new season I mean they could have turned this whole thing around and gotten themselves on a little bit of a run in the postseason that opportunity was there um but they went down to Tampa Bay and they just flat didn't show up I mean they were they were in my view watching that game they were never in that game I mean they were just never in that game again to a Tampa Bay team that I thought was pretty average that was I mean that was an indictment of a lot of things yeah but you you would have you would certainly have to lay a lot of it at the feet of the head coach because that team was not ready to play and how do how do you not have a team ready to play when you're playing in the playoffs that was not good so you know Nick serani is coming back and look three straight years in the playoffs all that stuff Super Bowl last year all all well and good um but he's got to start putting this thing that this team was broken at the end of the season and now it's up to the head coach to put it all back together again what was the big issue on defense was it the coordinator change because you know you think back to early on in the season they they looked the defense looked okay against Kansas City looked good against Miami is it Talent was it the change from decid of Patricia what what was the big issue in your mind it was I think it starts with talent I just don't think they had really good players there um I mean they the linebackers once again the linebackers were not you know they they just weren't good enough they were they just flat out weren't good enough that linebacker and then in the secondary you know James Bradbury who had been pretty good the season before just had a dreadful year uh you know one and Darius slle wasn't as good as he had been the year before I mean the year before they had good play at the corners that was not true last year um the loss of CJ gter Johnson uh to Detroit was a big loss I mean he had come in and he had played really well for them the year before now they got him back but they certainly missed him last year um everything in in that back seven just wasn't good the linebackers weren't good enough um and the secondary wasn't good enough good quarterbacks just had a field day against this team so I think their feeling was we know we have some issues at linebacker we know we have some issues in the secondary but we have so many good players on the defensive line that will'll be able to work around it you know we'll we'll stop the run we'll get a lot of pressure on the quarterback and that will cover up for some of the problems we have uh on the back end well you know that wasn't really true I mean that for all the talent they had on the defensive line the defensive line didn't play that well and certainly down the second half of the year so I think that number one issue on defense was the talent was the players they just they just weren't good enough um now what happened with Desi and then Patricia that compounded it you know I thought I thought Desi was not a particularly good coordinator but I think when they made the decision to go to Patricia late in the season then that just made things worse because Patricia came in and tried to do some different things and install some different things and make some different calls and now that wasn't going to make the players better because they they already weren't good enough but now you had those same players playing a system they weren't unfamiliar with so now they were not good enough and they were confused on top of it and that's why when you when you watch the film of that team after the change by the end of the year uh I'm not exaggerating when I say at by the end of the year they were the worst defense in the NFL oh no doubt no doubt they were they were the worst defense in the NFL and you know you're not going to re build all of that overnight you know they're going to have to start now and okay they brought in vic fio who's been a defensive coordinator in the NFL forever and and is a good coach and has a very very well defined defensive philosophy that has worked and won in multiple cities that's fine but you need to give him some better players to work with no no doubt no doubt was that a panic move do you think going from decid of Patricia I thought so yeah and I and I thought and I thought it kind of sent that message to the players you know uh I thought that it kind of sent that I think when you make that kind of change in the season it sends a message to the players that okay something's really wrong here and you know the coach is hitting the panic button um you know Desai had not distinguished himself shall we say but to pull the rug out from under him as he did and hand the Reigns over to Matt Patricia that I think sent a bad message to the whole team and then from that point on the defense just went from bad to worse agreed were you surprised that uh Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox decided to call it a career no no I I I would have been surprised if they had come back to be honest okay uh I thought that um you know Jason Kelce I think the reason he came back probably in both of them I think I'm sure at the after last season after the Super Bowl uh I'm sure they both thought about retiring then but Jason Kelce talked about it very openly uh Fletcher Cox not so much but I think they had to both be thinking about it at that point they had reached that point in their careers uh and I think they both decided to come back for the simple reason that they thought they they were that close to winning it right and come back come back and let let me play another year I think next year we can come back and win this thing and then I'll go out well turned out to be not the case uh and when the season ended the way it ended and especially when you saw that shot that they had of Jason Kelce in the final minutes of that Tampa Bay game you know when he's standing on the sidelines and he's looking up at the clock and you can see that he's he's you know he has tears in his eyes emotional yeah yeah I mean that to me I say well that's you know this is it I mean he's and he was talking to Jeff stoutland and it was it was the kind of conversation that I've seen before and it's a you know it's it's you know it's basically a guy saying goodbye a guy you know who's who's had a great career and now he's just taking in those last couple of minutes and uh uh I I that's what I saw and then you know when he came out there was a report that he had told his teammates he was retiring made perfect sense to me you know then he's he asked publicly he asked for a little time to think it over but I felt yeah I mean I felt that he was going to retire and I mean could he have continued playing absolutely yeah I mean to me he he's still one of the elite offensive lineman in the NFL uh and has not lost anything I mean the last couple years even in his mid-30s he has played great football so you're not talking about your typical mid3 prish guy who's clearly his talents are eroding and you know it's sort of like oh you know hey pal it's time to go um that was not Jason Kelce I mean he was still playing at an extremely high level and could probably come back next year and do the same thing I totally agree but he's but he's had he's had such a great career uh he's an alltime alltime Great Eagle um there's no question he's certainly going to go into the eagles hall of fame um I don't think there's any question he's going to go into the Pro Football Hall of agreed the team will the team will probably retire his number I mean every honor you can give a guy they will give him and justly so all right but he's but he's the thing is he's reached a point in his life where he has he is such a star uh and he has so many opportunities and so many people want him to do this and to do that um he's you know he's got a growing family married three little girls I think it's time I think I think it was I think it's just the perfect time for him to walk away oh agreed he's got nothing left to prove he like like you said great career he's got a Super Bowl ring already now in all your years of covering Eagles football where does he rank for you in terms of alltime eagles and I'm not talking stats I mean you know overall when you combine the stats and what he meant to the team and what he meant to the city where does he rank for you well um couple years ago I was asked U to do an all all time Eagles team 11 11 on offense 11 on defense uh and I picked my alltime Eagles team with 21 players uh because I put Chuck bck as both my Center okay right and my middle and my middle linebacker play Both Sides yeah right right yeah and so I had him in both spots and listen Chuck bener is one of the all-time great players uh but I now I'm I'm now willing to put Jason Kelce as my all-time Center wow and and and when I say that I'm putting anybody anybody ahead of Chuck B that's I never thought that I'd say that but I mean Kelsey's career warrants that I mean he has been that good uh and like and much like benck you know concrete Charlie um that's been Jason Kelce I mean 156 consecutive starts Club record it's amazing I mean he's been he's been a great player a great leader and he's been a guy that just plays through everything I mean he's he has the production he has the greatness he has the leadership and the durability um that I never thought that I would ever going to put anybody ahead of Ben arck but I'm prepared to put Jason Kelce there now having said that Chuck is still my middle linebacker right defense okay and and that one I don't think I don't foresee that ever changing I don't know if they'll ever a middle linebacker like bner especially the way they bring linebackers in here well that's true I don't yeah but um but yeah I I think Kelsey to me is the greatest Center that's ever played for the Eagles um and now in terms of overall where does he rank among all players I think he's probably the most beloved player I I don't think I don't think there's ever been a player who has who has been as who has connected with the fans um the way this guy has I mean Brian Dawkins you know was beloved in this town um Reggie White absolutely beloved in this town but there's um there's an Everyman quality uh to Jason Kelce that really connects with you know the blue collar 700 level Eagles fan Philly fan um you know I mean he's a guy that you you go to a Sixers game he's hitting the Bell you know you go to a Flyers game you know he's standing in line in front of you getting a beer uh you know it's if Phillies Phillies go to the World Series he's on the field celebrating with them I mean he is he is totally for a guy who's not from Philly uh he has totally become of Philly and in that respect I don't know that I've seen in all the years I've been around the Eagles that they've had a guy quite like that so yeah I mean I don't he's he's unique I mean we're we're you know we're certainly it's not like going to go away I mean we're still going to see plenty of Jason Kelce but but we just we just aren't going to see him you know we aren't going to see him snapping the ball anymore but you know what else about the other two guys you mentioned and I thought of those two guys Brian Dawkins and Reggie White as well now through no fault of their own they played football in a different uniform Jason Kelce only wore an Eagles jersey and I think that kind of puts him over the top as well yeah I and and he made the point and very clearly in his farewell press conference that that was something that was really important to him was that he he only wanted he he did not want to play for another team you know he wanted to have his whole career and finish his career as a Philadelphia Eagle you know and not go to you know and not go to Green Bay and play one year and then come back here and sign like a one-day contract to retire as an eagle right you know that kind of ceremonial kind of thing you know if he was going to retire as an eagle he was going to retire as an eagle and I respect that because you just you know you don't see it that much in in today's free agent NFL it just doesn't happen that much I mean you look at the great players that have you know EMT Smith finished his career as an Arizona Cardinal you know yeah I think Joe NE played for the Rams yeah I mean Jerry Rice was what Jerry Rice was Seattle Seahawk or something Franco Harris was a Seattle Seahawk I mean even the greatest players yep fin their career in another Jersey Joe Montana went out as a chief um so it's it's kind it's very rare in this day and age that you can play a long career and play it in one town with one team you know what and that was that was what Jason Kelce wanted and that's what he did you you just made me think of something else uh one of the cool things about Kelsey and and Fletcher Cox as well retiring when you're still on top and you made me think of Steve Carlton when you talked about you know other players who kind of Bounce around in different uniforms remember Steve when when Steve Carlton left Philly I mean he went to what he went to San Francisco he was was he in Cleveland he was in Minnesota Chicago White Socks Chicago White Socks I mean it it was sad the way it ended for him yeah uh it was it was um but it was his choice yeah you know I mean he he just didn't want to let it go and uh I remember interesting interesting you mentioned Carlton case because I was I was still writing I was still a newspaper columnist and I was writing for the Philadelphia Daily News okay and uh I had written a couple of pieces that year uh about Carlton and about how sad it was to see him struggling to to get out you know to to get out seven eight and nine years you know it was uh and when the Phillies released him uh and he and he just decided I'm you know I'm I'm going to go with off I'm going to sign with the Giants want me I'm going to go sign with the Giants uh I remember uh interviewing Tim McCarver who was then in the broadcasting and marver and McCarver had been as everybody remembers he had been he had been Lefty's personal catcher for all those years starting in St Louis and then all three Philadelphia so nobody knew Lefty more than Timmy did um and so the day that Steve makes makes his point about okay you know I'm not done yet I'm gonna go I'm gonna sign a contract and go to the Giants I I talk to mcarver and I said don't you think this is sad you know don't you don't you think that he should just retire now and just go out as a as a philly and and McCarver got so angry with me really and yeah and and Timmy and I had a really good relationship over the years when I was a columnist and he was he was a player and then a broadcaster we got along really well um and I I said that uh and Timmy got really mad at me like like angry man at me and said and said you know who are you who are you to tell Steve Carlton that it's time to walk away from baseball you know what gives you that right you know and and he said don't you understand that the fact that he still wants to go and keep pitching now it's one of the things that made him great in the first place you know that determination that will to win that never giving up kind of spirit that's one of the things that made him Steve Carlton makes sense and now and now and now and now just because you think it's time and you want him to have a nice little bye-bye in Philadelphia you're saying yeah it's time to go he will decide when it's time to go because he's earned the right to say when it's time to go and I uh I you I had never thought about it that way you know I I had never thought about that part of a player just that sort of thing that we're looking at why is he continuing to do this is really kind of the flip side of what made him great in the first place is that never giving up you know I'm going to prove to you that I'm the best it's basically the same trait it's just at a different point in their career so uh I always remember having that discussion with Timmy and it made me kind of rethink a lot of those sorts of moments that we have with great players when they get to the end of their career yeah ultimately it's it is their decision and they've earned the right to make that decision and not have it made by guys like me well yeah but I mean I I don't think you're trying to make the decision for him but you know at least with me as a fan you hate to see somebody that great and you you alluded to this you hate to see somebody that great struggle that much you know you hate you you hate having that the last memory of such a great player I get but I get to mccarver's point I get his point oh yeah oh yeah and I and I've never I remember that I remember that conversation like it happened 10 minutes ago uh and it it to me it was it was a great insight into into how an athlete's mind works you know and how they just they just don't view things the way we view them you know I mean even though those of us that are covering Sports we're around Sports uh and you know we're part of it but we still don't really we still don't really see it the way the athlet sees it and we never will and so that's and that's the kind of thing that when he said that I thought you know he's right that makes perfect sense I I totally understand it and listen it you know the Carl thing it never changed I mean he went to all those teams and he never got any better you know he was there for a few a few games and got cut and he went somewhere else and it never he never found it he never regained it it ended just the way we knew it was going to end right but the fact is that was his choice and that was how he wanted to go out but nobody will say that about Jason Kelce well that's true Jason Kel Jason Kelce went out as a as an allpro you know and um and his career is going to be one of the great ones I have no I have no doubt none that um that he will be a first ballot Hall of Fame guy not well Philadelphia that's that don't even question that eagles hall of fame for sure but he'll be first ballot in Canton uh and U agreed I don't I don't think there's any question and then at some point he'll be joined by his brother you know at some point you know the both of the Kelsey will be in C and right now there are no brothers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is that right there are none wow there are no Brothers now I think it you will probably get the Mannings in there at some point um you think Payton's already in there obviously uh and I I do believe that Eli will will be voted in okay uh I just don't know that Eli is going to be a first ballot guy um what I me you look at uh well I mean you know you look at his career he's got a losing record right exactly exactly so but but the fact is you know he he had the two Super Bowls uh and you know two two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots two Super Bowl wins over Brady uh and and he's and he's Eli uh and you know had this incredible streak where he never missed a game um I mean there and there's and the Mannings are kind of the royal family of quarterbacking so I think that I think that there will be enough support that Eli will get in now I don't know that he'll be a first ballot guy right it's conceivable it's conceivable that it may take him a little while in which case maybe the Kelsey will be the first pair to go in um but there's no qu there there may be a little bit of a question about Eli completing the Manning uh thing but there's no question that Jason and Travis will will be standing side by side in Canton that's that that is for sure and I think you will have two very fun acceptance speeches yeah that's right I think that that's a guarantee all right I I want to get to a couple things before I let you go Ray I don't want to take up too much of your time but I want to ask you about after the Eagles won the Super Bowl and I know you've been asked this a million times but I know you love talking about this we're all watching the postgame show watching you guys in NBC Sports Philly your son walks into uh the booth you guys were broadcasting from I guess he was there working for NFL films and you guys hug and you get emotional and it reminded me because shortly before I saw that on TV I had the same moment with my own father we were watching the game together we hugged and you know we were waiting a lifetime for this and I'm thinking I'm never going to have this moment with my dad and here we go I have this moment with my dad what was going through your mind I I guess something very similar did you you probably thought that would never happen yeah AB absolutely uh I mean I had that um I had that feeling and I heard hundreds hundreds of Eagles fans saying the same thing that you know oh I'm never I I'll never see this team win a Super Bowl I won't I won't live long enough to see this team win a Super Bowl uh a lot of people really I mean they weren't just saying that they really believe that yeah and and so when it did happen that night um it was a a very cathartic kind of thing for um the whole city for the whole region and when my son came into the into the booth where we were doing the postgame show after he had finished his duties with NFL films after he had finished I have to give him his props after he finished taking the shot after getting the shot that everybody remembers he he was shooting the Nick folos wiring so he he's the guy that got the shot of the sideline conversation between Doug Peterson and Nick Foles no kidding where yeah that's that that shot of that conversation do you want Philly Philly yeah let's do it that whole thing that we have seen how many thousands of times now that's that's my son shot wow so so he had just finished shooting that game uh and then he came looking for me uh and found our booth and then was sort of waiting the idea wasn't wasn't going to be to do it on live television he was just sort of standing off to the side and we kind of made eye contact and I kind of like gave him like okay I'll be there in a minute we let's I'll wait till we go to a break and then we'll celebrate uh but Michael Baran uh who was uh moderating it as he always did saw David uh and all of a sudden thought hey you know let's bring him on and so David came walking out we hugged and yeah we both got very emotional and I I felt a little um awkward about it at the at the time really I mean having you know having that kind of emotion and and shedding tears and crying on live television uh I I certainly never done that before and uh and I felt a little uneasy about it when it happened and I sat back down uh but Governor Randell who was sitting right next to me um said hey that moment you just had with your son that's happening in every living room in the entire city of Philadelphia JY the whole region you know believe me that that's what's happening everywhere back home so don't worry about it you know and I I remember when I wrote my book finished business and I wrote about that whole thing the line that I wrote as I was thinking about it was that David and I we thought we were just putting our arms around each other but we were in fact really putting our arms around all of Philadelphia and that was you know as I didn't really fully appreciate it at the moment but I certainly appreciate it now yeah absolutely it was it was a great moment another moment that came to my mind uh more of a lighter moment it was it was before the game uh I guess a couple days before the game you guys were broadcasting from Minnesota leading up to the game and you and Michael Baran I guess were doing a joint broadcast with NBC Sports Boston and I forget the circumstances but one of the guys was ripping Philadelphia fans and you let them have it and it was great yeah well that was actually right before the game oh oh okay right before the game okay that that was that was that was Sunday afternoon right before kickoff at the stadium uh and yeah it was it was the idea there are there's a there's a Comcast or an NBC Sports uh operation in Boston same as in Philadelphia so they got this idea that why well why don't we just put both of the shows together and do one show and it'll be Philly versus Boston yeah and uh and so I frankly I I I kind of said count me out I you know I that's really not my kind of thing I know it's I know what it's going to turn into and that's really not my kind of Television you know I'm just Mr X's and O's I'm Mr meat and potatoes you know I'm not into all that kind of name calling and finger pointing that's just not me uh but you know Michelle Murray who was the boss uh said no no no you will do it you're you're only going to be on for one segment just you know but you're going to be out there okay so I was on there and it was Michael and me and Albert Breer of NFL Network and the Boston guy was a fellow named Mike Felder who was is kind of the he's kind of the Angelo cataldi of Boston okay and um you know a real sort of loud kind of in yourf face Sports Talk radio guy and yeah you're right I mean he you know he's just started on Philly fans and how they were the worst and how you know I come to games in Philadelphia and I'm afraid somebody's going to hit me in the head with a metal chair and you know they threw snowballs at Santa Claus and you know he went through the whole Litany of all the things that we've all heard odd noise them about Philadelphia fans and I I you know I just I one going to stand for it and so you know against my better judgment uh I I I sort of threw it back at him and I just told him he was he was full of crap basically and um and I felt when the segment ended and I walked off the set I'm I'm sort of kicking myself saying you know I didn't want to do this I didn't want to do this thing because I was afraid this is what I was going to turn into and look at that you know and then I turned out when I got home I I was a big hero yeah you know yeah everybody said you know that you stood up for us you know you stood up for us and you don't that Boston guy you told him off I didn't realize at the time I thought oh boy that that looks so stupid that looks so cheap I feel really I've really dumb for doing it and it turned out that people here loved it so you know all is well that ends well and then of course comes the game and the Eagles pull off the big win and then comes Philly special and then the moment with my son so that was that was about as perfect a day as you could ever imagin yeah no that was great that was that was a great moment um I I want to ask you um and I I was a kid when all this happens we're talking mid 80s how close did the Eagles get to moving to Phoenix and what do you remember about that oh real close real close um yeah um well I I'll give you the condensed version of it but um yeah the Eagles owner at that time was a fellow named Leonard toes right yeah uh who was uh you know um who was in all kinds of financial trouble uh he had lost lost as it turns out he lost like $40 million gambling uh and and basically was in was in debt to everybody uh and so we all knew that he was in trouble uh but nobody knew that behind the scenes that he and people in the front office mostly his daughter uh were negotiating with uh an investor out in Arizona uh to move the Philadelphia Eagles to Arizona that this gentleman was going to buy uh a minority interest in the team he was going to buy like 45% Leonard would keep 55% so he would still be the majority owner but this guy was going to give them enough money that Leonard could pay off all his debts and you know but the deal was contingent on the Eagles moving to Arizona and so um this was all going on and none of us knew nobody in the Philadelphia media knew uh and I was in bed one night sound asleep and like at 2:00 in the morning my phone rang uh and I picked it up and it was our night sports editor uh and he said have you heard anything about the Eagles moving to Arizona and I mean I what I mean almost fell out of bed and I said no what are you talking about and he said this story just came over the wire that the Eagles the Eagles are going to move to Arizona and I said whoa whoa whoa whoa and so I I turned the light on and trying to gather my get my senses about me uh and I said who wrote wait a minute I said I I don't I don't know if I believe that I said who wrote the story and he said it's a guy named Bob hurt in the Arizona Republic and I said it's true you know because I knew Bob Bob HT was one of those guys he was an old guy who knew everybody in Arizona okay all the sports people all the politicians so if Bob HT was writing it it was for real it wasn't a rumor that he he knew enough people in high place that if he was willing to put his name on that story it was for real well of course all hell breaks loose the NFL gets involved City Hall gets involved and the Eagles wind up sort of Under Siege and nobody's going to let them move anywhere but I still to this day believe that if Bob hurt had not broken that story out in Arizona that just a matter maybe 48 Hours the Eagles would have been on a moving van just like the Baltimore Colts were I I I honestly think it came that close wow and the fact that and the fact that the Eagles are still here the people in Philadelphia they can thank Bob herd of the Arizona Republic because I think he saved the franchise that's unbelievable now do you know had that come to fruition would the name have gone or would it would it have been like a Cleveland Browns thing where the name stayed here and then maybe another expansion team would have been the eagles they had um I actually think they would have taken the Eagles yeah I mean the the league didn't the league did not because the Baltimore Colts had just gone it wasn't that long before that right uh uh and so the idea of keeping the keeping the name and keeping the colors and the records and all that stuff in place and bringing another team in there that was a later that was a later idea that was somebody else came up with which is it's a very good idea to be honest with you sure is to keep is to keep the history of the team in the city um and so I think they did it the right way in Cleveland the Browns remained the Browns uh but uh I I think the Eagles would have been I think the Eagles would have gone the way of of the Colts and they would be the Arizona they would be the Arizona Eagles now can you imagine that well um all right before I let you go I want to ask you about Tommy and me um your relationship with Tommy McDonald turned into this successful play uh is that coming back anytime soon um we are there there are talks about trying to find a theater this year there's a a couple of theaters in the Philadelphia area that are interested in it um there's a theater in in Pottsville uh called The Majestic they're interested in doing it a couple of other theaters have expressed that interest we haven't signed any papers yet but I'm hoping it can happen I mean we've done the play We debuted it in 2016 and we have produced it every year since with the exception of 2020 which is the covid year sure uh we we've produced the play every year uh at different theaters uh Fringe arts in Philadelphia the Delaware Theater Company in Wilmington the Hershey theater in Hershey we went to the Bucks County Playhouse twice um we last year we did the Uptown uh Performing Arts Center in Westchester uh we've done oh my I guess 8 or nine Productions of Tommy and me uh and it's done wonderfully well to the point where um there's a documentary film being made about it even as we speak oh wow that that that should be completed and uh and done this football season uh and there's a u a movie producer out in Hollywood that's uh that came and saw it and now he wants to make a movie out of it wow so so yeah the Tommy and me the the story of Tommy and me uh has has grown far beyond what I ever imagined it was going to be but people you know people have just loved it I mean even people who had people who were too young to have ever seen Tommy McDonald or known Tommy McDonald uh have come to see this play and really just love the story about this little boy in his football hero and his very unlikely Journey the two of them took to Canton Ohio that's that that's unbelievable because because in the end you you kind of helped him get to the Hall of Fame correct uh I sort of mounted the campaign uh to try and get him over the hump because he had um you he had never even been a finalist I mean he' been you know 16 17 years he had never from his retirement he had never even been a finalist and uh you know he was my Boyhood hero uh I saw every game he played as an eagle I was there in 1960 championship game when he scored the touchdown uh so he was my Boyhood hero and when I grew up and became a sports writer and actually kind of found myself in a position where I could work to get him into Hall of Fame kind of get him that recognition um I set out that I'm determined I'm going to do this I'm Gonna Keep do I'm gonna keep knocking on doors and making phone calls and writing letters until until I until Tommy gets into Hall of Fame and so yeah and then it turned out that when he did get in in 1998 he asked me to be his presenter in Canton that's so that's such a great story what a great moment that was I mean here I am in the Hall of Fame parade riding in an open Convertible sitting next to my Boyhood Idol on our way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I'm going to present the speech introducing him into the Hall of Fame I mean it really is dream come true kind of stuff it really does sound like a Hollywood movie but it's real life but if they do make the movie out of this I'm curious who do you want to play Ray Dinger um have you my wife has very strong my wife has very strong opinions on that she's she's holding out for Bradley Cooper hey he's an Eagles fan that's perfect uh you know I mean it could work I mean the guy is the guy is legit I mean he he is a legit Eagles fan so um if it ever comes to that uh and the movie ever does get made um I I guarantee you that we will we will send a script to Bradley Cooper and who knows maybe he'll say yes that that that would be that would be amazing that would be amazing so so H how many books have you written Ray 12 my God 12 and I guess you can get them all like on Amazon right they're all still available right yeah you can pretty much I mean if you go if you go and and enter my name and Amazon uh it'll it'll pop up the it'll pop up some of the books are some of the books are pretty old and probably out of circulation I mean the first one I did was 1971 wow okay so I mean I don't know that you're going to find that one anywhere uh but the Eagles encyclopedia you can still get that uh there's a book I did that's a collection of my favorite columns from over the years uh called One Last Read One Last Read that's now out in paperback and um and the book that was my Memoirs the book of my looking back on my 50 years in the business called finish business um that's that is definitely available that's still in bookstores so anybody wants to look up any of those or read any of those you can find those pretty easily online now you you began at the bulletin right before the Daily News yes yeah I was uh I I was I was at the bulletin for 13 years you you'll appreciate this my parents somewhere in their house still have the final copy of the bulletin oh yeah that's collector's item I still have one oh you okay yeah I had I had left the bulletin before it closed right uh I left the bulletin in 1980 um The Daily News made me an offer uh to come to jump across town and work at The Daily News and I felt a little you know I I was very ambivalent about it because I knew we all knew the bulletin was in really dire Financial Straits and was on the verge of collapse but the bullet had given me my big opportunity and I felt real loyal to them and I didn't I didn't feel I didn't feel real good about walking out on them in their hour of need but it just there were just family considerations there I mean I I I was just afraid that I might not have an opportunity to go to a Philadelphia newspaper if I waited to the end of the bulletin the opportunity for the Daily News was there um I I knew the guys on the staff I respected it it it was the best sport section in town by far oh my and so and so you know I I you know in in the summer of 1980 August of 1980 you know I made the decision to jump to the Daily News and you know I was at the daily news for 16 years and and had a great time I had a great great time you're right there were some great names on that staff you and Stan Hawkman and Bill Conlin there was um oh my gosh I'm throwing a blank now bill fleshman right bill fleshman was there Bill fleshman we had Mark wicker boy you got the you got the whole bunch of them there's I think that um the Philadelphia Daily News that Sports staff has I think the singular distinction the singular distinction of having one of their writers in each of the halls of Fame of each sport that they cover I don't know that maybe the Boston Globe might be able to say that but I mean you have you know you have Bill Conlan is in the baseball writers hall of fame um dick Weiss is in the Basketball Hall of Fame Phil jasner basketball Phil jasner of course Jay Green Jay Greenberg's in the Hockey Hall of Fame Stan Hawkman is in the horse racing Hall of Fame I didn't know that uh Tom Tom kushman Elmer Smith and Bernie Fernandez are all in the boxing Smith wow there's a name so all of so you you name the sport there's a Daily News writer in that Sports Hall of Fame and I don't know that any other newspaper can claim that that that is that is impressive that is impressive all right I'm going to ask you one more question before I let you go and just to show you how how long how how far back this goes I think I heard you tell the story to Steve Fredericks on WIP going one of the times he was filling in on on a Saturday working with you I guess he was fing in for Glenn and you told him that you turned down a date with Christy Brinkley is that is that is that true um not exactly I mean it's um it's what it was was um the story has been retold by an By Angelo and by Glenn numerous times I'm sure and it's and it's become somewhat distorted uh it was not it was not really a date okay um I was uh I was in New Orleans covering the rematch of Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durant uh the fight that wound up turning out to be no Moss remember that sure yeah uh and so I was down there to cover that and in the days before the fight like a couple days before the fight um I was at Duran's workout and uh with you know a dozen other sports writers were watching Duran work out and Christy Brinkley is there with a camera uh and she's like a celebrity photographer Don King who was the promoter brought her in to just bring a little glamor to the scene basically that's what it amounts to um so she's going around snapping some pictures and all this stuff and at one point she kind of comes walking over to where the sports writers are where we're all kind of standing there and she strikes up a conversation with me of all people uh and just started saying you know I I don't know anything about boxing this the first time I've ever been here I don't know anything about this uh could you tell me what what do you what can you tell me about Roberto Durant I don't know anything about him so you know I kind of tell her you know poor kid Panama grew up on the streets you know rich guy found them took him in took him to a gym blah blah blah blah blah so I give her the you know the cliff notes version of Roberto Duran and she say say wow that's really interesting it's really interesting so the workout ends uh and she says um you know I really would like to learn some more about this why don't you and I go to lunch okay uh and so uh I the only trouble was I had I was on Deadline I mean I had to write I had to write a big Roberto Duran piece for the next day's paper and it had to be in at a certain time uh and I only had 90 minutes to write that story and get it to Philadelphia um so I had a chrisy Brinkley uh I'd love to have lunch with you but I'm sorry I I have to write now the way Angelo and Glenn tell the story is that she was hitting on me or she was coming on to me or that she had something more in her mind that just lunch I can assure you I can assure you that that was not the case it was it was lunch and it was a one time only got it um and if and I would have loved to have had the time to do it but unfort fortunately as a professional newspaper man deadline does come first duty calls duty calls see but but that that's why you've been so successful Ray um Ray what can I say uh the time flew by and I I so appreciate this it is an honor to talk to you and I can't thank you enough for doing this it was my pleasure I really enjoyed it and uh you know I'm looking forward to uh you know looking forward to the Philly season looking forward to baseball starting up and of course not that far down the road Eagles training so um the cycle will start all over again and I have about 10 Things I didn't get to in this conversation so I hope we can do this again soon okay I it would be my pleasure thank you Ray I appreciate it take care okay you take care too have a good night byebye and thank you for watching episode 10 of the Philly sports convo we'll see you next time stay connected with us on social media join our Discord community and grab merch from our shop the Philly sports convo is a blueeye visual production ction

Channel: The Philly Sports Convo

Views: 20,446

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Id: Yph2HPInvUA

Length: 63min 58sec (3838 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024