Kyle Brandt confronts Michael Irvin, explains his love of Eagles fans, and shares optimism: ‘Everything is on the table’
“People try to bully Eagles fans and they welcome it because they’re not bullyable,” Brandt said. He and the rest of the “Good Morning Football” crew were in Philly for a live show Monday morning.
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin stood in front of the Eagles faithful at Stateside Live! on Monday morning and tried his best to get under their skin — whether that meant choking out the Phillie Phanatic, taking shots at Philly fans, or calling Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee by the wrong name.
“We’re going to call him McGee,” Irvin said. “You know why I’m not calling him McKee? Because he’s not the key to anything.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion was on site for a live broadcast of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, which made its way to South Philly for a Monday Night Football road show ahead of the Eagles’ matchup with the Cowboys. He was alongside the show’s hosts, Kyle Brandt, Jamie Erdahl, and former NFL player Manti Te’o, as well as WWE superstar Seth Rollins. As a counterbalance to Irvin’s pro-Dallas takes, there were special appearances from former Birds Brandon Graham and Jeremiah Trotter.
But they and the Eagles fans in attendance weren’t the only ones repping the home team. Brandt, who has been one of the show’s hosts since it began a decade ago, was wearing a McKee jersey. So when Irvin slighted the Eagles backup-turned-starter, Brandt made his way over to the Hall of Famer, and pointed at McKee’s name before the crowd erupted in a “Dallas Sucks” chant.
» READ MORE: Unanswered questions in the Jalen Hurts saga with the Eagles | Best of unCovering the Birds
“Tanner McKee is not going to be Nick Foles,” Brandt said after the show. “But he is good enough to be 8-9. And 8-9 for Tanner McKee might be a home playoff game at the Linc for the Eagles, considering the division and considering whether you trust what the Giants have going on or not.
“And listen, let’s be honest. Tanner McKee wins against the Cowboys [Monday night] at home, you might as well bring a statue for him. People are going to love him. This is a huge opportunity for him. This is not like we’re going on the road against the Arizona Cardinals or something. It’s a huge opportunity. So, the Tanner McKee conversations 24 hours from now might be completely different.”
Brandt, who grew up in Chicago, is a Bears fan, but sometimes you wouldn’t know that by how he supports Jalen Hurts and the Eagles on his show and social media. He says that stems from his show’s long history with the Birds.
“We have such a great history with Philadelphia as a show,” Brandt said. “The very first show we ever did during the first season was 2016, and I was remote from the NovaCare [Complex]. And I’m walking through the parking lot in the dark trying to figure out where to go and I run into this tall redheaded guy who was carrying like 10 boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts and it was a rookie Carson Wentz, who had just found out a couple days ago that he was starting. …
“We probably have more connective tissue with the Eagles as a fan base than any of the other 32 [teams] and I think I’m really proud of that.”
» READ MORE: NFL ‘furious’ at Eagles’ mismanagement of the Jalen Hurts blood-clot condition | Marcus Hayes
The show has hosted shows in Kansas City, Chicago, Minnesota, and London. When it comes to navigating live shows in front of an audience, Brandt said it’s important to keep the energy high and give fans what they want.
“There’s a lot more screaming and there’s certainly a lot more Eagles talk,” Brandt said. “But what I liked about the crowd today was, and I said this on the air, is that if you just walked in from another planet in the middle of the show, you would think that the Eagles were undefeated right now based on the way the crowd acted.
“We’ve done this in different cities and you can pick up the energy of a crowd that thinks their team has a chance and a crowd that’s like, ‘I don’t know if this is the year for us.’ It may not be the year for the Eagles. It may even be the year from hell, but the fans don’t care.”
And the crew didn’t fail to bring the energy into the city — especially Brandt. Over the years, he has been adopted by Philly fans as one of their own and has given some high-energy Eagles rants on the show, including his Super Bowl LII “these dogs are gonna eat some GOAT” speech, and his “Wolf of Broad Street” and “Philly against the world” monologues.
Brandt kept that same energy on Monday morning, getting fans involved throughout the show — whether that meant throwing opposing jerseys into the crowd, or starting the show with an early survey wake-up call to get everyone excited.
“There’s something about Philadelphia where people really [enjoy] putting them down,” Brandt said. “So you could win five Super Bowls in a row, [but] the second you lose a game, some talking head on a national show would be saying it’s time to fire everyone. People try to bully Eagles fans and they welcome it because they’re not bullyable.”
The Eagles, who have lost four straight, will again rely on McKee under center against the Cowboys on Monday night. And it’s not just their starting quarterback; they’re also battling a number of injuries to key stars, like DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley. However, this isn’t the first time the Birds have faced hard times — and Brandt has faith they can still make the most out of the season.
“I could stand here and say, ‘They’re going to have this miracle run and they’re going to finish in first place and they’re going to win 12 games.’ That’s not going to happen,” Brandt said. “There’s not going to be a miracle run. But a home playoff game and then see what happens when you get in the playoffs. My expectations are that everything is on the table in front of them. And if J.J. McCarthy on the Giants is the guy that keeps the Eagles out of the playoffs, well, then it wasn’t meant to be.”
The Eagles seem reluctant to address the handling of the Jalen Hurts blood clots saga, but the key questions involved in the story aren’t going anywhere. Throughout the week, in the absence of remarks from general manager Howie Roseman or team medical personnel, head coach Nick Sirianni was peppered by reporters. He’s offered few details in return. After speaking with high-ranking medical officials currently or previously employed by NFL teams, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane frames four central issues that remain unanswered, while also looking at what this situation means for Hurts’ future in Philadelphia. Listen here.
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