The Eagles Insider podcast is back, not only with a vengeance, but with a little more structure and a new, dedicated feed.
In our first episode of the 2015 season, we preview the #EaglesCamp to come, with thoughts on the biggest storylines and predictions galore. The biggest draw, though, is an open conversation with Josh Huff, one of the more intriguing players heading into the summer. Huff discusses struggling with confidence during his rookie season and why he expects to make an impact on the offense in his second year.
"Just to go through that whole thing my rookie year, it was definitely humbling," Huff said. "From being a guy through high school, from being a guy through college and then coming here and going up against the top competition and then the injury that set me back, it was just a lot to take in as a rookie. Me wanting to be out there, me wanting to get better every day with my teammates, I just fell behind and when I came back I was further behind than I thought I was. The whole confidence thing, it's a big deal, especially when you're coming in and you're expecting to do so much for yourself. Then when you can't do that, and when you do get your opportunities, things don't go your way and then the confidence goes away and then it just starts hiding from within yourself. I guess you have to find a little balance there to find that confidence and if you do mess up on a play, just forget about it and go on to the next one because you're going to have plenty of opportunities."
Huff explained that one of the things that helped turn his outlook around was a text message exchange with head coach Chip Kelly (Huff's college coach as well) following the season in which Kelly told Huff simply to just "be yourself". That, and the impending birth of his first child, has helped motivate Huff throughout the offseason.
Huff also discussed his unique style in the open field in which he often seems to welcome contact.
In his first season with the Eagles, rookie WR Josh Huff showed glimpses of his big-play capability and now looks to have a larger impact in 2015 ...
"I love contact," he said. "Not many receivers will say that but I love contact. I feel like (defensive backs) get to take their anger out on us when we're coming across the middle, why can't we take it out on them when we have the ball in our hands? I love to get hit. I love to give out hits. I think it was Marshawn Lynch, he was like, he's going to get got, but he's going to give it more than he gets. So that's how I see things. There are going to be plays where I get hit but you best believe I'm going to remember that number. I'm going to remember that name. And I'm going to try to get him either on a crackblock or when I get the ball in my hands."
As the Eagles look to replace the production left behind by Jeremy Maclin's departure, Huff will compete for a role among the likes of Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper, Nelson Agholor and Miles Austin. So what kind of role does he expect to play?
"I'm pretty sure what you guys saw during (the spring) is where we're going to be lined up. But again, it's all about matchups and creating mismatches," said Huff. "Sometimes you may see me on the inside or in the backfield or out wide, and sometimes you might see (Riley Cooper) on the inside at slot, and sometimes you might see Jordan (Matthews) on the outside and Nelson (Agholor) in the slot. We have those type of receivers in our room where we're so versatile. We can create mismatches all over the field. I'm definitely excited to see what we can do."
To find out what Huff thinks of Sam Bradford and what's inside his brand new man-cave, listen to the full interview on the Eagles Insider Podcast and make sure to subscribe and leave your comments to let us know what we can do better. Also featured this week are Fran Duffy's storylines to watch for the rest of the NFC East, guesses on who will lead the Eagles in receiving this preseason (the vote here is Nelson Agholor) and guesses as to how the secondary will line up in Week 1.