A.J. Brown called into WIP and we learned a lot
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: A.J. Brown #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles walks off the field during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on November 5, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
It has been a weird week for the Eagles. Lots of interesting, concerning, and dramatic rumors were thrown around, and A.J. Brown voluntarily called into 94 WIP on Friday afternoon to address it.
Here are the quotes I found most interesting in the 20-minute call:
“People asking what happened [at the end of the season], we were never really playing like the best team in the league, we had the best record in the league, but we were scratching it out… Later on it just was a domino effect and we couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
“You wonder why [Brown does not like the media]? [The rumors from this week] is why. No matter what I say, y’all are gonna run with something. It was never what the Eagles did or said, it was what A.J. said. So I didn’t wanna do my team like that, so I stopped talking.”
“I’m not trying to change the media, I know it’s been like this, and it’ll be like this when I leave. I just think I’m so misunderstood… Everyone wants to paint me like a diva. I yell on the sidelines and y’all assume it’s about targets. What if I’m holding people accountable?… Y’all just assume it’s anger.”
“The locker room is fine… Players just weren’t executing… Media ran with the coaches, blame the coaches… I’m not going to blame the coaches. It was the players not executing”
“What if my flare ups on the sideline are because I care so much? And wanna hold people accountable and get them back up? Y’all just don’t see it from Jalen [Hurts] because that’s not his personality. But it’s mine… And I can do that because nobody works as hard as me and puts the work in as much as me, and I stand on that. Y’all take it as anger, it’s passion.”
“I understand it’s a business, but I can tell y’all I want to be [in Philadelphia]. I want to be here. I love where I’m at.”
“To Philly fans, I love you. And to people making up rumors, find another job”
Brown called any thought of having a problem with Jalen Hurts “total b-s.” He also confirmed that he is back in possession of his X/Twitter account, and said it was hacked recently, so the guy who posted about Philly media being lame was not him.
Brown’s call was great. He was very honest and straightforward, which is appreciated in Philadelphia. It may also be the best thing to ever happen to WIP.
It was kind of peculiar, however. Brown seemed to be criticizing WIP as a whole and was unhappy with new midday host Spike Eskin going off on him Thursday. Eskin was not even on Friday’s show, leaving Ike Reese to do most of the talking and taking the bullets. Reese tried multiple times to basically say he did not start anything and was just reacting to it, which is his job, eventually leading to Brown letting it go and explaining more about the season and how it collapsed.
I feel like this is one of the times when a player just does not really know how the media works. When rumors come out, they need to be talked about on sports talk radio, significantly if they involve the Eagles on Philadelphia radio. Nothing was ever started by WIP, they were just doing what has been done forever on their station.
Brown also finally clarified some things, so we got information that we did not have earlier in the week.
So basically, Browns clarifies he wants to be here, he is the guy you need on the team to hold people accountable, he wants the ball to get his team back into the game, does not want to be lumped in as a diva with Terrell Owens, and told the fans he loves them.
This is just the beginning of what should be a fun offseason.
Listen to the full call here:
