Labar: A Q&A With Eagles' Reporter Ashlyn Sullivan

By Abby Labar
Sportmoney Columnist

I’ve talked a lot in these columns about moving to New York and really getting to understand the sports landscape here – witnessing the passion and the arguments, seeing first hand the sold-out crowds. But there is another fanbase that I’ve come to experience that I wasn’t expecting to be so large here in the New York and New Jersey area: Philly fans. MLB season is where they really got me turning my head. If you were from the area and you weren’t a Mets or Yankees fan, most likely you were a Phillies fan. Then with the start of football season, the irds' jerseys started to flock. 

I’ve had quite the pleasure watching the Eagles play with Philly fans this season, and while the entertainment from the fans themselves is something else, the product on the field has made my jaw drop on many occasions. Jalen Hurts is incredible. His patience, his poise, the 26 year old is so confident that you can see how it translates to every other player on the field. Don’t even get me started on Saquon Barkley. It’s unbelievable what he has done for the birds this season. While I’ve been able to watch this team from afar, a good friend of mine has had the opportunity to get truly up close and personal with this team, really understanding the ins and outs of the culture and what has turned them into such a successful organization. 

Ashlyn Sullivan covers the Eagles for NBC Sports. She and I became friends in Jacksonville, FL where she worked and covered the Jaguars for six years. So she has a great perspective of the Eagles organization as somebody who has covered the NFL for a while now to then being thrown onto the beat quite frankly at the perfect time to be a reporter covering Philly. This week Ashlyn and I hopped on the phone to talk about the culture and the excitement in Philly. 

Q: In your experience covering the NFL over the last several years, what separates the Eagles organization?

A: The commitment to winning in Philadelphia. You just can’t afford to A not win, but also B not put a serious product on the field because just the knowledge of these fans is second to none. For instance, if the back up right guard isn’t playing up to par they will let it be known. So you don’t have an option but to put a winning product on the field because it’s felt by everyone. Eagles fans understand you’re not going to win every game, but there is an expectation that you have to be competitive in every single game. I go back to even last week. Jake Elliott, the kicker, missed a couple of extra points but they still won. So everyone is on the field after the game celebrating the fact they’re going to the NFC Championship, and they put Jake Elliott up on the big video board and immediately the stadium started booing him. Despite the excitement surrounding a ticket to the NFC Championship game and the fact that the kicker still made a couple of clutch field goals, the fan base was disappointed over two missed extra points because he “didn’t do his job.” That’s the city, that’s the fanbase, that’s the high standard this organization is held to. There is no room for error and I haven’t experienced that feeling with other NFL teams I have covered.

Q: Do you have a tangible example, whether it be a personal experience or interaction with Jalen Hurts, that you can share with us to exemplify the type of person/player he is?

A. What you see with Jalen is what you get. The person you see on the field and in a press conference is exactly how he operates in the building and in the locker room every day. He’s extremely kind, he always says hello to me, knows me by my name, is just a genuine person. He’s extremely stoic, there is no shaking him, no getting him in a candid moment because what people see is truly who he is at his core. My biggest takeaway with him is that even as a franchise quarterback, he doesn’t want the attention on him. So much so that I remember at training camp there was this big autograph session where you could go in this bubble type thing and all the players were there signing for fans. Jalen instead went behind where the lawnmowers were, a quieter more private place where I happened to be sitting at the time writing and observing him spend time with just three fans. Really getting to know them, intentional with his conversation, and he talked with them for at least 15 minutes. He didn’t want the cameras there, he purposely hid to talk to these fans so there wasn’t a ton of attention on them. He doesn’t want all this limelight. He’s business first. I’ve never seen a player operate like him. 

Q. What is something people wouldn’t know about this team from just watching them play that makes them successful?

A. The standard that the veterans hold the younger guys to and how impactful the veterans are to the team. The Eagles, above many other NFL teams, have this pedigree of veterans. When Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox both retired last season, I personally thought, along with some others, that the Eagles were going to be in massive trouble losing two high-caliber players like that inside the building. But it goes back to that commitment of excellence that has trickled down. You look at Cam Jurgens who had to switch positions to replace Kelce. We never talk about Jurgens, which for an offensive lineman is one of the biggest compliments because he is playing the right way, never makes mistakes and has executed and filled Kelce’s shoes flawlessly. The same goes for all the Georgia guys who stepped up for Fletcher Cox. There was no other option but to play to the level of a 10-plus year veteran. And for guys that are 22 years old, that there is no drop off showed me how high of a standard the veterans hold these younger guys to – and the example that was left for them before.  

Q. Who is another player (outside of the known ones) that you have followed or watched that you think has been an underrated contributor to their success?

A. I mentioned them earlier but the Georgia guys. There was a microscope on them coming into this season, so they knew they had to step up, but specifically and especially linebacker Nolan Smith. People were completely writing him off here in training camp. We didn’t even think he would be in the starting rotation at linebacker. If you look at him now he’s in conversations for one of the best defensive players. The turnaround has been awesome for him to answer the call.

Q: What’s the biggest focus for this team headed into the NFC Championship on Sunday against the Commanders?

A. It’s all about Jayden Daniels. I mean look: They’re giving him the respect, which has been cool to see. They understand the talent he has and what he’s done, winning seven straight games, and the performance against the Lions. However it’s funny in the locker room we talked to the players yesterday about exposing him as a rookie. Vic Fangio, the defensive coordinator, is definitely scheming up stuff. They are not daunted by him. Everyone is giving Daniels his flowers a little too early here, and you can tell the Eagles are bothered by that. He’s so talented, but what has he won? Nothing yet. The Eagles are a little annoyed that everyone is talking about how Daniels is taking the Commanders to the Super Bowl. Philly players are sitting here like…uh hello, he has to get through a massive Eagles game on Sunday first. So it’s definitely the biggest conversation, how they’re going to get after this kid and they are going to want him to feel like a rookie out there. I pray for Jayden Daniels after hearing the chatter this week, I really do.