London Was ‘Top 10 All Time’ Road Game Experience

PHILADELPHIA – At one point during the Eagles’ gut-wrenching 19-17 loss in London, it appeared that Micah Morris would be called upon to step in for an injured teammate.

When right guard Tyler Steen briefly exited the game in the second half with a shoulder injury, there weren’t many options for a replacement. There was John Ojukwu, elevated from the practice squad last Saturday. Ojukwu repped at both tackle and guard in training camp. Then there’s veteran Fred Johnson, who hadn’t played guard in years, though certainly capable. And, of course, Morris, the 2026 draftee waiting in the wings.

The Eagles ultimately called on Johnson to fill the void until Steen returned. Morris, who had a front row seat locker to watch locker neighbors Jake Majors and Markel Bell compete in the trenches, finished with three special teams snaps.

Apart from the end result, Morris enjoyed his first trip outside the country, absorbing the environment and experience. He even got to catch up with an old high school friend he hadn’t seen for five or six years. But the Eagles were in London from maybe 36 hours, returning to Philadelphia ahead of a Week 6 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, who roster Morris’ college teammate, offensive lineman Monroe Freeling.

The Eagles will look to rebound in Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. home matchup, though they’ll be doing so without franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts, sidelined indefinitely with a superficial blood clot. The Eagles could potentially have some reinforcements coming on the offensive line, however, with left guard Landon Dickerson and center Drew Kendall listed as questionable. That, of course, would push Morris further down the depth chart, affording him more time to continuing to hone his craft and preparing if his number should be called.

As part of a season-long Inside The Birds Rookie Diary” series, I’ll be checking in with Morris every week, learning more about the first-year offensive lineman and chronicling his rookie campaign.

ITB PHOTO: Eagles rookie OL Micah Morris got his first taste of international play in London.

On Thursday, we chatted for our sixth installment.

Andrew: So, last week how we left off, you mentioned that you were going to focus on building confidence and having more faith in yourself. How did you go about doing that this week?

Micah: “Just kinda like I tapped in a little bit last week. Just trusting all the work that I’ve been putting in in pre-practice as far as the fundamentals and striking mechanics, especially with the independent hand work. And then just trusting that my feet are gonna come along with me. So, I was able to do that this week, and I feel like my confidence definitely improved, especially in the one-on-one pass rush situations for sure.”

Andrew: Is there anything that you do personally to kind of instill that confidence? Do you have to remind yourself of things? Do you lean on any particular teammates to help you with that?

Micah: “Well, I mean, Kel (Markel Bell) reminds me. And then, like I spoke on last week, my dad’s always sending me motivational stuff. So, just keeping me grounded. Remember where I came from and all the work I took to get here and not letting it all be in vain, for sure.”

Andrew: The independent hand striking that you talked about, how did that go for you, and what made you want to really fixate on that area of your game?

Micah: “I think it went fairly well, I would say, as the first true week of just harping on it, so to speak. And I wanted to add it to my game just to try to eliminate the second move, ’cause the first strike is what’s gonna make the defender, usually, go to their second move. But that’s gonna either halt the first move or disrupt it, then they’re gonna work the second move.

“But the independent strike, although it’s two different strikes, it’s still one full strike with both hands, and you can get two moves eliminated with that as you put it in the right placement. So it just makes them work their third move, and by then hopefully the ball’s out, QB’s rolling around or something like that. Just giving the QB as much time as possible.

Andrew: We spoke last week about the flight to London. Seven or so hours each way. How’d the flight go for you, and how did you spend the time?

Micah: “The flight went pretty good. It was my first time being on a flight that, like, straightens out all the way. So, I was pretty excited about that.”

Andrew: Did you have to do anything differently, like get up and move around?

Micah: “Yeah, I got up probably every three hours and just walked around. I literally walked around, did a lap while… If I had to go to the bathroom, I’d go to the bathroom. And then I finished the whole first season of “Your Friends and Neighbors” on Apple TV. It was really good. It was really good, yeah. So, I finished the whole first season of that, and there’s like nine episodes left for season two, so I think I’m, I’ll be finishing that periodically.”

Andrew: Did you find that on a whim, or did someone recommend it to you?

Micah: “No, I found it on a whim. ‘Cause I was gonna watch Ted Lasso, but then I was like, ‘I don’t know if I wanna laugh the whole plane ride.’ Like, I wanna find something that’s like a little mystery to it. Then it popped up, then I read, like, the little description of season one, and it had some good actors in it. So, I enjoyed it.”

Andrew: I know time was limited in London, but did you have a chance to explore at all?

Micah: “No, we ended up staying in Ware, so we didn’t even stay in London for real. So, it was mostly just at the clubhouse. It was a nice place, though. We were at a good location. They had a little car show for us, so it was a good decision. Older models up to quarter million-dollar cars. Yeah, so it was, it was good to see some cars. It was cool. It was cool.”

Andrew: What did you think of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Micah: “It was awesome. It was big, actually. And the fans, they were… It was packed out in the crowd. I was looking around. It was a good crowd. It was fun. It was awesome. It was good to see, like, people that engaged outside the country with football. And like even driving through the city, there were people just with jerseys on, like, happy for the game and stuff. Like, I didn’t know they were into football like that, so that’s pretty cool.”

Andrew: Even on the broadcast it seemed extremely loud.

Micah: No, it was. It was very loud.

Andrew: Where would you place that? I know you played in some really loud stadiums…

Micah: “It’s probably top 10 all time.”

Andrew: Oh, wow.

Micah: “Yeah, it was actually rocking. And they had, like, a live performer, too, so it was really a concert during the breaks. And, like, before the game it was an actual concert. So, it was live.:

Andrew: It’s probably really different than anything-

Micah: “Yeah. No, it was different. Yeah. I was surprised. Like, they had a little stage set up for him and everything, so it was cool.”

Andrew: You also said that you were going catch up with one of your high school buddies that you hadn’t seen in five or six years.

Micah: “Yeah, I was able to see him. He sent a bunch of pictures to my mom. So yeah, it was good to see him.”

Andrew: You work on the scout team during the week, and I feel like many probably don’t know what all that entails. Could you kind of describe what all goes into it?

Micah: “Well, I guess adding on to what John (Ojukwu) said, our coaches and they have the scouting report essentially ready for us, so they basically just relay the messages to us. So, for instance, some teams, whether they’re silent cadence — it might be the left guard, it might be the right guard giving the cadence for the quarterback — ’cause obviously we’re at home, so they’re gonna have to go against that. So, we’re getting our defense ready for what they’re gonna see.

“They’re gonna see the silent cadence. They’re not gonna come and do a cadence, ’cause our crowd’s gonna be in, so our crowd’s gonna be loud whenever defense is on the field. Then it’s also things such as they might not speak, and they might have less verbal communication and more signals. So if they’re sliding to the right, it might be a center’s hand point, or the tackle’s stagger stance compared to a more square stance may tell the difference between a pass and a run. Just picking up on the tendencies and basically mimicking it for the defense so they can get used to it, and whenever it’s game time, they already know what the deal is and they’re ready to go.”

Andrew: What’s your scouting report on Monroe Freeling, having played alongside him at Georgia for as long as you did?

Micah: “That’s my boy. I love Monroe. I played beside him all last year. We built a great bond. I’m just looking forward to seeing him. I’m happy to see him. Obviously, he’s a very talented player, a hard worker, and I’m sure he’ll bring his best and we will, too.”

Andrew: Just listening to Jordan (Mailata) over there talk about how he’s really focusing on pouring into the young guys. How has he helped you personally just instill confidence, pass along wisdom and things of that nature?

Micah: “Jordan usually sits by me in the meetings, so I would say, like, there’s things I don’t understand, he explains it for me in layman’s terms. Like, he explains it thoroughly for me, and he doesn’t let me get overwhelmed with anything. Like, he always makes sure I’m cool and calm, and cracks jokes every now and then just to keep me loose. He doesn’t let me stress about anything, just keeps explaining to me that it’s gonna come with time and you’re doing good. He just keeps me confident and ready to go throughout the week.”

Andrew: We talked before about how committed this organization is to development, and you have guys like Patrick McDowell and Connor Barwin. Now that you’re entering Week 6, how have you seen their impact on you?

Micah: “Oh, they help me drastically. Sometimes, whether it’s just watching film or coming in on an off day and giving me stuff to do so I can have something to do on my off days when I come in on my own. Just extra work, just extra things that keep me on the up and up, keeping me progressing positively during my free time. Because, obviously, I’m not necessarily playing a lot of snaps on game day now, so just taking advantage of all the extra reps I can get and making the reps that I do get during practice — even though they may be scout team — making them valuable.”

Andrew: Cousins are coming out to the game this weekend, I believe you said. What’s the first spot or something that you’re going to make sure that they check out while they’re in town?

Micah: “Well, I’m gonna take them to Angelo’s for sure. I gotta get them Philly cheesesteak for sure. So, that’s the first thing.”

Andrew: Your Lego sets, I know you said you have the Iron Man one that you did already. You have the Spider-Man one and you have the Star Wars one…

Micah: “I’m finishing up the Spider-Man one now. So, next time I see you, I’ll have the Spider-Man done.”

Andrew: I didn’t get around to seeing “The Other Mommy,” but I did see “The Social Reckoning.” That was good.

Micah: Okay. I might wa- Okay. I’ll watch that one next.”

Andrew: “Street Fighter” comes out today.

Micah: Yeah. Oh, yeah, 50 Cent.

Andrew: Georgia and Auburn this week. On Saturdays, do you tend to stay away from football or are you dialed in with what Georgia’s doing?

Micah: “If we’re out of the facility, I’ve got to cut the dogs on, man. I just sit on my recliner, lift it up and watch the dogs and cheer. Like, I feel like an old head now, just cheering and cheering for the dogs. But it’s fun.”

Andrew: Any banter? I know Tank (Bigsby) went to Auburn. I don’t know if you’ve seen him, but…

Micah: “I mean, Georgia’s been beating Auburn for so long now. I don’t think there’s anybody here that’s beaten Georgia from Auburn.

Andrew: You said the same thing about Texas last week. Speaking of, how do you think Jake (Majors, Micah’s locker neighbor) fared in his first NFL start?

Micah: “I think Jake did amazing. Jake did awesome. He took care of business, you know what I mean? He had a huge, huge, huge role to come in and just literally he had a week to get ready, and he went out there and did his thing. He executed. So, I was very proud of him. Very, very impressed. And it’s motivational, ’cause before last week, I was taking all my reps with Jake, so I know the work and time that he’s put in on and off the field to be ready for the opportunity, and he took advantage of it.”

Andrew: What’s on your playlist these days? What are you listening to?

Micah: “Lil Wayne. Still older Lil Wayne, like mixtape Wayne.”

Andrew: I was going to say, Dedication?

Micah: “[laughs] You know about Dedication?”

Andrew: I was listening to Dedication in 2008, 2009! [laughs]

Micah: “Okay. Okay. Yeah, Dedication, The Droughts, and then, Lucky dropped an album called “Drugs Are Bad.” And then Rod Wave’s new album. And then I’ve been listening to that “Choosein’ Texas” song. That’s a good song.”

Andrew: Wait. They remixed that?

Micah: “Drake did.”

Andrew: Okay.

Micah: “Drake remixed it, him and Don Toliver. Then Drake’s album. I always listen to Drake.”

Andrew: All right. I’ll have to check that (remix) out. I’m not too hip with the new stuff. It’s the old stuff … The Carter II, The Droughts, Dedications.

Micah: “No, that’s the real rap in my opinion. So, I see it.”

Andrew: Yeah, that’s good stuff. So, lastly, what’s one or two things — on or off the field — that you’re working to achieve this week?

Micah: “On the field, I would say just putting it all together. The fundamentals, the confidence, just going out there and executing now. ‘Cause I feel like I’ve been working on the confidence, I’ve been working on my fundamentals, just applying it all and going out there and taking it play by play and executing. Chasing perfection.”

Andrew: Cool. Appreciate the time, Micah.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is the Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com