Jon Runyan Calls Political Debates More 'Nerve-Wracking' Than Football
By Ray Boyd
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Former Eagles lineman and congressman Jon Runyan joined Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team on Friday morning. Runyan's varied careers gives him expertise in both the fields of football and politics, both of which he discussed on Friday.
When asked which is more difficult, a football game or a political debate, Runyan picked the less physical of the two, but perhaps the more mentally exhausting.
"Going into it you're a little more uneasy," Runyan said of a political debate. "It becomes difficult and nerve-wracking."
LISTEN: Jon Runyan on with Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team
Runyan explained that with football, you know what to expect.
That may be the case on gameday, but many Eagles fans are wondering what they should expect of the team as a whole this season. A lot of the players are optimistic early in camp, but can you really know how good of a team you have at this point?
"It's a confidence thing with how well camp is going," Runyan explained. "A lot of what people are having a problem with Chip Kelly with right now is well you're getting rid of everybody." Runyan explained that building cohesion is just as important as how the team looks in camp.
One of the positions on the field that rely most heavily on chemistry is the offensive line.
Things appear to be sound at the tackle positions for the Eagles, but there is a drop-off when it comes to the interior part of the line. The Eagles will be forced to plug in two new starters at both guard spots following the departures of Todd Herremans and Evan Mathis.
Runyan explained that while that may not be ideal, it isn't the worst situation to be in.
"I think if you're going to plug two new guys in, you probably want them at the guard positions," Runyan said.
Runyan explained that communication to the guards is the easiest on the line and new players in those spots would need to communicate a lot.
The conversation shifted gears into another form of communication as Runyan shared his take on the claims made by now former Eagles Brandon Boykin who said that Kelly was not a very good communicator.
Runyan feels that most former employees would not have anything nice to say.
"When you really look at it, at the end of the day, everyone who's walked out of there, frankly they've all been disgruntled employees that have lost their jobs. You don't get a lot of people that are actually lose their job and then told that their services are no longer needed that aren't going to say something negatively usually about their former employer. That's very unfortunate, but unfortunately that's the type of society we live in now."
