David Akers

Like, is John Harbaugh great with kickers, or did he just have Justin Tucker forever? It's like, "Well, he's a special teams guy." You know, it's like, I don't know.

In Philly, they had David Akers.

[laughs] You know, it's like if you get a good kicker, it just kind of works.

"During your scouting career, did you ever work with people that you knew were completely incompetent and weren't going to make it? How did you handle it?" Uh, I was pretty lucky.

A postseason that lifted again.

In this conversation, Sav takes us inside what it felt like to earn credibility in the NFL, how David Akers helped him understand the specialist craft, what Brian Dawkins showed him about intensity, and what Andy Reid's pressure looked like on the practice field.

We also discuss the 2008 NFC Championship game against Arizona, where Sav and Ben Graham stood on opposite sidelines knowing one Australian would reach the Super Bowl.

At the heart of this episode is a simple question.

Well, when I first got there, um, it was like April 17, April 19 when they actually, their training sessions first started.

And when I got there and knocked on the door, they said, "What are you doing here?" And I said, "I'm ready to train." Whereas they only wanted r- me there really for the OTAs which were in, you know, late May.

So I was there like seven weeks beforehand and I really got to work with the long snapper and the kicker, David Akers, at the time, and got a lot of time with them without the other punter even being there.

So I got a lot of time there.

You can't say anything to the players when you're working down there.

And he goes, wait, isn't this the guy that almost got in a fight with David Akers? And I thought I have told that story on the air before.

Wait a minute.

How could you get in a fight with David? David Akers is one of the nicest guys you've ever met.

Extremely nice guy.

But I

Number one, I can't imagine what was going through my mind, why I thought this would be a funny thing to say.

But I was working for the Eagles at the time.

You know what? I scheduled this a couple of weeks ago, but I think it'll fit 'cause he was a teammate.

David Akers-

Okay

... is on the ca- ...

It's just such nonsense that they got all these things.

Like, what's happened to the kicking game? But also he's a really sharp and bright guy.

Um, so I'm looking forward to, uh, uh, to David Akers tomorrow night.

And obviously we'll talk about, uh, the Eagles.

'Cause I'm looking at all the guys in front of him in games played, none of them are offensive linemen, outside of Jason Kelce.

You got Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, David Akers, Brian Dawkins, Harold Carmichael, Brent Celek.

Offensive linemen, you would think like injuries and body toll that you take would knock...

I mean, 14 years is a long time.

D.A. I'm not talking about David Aldridge.

I'm talking about David Akers.

That's your guy.

You reference that one all