Pederson Calls Trash Talk ‘Unfortunate’

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - Doug Pederson has been around the NFL for a very long time, first as a player and then an Andy Reid assistant before being named the head coach in Philadelphia.

And in that time the Eagles mentor has actually seen literal bulletin-board material.

"Back in the day, articles were cut out and pinned on a bulletin board for teams to see," Pederson explained Friday before Philadelphia's first-place game against Dallas on Sunday. "I can remember my early days in Green Bay, back before all the social media stuff was on fire. Now, everything is instant. Guys try to understand. They know what kind of game this is. It comes down to us vs. them."

The discussion didn't come out of the blue of course. Eagles linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill made headlines earlier this week when he said: "I mean, look at Dallas’ history. They always choke. So, we’ll go down there and make them choke.”

In today's technology age, KGH's "prediction" made it down to Dallas in an instant.

"Anymore, I don't think much is bulletin board material. So much social media that is posted, we can see stuff instantly," Pederson said.

From the coach's perspective, Grugier-Hill's hiccup was "unfortunate."

"First of all, the Philadelphia Eagles, myself -- we have a ton of respect for the Cowboys," Pederson said. "It has nothing to do with that. A ton of respect for Coach (Jason) Garrett. He and I were in the league together at the same time. We played against each other when he was in Dallas and I was with Green Bay. So we go back. It is unfortunate the comments were made."

In the end, however, Pederson doesn't believe it will have a ton of impact on Sunday's game but did make sure to tell Grugier-Hill not to step in it again moving forward.

"I talk to the team a lot about we don't need to post anything that can be used on other team's website or bulletin board." Pederson explained. "It's unfortunate it happened. We still have to go play, they still have to go play. It is going to be a good football game."

After practice, Grugier-Hill was greeted by a Carson Wentz-level of media attention and admitted he apologized to his boss.

"I just apologized because onviously I put him in a hard spot," KGH said. "That's really it."

Grugier-Hill did not walk back his comments about the Cowboys, however.

"I mean it's a rivalry game. Didn't think too much about it," he said. "Obviously didn't mean to disrespect this organization or coach Pederson. I just got a lot of confidence in our guys, confidence in myself going into this game. I'm ready to play."

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen