Zach Ertz is a guy who gets it.

Same with Jason Kelce, who was asked about his former teammate following the Arizona trade.

It’s a Thursday quote about Philadelphia, and explaining why some guys really fall into place here while others struggle. Here’s part of Kelce’s answer, which evolved into a collateral obliteration of Ben Simmons:

Kelce, in part:

“I don’t want to crush any other players… but what’s going on with the 76ers and Ben Simmons and stuff like that, all of that is because of a lack of accountability, a lack of owning up to mistakes, and a lack of correcting things. If all that got corrected and you’re fixing free throws and if you’re getting better as a player, none of this is happening. Everybody can bitch and complain about how tough the city is to play in. Just play better man and this city will love you.”

I love how Kelce says “I don’t want to crush any other players” and then proceeds to obliterate Ben Simmons. We’re talking total annihilation here, like he was snapping a neutron bomb instead of a football, with Ben in the shotgun (and presumably running RPO for Nick Sirianni).


Kelce, of course, is correct. All you have to do is work to improve your game and bust your ass and you have the love of Philadelphia for all of time and eternity. Sometimes fans and media here can be unreasonable, but you look at success stories like Ertz, Kelce, Nick Foles, John LeClair, Chase Utley, Sebastien Le Toux, etc – it’s all the same. These guys embraced the mentality here, worked hard, continued to perfect their craft, and were loved for it.

It’s not hard.