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The Linc - Eagles defense causes concern

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/16/2014.

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Problems all over for Eagles defense - Philly.com
The progress the Eagles defense seemingly made during scrimmages this week with the Patriots was washed away by yet another sloppy preseason performance. The problems were manifold: missed assignments, third down, penalties, lack of pressure, Curtis Marsh.

NE 42, PHI 35 – Flag Bowl - Iggles Blitz
Ugly game. There were some positives to be sure, but penalties, turnovers and sloppy play ruled the day. The biggest positive was the play of Nick Foles and the offense. Foles didn’t throw any picks and the starting offense was able to move the football. Things were far from perfect, but the offense at least started to look like the group we watched move the ball and score points last year. The O-line played much better and that helped a lot. The chief problem for the starting offense was receivers getting open. That’s what happens when you don’t have Riley Cooper or Jeremy Maclin playing.

Brad Smith brings versatility to Eagles - Daily News
Brad Smith's NFL career hasn't turned out quite the way he envisioned it 8 years ago. The plan, at least in his mind, was to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Randall Cunningham, and make his way in the league as a quarterback, the position he had played his entire career, the position he played at Missouri, where he threw for nearly 9,000 yards and 56 touchdowns, rushed for 4,193 more yards and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

10 observations from Eagles-Patriots - CSN Philly
Yeah, I’m concerned about the starting defense. I know it was Tom Brady, and I know he does this to a lot of people, and I know the Eagles aren’t dipping too deeply into Billy Davis’ playbook. But still. Not good. I really would just like to see a higher level of competition from this group, especially on third down. Cary Williams’ INT was a good sign, but I just don’t see anything special yet in terms of pass rush, run defense or coverage. The first unit has been on the field for six drives in two preseason games and allowed three touchdowns. I expect the starters to play well into the third quarter next week against the Steelers, and they need to stop somebody and just put together a consistent game against somebody.

Eagles-Patriots: Quarterback report card for Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley - NJ.com
Bad things seem to happen when Barkley is in the game. Last season, he had four interceptions in roughly one full game of action. Against the Bears last week, the Eagles fumbled it on the first series the third-string quarterback took over. Then, on Friday, the Eagles turned the ball over in the first two series after Barkley took over. Whether or not the turnovers are Barkley's fault -- and you can make the argument neither were against the Patriots -- a pattern is forming.

Takeaways From Loss At New England - PE.com
In a 42-35 loss to New England in preseason game No. 2, the Eagles turned the ball over too many times, committed too many penalties and failed to get off the field on defense. It was, simply put, one of those preseason games ...

The NFL’s All Make-or-Break Team " Grantland
Featuring Jeremy Maclin!

New 'Madden 15' ad is wonderful madness - SB Nation
It's hard to put a finger on why the new ad for Madden NFL 15 is so great, but it is. What's supposed to be a commercial for an annualized video game franchise becomes a three-and-a-half-minute love letter to the weirdness lurking in the back of your mind after you've been on prescription pain medication for a week.

This NFL preseason has already had more concussions than the last NBA and MLB seasons combined - Vox
This chart shows the striking fact that through just training camp and half of the preseason, the NFL has already suffered more concussions than Major League Baseball and the NBA did in their last complete seasons, combined.

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