Eagles news and notes for 11/3
Coach’s Film Spotlight: Brandon Graham - Tyler Jackson
On Sunday Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham had arguably his best game of what is turning out to be an All-Pro season. What made his game even more impressive is the fact that it came against arguably the best offensive line in the league. Here we’ll breakdown some of the plays that Graham made on Sunday.
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Here Graham beat Free inside which forces the right guard, Zack Martin, to pick him up, freeing Fletcher Cox to pressure Prescott outside of the pocket and force an incompletion to Williams. As was the trend all night, Graham could not be stopped when rushing through the B gap. Another positive to Graham rushing that gap, he didn’t lose contain in the scheme that allowed Dak to roll out and beat the Eagles with his legs.
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On this last play Graham destroys Free off of the edge and gets to Prescott just a second shy of forcing a fumble. Free barely even touches Graham as he applies pressure to help ultimately force overtime.
Graham’s game was awesome live, but going back and watching him wreak havoc on Doug Free shows just how elite he was. According to Pro Football Focus he had the most QB pressures of any edge defender this season. If you want to have a showing like that, it never hurts to do it against arguably the best line in the league. Here’s to you Brandon Graham, making us forget about Earl Thomas week after week.
Philadelphia might have a new lead running back - Birds 24/7
Ryan Mathews only recorded four carries against the Cowboys on Sunday evening. His first rushing attempt of the game came with 8:46 remaining in the second quarter. It was Philadelphia’s fourth drive of the night.
Mathews’ absence was especially notable given his fumble near the end of the Eagles-Vikings game in Week 7. The fumble didn’t have an impact on the outcome of the game, but his fumble against the Lions in Week 5 clearly blew a game the Eagles would have otherwise won.
It could be assumed, then, the Eagles benched Mathews due to his mistakes. But Doug Pederson insisted that’s not the case.
"It wasn’t a reaction," said Pederson. "I just think that Darren [Sproles] had the hot hand yesterday. Darren was playing outstanding, and he was doing some great things out there. So, [we] just wanted to keep Darren in the game."
Sproles definitely did have a good game against Dallas. The veteran running back gained 86 yards on 15 carries along with 17 receiving yards on five catches. Sproles was by far and away Philadelphia’s best offensive weapon on Sunday evening.
Moving forward, though, it will be interesting to see if the Eagles continue to ride with Sproles. Pederson has been vocally committed to Mathews as a lead back in the past, but it seems his tune might be changing a little.
The Eagles were right to be quiet at the trade deadline - PhillyVoice
The Eagles' troubles at wide receiver are both well-documented and easily observable to the most casual fan. A quick summary:
Green-Beckham has dropped 12.9 percent of his targets, which is the highest in the NFL among receivers with at least 10 receptions.
Matthews has dropped 9.1 percent of his, which is the fifth-most using that same criterion.
It's difficult to figure out any one thing that Agholor does well.
Huff rarely catches anything past the line of scrimmage and was just arrested for DUI, as well as possession of marijuana and a firearm loaded with hollow-point bullets.
Bryce Treggs has been inactive for all seven games.
As a team, the Eagles' drop 6.6 percent of all passes, which is the highest in the NFL, and actually feels like a very generous figure. The Eagles' receivers have hindered the offense's effectiveness through the first seven games both with drops and the absence of a player who opposing defenses have to respect as a deep threat.
In essence, quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson are being asked to make chicken salad out of, well, you know.
For all the above reasons, it certainly made sense for the Eagles to try to find a wide receiver at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, doing so would not have been wise. Let's take a quick look at the two rumored receivers who were linked to the Eagles.
Hayes: The case for cutting Josh Huff - Daily News
The Eagles needn’t overthink this.
Just cut Josh Huff.
Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman clearly have created a culture of entitlement; a team on which accountabilityis just a word, responsibility a quaint and outdated notion.
Pederson tries to inspire his team with a "Keep Chopping!" rallying cry, but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz provided a more apt moniker.
This is Team Dumbass.
According to reports, Huff, a third-year receiver and returner, was arrested near midday Tuesday after the Delaware River Port Authority pulled him over for speeding on the Walt Whitman Bridge heading east toward New Jersey. The officer smelled marijuana in the car and Huff subsequently surrendered a small amount of marijuana, a handgun and a magazine that contained six hollow point bullets.
Huff was issued warrants for unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of the bullets and could face up to 10 years in jail thanks to New Jersey’s strict gun laws, with their special emphasis on hollow point bullets. He received a summons for the pot. He also was issued tickets for DUI, speeding and driving with tinted windows.
To review: Huff allegedly was driving 18 mph over the 45 mph speed limit on the bridge at 11 a.m., in a car with illegally tinted windows, emitting enough pot smoke to make a cop suspicious, all the while carrying a handgun with bullets banned for use in warfare by most major powers.