Eagles News: Jeffrey Lurie defends NFL players’ right to kneel during anthem

Let's get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Gaffes, TV ratings concerns dominated as NFL, players forged anthem peace - ESPN
Now, suddenly, Jones found himself in an unfamiliar position: He wasn't getting his way. He knew it, and everyone knew it. Like the numerous reasons behind the protests, the business concerns were nuanced -- one major sponsor had threatened to pull out if the NFL were to issue a mandate to stand. York spoke next. Though Jones and Snyder were angry with him -- they felt that if he had forced Kaepernick to stand a year ago, this crisis could have been averted -- York and Jeffrey Lurie of the Eagles had emerged as thoughtful leaders. Knowing that many of the players who were still kneeling were on his 49ers, York emphasized that he understood the business concerns and that each market was different, and that he had been talking to his players for a long time and would continue to do so. Lurie had spoken up during the meeting, supporting the players' right to kneel.

Carson Wentz Report: Week 7 - BGN
There’s no denying it, he’s legit.

Mailbag: Which Eagles players are early Pro Bowl candidates? - PhillyVoice
Carson Wentz: Duh. He's on pace for 4200-plus passing yards, 39 TDs, 9 INTs, and 448 rushing yards. If the season ended today, he'd be the MVP.

Silva's Week 8 Matchups - Rotoworld
No. 1 overall fantasy passer Carson Wentz enters yet another smash spot against the 49ers, who are hemorrhaging a league-high 70.7 plays per game to enemy offenses, enhancing opponent opportunity for box-score production. Four of the last five quarterbacks to face San Francisco have posted top-ten fantasy weeks, including Kirk Cousins’ QB1 result in Week 6 and last week’s QB2 game by Dak Prescott. The 49ers have also allowed the NFL’s seventh-most rushing yards (118) and a league-high three rushing TDs (3) to quarterbacks. Wentz is the overall QB1 play for Week 8. … The Eagles used four backs in last Monday night’s win over the Redskins, doling out touches and snaps as follows: LeGarrette Blount (14, 38%), Wendell Smallwood (10, 37%), Corey Clement (2, 18%), Kenjon Barner (2, 6%). Blount is the best touchdown bet in the group as a two-score home favorite against a 49ers defense that broke down in DE Arik Armstead’s (hand) Week 7 absence, coughing up a 36/223/6.19/2 rushing line to Cowboys backs. Smallwood offers a slightly safer floor in PPR leagues, although I worry his pass-protection woes will cost Smallwood playing time. He was beaten badly twice in blitz pickup in the win over Washington.

Mufasa returns: To surprise of no one, DeMeco Ryans is now a coach - NBC Sports Philadelphia
This weekend, Ryans will return to Philadelphia as a defensive quality control coach with the 49ers under first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan. Absolutely none of his former teammates still on the Eagles' roster are surprised about Ryans' new profession. "There's nothing but great things to say about DeMeco," Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox said. "He really just helped me become the person that I am. When he was here, he was one of those guys I could go to and talk about anything. It don't even matter if it was about something simple because he just made you feel better afterward. I thought, shoot, DeMeco could probably go back to Alabama and be the AD. That's how much weight his name carried. I don't think anybody would have anything bad to say about him."

Matchups To Keep An Eye On Against 49ers - PE.com
Are you ready for the Mud Bowl? We’ve had Snow Bowl (2013) when the Eagles mashed up the visiting Detroit Lions in eight inches of snow at Lincoln Financial Field. The weather forecast for Sunday is scary, with a confluence of storms about to soak the East Coast ...

'Can't sleep on these guys': Philadelphia Eagles approach Niners game with serious tone - PennLive
Carson Wentz said he pored over video footage of the 49ers' defense this week, just like he does in preparation for every game. The Philadelphia Eagles' second-year quarterback doesn't intend to tinker with his routine or readjust his mindset simply because the opponent rolling into Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday has yet to earn a victory this season. Wentz noticed talent on San Francisco's defense when he studied the film, especially in a defensive front filled with high draft selections. "You turn on the tape, and you wouldn't think that's an 0-7 football team," Wentz said. "We definitely can't sleep on these guys."

Q&A with Joe Banner: On drafting Wentz and blocking John DeFilippo - The Athletic
You've heard me say that the elite teams in the league dominate the offensive line and defensive line, and they get great quarterback play. That's what got the Eagles to 6-1. You can't lose a player that's this good and have it not have an impact — talking about Peters. But you can mitigate the impact. If [Halapoulivaati] Vaitai can come in and play decently, they can help him. What you don't need to have is two tackles that you need to help because that basically shuts down your offense. If you have to help one, you make that commitment. And that's the key. Don't assume that the next guy up will just be OK. You can overcome it, but it's a big loss. It's a big loss on a lot of fronts. He's been a team leader. He's been a guy that you can just give assignments to and not worry about it. I don't think they'll be as good without him, but that doesn't mean they can't still be really, really good. They've just got a lot of positive things happening — obviously the quarterback being, by far, the most important.

Which areas are most impacted by Vaitai replacing Peters? - Daily News
Officially, the Eagles aren’t worried about Halapoulivaati Vaitai replacing franchise legend Jason Peters at left tackle, this Sunday against San Francisco and presumably for the remainder of the season. Doug Pederson confirmed Friday that Vaitai will step in, as previously reported, with Lane Johnson staying at right tackle. Unofficially, it’s complicated. Teammates and coaches do seem to feel Vaitai, a 6-6, 320-pound fifth-round pick in 2016, is ready to play and lacks only experience to become a solid, decent, reliable tackle. But Peters was so much more than that.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson says Carson Wentz reminds him of Brett Favre - CBS Sports
Carson Wentz has the Philadelphia Eagles sitting at 6-1, the best record in the NFC. He's got 17 touchdown passes through seven games, an Eagles record. His coach, Doug Pederson, is so impressed that he compared the second-year starter to one of the best quarterbacks in the history of football. "A little bit of Brett Favre, honestly," Pederson said, when asked who Wentz reminds him of. "He's got that mentality, he's got that aggressiveness that Brett had. Those are some of the skill sets that I see in Carson. That aggression, that ability to throw the ball down the field. And listen, I love quarterbacks that are willing to take a chance, take a calculated risk down the field. Favre was that way, and I see a lot of the same characteristics in Carson.”

Kyle Shanahan: Trent Brown not expected to play vs. Eagles - Niners Nation
The offensive line has struggled big time in both the running and passing game this season. Brown has been the only consistently strong performer, with even left tackle Joe Staley struggling off and on. Brown hasn’t had a bad game yet, so he will be sorely missed against a tough team like the Eagles.

In what world is Eagles QB Carson Wentz the midseason MVP over Patriots QB Tom Brady? - Pats Pulpit
Booooooooooooo

Miami Dolphins Linebacker Kiko Alonso Scrutinized for Hit on Joe Flacco - The Phinsider
The Miami Dolphins’ dismal performance against the Ravens on Thursday night is still in the spotlight due to linebacker Kiko Alonso’s vicious hit on quarterback Joe Flacco. David Steele of Sporting News gathered comments from those close to action after the game, and things aren’t looking good for Alonso at this point.

Fixing the NFL's O-Line Problem - Sports On Earth
Other than, "What do you think about the anthem protests?" the following is by far the question that I have been asked the most during this football season from fans, family members, or talking with the hosts of sports talk radio shows across the country: "Why is offensive line play so poor across the NFL?" It's complicated and there are many different reasons, but rather than trying to explain it every time, I thought it made a lot more sense to write it all down so I can just point people in one direction moving forward. Week 7 was just the latest example of how many more teams are "have nots" as opposed to "haves" along the offensive line around the NFL.

Texans’ Bob McNair apologizes for saying NFL can’t have ‘inmates running the prison’ - SB Nation
Expression or not, the optics of an owner essentially describing himself as a prison warden are not great.

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