Eagles News: Philadelphia’s pass rush “has a chance to take over the NFL”

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The Eagles’ Pass Rush Has Only Scratched the Surface - The Ringer
For linemen looking to get after the quarterback, there may be no better scheme and no better coordinator. And this year, Schwartz couldn’t ask for a better stable of players to make his defense go. Jernigan, Long, and 2017 first-round pick Derek Barnett join established stars Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox to constitute what could be the league’s deepest, most talented, and most terrifying stable of pass rushers. Philadelphia took the strength of its roster in 2016 and amplified it. In the process, it created a unit that has a chance to take over the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp Notes: Torrey Smith is looking good - BGN
Torrey Smith looked pretty good today. He made multiple contested catches in traffic. He was a consistent reliable target for Carson Wentz; no drops. Smith showed a knack for finding the weak spot in coverage and also looked fast running after the catch. Smith’s had an encouraging offseason. He’s not looking like a superstar by any means but he’s just been solid and good. If he continues to keep this up, he’ll be a major upgrade over what the Eagles had at receiver last year.

Eagles DT Tim Jernigan could see an uptick in sack production under Jim Schwartz - PhillyVoice
Out of curiosity, I took a look at the game situations in which Jernigan's five sacks last season occurred. It turns out that they were all in "attack" situations. Three of them were on 3rd and 6 or longer, one was on 2nd and 12, and one was on 1st and 10, but in the fourth quarter with the Ravens on top by 21 points, an obvious situation for the opposing offense to have to air it out. In Philly, Jernigan will likely have more opportunities to attack upfield on first and second down than he did in Baltimore. As we once noted, in Schwartz's prior stops before joining the Eagles, his defensive linemen typically enjoyed much better sack numbers than they did with other teams:

Training Camp Gets Real - Iggles Blitz
Last year the Eagles got 11.5 sacks from the DT position. That’s not good enough. Fletcher Cox and Tim Jernigan should combine for more than that this year, but backup DTs need to help as well. Destiny Vaeao had a couple of sacks as a rookie. Qualls will be competing for a roster spot, but also to get playing time. He has the skill set to be disruptive and to get to the QB. Qualls doesn’t look like a pass rusher, but he’s got the athleticism, the moves and the mindset that you need to get to the QB. If he can get into the backfield, Qualls will have a job and get on the field.

Carson Wentz-Alshon Jeffery connection starts with a bang - ESPN
"Having a guy like that," said Wentz, "it really makes a quarterback play a lot more confidently." The new tandem has been working hard to get on the same page since the Eagles signed Jeffery to a one-year deal worth upward of $14 million in March. Jeffery recently joined Wentz and a host of other skill-position players in Wentz's home state of North Dakota to build on their foundation prior to the start of camp.

It's A Way Too Early Look At The Eagles - PE.com
They haven’t tackled to the ground. Heck, they haven’t even worn a full uniform – shells and shorts was the look on Friday at the NovaCare Complex. But here goes nothing – and let’s have some fun. It’s OK to be optimistic about the Eagles right now. It’s fine to feel good. The Eagles are, it seems at this point, a much-improved team from the 2016 season. Through the spring to now, here is what I’ve seen ...

Rugby star Zaruba faces a steep learning curve with Eagles - Daily News
“I’m just taking it a step at a time, learning the formations, and then learning some routes,” Zaruba said. He said he hoped work after practice would help him “really lock some in for the session [Saturday].” There is no blocking in rugby. Tight ends block. “Blocking’s a physical task,” Zaruba said. “You learn the techniques, and then you smash ‘em. I think I’m going to be good at it. … I have played football before, so I do know somewhat about blocking. Obviously the techniques are a lot different and it’s going to be more complex, but the coaches are going to work with me every day.”

Eagles RT Lane Johnson wore a blonde wig, says it was 'badass' - CSN Philly
Johnson added he was going for an "Amazon" look, but Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was not a fan. The wig was discarded early in practice and not seen again for the rest of the day. "I thought it made me look more like a badass, but I guess coach didn't like it," Johnson said. "I could've left it on, but he said it was distracting him a little bit, so I took it off. Plus, it was itching a little bit."

Cowboys just got handed their 16th suspension in 4 seasons - SB Nation
Dallas Morning News tallied all the suspensions in the NFL over the last four years and the Cowboys lead the way by a huge margin. The two-game ban for Moore is the team’s 16th suspension since 2014, with 102 total games lost. The Cleveland Browns are second in suspensions with 10 and the Baltimore Ravens have the second most games lost with 55.

Eagles training camp practice highlights (click here or watch below)

Timothy Jernigan interview video (click here or watch below)

Chris Long interview video (click here or watch below)

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