Eagles News: Nick Foles gets emotional during Super Bowl press conference

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Nick Foles chokes up talking about having his daughter at Super Bowl - NBC Sports Philadelphia
Nick Foles has previously spoken at length about the struggle he’s gone through in his NFL career and how he was close to walking away from the game at certain points. That said, it’s still touching to watch him get choked up speaking about his journey to the Super Bowl and what it means for his family. ”That’s the most important thing,” Foles said of his daughter. “When I think about this journey and everything, I get home and I ... I get to see her. I get to see my wife. I see my wife in her, in her face, in her mannerisms. That’s what it’s about. I know that everytime I step on the field, in everything I do, someday she’s going to want to know who her daddy was and what he did. That gives you a little extra juice to go out here whenever you’re tired. Doing things the right way. I think about that. I know she’s going to grow up and I want her to be proud of her daddy.”

The Philadelphia Eagles can finally ‘Bring it home for Jerome’ - BGN
In a season that has defied expectation, the Philadelphia Eagles have a huge opportunity to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, and in so doing, exorcise some demons. First, they can win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. Second, they can do it by avenging their loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Third, they can finally do something the team has tried to do for 26 years… “Bring it home for Jerome.” The “Jerome” here is of course Jerome Brown, the Eagles legend whose personality was infectious, whose life was lost too early, whose name became a rallying cry for an Eagles team with Super Bowl aspirations. If he were alive today, he’d be 52 (LII) years old. If he were alive today, he’d celebrate his birthday this Super Bowl Sunday (February 4th).

How Do You Beat the Patriots? - BGNRadio.com
We welcome in Benjamin Solak from BGN and Locked on Eagles & Mark Schofield from Inside The Pylon and Locked on Patriots as we dive into the Xs and Os of both of these teams. Will McDaniels try to exploit the off coverage that Schwartz deploys? Can Dougie P stay ahead of Bill? We try to find some answers and we also take a look back at the Sr. Bowl.

Howie Roseman cashed in on soft ‘old guy’ market in 2017 free agency - PhillyVoice
The Eagles signed five players in 2017 with significant roles who are now over the age of 30. Indeed that was a departure from Roseman’s strategy in the past. For example, in 2012, the Eagles didn’t have a horrible roster, but after they sustained a few key injuries, their depth was young and inexperienced, and the team ended up 4-12. That roster was the second youngest in the NFL, and it helped cost Andy Reid his job. This season, the Eagles had the 23rd youngest roster (or 10th oldest depending how you look at it) in the NFL after 53-man cutdowns. That was due in part to a bunch of 30-somethings the Eagles signed.

Super Bowl Talk - Iggles Blitz
Tom Brady is the most accomplished QB of all time, but for my money, Aaron Rodgers is the most talented QB in the game today. He can do freaky things and carry a team on his back. As talented and dynamic as Rodgers is, he only has a 10-7 postseason record and one trip to the Super Bowl. He did win it (back in 2010), but you would think a man with his talent would have been a few times. The problem isn’t Rodgers. The problem is the team’s failure to properly build around him. I mention that because the Eagles did not make that mistake. They had an amazing offseason and put the right pieces around (and behind) Carson Wentz to take this team from 7-9 to NFC champs, and hopefully beyond.

Eagle Eye: The Challenge Ahead For Nick Foles And The Offense - PE.com
When you prepare for the New England Patriots’ defense, there are a lot of factors that come into play. This is a unit that cycles in a ton of different personnel groupings. They’re extremely multiple with their fronts, lining up in a wide variety of alignments with four, three, and two down linemen. Not only do they have at least two distinctly different nickel packages with five defensive backs, but they also have multiple dime groups (with six DBs) and even “dollar” subpackages (with seven DBs). Their linebackers all have a responsibility. Their defensive linemen line up everywhere and all play a role. If you’re active on gameday for Bill Belichick, you’re going to see snaps and be a part of the weekly plan of attack. Let’s start up front with the defensive line, where two players, in particular, have really stood out to me during my film study of this unit.

The Super Bowl Rematch That Isn’t - The Ringer
The Eagles have a chance to avenge their Super Bowl XXXIX loss to the Patriots this weekend, but every player on both rosters—save for Tom Brady—has changed, and so has football itself.

Eagles or Patriots? Five NFL coaches preview, predict Super Bowl LII - ESPN (In$ider)
Spoiler alert: all five coaches picked the Patriots.

Guest Post: The truth about passing and rushing in the NFL - Football Perspective
Before Super Bowl XXV, Bill Belichick had a plan. The Giants defensive coordinator wanted his defense to let Bills running back Thurman Thomas rush for 100 yards. The Giants defense was appalled. They prided themselves on a tough, physical brand of defense. Nevertheless, the short, stout coach looked up into the eyes of Lawrence Taylor and Pepper Johnson and said, “You guys have to believe me. If Thomas rushes for a hundred yards, we win this game.” In case his defense didn’t listen, Belichick took it upon himself to make sure Thomas got his yards. He took out a lineman and linebacker for two extra defensive backs, playing a 2-3-6 defense. Did Belichick go insane? I thought so when I first read this story in David Halberstam’s book Education of a Coach. However, Belichick’s strategy has analytics on its side. Let me explain.

Patriots’ Gronkowski Expects To Play In Super Bowl - CBS Boston
New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski says he expects to play in Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gronkowski has been in the league’s concussion protocol after taking a hit from Jacksonville’s Barry Church in the AFC championship game. He made his first public appearance on Tuesday night while playing former teammate and current Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount in a game of “Madden 18” at the Mall of America.

Jealous Vikings fans need to stop trying to ruin Super Bowl week for the Eagles - New York Daily News
Pathetic Minnesotans have found a lame and convenient way to escape reality during Super Bowl week by exhibiting a special brand of spite. Never mind that the Eagles beat their beloved Vikings’ collective derriere fair and square to reach Super Bowl LII. Never mind that more than 99% of Philadelphians are no different than they are. Never mind that opening up the ol’ Philly-threw-snowballs-at-Santa-Claus playbook jumped the shark long ago. Some jealous Vikings fans can’t wrap their heads around the truth, so they’re grasping on to a lazy lifeline: Eagles fans are monsters! They should all be put in cages! What vile beasts!

QR Bonus: Keys To Beating Philadelphia - Football Outsiders
They should also be able to stifle the Philadelphia ground attack. In their four worst games, the Eagles ran 94 times for 424 yards, an average of 106.0 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry. Those numbers look awfully good, but they are boosted by the performance of Wentz (seven carries for 71 yards) and Sudfeld (22 yards on his one carry against Dallas). Take out the first- and third-string quarterbacks, and you’re left with 86 carries for 331 yards -- 82.8 yards per game, 3.8 yards per run. Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and LeGarrette Blount -- the top trio in Philadelphia these days -- each had 11 carries or more, but each finished with negative DYAR and a success rate of 45 percent or worse. One would think the Eagles would have an edge against New England’s No. 30 DVOA run defense, but Philadelphia’s running game has hardly been dominant this season. The ground game was especially useless in the red zone, averaging 2.4 yards on 15 carries with no touchdowns and a DVOA of -68.1%. The red zone passing attack was much more successful, averaging 4.7 yards and scoring ten times in 33 plays, with a DVOA of 118.0%. Obviously, a lot of that is Wentz. But even if we only look at Weeks 15-20, including the playoffs, the Eagles have 49.1% passing DVOA and -51.8% rushing DVOA in the red zone. When the Eagles reach the red zone in the Super Bowl, they should count on Foles to win or lose the game for them, not Ajayi or Blount.

Super Bowl LII Analysis Notebook: How the Patriots can stop the Eagles’ RPO game - PFF
The key for the Patriots – or any team looking to shut down the RPO – is to force the handoff. League-wide, the average yards per play on RPO passes is 5.1 while it’s only 4.5 on runs. Take away the pass option, and it’s far less deadly. If played correctly, once the ball is handed off, the defense should still have enough in the box to stop the run. The Patriots did a solid job of that for most of the season with only 14 RPO passes attempted against them – the seventh-fewest in the league. One of the easiest ways to do that, is by simply playing man coverage. The league-wide numbers on RPO passes versus man and zone are shown below.

Howie Roseman’s second act: From exile to executive of year, Super Bowl appearance - Inquirer
Howie Roseman survived a one-year banishment from football decisions, assumed more power than before, and was named executive of the year for his job building a Super Bowl roster.

Coach Jason Peters, and 9 other mini-stories from the Super Bowl media blitz - The Athletic
So if Peters can be so influential to such an important player while splitting his time between his own physical rehab, one wonders whether there’s a future for Peters in coaching full time. “We’ll have to see,” Peters said with a smile. “It depends. I just like being around the guys, helping them out, giving them my knowledge. So you never know.” Coaching full time is a time investment that may not seem worthwhile for someone of Peters’ stature and career earnings. But his teammates and coaches are unanimous in their belief that he could excel in that capacity too.

No greasy poles in Philly on Super Bowl Sunday, but police have other deterrents planned - PennLive
Philadelphia Eagles fans looking to celebrate after Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots may not have to deal with Crisco greased light poles, but Philadelphia police say they have something else in store to keep rowdy fans from scaling the posts. Philadelphia police Commissioner Richard Ross said the cooking grease proved ineffective in some cases, also noting that the department has other deterrents in store for those trying to scale light poles. Ross addressed the city police force plans to keep celebrations under control should the Eagles win at a news conference Tuesday.

Super Bowl 52 – Patriots vs. Eagles: New England will have to watch out for another running back wearing No. 30 - Pats Pulpit
Perhaps another No. 30 named Corey will go on to draw similar attention Sunday night in Minneapolis. Corey Clement isn’t Corey Grant. He’s an inch shorter, 17 pounds heavier, and three years younger. He’s less of a lesser-known; a back who racked up over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns from scrimmage at Wisconsin only a year ago. But the undrafted rookie could soon present a similar element of surprise to New England’s defense even so. While LeGarrette Blount has rushed for a touchdown in both of Philadelphia’s playoff games to this point, and while Jay Ajayi has led the backfield in rushing in both, Clement has been the third wheel. And an effective one at that in the absence of Darren Sproles, both in pass protection and particularly when he isn’t.

Leodis McKelvin works out for Browns - PFT
The Eagles made some changes to their secondary after the end of last season, including dispatching veteran cornerback Leodis McKelvin shortly after Super Bowl LI. Those moves worked out pretty well for the Eagles as they’ll be playing in Super Bowl LII this Sunday. It didn’t work out as well for McKelvin, who worked out for a couple of other teams without finding a home for the 2017 season.

Jacksonville native Lito Sheppard reflects on his Super Bowl experience in his hometown - First Coast News
If the Eagles are able to pull off the upset in the rematch, Jacksonville native Lito Sheppard will have a smile on his face. The Raines High School graduate spent seven seasons in Philadelphia and his strongest campaign culminated in a Super Bowl appearance in his hometown. ”That was an amazing year for me,” Sheppard said in a phone conversation with First Coast News. ”It was actually the best year of my career. I can remember that year very vividly. I was fresh into the [starting] lineup that year, I was very anxious to get in the lineup, but that was my first year as a starter. I played pretty well that year, I was making some plays and we had a really good team.”

Philadelphia finds hope, hysteria, and salvation in an Eagles team that’s all its own - SB Nation
It’s not even noon on a windy Saturday in Philadelphia, and Larry Poff is trying to get me drunk. “The Poffer” is a god for modern Philadelphia fans: a celebrity revived through a post-game video from a decade ago. You might know him as the face of the drunken-fan video Eagles Twitter has kicked around the internet all season. Every part of Poff’s life seems entwined with this team. Vince Papale, the Eagles legend, taught Poff’s wife history at Interboro High School. Former Philly mayor and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, who used to give televised postgame commentary, often wondered aloud during broadcasts where Poff was when the Eagles lost, craving his reactions. Poff is a tailgate king, he’s “our baby,” a patron saint of a bleeding green nation.

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