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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...
Doug - Iggles Blitz
OL play is a big reason this offense is struggling. Re-watch the NFC title game and Super Bowl. Foles had a clean pocket most of the time. RBs had room to run. Watch the Chargers game. The OL was fantastic on that final drive. This year? You see the pocket collapse too fast, too often. RBs aren’t getting the same kind of blocking. I don’t know what happened, but I do know the results are very different and the play up front has more to do with offensive struggles than anything Reich did or would do. Reich was part of the staff in 2016 when Lane Johnson got suspended. That killed the Eagles and they went 2-8 without Johnson. They didn’t score more than 26 points in any game in that stretch and really struggled on offense at times. If you can’t win up front, all the gifted offensive minds in the world don’t do you any good. Many people now wonder if Pederson can fix the Eagles, this year or moving forward. I still believe in him.
It’s OK for Carson Wentz to have a ‘down season’ - NBCSP
The Eagles are a disaster right now, but the one guy I’m not concerned about — not even a little bit — is Carson Wentz. There’s no question Wentz has been a disappointment in 2018. He’s coming off the worst game of his career, a three-interception, zero-touchdown, 48-7 beatdown in New Orleans. He’s a tick slow going through his progressions and taking way too many sacks. He’s been inefficient in the red zone, where the Eagles rank 21st in the NFL, and he hasn’t prevailed when the game is on the line. He’s committed 11 turnovers in eight games this season. And you know what? That’s OK. Quarterback development isn’t always linear, and there are plenty of explanations for why Wentz has taken a step back rather than elevated his game in his third season in the league.
8 final thoughts on the Eagles’ blowout loss to the Saints - BGN
We knew the Eagles’ defense was going to struggle against the Saints’ league-best offense. But there was some reason for optimism that the Eagles might be able to score on this team. New Orleans was allowing 25.8 points per game (25th) heading into Sunday’s matchup. Their defense ranked 27th in DVOA. Despite this, the Eagles managed to put up seven measly points. Slow starts continue to be a problem. The Eagles have scored on just three of their 24 first quarter drives this season. Their 21 first quarter points rank last in the league. 21 first quarter points in 10 games, for those counting at home, comes out to a 2.1 average. That’s pathetic. Especially when you see all these other teams (such as the Saints, Chiefs, Rams, etc.) scoring at will in today’s offense-friendly NFL.
BGN Radio Special: Big Blue View Joint Show - BGN Radio
Michael Kist is joined by Ed Valentine of Big Blue View in this special Joint Show to help get you prepared for the upcoming Week 12 matchup between the Eagles and Giants! Enjoying the show? Leave 5 stars and a review on Apple Podcasts! (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bleeding-green-nation/id1424518763?mt=2)
NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 12 edition - PhillyVoice
11) Eagles (4-6): The offense stinks, the defense stinks, the coaching staff has stunk, the front office has made ill-advised moves, the franchise quarterback is suddenly struggling, the team is banged up, and they’re currently playing like one of the worst teams in the NFL. The fall from grace from Super Bowl champions to the mess that Eagles fans had to witness on Sunday is truly remarkable. How did it get from being so good to so bad so quickly? The outcome of the season to date would have seemed impossible a few months ago, barring some sort of season-ending injury to Carson Wentz.
Lawlor: How Will Eagles Respond To Must-Win Game? - PE.com
A once promising season is on the ropes. The Eagles are 4-6 and barely hanging on in the playoff hunt. Is there any hope for this team? I know things look dire right now, but history tells us the Eagles still have time to turn things around. Let’s go back to 2006 for an example of how things can change. The Eagles lost to the Titans, 31-13. That dropped them to 5-5. Even worse, Donovan McNabb tore his ACL and was done for the year. Jeff Garcia started the next week at Indianapolis. The Colts dominated the Eagles, winning 45-21. Life was not good. The Eagles sat at 5-6 and their season looked to be over. Somehow Garcia got into a groove, the team came alive, and the Eagles won five games in a row. That made them NFC East champs. They beat the Giants in the Wild Card round and then lost a close one to the Saints in the Divisional Round.
Upon further review: An analytical look at the season that Carson Wentz is having - The Athletic
Wentz’s play through eight games should not significantly affect how anyone views him long-term. He has the upside of being the best quarterback in the league. But this season, he has not been able to mask the other deficiencies on offense and put the team on his back. That’s ok. Wentz is 25 and in his third season as an NFL quarterback. He has the talent and intangibles to get there eventually. Whether the Eagles make any kind of a run in the last six games or not, their organizational decision-making process has to focus on helping Wentz reach that potential.
Best and worst QBs of Week 11: Inside Carson Wentz’s worst game ever - ESPN
Wentz and the Eagles never got out of first gear against the Saints on Sunday afternoon, leading to the lowest Total QBR of Wentz’s career and a Saints rout. He started slow, completing as many passes to his own team (one) as he did to the opposition in the first quarter. Wentz struggled completing the deep ball, failing to hit on a single pass 15 or more yards downfield. All three of his interceptions came on deep attempts, a career high
2019 NFL Draft needs for all 32 teams - PFF
Philadelphia Eagles: Cornerback, offensive tackle & running back. The Eagles’ strategy of throw a bunch of middling picks at the cornerback position and see what sticks has come back to haunt them this season with nothing sticking so far. To make matters worse, their highest-graded cornerback, Ronald Darby, is a free agent after the season. Jalen Mills is their next highest-graded corner on the roster with a 57.2 overall grade.
The Eagles were shooting for a ‘new norm.’ They might yet hit a new low. - Inquirer
It’s possible, if they don’t start turning things around Sunday against the Giants, that the 2018 Eagles will go down as the worst defending Super Bowl champions in NFL history.
LeGarrette Blount on his season with Lions: “It’s not really as productive as I would have wanted it to be” - PFT
Detroit Lions running back LeGarrette Blount is on pace for the least productive season since leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2012 year. Blount had gained just 151 yards on 41 carries with two touchdowns in his 13 games with the Buccaneers that season. He’s on pace to finish with less than 300 yards and a career-worst 2.3 yards per attempt this season in Detroit.
Valentine’s Views: Pat Shurmur has Giants pointed in positive direction - Big Blue View
Fans are going to complain no matter what. The Giants have won two straight games and Evan Engram has made big plays in both, yet I have people in my Twitter timeline either a) bashing the kid or b) bashing the way the Giants are using him. Eli Manning completed 17-of-18 passes on Sunday and got booed by the MetLife Stadium crowd for the one he missed. Shoot, I have people in my timeline complaining about punter Riley Dixon? Why? Other than the fact that they can’t come up with anything to complain about, I have no idea. Which bring me to head coach Pat Shurmur. You can find whatever you want to complain about when it comes to Shurmur’s personnel decisions or in-game management. Why didn’t he kick a field goal here or go for it there? Why did he pick Player A over Player B? Why did he have a couple of games early in the year where he strayed from using the running game?
Mike Zimmer needs to be on the hot seat - Daily Norseman
This season, Kirk Cousins, Sheldon Richardson, SUPER BOWL or bust. That was what was thought of this team prior to the start of the campaign. This team looks like anything but a Super Bowl contender, period. In this year’s annual Chicago Horror Show, the Vikings came out flatter than the desert. First, on the 3rd & 1 on the opening drive, why would the Vikings run such a long developing play? Sneak the ball with Cousins, or run a fullback dive with CJ Ham (who needs to touch the ball more by the way). Defensively, all that pressure the Vikings put on Matthew Stafford 2 weeks prior was not to be found. It looked just like Zimmer’s first season in Minnesota. Coming off a bye, in Chicago, zero pressure on the quarterback. Zimmer is now a putrid 2-3 coming off the bye, not exactly up to the standard you want from a team that is supposedly built to win now, with a roster that is allegedly talented.
The Five Must-See Matchups to Watch Week 12 - The Ringer
It’s been two weeks since the Cowboys hit bottom, when they were 3-5, listless on offense, and Troy Aikman was calling for a “complete overhaul” of the franchise. They haven’t been particularly impressive since beating the Eagles and the Falcons, two teams under .500, in consecutive weeks. They’re 5-5 and have eclipsed 30 points just once this season, yet the narrative in the NFC East has changed following the Washington Redskins’ loss and Alex Smith’s injury. Reporters are even asking Odell Beckham Jr. about the New York Giants’ chances of winning the division. The Giants, of course, do not have a chance, sitting three games out with six to play, but the Cowboys can take a huge leap on Thanksgiving if they beat the Redskins, now led by Colt McCoy. On Sunday, Dallas’s playoff chances increased by 14 percentage points and Washington’s decreased by 18.
Week 11 DVOA Ratings - Football Outsiders
Close loss or not, DVOA is ready to ride or die with the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, Chiefs-Rams was one of a number of games this week where the losing team ended up with a higher rating than the winning team.
NFL picks 2018, Week 12: Experts like the Eagles and Panthers to get much-needed wins - SB Nation
The Eagles are getting the majority of votes here. I don’t know. The Giants looked like they finally knew what they were doing last week. This is also the Giants we’re talking about; results can change dramatically week to week. Philly is just fighting not to be the first team since Jon Gruden’s 2003 Buccaneers to post a losing record a year after winning the Super Bowl.
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