Eagles News: Zach Ertz is on pace for a record-breaking season

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

#Analysis: Zach Ertz is good - PhillyVoice
Next Monday against the Washington Redskins, if he can catch seven passes, Ertz will pass Brian Westbrook (90 receptions in 2007) on the team’s single-season receptions leader board, with a quarter of the season to go. But that only scratches the surface of what Ertz can do over the Eagles’ final five games. Only 17 tight ends in NFL history have had at least 84 catches in one season. Ertz is already there with five games to play. Only three tight ends have ever had more than 100 receptions in any one season.

10 stats that put Zach Ertz’s historic season in perspective - NBCSP
Ertz already has the fourth-most catches in Eagles history and needs 22 to pass Brian Westbrook and move into third place. He’s only 184 behind Eagles record holder Harold Carmichael, who caught 589 passes. Over the last four years, Ertz has averaged 5.8 catches per game, so if he stays healthy, at his current rate, he would pass Carmichael in Week 11 of the 2020 season.

Eagles open as big favorites in key NFC East game against Washington - BGN
Despite the reasons for reservation, the Eagles are viewed as big favorites heading into this week’s MNF matchup. SB Nation’s odds page shows the Eagles opened as 7-point favorites against Washington. Keep in mind that if these two teams were viewed as equals, the Eagles would be standard 3-point favorites. There should be some level of confidence the Eagles can win this game. They’re playing at Lincoln Financial Field, which certainly helps. The Eagles are 10-8 against the spread and 14-4 straight up as home favorites since the Doug Pederson/Carson Wentz era began in 2016. Those are the 10th and seventh best rates, respectively. Since the dawn of the Jay Gruden era in 2014, Washington is 15-14 against the spread and 10-19 straight up as road underdogs. Those are the 17th and 14th best rates, respectively.

The Kist & Solak Show #45: Anatomy of a Comeback - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak have seen the Eagles-Giants with their third-eye (aka watched the tape) and have plenty to discuss about what was revealed to them regarding the comeback win. Plus, Benjamin lays out the path for the Eagles in their quest for an NFC East Title! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Cheatin’ Eyes - Iggles Blitz
We need better defense down the stretch. We need better defense in 2019. Jim Schwartz and his staff have not done a good enough job this year. The results show that. But he and the staff did a great job last year and were able to win in January/February. Schwartz can be part of the solution. Bringing in a new coach and system is a complete roll of the dice. Be careful about chasing the shiny object.

Eagle Eye: The Run Game Takes Flight - PE.com
The Eagles once again put up a pretty impressive performance offensively against the rival New York Giants on Sunday, led by a rushing attack that carried the offense from goal line to goal line. That’s where I want to start this week’s recap, with a focus on Josh Adams, Corey Clement, and the offensive line at the point of attack to explain how the Eagles got the run game going against the G-Men.

Philadelphia Eagles use social justice funds to pay bail for 9 - ESPN
Resources from an unprecedented agreement between the Players Coalition and the NFL to address social justice issues are starting to be distributed. On the day before Thanksgiving, nine people were bailed out of jail in Philadelphia via a $50,000 grant from the Eagles Social Justice Fund, made up of money raised by the players and matched by the team. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and the Players Coalition followed that up by hosting a services fair on Monday and invited those nine people, to connect them with grassroots organizations that can help them moving forward.

Q&A with Joe Banner: A bad team is going to win the NFC East - The Athletic
Well, I’m not trying to be too flip, but a bad team’s going to win the NFC East. Or at least a team that isn’t as good as the other division champs, is probably a better way of putting it. And in that context, the Eagles have as good a chance as anybody. I mean, I think you have to give Dallas a slight favorite here just because they’re a game ahead and they’re playing a little bit better. But I think the Eagles’ chances of winning the division are real. But they have to play better. They can’t be almost losing to a really bad team at home, and with no excuse for the offense not to be working well. They had an excuse, if the Giants had exploited it, on defense, but they had no excuse on offense. They just have to, somehow, something has to click in and they have to play reasonably well to have a shot at the division.

Redskins send vile, inexcusable message on domestic violence by adding Reuben Foster - USA Today
Don’t give me any of that “character matters” bull crap. Not from you, Dan Snyder. Not from you, Washington Redskins. I don’t care how desperate you are to make the playoffs. There is absolutely no justification for adding Reuben Foster — who was arrested Saturday in Tampa and charged with domestic battery — to your roster. But a domestic violence charge isn’t a big deal to the Redskins. Sure, they issued a statement from VP of player personnel Doug Williams (no coincidence it came from the only member of the front office beloved by fans rather than oft-criticized team president Bruce Allen or Snyder himself). They claim that they take the allegations swirling around Foster very seriously after yet another arrest. But if they truly did, they would have stayed far away. They wouldn’t have even had a discussion about whether to put in a waiver claim for Foster after the 49ers parted with the 2017 first-round pick following his latest transgression. He was also arrested on a felony domestic violence charge in April, but his accuser — the same woman as in this weekend’s alleged incident — later recanted.

NFL Power Rankings 2018: Week 13 Edition. Does anyone have faith in Colt McCoy and the Redskins? - Hogs Haven
The Redskins Thanksgiving Day miracle never happened and the hated Dallas Cowboys walked out with the victory and the tie for first place in the NFC East. Washington’s defense continues it’s late season decline. Colt McCoy took over for Alex Smith and couldn’t lead the Redskins past their own mistakes. There are still 5 games left for the 6-5 Redskins to get right, but they need a bit of luck and a lot of improved play. The Redskins visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football for a game that will decide their season. Luckily the Cowboys will be running into the Drew Brees buzzsaw this week, so we could have a 3-way tie if the Redskins can’t take care of business. If the Redskins win and Dallas loses, they are right back in the driver’s seat in the NFC East. Washington is currently the 6th seed in the NFC playoffs. This season is far from over, will someone please tell them that this week?

Matchup: Saints @ Cowboys - Rotoworld
Winners of three straight and now sitting atop the NFC East, 6-5 Dallas returns from its Thanksgiving victory over Washington to face one of the NFL’s most-underrated defenses. First-round RE Marcus Davenport (toe) returned in Week 12 to supplement a Saints team that has allowed 23 points or fewer in seven of its last eight games with the sole Week 9 exception of its 45-35 shootout win over the Rams. In Weeks 10-12, New Orleans’ pass rush caught fire to generate 13 combined sacks and 26 QB hits, concerning for Dak Prescott because the Cowboys’ offensive-line weakness is pass protection, and LT Tyron Smith (stingers) appears likely to miss his second straight game. Fill-in LT Cameron Fleming is a better run blocker than pass protector.

Christian Hackenberg, Scott Tolzien, Zach Mettenberger selected in AAF quarterback draft - PFT
The draft lasted four rounds with the final three rounds going in a traditional format. Christian Hackenberg went to Memphis in the second round. Scott Tolizen went to Birmingham in the third round, and Zach Mettenberger went to Memphis in the fourth round.

Injury update: Patriots activate Rex Burkhead from injured reserve, release OL Matt Tobin - Pats Pulpit
According to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, the Patriots are releasing backup offensive lineman Matt Tobin to make room on their 53-man roster for Burkhead.

Week 12 DVOA Ratings - Football Outsiders
There are also defenses that have faltered over the last few weeks, including Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Seattle... and Buffalo. Although the Bills are second in defensive DVOA for the entire season, that splits into -24.6% in Weeks 1-6, first in the league, and -2.8% in Weeks 7-12, 10th in the league.

The Case for NFL Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury - Optimum Scouting
Between the optics of the coordinators who have the best on-field passing resume and the fact that the NFL cannot really steal college football head coaches to be their offensive coordinators, Texas Tech’s firing of Kliff Kingsbury presents the league a unique opportunity of having access to a valuable passing mind who might actually be interested in filling in an NFL offensive coordinator role. In a time where passing efficiency is the be-all-end-all at the professional level, Kingsbury makes sense as a potentially game-changing offensive coordinator who does not often fall into the NFL’s lap.

The Glass Sideline - SB Nation
There are plenty of people who think women are not qualified to coach men’s sports (trust us, we talked to them). But trailblazers in the industry are breaking through barriers, little by little.

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