Eagles News: Darren Sproles posts message after re-injuring hamstring

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Eagles vs. Cowboys Game Preview: Seven questions and answers with the enemy - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles (4-4) and Dallas Cowboys (3-5) are set to play on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. In order to preview this Week 10 NFC East matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Blogging The Boys. The dastardly Dave Halprin (just kidding, he’s actually a real nice guy!) took the time to answer my questions about the upcoming game. Let’s take a look at his answers.

Is Dallas a Must Win? - BGN Radio
John Stolnis and Brandon Lee Gowton ask the question, is this a must win game for the Eagles? PLUS Dak v Wentz (it’s not really a thing just the two quarterbacks in this game), Jason Garrett being awful, injury updates and NFC East picks on this packed preview special!

Here are all of Golden Tate’s targets in 2018, with analysis - PhillyVoice
As you can see in the video, there are no shortage of quick throws to Tate that are little more than glorified run plays. While the Eagles didn’t upgrade in a traditional sense at running back at the trade deadline, I believe they actually did in the form of Tate, only on the perimeter instead of between the tackles. How the Eagles use Tate won’t look exactly the same as the way the Lions used him. The Eagles will utilize RPOs a hell of a lot more than the Lions did, for example, and easy ways to get the ball in Tate’s hands through the air will allow him to use his yards after catch ability against defensive backs who don’t tackle nearly as well as linebackers.

Midseason - Iggles Blitz
Wendell Smallwood is playing the best football of his career. He’s making plays in the passing game as well as running hard. Rookie Josh Adams is coming off his best game (9-61) and has shown promise. The problem with Smallwood is that he’s got a limited ceiling. Adams is an unknown commodity, but he hasn’t shown anything special. It would be good to see him get 15 to 20 touches in a game at some point.

In Year 3, A Look At The Wentz vs. Prescott/Elliott Picture - PE.com
Sunday night features a third season of Wentz for the Eagles and Elliott/Prescott for the Cowboys. The three players are tied together from their draft origins and the conversation is likely to last for many seasons to come. For the Eagles, there is no debate: Once Howie Roseman worked the Eagles’ draft fortunes in 2016 to get to the No. 2 overall spot, the team was taking either Jared Goff (who went No. 1 overall to the Rams) or Wentz. The plan is to keep Wentz an Eagle for a very, very long time. He tossed a franchise-record 33 touchdown passes a season ago before suffering the knee injury in Los Angeles on December 10, and Wentz has returned from the injury looking better than ever as he’s thrown 13 touchdown passes and two interceptions in the six games he’s played. A big second half of the season is ahead for Wentz and the Eagles, who feel a jolt of energy with the acquisition of wide receiver Golden Tate during the bye week.

Silva’s Week 10 Matchups - Rotoworld
Whereas Dallas visits Philly on a short-week road trip following last Monday night’s devastating home loss to Tennessee, the Eagles come off their bye fresh with trade-deadline acquisition Golden Tate in the fold and Carson Wentz having thrown multiple touchdowns in five straight games. As no running back improvements were made and Philly’s rest-of-season pass-defense schedule rates among the NFL’s softest, Wentz looks primed for second-half explosion. The Cowboys’ defense was a colossal Week 9 disappointment, managing six hits on Marcus Mariota in the previously-sputtering quarterback’s most efficient game all year. Mariota also damaged Dallas on the ground (10/32/1), a feat of which Wentz is capable after setting season highs in scrambles (6) and rushing yards (28) in the Eagles’ pre-bye win over Jacksonville. The Cowboys have allowed the NFL’s sixth-most QB rushing yards (176) this year. In Tate, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and Nelson Agholor, this is the most loaded pass-catcher corps of Wentz’s career. Wentz’s Week 10 draw is upgraded by Dallas’ loss of MLB Sean Lee (hamstring), who’s made more of a pass- than run-defense impact this year. … Averaging 5.4 yards per carry, UDFA rookie Josh Adams emerged as the Eagles’ best interior runner before the bye and should be stashed in season-long leagues. Adams set season highs in snaps (18) and touches (10) in Philly’s Week 8 London win, and coach Doug Pederson afterwards compared Adams’ skill set to Jay Ajayi’s. Wendell Smallwood has played the most snaps but got rocked in pass protection against the Jaguars, raising concerns about his going-forward snaps. Corey Clement was demoted to third string in London, then gained five yards on five touches. He should be healthier coming off the bye.

Carson Wentz has shown astounding improvement in 1 crucial area - NBCSP
Back in the spring, Carson Wentz said the one thing he really wanted to improve on in 2018 was his accuracy. “I think I was right around 60 percent and I expect more out of myself in that area,” he said. Made sense. Before he got hurt, Wentz completed just 60.2 percent of his passes. Not only was that well below his 62.4 percent figure as a rookie, it was fifth-lowest of the 25 quarterbacks who threw at least 400 passes last year and below last year’s NFL average of 62.1 percent. The verdict? Wentz is now one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL. Ever. Wentz has jumped from 60.2 percent last year to 70.7 percent halfway through this season, and he’s now on pace for one of the 10 most-accurate seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. The 10.5 percent jump so far is the biggest ever by a quarterback at anywhere near this level.

Torn toes? Eagles share worst injuries they’ve played through - ESPN
RG Brandon Brooks: “I played with a torn meniscus, torn labrums. Probably the torn labrum is the toughest one, just because the O-line, we use our hands so much. My s--- would just pop in and out all the time. This is when I was in college, man. I’ve been fortunate in the pros. The only thing I had, I tore both my big toes. One was 2013, the next was ‘14. ... The first year was field goal [unit]. They say, ‘Get your foot in the ground.’ Well, my foot was in the ground but at that time, the double-push wasn’t outlawed yet. So I tried to hang on, man, and tore my toe [ligaments] up. It’s crazy, in the NFL, injuries happen all the time and you hear guys playing through broken ribs and s--- like that, stuff that had it not been a football player, it’s like, ‘You probably need to sit down. Otherwise, you might puncture your lungs or something.’ You get so used to guys playing through pain and injury. Guys play through broken bones, torn ligaments, you name it.”

NFL special teams rankings through Week 9 - PFF
SPECIAL TEAMS RANK: 30. This is pretty low for the Eagles, but four missed field goals and under eight yards per punt return and 20 yards per kickoff return are a bit concerning right now for the birds.

Eagles-Cowboys scouting report and prediction - Daily News
The surprise retirement of Jason Witten and the decision to release Dez Bryant left Dak Prescott without two of his top three pass-catching weapons. Cole Beasley is a terrific slot receiver and third-down weapon, but he’s not going to take the top off a defense or give defensive coordinators matchup headaches. That’s why the Cowboys were willing to trade a first-round pick for Amari Cooper at the trade deadline. Cooper had five catches for 58 yards and a TD Monday night in the loss to the Titans. Prescott is near the bottom of the league in most passing categories. He’s 26th in completion percentage (62.9) and yards per attempt 7.0). He’s 28th in third-down passing (74.0 rating) and has completed just 47.2 percent of his red-zone attempts and thrown two of his five interceptions in the red zone. The Eagles have held opposing quarterbacks to a 74.8 third-down passer rating, but their secondary is banged up and they have just four interceptions, only one in the last four games.

Newest Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc ‘steady grinding’ to learn playbook - PennLive
“As of right now, I’m steady grinding, day in and day out,” LeBlanc said. “Communication-wise, my nose is in the playbook, from now even until before I go to sleep. I just try to do everything I can to learn the plays, terminology and communication-wise on the back end.” LeBlanc said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s system is similar to the one he ran in Chicago in 2016 and 2017, but the terminology is different. He said he was focusing on his mental reps during practice, when he could study the other defensive backs on the roster.

Q&A with Joe Banner: On the Golden Tate deal, Agholor’s future and missing Reich and DeFilippo - The Athletic
This is gonna depend on why they think [Agholor’s] been on such a roller coaster since he came in the league. And frankly, what else may be available out there. Because exercising the fifth-year option just means if he gets hurt, they owe him the money. In terms of the evaluation of his talent, they’re completely free to keep him or not. It’s really a team option. So I think unless he starts playing better in the second half of the season, it’s unlikely they bring him back under the option. Now remember, if they don’t exercise the option or they in essence cut him, they can become one of the bidders to keep him, and it may be that the price the market has for him isn’t that high, and it may be that he doesn’t want to take a long-term deal coming off the year that he’s having. So he may be open to a revised version with the Eagles or some other team with some short-term deal at a more moderate price. So I think unless we see a real change in his play in the second half, they won’t keep him under this option. But that doesn’t mean that he’s gone for sure.

2018 NFL Midseason: Must-Watch Games of the Season’s Back Half - Sports Illustrated
Week 10: Cowboys at Eagles. Washington just lost three key starters in one week and could be slipping. The Eagles are 4–4, a game behind Washington for the NFC East and returned Darren Sproles and Lane Johnson to practice this week. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, who are 0–4 on the road and coming off an embarrassing loss on a short week, are trying to not lose three straight. Dallas is desperate for a win and Jerry Jones’s patience is clearly running thin. How will he react to getting shellacked on national TV for a second straight week, this time by a rival?

NFC playoff picture: Rams are in first, despite a loss - PFT
9. Philadelphia (4-4): The 2-3 conference record hurts in the tiebreaker calculations.

7-year-old Cowboys fan writes brutal letter to Jerry Jones: ‘WE SUCK’ - USA Today
“Dear Mr. Jones,” the letter begins. “My name is Rylan Wood. I am a 7-year-old 2nd grade student in Mansfield, Texas. My family has been Dallas Cowboys fans since the team was started. I have a lot of Cowboy gear and I have met ‘Zeke, Taco, Jason Witten and two other players who play on other teams. You have made my mom very mad because WE SUCK! Every game day she is yelling at the TV and turns off the game. We are wanting to believe in the boys but its hard. I hope ‘Coach Garrett’ is clapping if this letter gets to you. See what happens when Dez X is gone?? The cheerleaders are better than the team this year. I do not want to hurt your feelings. Thank you, Rylan.”

Dak Prescott, 3-5 Cowboys are ‘pissed’. Will it lead to a breakthrough vs. Eagles? - Star-Telegram
“Absolutely. Pissed off Monday night after the game,” Smith said. “Tuesday morning (as well). Pissed off now. Coming off a loss you want to get a victory. I heard (running back Ezekiel Elliott) Zeke mention that this is a must-win game. It is. I would agree with him. Being a divisional rival game, going up there to Philly. It’s something we’re looking forward to.” Quarterback Dak Prescott likes the anger and said he would be even more upset if the Cowboys weren’t angry.

Cowboys vs. Eagles injury report: Geoff Swaim, Randy Gregory limited but practicing - Blogging The Boys
David Irving and Taco Charlton were both absent. The high ankle sprain David Irving suffered in practice a week ago could keep him out for another game. The Cowboys could certainly use his presence in the interior of the line, especially if fellow defensive lineman Taco Charlton is out. Charlton’s absence could force Tyrone Crawford to play more snaps outside rather than absorbing many of Irving’s snaps at defensive tackle depending on Randy Gregory’s situation.

Should the Redskins Be Worried about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? - Hogs Haven
How Worried Should We Be?: Terrified. Yes, there is a lot wrong with this Bucs team, and they’re the worst of the bunch in the tough NFC South. But, especially on the road, there are so many unknowns about the Redskins right now that I think this is a matchup that has to be a little terrifying. After the disastrous game against the Falcons that saw three offensive starters lost for the season, including Brandon Scherff, who was having an All-Pro-caliber season, I need to see how this team responds before I feel confident about anything again.

Which Maybe-Soon-to-Be-Open NFL Head-Coaching Job Is the Most Enticing? - Ringer
Seats are heating up around the league, and five franchises may have coaching vacancies by season’s end. But based on team personnel, front-office staff, and overall culture, only one job can be the most appealing.

Why was Eric Reid ejected for his hit on Ben Roethlisberger? - SB Nation
The Carolina Panthers will finish their Thursday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers without Eric Reid after the safety was ejected. Reid was sent to the locker room after he hit Ben Roethlisberger in the helmet while the Steelers quarterback was attempting to slide. Replays showed Reid’s shoulder made contact with Roethlisberger’s helmet as he flew over the top of the quarterback. After a brief discussion, officials decided to disqualify Reid for the remainder of the game.

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