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Eagles News: PFF says Philadelphia has one of the 10 best position groups in the NFL

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 12/2/18.

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NFL: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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Ranking the NFL’s best and worst position groups - PFF special for ESPN In$ider
6. Philadelphia Eagles pass rush — The Eagles have amassed 251 total pressures and 33 sacks (28 officially) as a team, and Fletcher Cox leads the unit with a 91.2 pass-rushing grade that ranks second among interior defensive linemen. He has totaled 61 pressures, more than any other edge defender and second only to Aaron Donald from the interior. The Eagles are the only team with two edge defenders ranked in the top 15 in pressures: Brandon Graham (85.0 pass-rushing grade) and Michael Bennett (eight sacks, 6.5 officially). The Eagles have also gotten five sacks from their linebacking corps, and 10 players on the roster have registered a sack this season.

How the addition of Golden Tate has hurt the Eagles’ offense - BGN
The Golden Tate trade isn’t working out. In four and a half seasons with the Lions, Tate averaged nearly 6 catches and 67 yards a game. In three games with the Eagles, he has 11 catches for 97 yards. But it’s not just his production that is the problem. The addition of Tate was supposed to turn the Eagles offense up a notch, it’s had the opposite effect.

Eagles offensive struggles more about Frank Reich than Mike Groh - Inquirer
Groh hasn’t yet had autonomy over an NFL offense, but it’s not like he’s fetching Pederson’s coffee either. The role of coordinator, even if you’re not the one pushing the button, is vital. Pat Shurmur, now the New York Giants head coach, had a similar role when he worked under Kelly with the Eagles. “When I was there with Chip as we went along we put together really an NFL version of what was his college offense,” Shurmur said recently. “You help with the design of things. On games day, you help suggest plays. Typically, the play call he’ll say, ‘Hey, listen, it’s second and ten, have a third and five call ready.’ “So there’s the suggestion piece to it.” Groh didn’t have to worry about helping to construct a new system. Pederson’s was already in place. There have been minor variations, like there is every season, but most of the heavy lifting in terms of scheme had been done. “We didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Ertz said. “It’s not like Mike came in and changed everything. It’s not like Press came in and changed everything. We’re still running the same plays we did last year. It comes down to players executing at the end of the day, myself included.

Eagles vs. Redskins: Predictions - PhillyVoice
PICK: Eagles 25, Washington 16. The Eagles’ biggest weakness at the moment is their devastated secondary, obviously. Luckily for them this week, they’re facing a team in the Redskins that doesn’t have wide receivers who will strike fear into opposing defensive coordinators. Conversely, the Redskins’ current biggest weakness, their injury-ravaged offensive line, is ripe for the taking against the Eagles’ defensive line, which is still very much a strength. Unlike in years past, I think this Eagles team, even with their wide assortment of injuries, matches up well against Washington. The Birds’ offensive line had their best game of the season a week ago, and that’s where they can begin to build positive moment down the stretch. I believe they’ll be able to score on this Redskins defense, while the Redskins seem a bit too handicapped by the losses of their quarterback (Alex Smith), both starting offensive guards (Brandon Scherff and Shawn Lauvao), their field-stretching wide receiver (Paul Richardson), and a less effective left tackle (Trent Williams, who has an assortment of injuries).

Sidney Jones Ready To Put Injuries Behind Him - PE.com
The stop-start-stop-again NFL career of cornerback Sidney Jones is about to start again. He said on Friday that he’s on track to play Monday against Washington after missing Sunday’s game – and three of the last four games in total – because of a hamstring injury. Jones says he is 100 percent healed and ready to go. That’s good news for a secondary that has been shredded with injuries this season. Jones and Rasul Douglas, both of whom were full participants in practice, could start on the outside at cornerback on Monday night, with Cre’Von LeBlanc at nickel. That’s at least one possibility as the Eagles have some options with both Jones and Douglas, who has battled knee and ankle injuries, expected to play. “It’s huge, man, it’s huge,” Jones said. “It’s been a struggle, obviously trying to come back that last game (in New Orleans) and then I went down again. Same injury. This week, I’m back. Ready.”

Eagles-Washington cheat sheet: Keeping it simple, the return of the Hamily, predictions & more - The Athletic
Oh boy. Part of me thinks Washington will win on Monday night, mercifully extinguishing the Eagles’ flame and guaranteeing that McCoy keeps pushing for a playoff spot. But there’s just no way I’m going to pick the organization with an inappropriate name that claimed Rueben Foster off waivers and shirked responsibility all week and that charges like $100 for parking. This is my fight song. The Eagles stay relevant for next week’s showdown in Dallas, Wentz rediscovers a little magic from last season’s Monday nighter against Washington and the Eagles keep inching their second-highest scoring output of the season a tiny bit higher. Eagles 26, Washington 21 — Bo Wulf

5 matchups to watch in Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins - PennLive
It’s been a quiet four weeks for Alshon Jeffery. After sitting out the first three games of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, the star returned with a bang and scored four touchdowns in four games. In the four games since, he hasn’t found the end zone, and he’s averaging four catches for 39 yards. If he gets back on track, it could be a significant boost for an Eagles offense that’s struggled at times this season. He might be matched up with former All-Pro Josh Norman for a good portion of the game, though, which means Jeffery and the Eagles offense could have its work cut out for it.

Eagles aren’t worried about Cowboys, playoff picture | Malcolm Jenkins: ‘The pressure is behind us’ - NJ.com
Consider: At this point last season, the Eagles were 10-1, the playoffs a forgone conclusion, with home-field advantage in their sites. The pressure of making the playoffs was behind them. For this team, making the playoffs is a goal becoming more difficult by the week. “Last year at this time we were pressing to win every game for home field advantage and for positioning in the playoffs,” Jenkins said. “Now, the pressure is behind us as opposed to in front of us, where we’re winning to give ourselves a chance to get into the postseason and win the division with everything right in front of us.”

Cre’Von LeBlanc, De’Vante Bausby, Deiondre’ Hall explain stories behind their unusual names - NBCSP
The White Fox, 90s R&B group Jodeci and a mission trip to Peru are all linked by one little mark of punctuation. De’Vante Bausby, Deiondre’ Hall and Cre’Von LeBlanc have a few things in common. They’re all defensive backs who weren’t on the initial 53-man roster, they were all teammates in Chicago before they came to Philadelphia and they’re the only three players in the Eagles’ locker room with apostrophes in their first names. “It just adds a little flavor to your name,” Hall said with a smile. In this hard-hitting investigative piece, we talked to all three defensive backs about their unusual names and uncovered some gems.

Ideal First Round Fits: NFC Edition - The Draft Network
Philadelphia Eagles – Byron Murphy III, CB, Washington. Just as we have the Cowboys going back to Stanford for a TE pick, Philadelphia goes back to the defensive backfield of Washington for a starting corner. Like Sidney Jones before him, Murphy is a bit smaller, but he profiles as a fantastic fit in the off Cover 3 alignment that Jim Schwartz deploys. Quick, instinctive, and productive — Philly’s really struggling to generate INTs this year — Murphy’s fresh off of a clutch 2 INT game against Utah in last night’s Pac-12 championship.

Eagles fans believe in their team; Redskins fans, not so much - Hogs Haven
While the Redskins have led the NFC East most of the season, losses to the the two teams from Texans in back-to-back weeks along with the need to rely on Colt McCoy for the rest of the season have wounded Redskin fans’ confidence

Eagles Monday night betting favorites against Washington - SB Nation
The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0 straight up and against the spread in their last two games against Washington since going 0-5 SU and ATS in the previous five games of this head-to-head series. The Eagles hope to extend their winning streak over Washington to three games and to bring these two teams’ records to even at 6-6 SU apiece this Monday night. Philadelphia is a 6-point home favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Washington has won each of its last six games when entering a game off consecutive losses.

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