Eagles News: Jim Schwartz says Nigel Bradham is the heartbeat of Philadelphia’s defense

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

Nigel Bradham goes from ‘dumbass’ to ‘heartbeat of the defense’ - PhillyVoice
“He’s been the heartbeat of our defense,” said Schwartz. “He’s a guy that plays with a lot of emotion. He’s a guy that, for lack of a better term, talks a lot of trash during the game. Gives us a lot of energy. He played some games this year. I think he ran about five extra miles just to get to the ball to talk. But that’s what gives him energy, and we feed off of that as defense also. Nigel’s always brought that. But the biggest contribution last year that he had taken a big step was being the defensive play caller when Jordan [Hicks] went down. A lot of times having to sort of temper that or temper his enthusiasm, be able to get all the calls, play multiple positions, that kind of stuff, I think those were all important things that he brought to our defense.”

Eagles one of only five NFL teams to return entire starting offensive line in 2018 - BGN
In 2017, the Eagles had one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL. One could argue it was THE best. It even held up when Peters suffered a season-ending injury and had to be replaced by Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Philadelphia’s line blocked for a rushing attack that averaged 4.5 yards per carry (tied for third best in the NFL) and for a passing game that produced a near-regular season MVP (Carson Wentz) and a Super Bowl MVP (Nick Foles).

Great Defense? - Iggles Blitz
Overall, the defense had an outstanding season. Even when they did give up points and yards, the defense made key plays to help the Eagles win. They were clutch. I wrote a piece for PE.com talking about how the defense can be even better this year. One of the big keys is that the secondary will be deeper, more talented and more experienced this season. That matters. The back end of the defense requires that players know the subtleties of the scheme. They need to read plays the same way and they must communicate well. Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod have a lot of experience playing together. That’s a huge foundation for the secondary. Then you mix in Sidney Jones and Corey Graham, if they re-sign him. Jones wasn’t on the field much last year, but spent the season bonding with the players and studying with them in the classroom. Young guys like Rasul Douglas, De’Vante Bausby, Avonte Maddox, Tre Sullivan and Jeremy Reaves can provide depth. We haven’t seen a secondary like this in Philly in a while. Big time potential.

Debating win total projections for all 32 NFL teams - ESPN
Projected wins: 9.9. Tim McManus’ take: The defending champs have a pretty challenging schedule on paper -- a slate that includes matchups against the Saints, Vikings, Falcons and Rams -- and will have to dig deep to reset after a long, franchise-altering 2017 season. But Carson Wentz is eager to make the push back up the mountain post-injury, and it’s hard to imagine a team this talented not reaching double-digit wins. Prediction: Over 9.9 wins.

What’s The Next Step For Jim Schwartz’s Defense? - PE.com
Jim Schwartz is in his third season running the Eagles’ defense, one that emphasizes chaos in the offensive backfield and versatility in the secondary. He has pieces he likes to interchange, X’s and O’s he likes to tweak, and a general philosophy of “Beat us if you can.” Most teams don’t. The Eagles have put together a strong defense with versatile pieces and now, in Year 3, are in the process of taking the next step. And that next step is what, exactly?

Can new Eagle Corey Nelson settle into Mychal Kendricks’ spot? - Daily News
Mychal Kendricks’ long goodbye, a couple of years in the making, through some unexpected twists, is finally complete, done, and settled, with Kendricks’ release last week. What isn’t settled is who inherits the Eagles’ starting weakside linebacker position. Corey Nelson, a free agent signee from Denver, announced the day he arrived that he’d been told he would compete for that spot, but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t declare Nelson – or anyone – the frontrunner when Schwartz spoke to reporters this week for the first time since before the Super Bowl.

Carson Wentz and brother get their own online outdoors show - NBC Sports Philadelphia
If you can’t get enough of Carson Wentz, we’ve got some good news for you. Wentz and his brother Zach have partnered with Outdoor Sportsman to make Wentz Bros Outdoors into a original digital series on OutdoorChannel.com. Wentz, 25, and his older brother Zach are from Bismark, North Dakota, and are both avid outdoorsmen.

Patriots players say they’re perfectly happy being miserable winners - SB Nation
Eagles guard Brandon Brooks never played for the Patriots, but he played for Texans coach Bill O’Brien and that was as close as he wants to get to The Patriot Way. “It’s crazy that people haven’t known this,” Brooks said, via Bleeding Green Nation. “It’s been this way for like a decade. You’ve seen— Reggie Wayne did it. He retired. He went [to New England] for a training camp and retired. Shit is not fun there. I was under the same regime in Houston [with O’Brien]. I almost retired. Shit was miserable, every day. Every day.” Yep, that sounds about right.

...

Social Media Information:

BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page

BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen

BGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_Radio

BGN Radio Facebook: Click here to like our page

BGN Radio Patreon: Support the show!

BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowton