Eagles News: Torrey Smith calls Donald Trump “cowardly” for cancelling Philadelphia’s White House visit

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Former Eagles Player Torrey Smith Responds to President Trump’s ‘Cowardly’ Reversal of White House Invitation - TIME
Former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith responded to President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that players had been disinvited from an annual event honoring the winners of the Super Bowl, calling the decision “cowardly” and “foolish.” Trump said in a statement that the full squad of the Eagles, who defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, would be unable to attend the celebration scheduled for Tuesday after some members expressed that they did not want to join.

What are your best bets for the 2018 Eagles season? - BGN
John, James, BLG, and Vince broadcasted live from Philly Beer Week’s Opening Tap at the Fillmore in Philadelphia to chat about their best bets for the upcoming 2018 Eagles season. John is betting that Carson Wentz plays the entire season and Nick Foles doesn’t have to play at all. James makes a defensive prediction. Vince has an NFC East bet. And BLG is dreaming big. PLUS we talk about OTA stuff and much more.

The 2017 Eagles were outstanding on fourth down on defense, too - PhillyVoice
The 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, led by Doug Pederson, were the most aggressive team on fourth down in the NFL, which helped lead to their 13-3 regular season and eventual Super Bowl win. Back in February, we took a look at all 29 of Pederson’s offensive “go for it” fourth down calls, with analysis. On the season, the Eagles were 20 of 29 (69 percent, which is nice) on those fourth down calls. What I didn’t notice until today was how good the Eagles’ defense was when teams went for it on fourth down against them. On the season, including the playoffs, opposing offenses converted just 6 of 24 fourth down attempts, or a measly 25 percent.

Got Any Plans? - Iggles Blitz
Do keep this in mind. No matter your politics, the Eagles have run a first class organization during the Lurie years. You can go back to Jermane Mayberry and the Eagles Eyemobile. They do the playground project every year. They’ve honored the military at Training Camp for years. Connor Barwin was only with the team a few seasons, but did tremendous things in the community. Chris Long is just in his second season, but has donated a lot of money and support to good causes. Carson Wentz’s charity softball game raised a ton of money for charity just last week. This organization and these players genuinely try to make their community a better place. That’s something we should all be proud of.

Lawlor: Practice Matters And Here’s Why - PE.com
I had to laugh as I watched this. It was the complete opposite of the 2017 Eagles. Steven Means got a contract extension last August. He was going to be the fifth defensive end on the Eagles and wasn’t projected to play a lot of snaps, but the team valued him enough to want him for 2017 and 2018. Why? He is a great practice player. Means understands who he is. This is Means’ fourth NFL team. He was a late-round pick. Means is not guaranteed anything. He uses that as motivation and then practices as if his job is on the line every single day. That helps make him better. It also makes his teammates better. By going all out in practice, Means helped Lane Johnson and Halapoulivaati Vaitai get ready for Sundays last year. Johnson is the best right tackle in football, and Vaitai got better as the season went along. Means didn’t play in the Super Bowl, but he was part of that win. He did everything he could to help his team.

The White House Didn’t Cancel the Eagles’ Visit Because of the National Anthem - The Ringer
We know now that the move was every bit the folly that it seemed. Trump will never let the NFL inequality protests rest. In Trump’s view, the debate over NFL protests isn’t about inequality or racial injustice, as the protesters themselves have said time and time again. The debate also isn’t, however, about the sanctity of the national anthem. For the president, it’s precisely what it’s always been: yet another thing that is just about Trump.

Losers and losers from the Eagles’ canceled White House visit - The Athletic
The White House is very big and very famous. It’s a great place to invite all kinds of people, from all walks of life, to come over and tell you how great and cool and what a big boy you are. It’s not very nice when people are mean and don’t come. So what if they don’t come? They were never invited in the first place! Oh well, there are still people you can pay to tell you those nice things anyway. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported shortly after Trump’s revoked invitation that Eagles owner “Jeff Lurie decided that he didn’t want to make it a sideshow and wanted to keep this contingent really small. I did not get an exact number, but I was told it wasn’t 20, it wasn’t 10, it was going to be less than that.” Rather than host less than half the roster, Trump, in his statement, tried to disguise his hurt feelings by hiding behind his favorite toy, the American flag.

NFL’s former P.R. exec takes issue with President’s cancellation of Eagles trip - PFT
“Official statements from the President used to be serious thoughtful expressions of national interest,” said Lockhart, who served as the White House press secretary under President Clinton, on Twitter. “Now they are childish rants. The latest — if some of the [Super Bowl] champs don’t want to come to the [White House], then none of them are invited. POTUS will play with his toys alone tomorrow.”

Mychal Kendricks officially signs with Browns, will be at OTAs - Dawgs By Nature
After some rather strong denials to go along with reports that he had signed with the Cleveland Browns, we can now celebrate the fact that it is official: linebacker Mychal Kendricks is your newest member of the club. The official word came down Tuesday afternoon, when Doug Hendrickson, Kendricks’ agent, confirmed the signing.

Quick look at the 2019 NFL Draft class’ defensive backs in coverage - PFF
Michigan’s Long leads the group, setting the PFF College record for lowest passer rating allowed by a cornerback in the process at 11.9. Long was targeted 29 times, allowed nine receptions for just 88 yards (18 after the catch) and no touchdowns while picking off two passes and breaking up another four. LSU breakout star Greedy Williams recorded six interceptions across his 66 targeted passes and saw a 22.9 passer rating when targeted. Taylor once again finds himself on the top portion of this list, fielding the ACC’s best returning passer rating against of 28.5. Lesser known Clifton Duck of Appalachian State recorded the eighth-lowest passer rating when targeted (35.5) among draft-eligible cornerbacks during his sophomore season following a very impressive freshman year in which he allowed just a 62.9 passer rating into his throws. He now has 11 career interceptions and seven career pass breakups to his name as a Mountaineer.

Best fits for 15 NFL free agents on market: Landing spots for Dez, more - ESPN
The most impactful signings of the NFL offseason aren’t always the big-ticket deals we see in the first 48 hours of free agency. Last year, the Eagles waited out the market and signed the likes of Patrick Robinson and LeGarrette Blount to one-year deals at a fraction of the price that other players got in free agency. Both were regular contributors all the way to the Super Bowl. The Vikings found Case Keenum for $2 million. Cheap can be effective.

Which NFL divisions could crown new champions in 2018, ranked from most to least likely - SB Nation
The East hasn’t had a repeat winner since 2004 — which was, coincidentally, the Eagles. The NFC’s cauldron of chaos could claim another victim this year, though the Giants’ rebuild and flagging defense makes them a long shot to rise to the challenge. Washington will have an opportunity, but the team’s hopes will hinge on making a smooth transition from Kirk Cousins to Alex Smith behind center, as well as upgrading the league’s 22nd-ranked defense.

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