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Eagles News: NFL QB thinks Darren Sproles could be Comeback Player of the Year

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 7/21/18.

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NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

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Drew Brees picks Luck, Sproles as comeback favorites - NFL.com
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has his favorites to take home the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. During a guest appearance on “The Ride” with JMV on 1070 The Fan, Brees revealed a short list, which included Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and a former teammate. “I’m calling it right now, it’s either him or [Philadelphia Eagles running back] Darren Sproles for NFL Comeback Player of the Year,” Brees told the radio station. “I’m just calling it right now for the 2018 season -- him or Darren Sproles are co-winners of the Comeback Player of the Year.”

Lack of Eagles camp battles a running theme this year — offense edition - BGN
Wide Receiver (4 of 5 or 6): Alshon Jeffery, Mike Wallace, Nelson Agholor and Mack Hollins are set. After that, it’s an interesting situation. This could be where the Eagles slide a roster spot to OL from. In 2016, with the worst group of WRs in the NFL and thus reason to carry more and see if anyone stuck out, the Eagles carried 5 WRs. In 2017 with clear upgrades they carried 6. Like offensive line, perhaps more interesting than who fills out the rest of the depth chart is how many do. Shelton Gibson has a slight advantage in having moved up in the depth chart during the 2017 season, but this year he has some relatively strong competition in Markus Wheaton and Marquess Wilson, along with Rashard Davis, Bryce Treggs, Anthony Mahoungou, Greg Ward, and Tim Wilson, but that’s what training camp is for.

Thinking About Sproles - Iggles Blitz
Sproles can be a dynamic playmaker. The coaches are going to want to make sure they get him involved in the offense, even if he doesn’t have as many touches. The Eagles got great production from a variety of weapons last year. Adding Sproles to that group could make the offense even more explosive. It should be fun to see how all of this plays out.

News, Notes, And Some Of This And That - PE.com
The idea of how the Eagles will handle success is something that is being discussed, notably by former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, who suggested that the Eagles will “have a hard time handling success.” Hmmmm … It’s tough to see that coming. Look, no doubt the Eagles have to understand that they are the hunted team, and that every opponent will give them their best shot. There’s a reason only eight teams in NFL history have repeated as Super Bowl Champions. But the Eagles also have a veteran locker room. They’ve got great leadership. They’ve also got a bunch of players - Wentz, Sproles, left tackle Jason Peters, middle linebacker Jordan Hicks - who didn’t play in the Super Bowl and who come back hungry to get to the top of the mountain on the field.

The most important move every NFL team made this offseason - ESPN
Trading for DE Michael Bennett. Super Bowl hero Brandon Graham is still recovering from ankle surgery and the Eagles’ other starting defensive end from 2017, Vinny Curry, is now with Tampa Bay. Fortunately, coordinator Jim Schwartz has Bennett, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks, to help carry the load. The front office was determined not to rest on its laurels following a championship campaign. Bennett provides an infusion of talent and personality that could provide a shot in the arm for a team gearing up for a repeat.

Eagles’ Nate Gerry didn’t make an impact as a rookie, but they might need him to this year - Daily News
One might think going from safety to linebacker would make speed less of a factor, but for Gerry, it became an obstacle – because in football, “speed” means more than being able to run fast. “Being able to adapt to the speed,” Gerry said about what most flummoxed him when making the switch. “The game play just happens a lot faster at the linebacker position; the closer you are to the football, the faster things happen. “I feel a lot more comfortable, a lot more confident in my ability. The offseason really treated me well, too, being able to compete in the weight room and compete in OTAs. Just to reassure [myself of] my ability to make those plays that I made in college. It helped a lot.”

Are 2018 Eagles better or worse? - NBCSP
While there is a ton of talent at cornerback, it’s extremely unlikely anybody will be able to match the job Patrick Robinson did in the slot. Robinson was a proven option for the nickel, posting a career year with the Eagles last season. The options to replace him full-time, on the other hand — most notably Sidney Jones, Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox or De’Vante Bausby — have next to zero NFL experience in that role. This is essentially a starting position, so Robinson’s departure in free agency is no small matter. Another spot to keep an eye on is the vacancy at weakside linebacker following Mychal Kendricks’ release. Kendricks enjoyed a resurgent season in 2017, and the candidates to take over — Corey Nelson, Nathan Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill — lack name recognition. Fortunately, this is a limited role, so Kendricks isn’t as big a loss as Robinson.

Rick Gosselin’s NFL offseason rankings - Talk of Fame Network
2. Philadelphia Eagles. Is there a team with a better two-deep at quarterback than the Eagles? Had Carson Wentz stayed healthy, he might have been the NFL MVP. But he leaves with a knee injury in December and his backup Nick Foles goes on to become Super Bowl MVP. Leading rusher LaGarrette Blount departed this offseason but the Eagles proactively replaced him last October with the trade acquisition of Pro Bowl halfback Jay Ajayi. Philadelphia also swapped out speed (Torrey Smith) for speed (Mike Wallace) on the flank this offseason.

Kyle Lauletta grew up an Eagles fan — now, he could be Giants’ starting quarterback - PhillyVoice
Kyle Lauletta admits it was a little surreal at first. The 2013 Downingtown East High graduate and former University of Richmond star grew up an Eagles fan, but now he was sitting in a room a few feet away from someone he was watching as a kid win Super Bowls for his favorite team’s division rival — New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. It didn’t take long for it to dawn on Lauletta that he belonged there.

PFF Training Camp Preview: New York Giants - PFF
The Giants came in at 29th in our team pass-rush rankings for 2018 and 31st in pressure percentage as a team at a rate of 29.0 percent. On paper, the Giants have a solid defensive line. On the interior, Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson are stud run defenders, and although Harrison contributed 18 total pressures in 2017, neither should be expected to offer much as pass-rushers in 2018. Robert Thomas, Josh Mauro and rookie B.J. Hill will all compete for playing time on the defensive line as well.

Report: Eskimos drop T.O. from negotiating list - PFT
It’s unclear whether he’ll land with another CFL team. He’s prefer the NFL, but the CFL could be an acceptable fallback — if the price is right. It could be that the Eskimos weren’t willing to offer much more than the $54,000 minimum salary to the 44-year-old receiver.

How we went from Colin Kaepernick’s protest to a new NFL anthem policy that’s now on hold - SB Nation
early two years after then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to sit on the bench during the national anthem at a preseason game in August 2016, the NFL enacted a policy that banned that act. Just two months later, that policy was frozen by the NFL after a grievance was filed by the NFLPA earlier in July. Now, the NFL is back where it was at the start — disapproving of players who protest, but without a policy that forces them to stand. But how did we get to this point? The path from Kaepernick’s first protest to the adoption and subsequent freezing of a new policy was a winding one.

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