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Eagles News: Alshon Jeffery was a top 4 red zone wide receiver in 2017

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/14/18.

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NFL: Super Bowl LII-Philadelphia Eagles vs New England Patriots Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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Red-Zone Efficiency: Highest red-zone grades among returning NFL WRs - PFF
Jeffery’s debut season with the Eagles went as best as it could, catching 69 passes for 1,008 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns en route to a Super Bowl win. And he did so by making his presence felt in the red zone. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound South Carolina product caught nine of his 11 catchable red-zone targets for 73 yards and eight touchdowns, the latter metric finishing second only to current Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Jeffery also caught 4-of-9 contested red-zone targets for three of his eight touchdowns. Jeffery should pick up right where he left off with Philadelphia in 2018, especially if a now-healthy Carson Wentz can bounce back from his season-ending knee injury from a year ago.

Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: Strong day for Philadelphia’s cornerbacks - BGN
Daily Carson Wentz update: Today marked the 11th practice in a row with No. 11 not participating in 11-on-11. (That’s a lot of elevens.) Wentz made a couple impressive red zone throws today. He had an absolute dime to Shelton Gibson. His timing and accuracy was also perfect on a comeback to Mike Wallace in the end zone. Unfortunately, the veteran receiver bobbled the ball before Ronald Darby was able to come in and break it up. Wentz’s worst throw of the day was an interception right to Jalen Mills. After practice, Wentz was getting some extra work in. He was practicing rolling out and making throws on the move. He didn’t look restricted at all. I still believe he’s playing Week 1. He has 24 more days to be ready by then.

You can go ahead and get excited about Eagles rookie TE Dallas Goedert - PhillyVoice
Goedert’s performance as a receiver wasn’t surprising. It was merely a continuation of what he has done throughout all of training camp, which is get open and make catches. The pleasant surprise, however, was what Goedert put on film as a blocker. Throughout camp, Goedert hardly looked like a polished blocker, but I thought he showed good effort, and “good enough” ability as a blocker in the first preseason game. It was a particularly good showing for a player who wasn’t asked to block a ton in college, and who faced a lower level of competition when he did.

Avonte on the Rise - Iggles Blitz
Hector played with Azziz Shittu, ahead of Elijah Qualls. The coaches like what they’e seen. Jim Schwartz mentioned Hector in his PC the other day and talked about needing to get him more game reps. That’s a great sign if you’re Hector, not so much if you’re Qualls. The Eagles need one of the young DTs to stand out. Shittu has done that at times. Hector is on the rise now. The job is there for someone to win.

The Story Inside Signing QB Christian Hackenberg - PE.com
We know that Carson Wentz is The Franchise, and that Nick Foles is a starting quarterback dressed in a backup role for at least another season. The Eagles don’t even know who starts at quarterback for the September 6 opener against Atlanta, so having two MVP-level quarterbacks is grand. Sudfeld continues his development as the Eagles learn his ceiling – they love Sudfeld, by the way – but know that Sudfeld will be a restricted free agent after the 2018 season. Joe Callahan remains here knowing that he’s got to be more productive than he was in the preseason opener.

Eagles QB Christian Hackenberg: ‘Feels good’ to be back on the field - ESPN
“It was my first training camp I haven’t been in since I can remember in some form,” he said. “It was tough, and it was a lot of work. But being able to finally get that call and come in and do things, it put things in perspective. You take things for granted so many times in your life and you don’t miss it until it is taken away from you for a little bit. And I understand it wasn’t like a year or anything like that -- there’s been way crazier stories -- but getting a taste of that, it’s not a good sandwich to bite into.”

The Unbelievable Legend of Doug Pederson - The Ringer
It’s a testament to how much people can grow, or to how wrong we all were about Pederson in the first place, or to how much the game and the city have changed in the past 20 years. But most of all, it’s incredible that this uninspiring man, who’d been a joke to Eagles fans for a generation, turned out to be everything that we wanted from a football coach. It’s unbelievable, and it’s extremely cool.

Eagles’ Mack Hollins hopes the extra work he’s putting in pays off in Year 2 - Daily News
Hollins’ work ethic doesn’t surprise the Eagles’ new wide receivers coach, Gunter Brewer. Before joining Doug Pederson’s staff in the offseason, Brewer had spent six years as the co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at the University of North Carolina, where one of his prize pupils for four of those six years was none other than Hollins. “That’s just the way he is,” Brewer said. “He comes from a great family. Military background. Very regimented. He’s all about business. When it’s time to have fun, he has fun. But when it’s time to work, he works hard.”

Grotz: Mailata making it is no laughing matter - DelcoTimes
It’s safe to say the secret is out on Mailata after the job he did in the Eagles’ preseason opener, his first football game ever. Playing left tackle, Mailata was beaten for a strip-sack on his first pass protection assignment by undrafted rookie Olasunkanmi Adeniyi of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was the only sack Mailata surrendered largely because he used his strength and length to wear down the rush. There were occasions when Adeniyi just pushed away from Mailata, rather than rush. Mailata enjoyed that almost as much as drawing a false start penalty from the Steelers. “He got that sack and I could see the look on his face, like, ‘yeahhhh!’” Mailata said. “But as the game went on I could see he was hands on hips and just blowing (air). And I was like, ‘just keep coming.’”

Surviving Camp Part 3: How Jordan Mailata relaxed before 1st ever football game - NBCSP
The biggest surprise of the night didn’t have anything to do with the crowd or even the game itself. It was the change in personality from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who has been riding Mailata hard since the spring each day in practice. See, Stoutland prefers to do his yelling during the week, leaving game day for positive encouragement. “Oh my God,” Mailata said through some laughter. “I thought he was possessed by an angel. Not a demon. I thought he was possessed by an angel on game day. Is that even possible? Be possessed by an angel? But I’m telling you, there’s a method to the madness. Because when he’s talking to you real light, you listen even more.”

Dolphins release Gabe Wright following day of fights in practice - The Phinsider
[BLG Note: Wright spent time with the Eagles last offseason. Wonder if they might bring him back if they’re not feeling good about their defensive tackle depth.]

LeSean McCoy’s ex-girlfriend has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Buffalo Bills running back - Buffalo Rumblings
The ex-girlfriend of Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy has filed a personal injury lawsuit against McCoy and his former Pitt teammate, Tamarcus Porter, in Fulton County, Georgia. The documents were filed on Friday and relate to the July 10th home invasion robbery where she was assaulted. Part of the damages filed is $133,000 worth of jewelry that was taken in the robbery on McCoy’s property.

Meet Raheem Mostert, who once was offered a surfing contract and now might be starting for the 49ers this week - The Athletic
His NFL career, which began in 2015 with the Eagles, mostly has been built on his special teams ability as well. Last season, Mostert had only six carries for the 49ers but served as the team’s gunner — which entails running down the field on punt-coverage at breakneck speed and zeroing in on the return man — and was its leader in special teams tackles. This week, his role is a bit different. Mostert promises to get plenty of opportunities not just as a ballcarrier, but as the 49ers’ primary running back. That’s because the first two players at the position went down with injuries in recent days — starter Jerick McKinnon to a calf strain that knocked him out of Sunday’s practice, and his backup, Matt Breida, to a separated shoulder early in Thursday’s preseason win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Saquon Barkley has a mild hamstring strain, Pat Shurmur: “We’ll be smart with him” [Updated] - Big Blue Vliew
Pat Shurmur informed the media that the Giants medical staff confirmed that Barkley has a “mild hamstring strain”. He added that the team would be smart with his recovery. “Saquon has a mild strain, and we’ll be smart with him as we move along here,” Shurmur said.

Is the Jets’ quarterback situation as good as it looks? - SB Nation
At the top of the depth chart is Josh McCown, the Jets’ incumbent starter entering the 17th year of a career that really didn’t take off until 2013. He threw 18 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 2017 — enough for the Jets to bring him back on a one-year, $10 million deal. Breathing down his neck are Teddy Bridgewater — a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings who had a strong start to his career before a knee injury in 2016 essentially cost him two full seasons — and Sam Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In the preseason opener, McCown mostly watched from the sideline while Bridgewater and Darnold continued to make their case for the job.

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