Eagles News: Doug Pederson said “No thanks” to co-authoring a book with Mike Lombardi

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

With or Without Laces, Jon Gruden Just Wants to Compete - FMIA
That got a ton of attention last year when Pederson was on the road to winning the Super Bowl. Pederson, in the book, says Mike Lombardi wrote him a letter during the playoffs last season. “It was written on a typewriter, and was about three paragraphs long,” Pederson writes. “The letter said, ‘The first rule of any informed opinion is to never began with the end in mind. And I violated that rule. For that, I extend my sincere apology.’ I was appreciative, and at least it showed he was man enough to admit he was wrong.” Then this: “After the Super Bowl, the possibility of writing this book came up. One of the interested companies thought Lombardi would be a great co-author and submitted an offer. I said, respectfully, ‘No thanks.’”

Brandon Graham update: “Good chance” Eagles defensive end returns to practice this week - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles are dealing with a number of injuries as the regular season draws near. It appears there is some positive news on that front, however, as Howard Eskin is reporting there’s a “good chance” Brandon Graham will come off the Physically Unable to Perform list and return to practice on Monday.

PFF’s Preseason Week 2 NFL Team of the Week - PFF
Quarterback: Nate Sudfeld, Philadelphia Eagles – 90.5. When Nick Foles went down injured on the sack from Adrian Clayborn, Sudfeld stepped in to play almost the entire remainder of the game, racking up 57 snaps. He only completed 52.4 percent of his passes, but four drops masked some good play. His adjusted completion percentage was far better at 72.2 percent.

Game Review – PS #2 – NE 37, PHI 20 - Iggles Blitz
Isaac Seumalo – Much better snap accuracy this week. Solid job as a blocker. Didn’t always get a lot of movement in the run game. Good in pass pro. Very good block on screen pass to Jones in the mid-3rd. Stuck on DT and rode him wide so Jones could cut back to the middle.

Carson Wentz Provides A ‘Jolt’ For Eagles Locker Room - PE.com
With preseason game No. 3 on Thursday night at Cleveland and the final of four a week later, well, there’s just a lot going on with the Eagles at the NovaCare Complex. The team received a jolt of energy with quarterback Carson Wentz returning to 11-on-11 drills – “The Sheriff is back in town,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “He’s the one that makes everything go around here.” – along with the news that quarterback Nick Foles practiced a few days after his minor shoulder injury. Everything is good, folks. Everything remains on target.

How his stint as a high school coach helped plant seeds for Doug Pederson’s Super Bowl run - The Athletic
But Pederson often points out that aggressiveness is a part of his makeup. And on this occasion, he felt like Calvary needed a spark. They sent 10 players on to the field, seemingly preparing for a punt. But when they broke the huddle, Slack jogged toward the sideline, and Demario Robinson raced on to the field. To everyone in attendance, including Farmerville, it looked like Calvary was simply swapping punters. But Slack never actually left the field of play. He stayed in bounds and faced Pederson, who was standing at the line of scrimmage. When the ball was snapped, Pederson yelled, “Go!” “It was a hideout play,” Slack explained. “We would snap the ball, and the person that came in as the punter would catch it and throw it down the sideline to me. And I was not covered. I ran right down the sideline. We scored, went to overtime and won in overtime.”

A closer look at Nate Sudfeld’s dimes against Patriots - NBCSP
There were a bunch of perfect passes from Sudfeld on Thursday night. I know it was just one preseason game, and that’s why we’re not getting carried away. But … feel free to at least be a little intrigued. This guy is probably the backup of the future and fans should feel better about that today than they did this time last week.

Carson Wentz is back in 11-on-11 drills. What does it mean for opening day? - Inquirer
After this Thursday’s game, the Eagles will have two weeks before the opener. Whether Pederson announces it or not, it would be helpful to know by Labor Day weekend if Wentz is cleared so the starter can get all the practice reps leading up to the Sept. 6. But practices won’t change for Wentz; now that he’s back doing 11-on-11, he’s doing everything a quarterback can do. “He looks like he’s ready to play now,” Lane Johnson said, “and they’re holding back the reins.”

Halapoulivaati Vaitai gets early ‘wake-up call’ in Philadelphia Eagles preseason loss - PennLive
From the first snap, Halapoulivaati Vaitai could tell something was off Thursday night. New England Patriots defensive end Adrian Clayborn rushed into the Philadelphia Eagles left tackle and forced him into quarterback Nick Foles. Foles’ pass fell incomplete. Vaitai had, in his words, “felt myself open up too fast,” which gave Clayborn the edge. It never got better for the rest of the game. ”I tried to correct it, but I could never correct it,” Vaitai said Sunday.

Love, Hate and letting go - ESPN
Other than that, I’m skeptical. Currently going as QB14, I have him much lower than that. The past two seasons, he has the same number of touchdown passes as Eli Manning (while playing one more game). That’s what we are talking about here. Eli. And at least Eli has talent to throw to. The current crop of Cowboys wide receivers don’t really scare you, ya dig? The Cowboys rank 20th in total plays and 31st in pass attempts during Dak Prescott’s two seasons. And with more than 40 percent of Prescott’s completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns leaving in the forms of Jason Witten and Dez Bryant, I don’t see the Cowboys suddenly turning into a high-flying offense. No, they’re gonna grind it out. And that’s what you have to bank on with Dak: his rushing ability. He has six rushing touchdowns each of the past two seasons, and if he does that again, he’ll be only the second QB in the past 15 years (Cam Newton is the other) to rush for at least six scores in three straight seasons. If you look closer, you’ll notice that four of Prescott’s six rushing scores came from 10 yards out or more. You know how hard it is to score a rushing touchdown from 10 yards out? Four times? It’s hard, as evidenced by the fact that no one -- not just QBs, I mean no one -- had more last season. More than 27 percent of Prescott’s points came from his legs last season, and I don’t want to sit there on Sunday saying things like, “Come on! Cole Beasley was open 4 yards down the field!”

Drew Brees, Sean Payton and the Level of Expectation for the Saints - MMQB
It’s hard to envision someone giving up more than something in the middle rounds, if the plan isn’t to start Bridgewater. If there’s an injury somewhere, circumstances change, of course—the Browns gave up a third-round pick for Tyrod Taylor, with a year left on his deal, to be a placeholder for the No. 1 pick. But for now, Bridgewater would just be a competitive piece without any years on his deal for someone else. Again, he’s a great story, and he’s better than some guys who’ll start in 2018. But it’s easy to see why, for now, it’ll be tough for the Jets to drum up a market. The Eagles only got what they did two years ago for Sam Bradford as a result of Bridgewater’s injury. It would seem something like that would have to happen elsewhere for the Jets to get a significant haul this time around.

Update: Redskins RB workouts today: Orleans Darkwa, Lenard Tillery, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson scheduled for visits - Hogs Haven
[BLG Note: Washington is desperate at running back.]

Safety Update: Xavier Woods ailing, Jameill Showers tore his ACL, George Iloka is in play, & more! - Blogging The Boys
Dallas saw their current starting free safety Xavier Woods go down with what was described as a hamstring injury during the preseason game against the Bengals. The status of Xavier’s health is unknown at this time (of course we’ll update you when we know), but it isn’t looking like the most positive thing as of Sunday afternoon (which is obviously prompting the safety discussion from the team).

Los Angeles Chargers safety Jaylen Watkins tears ACL - Bolts From The Blue
In typical Chargers fashion, another (possibly) key player has suffered a season-ending injury. This injury was sustained by Safety Jaylen Watkins. Watkins has reportedly torn his ACL, per Ian Rapaport. This is the third player that has suffered this injury for the Chargers, with the first two being tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Roberts. He is also the second defensive back to be out for the season after cornerback Jason Verrett tore his Achilles on the first day of camp. Things are not looking good on the injury front for the team.

Bears-Broncos winners and losers: Just a flesh wound - Windy City Gridrion
There was a lot of consternation when the Bears made Trey Burton the eighth highest-paid tight end in the NFL in March. Burton, having been a special teamer and No. 2 for most of his career with the Eagles, had never played as the No. 1 with increased responsibilities. Yes, the 26-year-old was talented. It was nevertheless a lofty bet he’d live up to new standards he hadn’t reached in four previous seasons. While it’s hardly an end-all, be-all judgment, Burton’s play against the Broncos should assuage concerns of the versatile tight end not being ready for the spotlight. Four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown underscore an overall dynamic night for the veteran. It was more about how Burton got open and created space that mitigates doubts.

How the f*** do you pronounce Tyrod Taylor’s name? - SB Nation
The NFL’s biggest controversy isn’t over whether or not Dez Caught It, or the new helmet rule, or a Deflategate — it’s about how on earth you pronounce Tyrod Taylor’s name. There are two sides to the NFL’s own “GIF” argument: TUH-rod, and TIE-rod. I present both sides, and you can make your choice. Though it’s totally TIE-rod. I think?

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