Eagles News: Doug Pederson says he looked at Bill Belichick before the Super Bowl and thought ‘I’m going to kick your tail’

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Eagles coach Doug Pederson’s new memoir, FEARLESS, reveals a successful coach in spite of self-doubt - Inquirer
Pederson begins his book with the climax. He recounted his pre-Super Bowl chat with five-time winner Bill Belichick. The Patriots coach was complimentary, and Pederson said he had nothing but respect for the future Hall of Famer. Belichick is anything but a reluctant head coach. But Pederson, in that moment, felt a surge of pride in what his team had accomplished and the obstacles they had cleared. In his mind, there was no doubt the Eagles would win. ”I looked at him,” Pederson wrote, “and thought, ‘I’m going to kick your tail, definitely going to kick your tail.’ “

NFL insider explains why Mack Hollins hasn’t taken the step forward that some expected - BGN
Coincidentally, Hollins isn’t the only member of the Eagles’ 2017 draft class who has had a quiet summer. The same goes for Derek Barnett, who also happened to have sports hernia surgery during the offseason. It’s possible these guys still aren’t 100%.

Jim Schwartz says Ronald Darby had, if not the best, one of the best, offseasons of any Eagles player - PhillyVoice
“I would probably put it in this classification also, he’s had, if not the best, one of the best, offseason’s of any of our players, going back to the first day of phase one and then phase two, phase three, minicamp, training camp,” said Jim Schwartz on Monday. “He’s been very consistent. Came to us late last year, was sort of thrown into the fire, then got hurt and missed a lot of time. It was a difficult situation. We’re really excited about where he is. The coaches see it, the players see it. He’s playing with confidence. I think the last step he needs to do is he needs to turn those PBUs into interceptions. PBUs are great, but interceptions are game-changing plays. He’s working really hard at it. We’re excited where he is.”

Play to Win - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles and Jags both had fourth quarter leads on the Patriots. The Eagles played to win. The Jags played not to lose. I don’t need to tell you how things turned out. Aggressive coaches inspire their players. They take chances, which puts pressure on the players to make things happen. When you play conservatively, players tend to focus on avoiding mistakes. That’s not the mindset you want football players to have, especially in big games.

There shouldn’t be debate on whether Carson Wentz plays Week 1 - NBCSP
When it comes to whether Carson Wentz should suit up for Week 1, there is no debate. Either doctors give the quarterback the green light to play, or they won’t. Nothing else matters. Enough with this nonsense the Eagles should give Wentz extra time to heal even if he is cleared to play. At that point, doctors are literally saying he’s 100 percent. He isn’t going to get any more healed than that. No yeah, but’s. No deep dives into the historical data of ACL injuries. No crying Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles “deserves” to start Week 1. No discussion, period. This is a decision that will be left up to medical professionals. If they say Wentz is good, that really ought to be enough.

2017 DVOA by Routes: Quarterbacks - Football Outsiders
Wentz wins the 2017 award for “F*ck it, I’m throwing deep” when improvising. His 20.8 aDOT on broken plays was the highest in the league, and he ranked fifth in DYAR and DVOA after a much improved season. Wentz’s aDOT on broken plays as a rookie was 11.9, which was about league average (11.1).

Big Moment For Nick Foles, With Uncertainty Ahead - PE.com
It’s all about the “now,” a mindset that has served Foles well in his up, then down, then very up NFL career. He says his “body feels great. I’m very fortunate with my shoulder” and that’s all that matters in this moment. On Thursday, it’s going to be a different story. The Eagles have played sloppy, mistake-ridden football the first two weeks of the preseason. Coaches talk about “self-inflicted wounds” and the Eagles have had a slew of penalties, giveaways, missed assignments, and dropped passes. The opportunity to turn it around and head into the regular season with some momentum comes in Cleveland.

Dallas Goedert leads impressive summer for Eagles rookie class - ESPN
Dallas Goedert, TE, second round: Goedert has been one of the real bright spots of camp. He has made the transition well from South Dakota State to this point, showing off the athleticism and playmaking ability that drew the Eagles to him. His body type and movement are so similar to Zach Ertz’s, it’s hard to tell them apart on the field. Goedert should see playing time immediately.

The NFL’s Next Great Literary Hero Is … Doug Pederson? - The Ringer
What Pederson does here is he drops enough nuggets to map out what got the Eagles to the Super Bowl without giving away the specific game plan. In some cases, coaches spilling secrets in books has been considered a competitive disadvantage. After Bo Schembechler detailed some schemes in the Official University of Michigan Football Notebook, Ohio State’s Woody Hayes held it aloft after a win over the Wolverines in 1970 and echoed the words of George Patton toward German general Erwin Rommel: “I read your book, you SOB!” Don’t expect to see Jason Garrett doing the same to Pederson this season. What Pederson does do is give good insight into the modern football world. He finds the Rams interesting because “they seem very simplistic in the sense they ran a lot of the same play over and over, but they use different personnel groupings, formations, motions and shifts.” Another detail: Jon Gruden approached Pederson to tell him he made “ballsy calls.”

Steven Means hoping to once again be the ‘pain’ that his Eagles teammates need - The Athletic
During games, Johnson will ask Means to keep an eye on him vs. opposing pass-rushers and offer tips. Johnson will often come to the sideline and tell Means that practice was much harder than the game. Sometimes, Peters will ask Means to ease up. Means doesn’t listen, and so they get close to fighting. During Means’ rookie season, before they were teammates, Peters provided his “Welcome to the NFL” moment by slamming Means to the ground during a game. Reminded of that, Means starts laughing and starts looking around the locker room for Peters. “I’ll go at whoever,” he says, unable to keep a straight face. “JP knows what’s up, man. Where’s JP at? Let JP know if I see him out there today, I’m gonna pay him back just because you said something.”

Why Your Team Sucks 2018: Dallas Cowboys - Deadspin
Dak Prescott. Who could have predicted that Dak would regress in his second year and bear more of a resemblance to a fourth-round pick than a miracle franchise savior… except for the entire free world? It’s only gonna get worse for Dak, because I’ve seen this receiving corps and it’s f***ng atrocious. Maybe that’s why he’s already kowtowing to his owner.

Doug Marrone on Doug Pederson criticism: No problem with it - PFT
In his new book, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was critical of the lack of aggressiveness that the Jaguars showed while playing with a lead against the Patriots in last season’s AFC title game. The man who made the decision to implement that game plan said on Tuesday that he has no problem with Pederson’s critique. Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said that losing games opens the door to being questioned and doesn’t sound ready to lose sleep over Pederson doing just that.

Red-Zone Efficiency: Highest red-zone grades among returning NFL TEs - PFF
Five-year veteran tight end Trey Burton received 33 total targets in 2017, but he made the most of his opportunities, specifically in the red zone. The former undrafted Florida product caught six of his seven red-zone targets for 69 yards and four touchdowns. He also recorded zero drops and caught three of his four contested targets for touchdowns. Burton’s receiving grade in the red zone (88.2) led all qualifying tight ends. The former Eagle joined the Chicago Bears as a free agent this offseason, and now two preseason games into his Bears career, he is seemingly picking up right where he left off. Among tight ends with at least five preseason targets, Burton ranks fourth in offense grade (86.9), catching five of six targets for 50 yards and a score in the process. Surprising no one, his lone touchdown came on his only snap inside the red zone this preseason.

New Orleans Saints reserve receiver Josh Huff waived from team - The Advocate
The New Orleans Saints have waived receiver Josh Huff. Huff was brought in to New Orleans in February to compete for a fringe roster spot as both a pass-catcher and a special teams ace. Huff was suspended for the first two games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, a suspension that stems from an arrest in November of 2016 for possession of a handgun and a small amount of marijuana.

Why Chip Kelly failed in the NFL and what it means for UCLA - SB Nation
Chip Kelly’s return to the college ranks is exciting — the sport is better when better coaches are involved. But there are a lot of questions regarding what a Kelly offense looks like after his time in the pros and how his philosophy has shifted in the six years since he left Eugene.

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