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Eagles News: Carson Wentz’s pregame workout was one of the most positive takeaways from Thursday night

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/24/18.

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NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

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Why Carson Wentz’s workout before Browns game is a great sign - NBCSP
Two years ago before the third preseason game, Carson Wentz, then a rookie healing from cracked ribs, went under an intense and lengthy workout on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. I’ll never forget walking off the field that day and seeing the look Frank Reich gave me. That was exactly when the Eagles realized Wentz was ready to not only play but be the starter. Seven days later, the Eagles traded Sam Bradford and went forward with their franchise quarterback. I’m bringing that up now, because it certainly felt like Wentz had a similar workout before Thursday night’s game on the field at FirstEnergy Stadium on the banks of Lake Erie. Wentz looks ready to play.

Eagles v. Browns: 11 winners, losers, and I dunnos - BGN
Bruce Hector: I’m taking the L on Elijah Qualls, about whom I wrote positively in the summer. He’s been beaten out for the DT3/4 spot by Bruce Hector, the UDFA out of South Florida. While he came without much buzz (though BLG would want me to remind you how much money he got in his UDFA deal), Hector has just been a steady force on the interior. He doesn’t provide much pass rush upside — there was some decent push against the Browns — but he’s an active and powerful run defender who has more quickness to him than you expect. He’s a 53-man player.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Browns preseason game - PhillyVoice
Wentz is a far better quarterback than Foles. Let’s just be real. It’s a drastic difference. Prior to the game, Wentz got in a pretty good workout, and he even had a little slip that tested how his knee would react. (Don’t worry. He’s fine.) The idea that the Eagles can just sleepwalk through the first part of their schedule with Foles instead of Wentz is insane talk. If the doctors clear Wentz, he’s going to play. Period.

5 to Zip - Iggles Blitz
Nick Foles was great in the postseason because he had a gameplan tailored to his skills. He was handing the ball to Jay Ajayi. He was throwing it to Corey Clement and Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor. Big V was starting at LT, but was playing with confidence. Foles didn’t carry the offense. He was the point guard who got the ball to the star players around him. This summer is very different. Foles is running vanilla plays with young guys and role players. The results are worlds different, as they should be. The flip side of that is that the offense is worse than it should be. Foles let pressure get the best of him multiple times tonight. He made some poor decisions, including both interceptions. His accuracy was up and down. The blockers have been inconsistent. Receivers haven’t done much to make plays. Runners haven’t shown much juice in the open field.

Sidney Jones all but wins the Eagles’ slot corner competition - Inquirer
There was increasingly some doubt, but when the season opens in two weeks, Sidney Jones will be the Eagles’ slot cornerback. No formal announcement will be made, and an injury could alter the plan, but Jones, for all intents and purposes, sealed the job Thursday night. The second-year cornerback got the starting nod, played every snap in the nickel package, and performed well. “Whatever they want me to do, I’m there to do it,” Jones said. “Whatever’s in the media, I really don’t pay attention to it. Obviously, I get tagged [on social media] about [the competition]. But … I just show up and do my job.” Jones was credited with just a tackle before exiting late in the first half, but he was part of a defense that allowed just three points and 4 yards per pass attempt. If there was a silver lining in the Eagles’ dismal 5-0 loss to the Browns it was the effort of Jim Schwartz’s starting unit.

How nickel-sized tech helps Eagles track Wentz’s recovery - ESPN
The Eagles were first in line to have Zebra Technologies’ player-tracking system installed at their practice facility in 2014. To this day, only a third of the league has followed their lead. Tags on the players’ shoulder pads (or sewn into their jerseys for lighter practices) generate biometric measurements, capturing every move athletes make. A chip inside the ball calculates the velocity and spin rate of a quarterback’s throws. Because Wentz has been monitored from the time he joined the Eagles, a baseline has been established for what the numbers look like when he is at full health. That provides a benchmark as he works his way back. Through this technology, known as Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID, the Eagles can also measure his acceleration as he drops back, plants, cuts and throws, and they can compare it to previous output.

ReFocused, NFL Preseason Week 3: Cleveland Browns 5 , Philadelphia Eagles 0 - PFF
Veteran Haloti Ngata was a force up front in limited action. Ngata disrupted a number of plays in the backfield forcing ball carriers off their intended track. Edge defender Derek Barnett had a solid game with some positive pass-rushing plays. Barnett also set the edge well against the run.

Nick Foles, Offense Blanked In Cleveland - PE.com
Foles threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble as the Eagles staggered offensively. It was just one of those crazy nights when Foles and the offense showed flashes of cohesiveness, only to end drives with giveaways. ”I’m just making some mistakes. It’s as simple as that,” Foles said. “I’ve got to keep being critical of myself, watch some film, understand what’s going on. I have to keep playing, going through it. Obviously, I haven’t been myself and I expect a lot of myself but I’ve got to keep looking at it, keep learning. I’ve played this game a long time so I know how to address this and just keep moving forward, keeping that positive outlook.”

Reasons for panic? Takeaways from the Eagles’ ugly performance vs. the Browns - The Athletic
One, the most likely scenario remains that Wentz starts Week 1. He was on the field pre-game going through a workout and throwing 65-yard bombs to Mack Hollins.

2017 DVOA by Routes: Defense - Football Outsiders
While we know that Eli Manning threw 27 more slants than the next closest quarterback last year, New York’s defense also faced the second-most slants with 62. Only the Eagles (70) faced more. They had an adventurous year on their way to finishing 13th in DVOA. The Eagles made offenses pay with five interceptions to lead the league, but the six touchdown passes they allowed were the second-most. The next-closest team in picks was Minnesota with four. The Vikings also had the best DVOA against slants in a strong tackling year from Mike Zimmer’s group. The Vikings and Raiders were the only defenses to force more incompletions than completions on slants. The Titans allowed a league-high seven touchdown passes on slants.

The Three New Rules for Building a Super Bowl Contender - The Ringer
Look at the Eagles last year: Alshon Jeffery was an inspired one-year deal at less than $10 million. This season, Houston’s Tyrann Mathieu and Minnesota’s Sheldon Richardson, with cap hits of $7 million and $8 million, respectively, will probably both look like steals by Halloween. You start contending by hitting on your draft picks; you win the Super Bowl by hitting on the free agents to help those picks out. Hell, the 49ers gave a fullback the biggest deal at that position in history, and that doesn’t even seem completely ridiculous! It’s a brave new world.

Browns vs. Eagles Final Score: Cleveland just beat the defending Super Bowl Champions 5-0 - Dawgs By Nature
5-0. And it wasn’t the Indians and the Phillies. The Cleveland Browns defeated the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 5-0 in their dress rehearsal game, improving to 2-1 this preseason. It was definitely an unusual game.

NFL preseason 2018: Highlights and results from Week 3 - SB Nation
Eagles grounded: Philadelphia had a hell of a struggle in the first half against the Browns defense. The Eagles’ first six posessions have featured a turnover on downs, a safety, two fumbles, two interceptions, and no points. Myles Garrett and his two sacks have been a huge factor for Cleveland.

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