Eagles News: Peter King describes Carson Wentz as ‘doubtful’ to play in Week 1

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

Legion of Whom? Fast, Efficient Overhaul Has Seattle Set to Surprise - FMIA
Today, to obsess about Carson Wentz being doubtful for the Eagles’ opener in 10 days [...] Would you, despite how good and mobile Wentz looks in videos like the one you see here, hustle to get him ready to have his first contact in nine months against a Falcons team capable of generating significant pressure in the opening game of the NFL season? I sure wouldn’t. And I doubt the Eagles will, despite this fairly alarming stat: In 14 preseason drives by the first-team offense (albeit with some starters missing), the formerly explosive Eagles have zero touchdowns.

Philadelphia’s Title Defense, and Doug Pederson Vs. the Super Bowl Hangover - MMQB
Pederson was resolute on this: He won’t sacrifice the 25-year-old’s future for a September game against the Falcons or the Bucs. “He and I are attached,” Pederson says. “My first job, I draft Carson Wentz. And so his longevity ties to mine, I want to make sure he’s 100%. He’s played a ton of football in two years. But he’s still growing, he’s still learning, and so at the same time, I gotta make sure he gets enough reps, enough time with the starters going into whenever that day comes … He’ll play for 15 more years. That’s the part I look at. I can’t just focus on one game or two games.”

Carson Wentz isn’t cleared for contact yet and Doug Pederson is done talking about it - BGN
The Eagles head coach spoke to the media Sunday, and it was a pretty testy exchange.

Projecting roles for each of the Eagles’ 2018 draft picks, updated - PhillyVoice
While I would still say that he’s not going to see the field in 2018, Jordan Mailata is 100 percent going to make the roster. In our most recent 53-man roster projection, we had Mailata going on IR as a redshirt player. I would like to distance myself from that stance as quickly as possible. Mailata was extremely impressive against the Browns, as shown by Tommy Lawlor at IgglesBlitz. The thinking here previously was that Mailata may not be able to give guys like Brandon Graham and Michael Bennett legitimate practice reps, but after seeing the amazing progression of this kid in such a short amount of time, (A) he may be able to give good practice reps after all, and (B) even if he can’t, allowing him to practice with the team all year is probably worth it if the team thinks he can be a special player.

Game Review – PS #3 – CLE 5, PHI 0 - Iggles Blitz
Wendell Smallwood – Took a big step forward. Best game so far. 12-53 on the ground, 2-14 as a receiver. Ran hard. Showed some elusiveness. That performance has probably given him the lead in the battle for the #4 RB spot. Not a lock, though. Doesn’t show much speed. Had a chance for big gain on a toss play, but got tripped up by the MLB. While he did run hard, Smallwood isn’t going to break a lot of tackles. Not a powerful runner. Effective in pass protection. Josh Adams – Good game. 4-33 on the ground. Showed speed to the outside, which we had seen before. Ran hard between the tackles. Took one run straight up the gut and just kept fighting for more. Great effort. Didn’t stop on contact. Forced the defense to get him down. Really fired up the O-linemen. Has good potential. We need to see more of him.

Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz could regress ... and still be MVP candidates - ESPN
Improving on deep passes: If anything, I think this is the place Wentz could continue to grow. As a rookie, he struggled on deeper passes, finishing 24th in QBR and 26th in passer rating on throws 16-plus yards downfield. Through the first four weeks of last season, Wentz wasn’t much better. As an example, he missed Torrey Smith for what should have been a long touchdown on his first attempt of the season. As of Week 4, Wentz was 19th in QBR and 20th in passer rating on deep passes. As the season progressed, though, Wentz noticeably improved. From Week 5 on, Wentz posted the league’s sixth-best QBR on deep passes and was seventh in passer rating. Smith ended up having an uneven season, and Wentz could have gotten a little more help; his receivers dropped 3.2 percent of his deep throws from Week 5 on, slightly above the league average of 2.8 percent. If he can continue to be that guy on deep passes for an entire season and get an upgrade on Smith with extra snaps from Mack Hollins and Mike Wallace, Wentz might be able to overcome the likely regression he should expect in other places.

Lawlor: Positive Answers To Preseason Questions - PE.com
Let’s go back to the competition for the weakside linebacker spot. It looks like Kamu Grugier-Hill is in the lead. He got the nod on Thursday and played well. He was officially credited with three tackles, but watch the tape and he’s around the ball a lot. His athleticism was also on display. Grugier-Hill has tremendous burst and range. He can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Grugier-Hill is at his best in space. He has struggled with shedding blocks and playing the run. We saw progress there in Cleveland. Grugier-Hill used his hands to engage and shed blocks. He was part of a tackle for loss. He helped stuff an inside run on third-and-2 that should have ended a drive, but the officials gave the Browns a favorable spot. Grugier-Hill looked like a complete linebacker.

As cuts near, Markus Wheaton’s hamstring limiting ability to contend for Eagles’ roster - Daily News
”I’ve had injuries, obviously, but not being in the situation I’m in here,” Wheaton said. “Here, [there’s] a little less security in the situation I’m in, so we’ll see how it goes. … Other teams, I was a little higher toward the top” of the depth chart.” Eagles coach Doug Pederson was blunt about Wheaton and a few other roster hopefuls who haven’t been healthy enough to show much in the preseason. Running back Donnel Pumphrey also returned to practice Sunday. ”Well, they need to be out there,” Pederson said. “We should — Markus should work back a little bit into practice this week, and we’ll see where he is each day and evaluate him each day. I’m hopeful that he’ll get a chance to play in this game.”

Eagles’ Donnel Pumphrey back with one chance to prove himself - NBCSP
“It was a disappointment more just because I was having a good camp,” Pumphrey said before Sunday’s practice. “I feel like if I still play well, I have a fair shot.” The good news for Pumphrey is that the injury didn’t last through the end of the preseason. He has three days of practice and the fourth and final preseason game to prove that he belongs on the roster, that he belongs in the NFL. The other bit of good news is that no one else in the competition for the fourth and (likely) final running back spot has separated themselves. Matt Jones has been bad. Josh Adams missed some time. And Wendell Smallwood has been fine but might be running out of chances.

Meet Ryan Day, the coach tasked with keeping Ohio State perfect while Urban Meyer serves his suspension - Yahoo
[BLG Note: Former Eagles QB coach will temporarily be the top guy at Ohio State.]

Jacksonville Police report mass shooting at ‘Madden NFL’ tournament - SB Nation
Police responded to a mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday that targeted a ‘Madden NFL’ esports tournament. On Sunday afternoon the Jacksonville Sherriff’s office issued a warning asking members of the public to stay away from the Jacksonville Landing area.

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