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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...
Did the Cowboys’ Playoff Run Hurt the Future of the Franchise? - The Ringer
The era of Dallas being able to take advantage of Prescott’s rookie contract—and those of the Cowboys’ other established stars—is all but over. The franchise’s best chance to win a Super Bowl with this collection of players has already passed, and now Jones plans to double down on Garrett and a staff that failed to accomplish its ultimate goal. An NFC East title and unlikely trip to the divisional round made for a thrilling winter, but Cowboys fans may look back on this stretch the same way Packers fans view Aaron Rodgers’s “run the table” magic in 2016. That fleeting bit of excitement saddled Green Bay with a coach and plan it never coveted in the first place, and the Cowboys seem like they’re headed toward the same fate.
Jerry Jones thinks the Rams’ slippery field hurt the Cowboys in playoff loss - USA Today
“I’ve had the benefit of the tape, looking at the tape, the evaluation by both scouts as well as the coaches. We frankly had never gotten traction. And I mean that literally. That was a slippery field. If I had to do it over again, we would be really scrutinizing our footwear. Our cleats. We had trouble digging in, so to speak. Well you say, ‘That’s an excuse.’ It is not because not only physically but we had trouble digging in with just the effectiveness of our defense. And we did not stop them, and we did not stop the run.”
NFL Mock Draft 2019: ESPN Mel Kiper 1.0 Edition - BGN
You really know the 2019 NFL offseason has arrived (for all but four teams, at least) when Mel Kiper is back in your life. The ESPN analyst released his first 2019 NFL mock draft on Thursday. Here’s who he has the Philadelphia Eagles taking in the first round, via In$ider.
The Kist & Solak Show #71: Draft Need Power Rankings - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak were supposed to do an all-22 film review of the Eagles-Saints, but ended up getting side tracked for 40 minutes. How’d it happen? Well, Foles and the Draft happened. Check out what the gang thinks happens with Foles and get their Draft need Power Rankings right here! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.
CB Sidney Jones: What Is The Next Step For Him? - PE.com
“It was a frustrating season. I could just never get my leg where I wanted it to be,” Jones said as the players cleaned out their lockers on Monday. “All I can do now is look forward. Everybody is going to have their share of adversity. It’s how you handle it that separates you as a person and as a player. I am going to work hard in the offseason, get healthy, get stronger, and come back here and play my best football.” The questions surrounding Jones and what kind of player he can be in 2019 and beyond must be pretty high on the Eagles’ list in the months to come. A position devastated by injuries in the season – the Eagles lost Ronald Darby (knee), Jalen Mills (foot), and Jones (hamstring) for long stretches of time – is a major focus moving into the future. Who can the Eagles count on at cornerback? Darby is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in March. Mills should be good to go for the spring and summer, and Jones, well, he is hopeful of being where he was – both mentally and physically – before suffering his Achilles injury in the weeks prior to the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Eagles’ ground game regressed in 2018. They need to figure out a way to fix it. - Daily News
One of the ongoing problems with the Eagles offense this season, even during their late-season resurrection, was the running game. While the red-hot quarterback play of Carson Wentz and Nick Foles got most of the headlines last year during the Super Bowl run, the fact was that the Eagles also had one of the league’s most productive ground games. They finished fourth in rush average (4.5 yards per carry), second in first-down rush average (4.7), first in runs of 10 or more yards (66), and fifth in rushing first downs (115), even though they didn’t have a running back with more than 175 carries or 800 rushing yards. This year, they plummeted to 30th in rush average (3.9), 24th in first-down rush average (4.1), 22nd in 10-plus yard runs (45), and 20th in rushing first downs (98). What Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman need to ascertain in the next few weeks is why they weren’t nearly as good at running the football this season. How much of the blame do you attribute to the injuries to their top three running backs — Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles — who missed a combined 27 regular-season games? How much do you put on their replacements, Wendell Smallwood and undrafted rookie Josh Adams? And how much do you put on an offensive line that is supposed to be one of the best units in the league?
Where will Eagles turn to fill desperate need at running back? - NBCSP
Tevin Coleman of the Falcons and Mark Ingram of the Saints are less-expensive options who are both effective runners and solid receivers. Coleman is younger and has less wear and tear. Ingram has more of a proven body of work and for a 29-year-old two-time Pro Bowl back doesn’t have a ton of touches (14.6 per game over his eight-year career). There’s also Ajayi, who is still only 25 and has been productive when healthy, but he’s coming off ACL surgery as free agency approaches, and the long-term state of his knees is a concern. The Eagles have been unsettled at running back since Chip Kelly jettisoned McCoy. They’ve had a different leading rusher five straight years — McCoy in 2014, DeMarco Murray in 2015, Ryan Mathews in 2016, LeGarrette Blount in 2017 and Adams in 2018.
Top 25 NFL free agents of 2019: Defenders dominate rankings - NFL.com
13) Ronald Darby; A torn ACL will hurt Darby’s value, but he’s still the class of a soft cornerback crop of free agents. 24) Brandon Graham: This ranking may look disrespectful for a player of Graham’s caliber, but the track record of betting on soon-to-be 31-year-old pass rushers in free agency is rough.
Is trading Fournette for Foles a possibility for Jacksonville? - ESPN
If the Jaguars decide to look for a new quarterback, trading to Leonard Fournette to get Nick Foles could be a viable option according to the cast of NFL Live.
Signature Stat Spotlight: Wide Receivers - PFF
Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore and new Philadelphia Eagles receiver Golden Tate each finished with a 0.31 forced missed tackle per reception average in 2018, sharing the position-high. But it was Moore that had the lead to himself in yards after contact per reception (5.06) and yards after the catch per reception (7.91).
Doug Marrone: John DeFilippo hire has “zero” to do with Nick Foles - PFT
The Jaguars are expected to bring in a new starting quarterback this offseason, so it didn’t take long for suggestions that the decision to hire John DeFilippo as their offensive coordinator will lead to a run at Nick Foles. DeFilippo was the Eagles quarterbacks coach when Foles was named the MVP of Super Bowl LII and Foles is expected to be on the move this offseason. That led to a question about the quarterback for Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone at Wednesday’s press conference. Marrone asked “Nick who” when asked if DeFilippo’s hire was linked to interest in bringing “Nick” to Jacksonville and then moved on to say that the two are unrelated.
Championship Round Rankings - Rotoworld
1. Patrick Mahomes (vs NE): The quarterback position is loaded this week and if either game this weekend is similar to what we got from each regular season matchup, then fantasy points will be flying around for everyone. Mahomes has scored at least 17 standard fantasy points in every game but one this season and posted a monster game when these teams met in Week 6 in New England with 352 passing yards and four touchdowns. New England’s pass defense was much better at home as well rather than on the road. On their home field, opposing passers completed 62.3 percent of their passes for 7.8 passing yards per attempt, averaging 286.1 passing yards and 20.6 fantasy points per game compared to completing 57.9 percent of their passes for 6.2 yards per attempt while averaging 244.7 passing yards and 15.4 fantasy points per game in New England. The one potential roadblock here of course is the weather. Expected to be below freezing at kickoff, this projects to be the coldest game that Mahomes has started this season. That said, last week’s game with the Colts had higher winds and more precipitation than what is being forecasted for Sunday, so take that with a grain of salt. If you wanted to outright pivot to either quarterback in the NFC game, there wouldn’t be much pushback, but on an even, objective playing field, Mahomes is still the best fantasy player playing this weekend.
The “Best Of” Farzetta & Tra in the mornings 1-17-19 - 97.5 The Fanatic
It’s the best of Farzetta & Tra mornings as the guys were joined by Brandon Lee Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation, Paul Hudrick talking some Sixers from NBCSPhilly.com & finally comedian Gilbert Gottfried joined us live in studio!
If you’re wondering how much Dak Prescott’s contract extension might be worth, take a look at his and Derek Carr’s first three years - Blogging The Boys
One of the issues that the Dallas Cowboys front office will likely have to deal with this offseason is the contractual status of their quarterback, Dak Prescott. Prescott is a non-first-round pick entering his fourth season so he is eligible to sign an extension. Given Prescott is a fourth-round pick, he would probably very much like to sign an extension. This subject is a bull in a china shop with Cowboys fans everywhere. There’s a large contingency of folks who do not want to see the team pay Dak Prescott top dollar because they want to see him do more. Back in May of last year, after Matt Ryan signed his huge deal and before Aaron Rodgers signed his own, we talked about how Dak Prescott could flirt with becoming the highest-paid player in the NFL. The logic here isn’t that Prescott is, or isn’t, worth a serious pay day based on his on-the-field performance, but more of an acknowledgement of what the market is for quarterbacks. If you can play the position to a moderate degree odds are you are going to be happy when you’re eligible for an extension.
The Alex Smith injury has guaranteed Jay Gruden’s job through 2020 - Hogs Haven
The day Alex Smith’s leg was broken, the ‘Skins 2018 season was over. With medical complications, the team’s fortunes went on a 2-year hold and Jay Gruden became irreplaceable for all the wrong reasons.
Mets give Tim Tebow a major league invite - New York Post
Tim Tebow has become quite the spring training veteran for the Mets. The former Heisman Trophy winner’s third camp since launching his baseball career will begin with the rest of the Mets’ major league hopefuls next month. On Thursday, the team announced Tebow was among 13 additional players invited to major league spring training.
Dee Ford could be the secret weapon that gets the Chiefs to the Super Bowl - SB Nation
Retired NFL defensive end Stephen White breaks down how instrumental Dee Ford was in getting the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game. He might not be done, either.
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