Eagles News: Three Eagles players make PFF’s 2019 first quarter All-Pro team

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PFF 2019 First-Quarter NFL All-Pro Team - PFF
QB Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles: With nine big-time throws and four turnover-worthy plays through Week 4, Carson Wentz leads all NFL quarterbacks with 100 or more dropbacks this season in passing grade at 86.0. Unfortunately for Wentz and the Eagles, he has an incredible five big-time throws that have fallen incomplete (receiver’s fault) while every other quarterback in the league has combined for just 24. In total, he’s had an NFL-high 8.3% of his passes dropped and 192 air yards dropped (another NFL-high) on the year. C Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles: No surprises here. Jason Kelce is still the best center in football and has been for quite some time. He’s earned top-10 marks in run-blocking grade (73.3) and pass-blocking grade (73.8) through Week 4. RG Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Brooks has been his usual dominant self despite coming off a torn Achilles. He currently ranks fifth in run-blocking grade (79.1) and third in pass-blocking grade (86.3) among qualifying guards. [BLG Note: Jason Peters earned honorable mention at left tackle.]

Carson Wentz has outperformed his box score numbers, leads all quarterbacks in passing grade through Week 4 - PFF
If just those five passes go Wentz’s way, he goes from a passer rating of 95.3 that ranks 15th in the NFL to a passer rating of 108.5 that ranks fifth. His yards per attempt go from 6.6 (22nd) to 8.0 (8th), and his 11 touchdowns are leading the league. Yes, we can do this exercise for every quarterback in the NFL, but this is more about showing the impact that as few as five plays can have on traditional stats, or even advanced stats, as they’re not properly weighing the context of each throw. When factoring in every throw, we get a better view of a player’s performance, and Wentz has been on the unlucky side when it comes to getting help from his playmakers.

Miles Sanders has a long way to go - BGN
Ultimately, there’s a lot of unknown with Sanders. Inexperience can explain many of the flaws but that won’t guarantee a linear, positive development arc for the future. It’s discouraging that he’s being outplayed by the other rookies around him because despite the excuses, running back is the easiest position in the NFL to come in and produce from right away. It might be a while before we see consistent output from Sanders, but the Eagles’ organization and fan base should and will be patient with him.

The QB Scho Show #35: The Battle of Gaugamela & A Wentz Review - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Mark Schofield take a look at Carson Wentz’s Week 4 performance, glance at the Jets’ quarterback room, dive into Josh Allen’s quicksand game and ponder if the Bears are better off with Chase Daniel! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Eagles vs. Jets: 5 matchups to watch - PhillyVoice
If Darnold can’t go, as expected, the Jets will start Luke Falk, a sixth-round pick of the Titans in the 2018 NFL Draft, who is now on his third team. He was actually the Jets’ third quarterback, but they lost their backup, Trevor Siemian, with a gruesome ankle injury Week 2 against the Browns. In (almost) a full two games, Falk is 32 of 47 for 296 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, and a QB rating of 76.2. The Jets have scored one offensive touchdown this season, which came in Week 1 when Darnold was still playing. Heading into the season, the Jets’s top three receivers were speed guy Robby Anderson, strong YAC guy Qunicy Enunwa, and shifty slot guy Jamison Crowder. Enunwa is done for the season with a neck injury. Again, the Eagles should be able to handle this group, even with a decimated secondary. In theory.

Clearly Better - Iggles Blitz
Last year the Eagles scored 30 or more points three times. The Eagles have already done that twice in the opening month of the 2019 season. The offensive struggles of last year are not completely gone, but this year’s offense is clearly better. What makes that so impressive is that DeSean Jackson has only really played in one game. Alshon Jeffery has only been 100 percent for one game. Dallas Goedert missed one game and barely played in the other. The Eagles used three LTs in the loss to Detroit. Isaac Seumalo had a nightmare game in Atlanta. Rookie Miles Sanders is still adjusting to the NFL. Dropped passes have been an issue for multiple players. I think you get the point. Things are not going perfectly. This isn’t a well-oiled machine. But that’s kind of scary. If they’re this good now, how good can they become?

All-22: Inside the offensive game plan that might have saved the Eagles’ season - The Athletic
“(Goedert’s) a good blocker,” said Kelce. “I’m not trying to take anything away from that. But what really creates the mismatch is the fact that him and Ertz are really dominant receivers. So if you want to put some big guys out there, we can spread you out and we can throw the ball on you all day. If you want to put little guys out there and make us earn it on the ground, he’s proven that he can block and be effective. So I think that’s why it’s so effective is because of the personnel mismatch either way. Not too many teams have the ability to defend both of them.”

The Seven NFL Teams That Make Sense for a Jalen Ramsey Trade - The Ringer
The Eagles own one of the deepest and most talented rosters in football, but have one glaring, potentially fatal weakness: a banged-up, underperforming cornerbacks group. Jalen Mills and Cre’Von LeBlanc are in on the injured reserve, and Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, and Ronald Darby are all nursing injuries, forcing the team to add street free agents, reshuffle the defense, cross-train players at multiple spots, and simplify schemes just to field a starting group. The results have not been too pretty: The Eagles have surrendered nine passing touchdowns this year (tied for fourth most) and given up 323.8 passing yards per game, which ranks dead last. GM Howie Roseman has been aggressive on the trade market over the past few seasons, and the team has the capital to make a big move. Philly still holds its first-round pick in each of the next two seasons and is projected to have about $32 million in 2020 cap space to work with, thanks in part to Carson Wentz’s still-manageable $18.7 million cap hit next year. Ramsey is the type of addition that could maximize the Eagles’ Super Bowl window. The Jags corner is set to count just $7.4 million against the cap this year and $13.7 million next year on a fifth-year option. At 2-2, Philly’s still in the NFC hunt, but if the team can’t figure out how to stop opposing quarterbacks from slicing and dicing up its secondary, that could change quickly.

Ranking the Rookies: Week 4 - Rotoworld
10. Eagles RB Miles Sanders. Tied 27-27 deep into the 3rd quarter. 1st & 10. Dallas Goedert started out wide, motioned inside and drove an unblocked and unsuspecting Dean Lowry down a few gaps, leaving offensive linemen to engulf defensive backs. Sanders was the beneficiary, as he ran 25 yards before contacting a safety and fell a final five yards. We are still waiting on that big play by Sanders, and this was an opportunity. Make Darnell Savage miss in the open field and the result would have been a 75 yard touchdown.

NFL experts predict: Week 5 upset picks, fantasy football flops and sleepers - ESPN In$ider
Who’s your pick to be the biggest fantasy flop this weekend? Matt Bowen: Jets RB Le’Veon Bell. He has gone through a brutal matchup stretch to start the season, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry against the Bills, Browns and Patriots. In Week 5? He gets the Eagles’ defense, which is allowing an average of 3.18 yards per rush to opposing backs this season (No. 3 in the NFL). Yes, you’re still going to start Bell this week. I am, too, in one of my leagues, hoping for Bell to produce in the passing game. But I don’t expect him to put up high-end RB1 numbers against Philly.

Andrew Sendejo’s frenetic style is a hit with Eagles coaches, despite the injury to Avonte Maddox - Inquirer
“Andrew Sendejo plays with his hair on fire. He’s full speed all the time,” secondary coach Cory Undlin said this week, when asked about the Sendejo-Maddox collision. “He’s a good player, and it’s part of the game. There’s nothing he can do different. There’s not a guy that feels worse than he does right now.” Undlin spoke of bringing up opposition plays to Sendejo, only to have Sendejo acknowledge having seen them, and then mention other plays that Undlin hadn’t seen. “He’s one of the smarter guys I’ve been around,” Undlin said. “He understands the game. The guy studies. He is a film freak.”

Why go for two against the Packers? Doug Pederson explains - NBCSP
On Wednesday, for the first time, Pederson explained in detail why he opted to go for two. Essentially, his thinking is that with the Eagles’ offense, a two-point conversion is a high enough percentage play that what you potentially gain by making it a two-possession game if you convert it is worth what you lose if the play fails and you’re only up seven. “If we kick the extra point we’re up eight so a touchdown, two-point conversion you’re tied,” Pederson said. “If you don’t get the two-point conversion you’re still at seven, and a touchdown, extra point, you’re still tied. So the rationale there was: ‘I’m going to chase those two points and try to go up nine and now it becomes a two-possession game.’” It makes sense since the Eagles are so good at converting two-point conversions. The Eagles are 17-for-25 on conversions for 68 percent during Doug Pederson’s four years as the Eagles’ head coach.

Eagles corners adjust to the play-to-play uncertainty - PE.com
But it is fascinating case study on a position that is, let’s face it, as difficult to play as any in the NFL. Athletic ability can’t be taught, and playing cornerback requires a lot of natural skill – changing direction, closing speed, flat-out turn-and-run speed, and quickness. It’s a humbling position by nature because you’re going to lose at times. The best cornerbacks in the history of the game get beat. And then they come back for more. “I’m just trying to get better every day,” said James, who last Thursday made the win-saving play when he got his hand on an Aaron Rodgers pass and the football spun into the air for linebacker Nigel Bradham to intercept and preserve the Eagles’ crucial 34-27 win at Lambeau Field. “My life hasn’t changed since that play, except maybe I’ve got more Instagram followers. That’s social media, though. I care about football and making plays and everything here is day to day for me.”

Packers add LB B.J. Bello and release Brady Sheldon in practice squad swap - Acme Packing Company
Bello comes to the Packers after spending training camp with the Houston Texans, coincidentally spending two days of practice in Green Bay when his former team held joint practices with the Packers. Before that, Bello played a full season for the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted rookie in 2017, primarily serving as a special teams player. He recorded six tackles in 16 games that year, then had stints on the practice squads of the Cardinals and Eagles in 2018 before a brief three-game span on Philadelphia’s active roster late last season.

NFL Panic Index 2019: The Vikings’ expensive passing offense is worse than the Dolphins’ - SB Nation
The Vikings are paying too much for a passing offense this bad. Quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs count for a combined $49.573 million against the Vikings’ salary cap in 2019. It’s the most in the NFL for a quarterback-receiver-receiver trio. The Vikings are also last in passing attempts, second-to-last in passing yards (behind the Dolphins and ahead of the Jets), and third-to-last in passing touchdowns.

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