Eagles News: Jim Schwartz has a heavy influence on Philadelphia’s personnel moves

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Jim Schwartz’s sway within the Eagles is unparalleled for a coordinator - Inquirer
Coach Doug Pederson has often cited Schwartz’s successes as a coordinator and experience as a head coach as reasons for granting him independence. But the weight he carries in personnel is a front office construct, with general manager Howie Roseman often centering his choices on Schwartz’s evaluations, according to league and team sources familiar with the Eagles’ thinking. Most GMs will take into account coaching evaluations, certainly as they relate to scheme fit or temperament. But Schwartz can be dogmatic about the players he wants for his system, according to two personnel executives who have worked with him, sometimes to the point where Roseman offers little resistance. [...] There have been multiple occasions when the Eagles’ personnel department has given its recommendation for a specific position to fill only to have Roseman go with Schwartz in another direction. In May, the Eagles had narrowed free-agent linebackers down to Jamie Collins and Zach Brown. The scouting recommendation was Collins, while Schwartz wanted Brown. Roseman went with the latter, sources said. Collins, meanwhile, is having an All-Pro-caliber season for the Patriots and Brown was released last month. Chris Long’s exit from the Eagles during the offseason was widely considered by team sources to be hastened by Schwartz. Roseman, Pederson, and other decision-makers wanted the veteran defensive end to return in the final year of his contract, but Schwartz wouldn’t guarantee the 34-year-old a role similar to the one he had previously, and Long, who was coming off arguably his best season in five years, retired in May.

Patriots writer gives three reasons why the Eagles will win in Week 11 - BGN
The Patriots defense is pretty good — for starters: it ranks first in the league in points, yards and turnovers — but if it has a proverbial Achilles heel it is certainly its ability to stop the run. The Ravens were able to take advantage of this in Week 9 and it allowed them to control the pace of the game and ultimately win 37-20. For the Patriots to get back into the win column, slowing down Miles Sanders and company is paramount.It will not be easy, though, considering that the Patriots’ run defense is surrendering 4.7 yards per carry (seventh worst in the NFL) while being ranked just 14th in DVOA (-11.1%). If the Eagles can take advantage of those numbers and also follow the Ravens’ blueprint — take advantage of New England’s defensive aggressiveness and two-gap scheme — it could be a long day for the team down in Philly.

Babes On Broad #12: Sam Is the Worst - BGN Radio
Sam Wilson & Jessica Towne return from the bye week to drop knowledge about the upcoming Eagles-Patriots showdown PLUS more Philly sports talk and listener questions! Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation!

Grocery shopping: Five college players to watch who could interest the Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft - PhillyVoice
Watching Penn State’s loss to Minnesota last week, my biggest takeaway from that game was how old I felt learning that Antoine Winfield has a kid potentially entering the draft next offseason. Ugh. I loved the older Antoine Winfield as a player when he was still in the league. He was an undersized corner, but tough as hell, and a playmaker. Remember this from the Joe Webb Tuesday Night Football game? Anyway, the younger Winfield, who plays safety, is a playmaker too, as he has seven INTs this season, second in the nation. Two of those were last week against Penn State.

Age Does Matter - Iggles Blitz
I hope the Eagles learned their lesson. You can mix in an older player here and there, but you don’t want to have too many. It was obvious to anyone and everyone that Sproles should not have been brought back this year. Heck, I didn’t want him in 2018. Sproles has had an amazing career. He’s done great things for the Eagles and anyone who follows the team will have some fond memories of him. But business is business. Sproles has been hurt the past three years and hasn’t played all that well when healthy. The Eagles made an emotional decision when they brought him back. That was not a smart decision. Sproles is done and the Eagles can give his touches to Boston Scott, who has shown real promise this year. I hate that Sproles went out this way, but the writing was on the wall. His body hasn’t held up the past two years. It was time.

Jay Ajayi re-enters the Eagles’ topsy-turvy RB picture - PE.com
“For Sunday, I know the playbook. My knowledge is still very high. I know what we’re doing in the RB room. Nothing beats playing football and being in football shape. That’s something I have to get through, and also the contact of the game. But that’s what you train for and build your body up as strong as possible. I guess it’s like riding a bike, and as soon as I start riding, I can pedal really fast.”

NFL teams and players most likely to improve or decline the rest of the 2019 season - ESPN
4. The Eagles and Steelers are on the rise. Among teams at the next tier of playoff contenders who have a good shot of exceeding expectations, I look toward Pennsylvania. The Eagles’ pass defense has been a mess, and they face the Patriots this week, but even including that matchup, Doug Pederson’s team faces the third-easiest schedule in football over the remainder of the season. After matchups against the Patriots and Seahawks, the Eagles finish with two games against the Giants, road trips to face Miami and Washington and a rematch with the Cowboys. FPI has the Eagles as slight underdogs to win the NFC East versus the Cowboys, but I think Philly is in better shape.

Grading all 32 first-round picks after Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season - PFF
Pick No. 22: OT Andre Dillard, Philadelphia Eagles. 2019 overall grade: 62.3.Dillard followed a strong Week 8 performance with an even better Week 9 showing. And even though he surrendered four quarterback pressures from 48 snaps against a talented pass-rush in the contest, he more than held his own against star edge rusher Khalil Mack, who managed just one hurry on eight matchups against the rookie left tackle. Dillard and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles were on a bye this week, and they’ll be looking to hit the ground running against the New England Patriots in Week 11.

10 incredible stats to appreciate the greatness of Darren Sproles - NBCSP
Sproles is one of only 31 players in NFL history with 3,500 career yards both rushing and receiving. Of those 31, his 4.9 career rushing average is highest. Hall of Famer Lenny Moore is second at 4.8.

How the Patriots and the Eagles have changed since meeting in Super Bowl 52 - Pats Pulpit
When the New England Patriots meet the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they will go up against an opponent they last faced in February 2018. Back then — in Super Bowl 52 — the Eagles were able to beat the Patriots to win their first ever Vince Lombardi Trophy. Two years is a long time in the NFL, however, and the two teams underwent a major transformation process since Philadelphia’s 41-33 victory. For starters, 34 members of New England’s final 53-man roster during the 2017 season are no longer with the club: the team saw some turnover on both sides of the football, with only three offensive starters — quarterback Tom Brady and guards Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason — still available for this week’s game. The Eagles, meanwhile, saw 27 of their Super Bowl-winning players leave over the last two years.

Eagles-Patriots cheat sheet: Lineup decisions, matchups to watch, predictions and more - The Athletic
Matchup to watch: Dallas Goedert vs. Any one of, like, 10 Patriots defenders. There seems to be a presumption that Bill Belichick and his patented “take away what you do best” defense will devote significant resources to limiting Ertz, as the Detroit midwest-Patriots did in Week 3. Given their limited weapons on the outside, the Eagles are likely to play a lot of 12 personnel, which will make Goedert one of the key players. They have lined up in 12 personnel a league-high 40 percent of the time this season, which is twice the league average of 20 percent. The Patriots defense, meanwhile, has actually faced 12 personnel less than any other team this season, 12 percent of their defensive snaps, according to Sharp Football Stats and a young fan. Goedert has played about 78 percent of the Eagles’ offensive snaps over the last two games, catching seven passes for 61 yards. Patrick Chung is New England’s designated tight end stopper, much to the bewilderment of Eagles fans, but it’s hard to say whether he’ll be more concerned with Ertz or if the Patriots will assign Chung to Goedert and devise something else for Ertz. The bottom line: Things are going to be difficult for the Eagles offense, but they’ve been difficult all season.

NFL Week 11 Preview: Lamar-Deshaun Could Decide MVP—and a Lot More - The Ringer
The Eagles’ success on third-down conversions was key to their Super Bowl run in 2017, and it will be huge in this game. Philadelphia has the most third-down conversions (6.7 per game) and third-highest conversion percentage (48.4 percent). Meanwhile, the Patriots defense has allowed the fewest third-down conversions (2.2 per game) and the lowest conversion percentage (18.9 percent). The Patriots win because their defense gets opponents off of the field. That changed two weeks ago when Baltimore converted five of 10 third downs plus a fourth-and-4 and beat New England 37-20. Whether Philly converts one of every two third downs or one of every five could be the difference in this game. That is mostly on Carson Wentz. Gisele Bündchen once said her husband couldn’t throw the ball and catch it as a diss to diss Wes Welker. (Brady proved her right six years later against the Eagles.) Like Brady, Wentz can’t do everything. Eagles receivers have dropped 15 passes this season, tied for the second most of any unit. The Patriots defense won’t offer many opportunities, so when Wentz finds open receivers, especially on third down, they have to catch the ball.

Cowboys @ Lions final injury report: Amari Cooper, Zack Martin will play, La’el Collins questionable - Blogging The Boys
For the Lions, it has been confirmed that quarterback Matthew Stafford will not play. Backup Jeff Driskel will start his second straight game for the Lions.

Antonio Callaway loses appeal of 10-game suspension - PFT
Antonio Callaway lost his job on Thursday and he lost a suspension appeal on Friday. The Browns cut the wide receiver before they faced the Steelers on Thursday night and word that Callaway was appealing a 10-game suspension for a substance abuse policy violation broke a short time later. Callaway was suspended four games for another violation to open this season and his appeal reportedly centered on a claim that he took a tainted CBD product.

Ask a former NFL player: Do you agree with Myles Garrett’s punishment for the Mason Rudolph helmet incident? - SB Nation
It was beyond a reasonable expectation of violence on the field and Garrett could have seriously injured Rudolph. The suspension was indefinite because the Browns could make the playoffs. The last thing the NFL wants is the Browns making the playoffs and everyone is talking about Garrett making his return. So, I’m all for this action by the NFL. Garrett will need to show remorse and will be back on the field in 2020.

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