Eagles News: Philadelphia will have to overcome even more injuries down the stretch

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It was an amazing win for Carson Wentz and the Eagles, but as more stars fall, good luck doing it again - Inquirer
Yes, the Eagles will make the playoffs if they win their final three games, starting this Sunday at Washington. But they are going to have to do that without Jeffery (43 catches, 490 yards), and most likely they will have to do at least some of it without Johnson. There is no indication when they will get back running back Jordan Howard (shoulder), and Pederson didn’t make any predictions Monday about the availability of wide receiver Nelson Agholor (knee) or defensive end Derek Barnett (ankle). What Pederson and Carson Wentz did in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Giants was MacGyveresque. But are they really going to win a lot of games leaning on weapons brought up from the practice squad, and a defense that remains susceptible to giving up the kind of big plays the Eagles’ offense can’t easily generate? If the Eagles somehow lurch into the playoffs, then what? Which playoff teams would you see them beating? One thing the Eagles can do in the final weeks of the season is silence the group who sees these problems and somehow thinks the solution to them is to run Wentz out of town, or at least, endlessly debate his perceived shortcomings.

Eagles injury updates on Alshon Jeffery, Lane Johnson, Nelson Agholor, and others - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles sustained a number of injuries (but what’s new?) in their overtime win over the New York Giants. Here’s the latest on what we know following Doug Pederson’s day-after press conference.

At the Podium: Character Wins & Concerns - BGN Radio
John Stolnis gives his three takeaways regarding the Eagles win over the Giants PLUS three fresh press conferences w/injury updates and all that jazz (Doug > Carson > Doug). Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 15 edition - PhillyVoice
8) Eagles (6-7): Doug Pederson called Carson Wentz’s game against the Giants the best of his career because of the way “he put the team on his back.” It’s nice to enjoy the win for a week and feel good about the quarterback for a bit, however, the Eagles needed “the best game of Wentz’s career” to beat a now 2-11 team in tank mode. By the way, in the event the Eagles do somehow win the division and get into the playoffs, they’ll be the 4 seed. Here’s the history of the 4 seed in the NFL playoffs since the current playoff system went into place in 2002. It’s actually not as bad as I thought it would be.

The Chicken or the Egg - Iggles Blitz
One of the things that struck me last night is how much I liked the play-calling in the second half. There were toss plays to Boston Scott, designed to take advantage of his speed. There were quick passes to Josh Perkins. The Greg Ward dropped TD was a beautiful play and well-executed, right up until the drop. Doug Pederson and Mike Groh looked like smart, creative offensive minds. Players made plays. You saw Scott making cuts in the open field and getting an extra 10 yards. There was Ward making some tough grabs. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside made an incredibly impressive over-the-shoulder catch. Perkins caught a short pass and fought his way upfield for a first down. Miles Sanders had a key third down run to set up first and goal. Were the players suddenly making plays because of better play-calling or did the coaches look smart because the players made plays? There really isn’t a firm answer. It’s really a bit of both.

Eagles’ D dominated Giants after Malcolm Jenkins’ halftime speech - NBCSP
The Eagles were on the brink of losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL — way worse than the Miami Dolphins, and this was in their own building. The Giants entered Monday with an eight-game losing streak and a washed-up Eli Manning under center. In a season full of humiliations, this would’ve been Armageddon, and if it was to be the end for the Eagles, Malcolm Jenkins was going to make sure his teammates knew there was more than just the playoffs on the line. ”Jenk kind of told everybody, ‘How do you want to be remembered,’” said Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills. “‘What are you here for and how bad do you want it?’ And I think that showed on both sides of the ball.”

The Day After: Boston Scott brings the juice and saves the Eagles’ season - The Athletic
And everyone talks about Scott’s practice habits, which is where the inevitable comparison comes in. Scott is listed as 5-foot-6. There are three other current players listed as 5-6 or shorter: Bears running back Tarik Cohen, Saints wide receiver Deonte Harris and Darren Sproles, Scott’s teammate, idol, mentor and friend. During his Sunday speech, Scott explained what it meant to a kid growing up in New Orleans to see someone who looked like him succeeding with the Saints. Sproles made Scott think the NFL was possible. So when he joined the Eagles, he did his best to follow Sproles’ example, including his legendary practice habits. “The speed you saw in the game is the speed he practices with,” Brandon Brooks said of Scott. “I can’t emphasize that enough. Just the same way Sproles does.” “I see how hard he work in practice,” Peters said. “The guy, man, even in walkthroughs, he’s going 100 miles an hour. He just reminds me of Sproles. They’re identical. Sproles was the same way when he was at practice, he just 100 miles an hour all the time.”

Cleaning out Monday’s notebook and looking ahead to a big one in Washington - PE.com
That quarterback Carson Wentz led the Eagles to a comeback in the fourth quarter and a win in the overtime was special – “It was big because it was the first one,” head coach Doug Pederson said on Tuesday – but it was huge because he was throwing to Joshua Perkins, Boston Scott, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, and Greg Ward, players he hasn’t had a lot of reps with through the season. The Eagles work with their practice squad players before and after practice on Wednesdays and Fridays, and because of all the injuries, the players have had to step in and take live practice reps. “He wants the ball in his hands,” Pederson said. “He’s had a lot of big games in four years, obviously, but I think none bigger than the one we just came through because he put the team on his shoulders. He trusted the young players. He trusted his offensive line. He trusted me as a playcaller to help put the offense in position to be successful. It was really good to see from Carson.”

Week 14 DVOA Ratings - Football Outsiders
We’ll finish up with Washington, another team that has started three different quarterbacks this season. We’ll ignore what Colt McCoy did against the almighty Patriots defense. Washington had a reasonable -6.0% offensive DVOA in games started by Case Keenum, although the positive value is entirely the first two weeks of the season (against Philadelphia and Dallas) before Keenum’s performance dropped and Washington had -21.7% offensive DVOA in his last four starts (Weeks 3, 6-8). Meanwhile, the team has a much worse -44.5% DVOA in games started by Dwayne Haskins (Weeks 4, 9-14), but he did at least have his first positive performance of the year in Week 13. — [BLG Note: The Eagles rank 13th in DVOA whereas Washington is 31st.]

Have the Redskins learned nothing about handling rookie quarterbacks who “refuse” to come out of the game? - Hogs Haven
Bill Callahan is 63 years old and has been around the NFL most of his life. Dwayne Haskins is 22 years old and has appeared in 7 professional football games. Whether Haskins wanted to stay in the game isn’t what matters most here. The fact that the sprained ankle was relatively minor and that Haskins escaped the game without further injury isn’t what matters here. What matters is that Bill Callahan should have had the wisdom to have seen that his young quarterback was hobbled and immobile and at much greater risk of serious injury. It is Callahan that is charged with guardianship of the Redskins team, present and future. This past Sunday, he needed to have exercised more care with the human capital, Dwayne Haskins, in which the team is so heavily invested.

Different week, same story: Cowboys reportedly expected to keep Jason Garrett through season - Blogging The Boys
There are many people calling for the Cowboys to part ways with Garrett despite a division lead with three games left to play. There are certainly merits to winning a division and no one can deny that anything truly is possible for the 12 teams that make the postseason, but the play shown by the Cowboys over the last couple of weeks has been troubling to the point that just about everybody feels like they’ve seen enough. Don’t lump the Jones family into that group, though. Per the latest report from NFL Network, the Cowboys are expected to keep Jason Garrett on through the end of the season.

Sources: Odell Beckham Jr. is ‘lost’ and trying to ‘redeem himself’ - Yahoo Sports
What any of this means for Beckham’s future is a whole other matter. He has an opinionated circle of friends and family that surrounds him. Some still speak in hopeful tones about him potentially ending up with the Dallas Cowboys, which would put him in close proximity to his parents. Others continue to pine for a road that ends with the New Orleans Saints, the hometown favorite for many of Beckham’s family and friends who have surrounded him since he was born in Louisiana.

‘Bring it on, man’: NFL players prep for work stoppage, but vulnerability remains - ESPN
NFL players have big plans when it comes to the next collective bargaining agreement: They don’t just want a better deal; they want to fundamentally change the power structure in the NFL. ”Really this negotiation is about, ‘How do we move from the position of ownership and players to partners in the business of football?’” Philadelphia Eagles safety and NFLPA player rep Malcolm Jenkins said. “That’s how we see it. We play; they provide the field. Within the business of football, we should be partners.”

A very serious guide to Eli Manning’s memeable face - SB Nation
Manning isn’t under contract with the Giants next season, so there’s a good chance we’re seeing the last of him with New York. Manning is 38 years old, so depending on if he even wants to join a new team, it could even be the last time he’s in the NFL. If it is, at least we’ll always have EliFace.

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