Eagles News: Correll Buckhalter among former players charged with defrauding NFL health care program

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Clinton Portis among 10 former players charged with defrauding NFL health care program - Washington Post
The Justice Department charged 10 former NFL players, including a group of former Washington Redskins that includes running back Clinton Portis and cornerback Carlos Rogers, with defrauding a health care program for retired players of nearly $4 million, according to court documents. After an FBI investigation, the Justice Department filed charges Thursday morning in the Eastern District of Kentucky against Robert McCune, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Frederick Bennett, Correll Buckhalter, Etric Pruitt, Portis and Rogers. [...] The charging documents paint McCune first, and then Buckhalter, as pivotal figures in the scheme. [...] The documents allege Buckhalter, a running back for the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos from 2001 to 2010, used the same scheme with the help of Rogers, recruiting new players to file similar reimbursement forms. McCune and Buckhalter allegedly called the number that handles reimbursement requests and impersonated other players to check the status of false claims submitted on their behalf.

Eagles vs. Washington Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with a division enemy - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) and Washington Redskins (3-10) are set to play at FedEx Field on Sunday. In order to preview this Week 15 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Hogs Haven. The affable Andrew York kindly took the time to answer my questions about the upcoming contest. Let’s take a look at the answers. (Also don’t forget to check out my Q&A exchange over at HH.)

Boston Scott Has the Juice - BGN Radio
Jimmy Kempski and Brandon Lee Gowton recap the Eagles comeback win over the Giants, discuss the injury situation for the roster, preview Washington and more! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight ends for Week 15 - Fake Teams
3. Zach Ertz @ WAS - He’s got double-digit targets in four of his last five games, and had 16 targets in Week 2 against Atlanta. He set a tight end record with 156 targets a year ago, and now leads all tight ends in 2019 with 119 looks. The Eagles are hurting at wide receiver, which makes Ertz a locked in stud and Dallas Goedert a worthy low-end TE1.

Week 15 Rankings - Rotoworld
TE1 — Zach Ertz — The last pass catcher standing for the Eagles, Zach Ertz has gone at least 9/90 in four of his past five games. For Week 15 he gets a supremely untalented Redskins Defense permitting the ninth most TE fantasy points.

Eagles-Redskins Week 15 scouting report and prediction - Inquirer
Make hay on third down. The Giants were just 2-for-12 against the Eagles on third down. Haskins has a 47.9 completion percentage and been sacked 14 times on third down in his five starts. Jim Schwartz’s defense will need to be able to get off the field. Run the ball. The Eagles are missing their top three wideouts and still have a pathetic 32.9 run-play percentage in the last four games. They’ll face a defense that is good against the pass but gave up 134 rushing yards to the Packers’ Aaron Jones last week. Don’t make it rocket science, Doug. Hand the ball off to Sanders and Scott. Get the ball out. Wentz got the ball out fast during his fourth-quarter/overtime reversal of fortune Monday night, often on screens and flares. With Lane Johnson out, that needs to be an even bigger priority. He can’t afford to sit in the pocket and wait for Kerrigan or another rusher to knock the ball out of his hands.

Carson Wentz on Alshon Jeffery: ‘I love that guy’ - NBCSP
On Tuesday, we learned Jeffery is out for the year, and on Thursday, Wentz talked about how big a loss that is but also spoke — in glowing terms — about his relationship with Jeffery. “I have a great relationship with Alshon,” Wentz said. “He’s been an awesome teammate ever since he got here. When he first signed here, we went to dinner, we got to know each other, we both had high expectations for each other. It’s been awesome getting to know him as a guy and as a teammate and seeing the plays he’s been able to make over the years and this year as well. I love that guy and obviously the injury is very unfortuna

Projecting the fifth-year option decisions on all 32 2017 first-rounders - The Athletic
14. Derek Barnett, DE, Philadelphia Eagles. Projected cost: $10.1 million. YES. Barnett has become a full-time starter and was coming off a strong game against Miami in Week 13 when he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the Eagles’ victory Monday night. Barnett has 4.5 sacks with two forced fumbles this season. His resume is not overwhelming, but the combination of age, potential, production and price makes the fifth-year option seem realistic.

David Tepper, Analytics and His First-Ever NFL Head Coaching Search - MMQB
When officiating came up, EVP Troy Vincent said that “everything is on the table” when asked about the potential of a sky judge being added in 2020. I’m told that inside the meeting room, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie proposed a deep dive on officiating, reviews and rules ahead of the league’s annual meeting in West Palm Beach in March. Sources say that Lurie challenged the room to try to “change the paradigm,” and it wasn’t so much an affront to the officials, the league office or anyone else—it was a push for everyone to create a better on-field product. That includes making sure the game is called correctly, ensuring the rules are enforced in a pragmatic and non-draconian fashion and making the play on the field—not how the game is governed—the main focus. “It didn’t seem like it was directed at Al [Riveron] or the officiating department,” texted one person in the room. “More it was what should and shouldn’t be a focus … whether more or less penalties should be called, pace of play, etc.”

Duffy: Inside the offense’s drive to victory in overtime - PE.com
Finally, the touchdown to Zach Ertz is off a pass play that we see a lot from the Eagles, particularly down in the low red zone. Ertz motions close to the formation to create a “bunch” look. The Giants try to communicate pre-snap with some sort of an “in and out” call, but it’s not communicated well and they end up busting the coverage, leaving Ertz open in the back of the end zone for the walk-off touchdown. The game-winner by Ertz was great to see, particularly after he put so much on himself for the loss against Miami the previous week. That wasn’t the only big play he made on the night, however, because not only did he lead the team with nine catches for 91 yards, but he also reached the end zone twice. One was the game-winner, and the other was the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, off an Eagles staple.

Ranking the best and worst potential NFL head-coaching openings in 2019 - ESPN
1. Dallas Cowboys — At the top of this list is arguably the most difficult job in the NFL. Whoever takes the Cowboys job will be held to an unrealistic standard and expected to win immediately. Jason Garrett has won an average of 8.9 games per 16, won the NFC East last season, might win it again this season and is being run out of town. I suspect there are people who see this as the most enticing job on this list and others who see it as something closer to the least enticing opportunity.

A three-game losing streak has destroyed just about all faith that Cowboys fans have in the team - Blogging The Boys
There is no denying it. Dallas Cowboys fans are mad. Losing sucks. Losing again sucks more. Losing three times in a row is enough to push a lot of fans over the edge. Such seems to the case as everywhere you turn people are quite upset with the Dallas Cowboys.

Who Could be the Redskins Next Head Coach? - Hogs Haven
Matt Rhule (Baylor HC) - Matt Rhule is a true leader of men. He opened the eyes of the entire collegiate world by leading the perennial doormat, Temple, to a 10-2 record in just his third season, and won a conference championship the following year. He then took over the reigns at Baylor amidst NCAA sanctions, and in three seasons had the Bears back to being competitive. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2019.

Giants’ coaching rumors: Updates on Matt Rhule, Ron Rivera - Big Blue View
Rhule fully heard out at least two teams in the past two offseasons. He was a candidate for the Indianapolis Colts job in 2018. Last offseason, he was reportedly ready to become the New York Jets head coach until a dispute arose over whether or not he would have the authority to hire his own assistant coaches. Rhule coached a single season with the Giants (assistant offensive line, 2012). A New York City native it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t be tempted by the idea of coaching the Giants, especially after having been ready to accept the Jets job.

How did the Colts go from contender to disaster so fast this season? - SB Nation
The Indianapolis Colts are falling apart. Despite a 5-2 start to the year, their season looks doomed to end without a trip to the playoffs. They’ve lost five of their last six games, including to the tanking Dolphins in Week 10 and to the Buccaneers in Week 14, when the Colts blew a 35-21 lead. The downward spiral in November and December now has Indianapolis sitting at 6-7. That’s two games behind both the Texans and Titans in the AFC South, and leaves the Colts a couple games behind in the AFC Wild Card race too.

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