Eagles News: Decision to have padded practices didn’t go over well with all players

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Doug Pederson trying to keep his grip on Eagles’ locker room - Inquirer
“There was no leadership council meeting. There was no talking about that [stuff] today,” guard Brandon Brooks said. “It was just going to be pads, and that’s what it was going to be. There was no talking him out of it.” Some veterans, such as defensive end Brandon Graham, center Jason Kelce, and Brooks, said they accepted Pederson’s decision. Tackle Lane Johnson said he even welcomed the physical practice. But it didn’t go over well with others, Graham confirmed, particularly because there wasn’t player input. “Well, yeah,” he said, “but still they had a good practice.” Safety Malcolm Jenkins, maybe the most outspoken on the leadership council, was uncharacteristically tight-lipped about the chain of events. Jenkins delivered four straight I don’t knows when asked why he thought Pederson went with pads, if he agreed with the decision, why they didn’t have the council meeting, and if he thought there was a correlation.

Eagles vs. Giants Game Preview: Five questions and answers with a division enemy - BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) and New York Giants (2-10) are set to play at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday Night Football. In order to preview this Week 14 matchup, I reached out to our associates over at Big Blue View. The enlightened Ed Valentine (@Valentine_Ed) kindly took the time to respond to my questions about the upcoming game. Let’s take a look at his answers. Also, don’t forget to check out my side of the Q&A exchange over at BBV.

Babes On Broad #15: Blow It Up - BGN Radio
Sam Wilson & Jessica Towne recap the ugly loss to the Dolphins and try to identify what happened PLUS thoughts on the coaching staff, a preview of Eagles-Giants, What’s Going On Around Philly, their Recipe of the Week and more! Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation!

The Least - Iggles Blitz
I’m glad Pederson is mixing things up and trying to get through to his players. You can question the timing of this. Why not last week? Pederson tried a different tone last week and it didn’t work. We’ll have to see if this does. Brandon Brooks and Brandon Graham said the right things and that is encouraging, but we need to see results before we can start to talk about the changes being effective. I hope the Dallas loss on Thursday can serve as a motivator for the Eagles. Dallas came in claiming to be a desperate team. They said all the right things. They marched down the field and scored an early TD to go up 7-0. Life was good. Next thing you know, the Bears were up 24-7 and Dallas was in disarray. The Eagles should have learned plenty by losing to Miami, but seeing Dallas fall apart as well should teach them a lesson. Play all 60 minutes with a sense of urgency. Don’t get a taste of success and then let up. Play with an edge all game long.

The rise of Josh Allen, and more NFL players improving (and declining) - ESPN+
Running back risers — Miles Sanders’ improvement is tough to explain given that Jordan Howard, running behind the same offensive line, is going to appear on our next table of running back fallers. The rookie’s average yards per carry has gone from 3.49 through Week 6 to 5.44 since Week 7. Howard’s decline in DVOA seems to be entirely situational, as his average yards per carry has only fallen from 4.50 to 4.30 in the same period. (Or rather, the period for Howard is actually just Weeks 7-9, since he’s missed the last three Philadelphia games with an injury.)

Start and Sit: Week 14 - Football Outsiders
Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz are borderline shallow-league starters in a true-talent sense, but both have plus matchups in Week 14 that pull them into my top five. [...] For Wentz, the good matchup is a Giants team that is much weaker against the pass (No. 30 in DVOA) than the run (No. 11). The Giants increase their opponents passing yards and touchdowns per attempt by 14% and 22%, respectively. With a full array of weapons including a healthy Alshon Jeffery, Wentz looked his normal self last Sunday, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Really, my only concern for Wentz this week is the 56% chance of rain in Philadelphia on Monday night. You can watch that forecast on Saturday and Sunday morning, but even if it continues to look likely, I don’t think I could run away from such an appetizing matchup.

5 must starts for fantasy football in Week 14 - Fake Teams
WR Alshon Jeffery, Eagles vs Giants – 89.2% owned. Finally healthy, Jeffery looked the part last week as he caught 9 balls for 137 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles loss to the Dolphins. Facing a similarly poor pass defense in the Giants this week, Jeffery should easily earn you double digit fantasy points as the Eagles look to push the Cowboys for top spot in the NFC East.

The 8-Point Lead: Miles Sanders vs. Saquon Barkley, Eagles offense without Jordan Howard, Lane Johnson’s journey - The Athletic
The [Mack Hollins] move also raised questions about a possible disconnect between the coaching staff and front office. It was the fifth time this season the Eagles cut a player who has been a starter or contributor, following the removals of Matthews, Zach Brown, Andrew Sendejo and Akeem Spence. This is not typical bottom-of-the-roster churn. None of those five players had been healthy scratches at any point, so it stands out when someone goes from a trusted part of the game plan to unemployed in a matter of days or weeks. “There is not a decision that is made with this roster that Howie (Roseman) and I don’t discuss first obviously, whether it’s practice squad, whether it’s active roster, whether it’s to bring a guy in for a workout or whatever it might be,” Pederson said. “We also feel like some of our younger players, JJ and Greg, have earned or at least deserved an opportunity. You have to make some tough decisions. But it’s because of some discussions that we’ve had here in the past few weeks. … Ultimately, it goes down Howie’s path, but again, we talk and we agree and we make those decisions together.”

5 matchups to watch as Eagles host Giants in NFL Week 14 - NBCSP
I know they lost and I know the offense struggled to score in the second half in Miami, but Wentz had a pretty good game. He threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns. He had his only interception on the Hail Mary that he was forced to throw because the defense couldn’t stop the Dolphins at all. Before that Hail Mary, Wentz’s passer rating was over 100. The Giants are the eighth-worst passing defense in the league, giving up 258.6 passing yards per game. And you have to remember that they’ve lost six games by at least two touchdowns, so teams aren’t even trying to pass on them for whole games. Janoris Jenkins has recently voiced his frustration about not traveling. First-round pick DeAndre Baker hasn’t had a great rookie season and he’s been rotating in and out.

Defense looking forward to Monday night with confidence, conviction, and urgency - PE.com
“I don’t think anybody was happy with last week, but the big thing is to not let what happened last week make us waver in confidence,” Jenkins said. “We were playing really good for a stretch and it wasn’t by accident. For us, we have to stick to our plan, believing in our ability and going out and competing. The Giants have playmakers. They’re going to be as healthy on Monday night as they’ve been all season, and that makes them a dangerous group. We are preparing to get back to what we have done well during the season. We’re going to play our defense.”

Giants injury news, 12/6: Daniel Jones still not practicing, but good signs for Evan Engram, Golden Tate - Big Blue View
Quarterback Daniel Jones is out of the walking boot, but still did not practice for the New York Giants on Friday. Coach Pat Shurmur told media that it was “very unlikely” Jones will be able to play, which further ensures that Eli Manning will be at quarterback Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles. It also looks like Manning could have a full complement of offensive weapons to work with, making Monday the first time this season all of the Giants’ offensive play-makers could be on the field together. Engram, who has missed three games with a foot injury, was listed as a limited practice participant. There is optimism he will be ready Monday night.

Jerry Jones to radio hosts after being asked if he’s embarrassed: Get your damn act together - Blogging The Boys
This outburst from Jones will do nothing but corroborate the idea that the Cowboys are imploding from within. For him to jump on the radio and be aggressive in the segment’s opening minutes says a lot about the lack of patience that he’s currently feeling.

Time Is Running Out for Jason Garrett to Save the Cowboys’ Season—and His Job - The Ringer
Multiple Cowboys beat writers compared this loss to another Cowboys game: Wade Phillips’s last game. In Week 9 of 2010, the Packers beat the Cowboys 45-7 and Jones fired Phillips and promoted Garrett. The Bears didn’t beat Dallas that badly on Thursday, but allowing 31 points and four total touchdowns to Mitchell Trubisky is comparable to giving up 45 points and three scores to Aaron Rodgers. A lot has changed in the nine years since Garrett became head coach, but things tend to come full circle. Nine years ago the no. 1 song was “Like a G6,” and now the G7 is the G6. The Cowboys might have an interim head coach soon too.

Trent Williams on Bruce Allen, Redskins exit and the future: ‘Everybody sees how they treated me’ - Washington Post
In a lengthy interview, Williams was highly critical of the leadership of the only NFL franchise he has known, accusing Allen of retaliating against him for his holdout, blaming him for the team’s failure to succeed over the last decade and describing his own feelings of betrayal by the team after playing through countless injuries, only to be left fearing for his life. Describing the relationship between him and the team, he sadly shakes his head. “I don’t see how it can be reconciled,” Williams says. “At the end of the day, I’m a human being. I ain’t like a dog and you can slap s--- out of me and I’m going to come back the next morning with my tail wagging. This was a conscious decision; they didn’t burn the bridge by accident. This was something they felt comfortable doing, so I got to feel comfortable with moving on, too.”

The Day That Changed Everything - NJ.com
Mike Groh, Randolph’s senior quarterback and kicker, trotted to the sideline, grabbing a shoe he used for field goals. Then, he sauntered back onto the field. The stadium fell silent. Montclair was so disoriented, it didn’t even have defenders on the field for the final play. Someone called timeout. Randolph’s players on the sidelines fell to a knee, hands locked in prayer. Montclair’s stood on their sideline, slack-jawed. Randolph snapped the ball and Groh kicked it. The final second ticked off the clock. The ball sailed through the uprights, good from 37 yards. Final score: Randolph 22, Montclair 21.

Former Wisconsin running back Corey Clement optimistic about Badgers’ chances - Land-Grant Holy Land
[BLG Note: Eagles running back talks this week’s Big Ten championship game between Wisconsin and Ohio State.]

13 Super Bowl contenders, ranked in the final month of the 2019 NFL season - SB Nation
13 and 12. Dallas Cowboys/Philadelphia Eagles. My favorite part of this season is that 3-9 Washington is still in the playoff hunt. The NFC Least is the reason why. I guess someone has to win the division, though it’ll probably be Dallas or Philly. The Cowboys didn’t bother to show up in Chicago Thursday night. They made Mitchell Trubisky look like an All-Pro. Offensively, they are a wreck. They need to fire Jason Garrett ASAP. His message isn’t working. As for the Eagles, the Dolphins just beat them. The Giants travel to the Linc on Monday night with Eli Manning back under center. How confident are you they will win? I’m not. But an NFC East team will end up in the playoffs, and whoever it is will be a home underdog against the No. 5 seed on Wild Card Weekend.

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