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Eagles News: ESPN names Philadelphia among most improved teams coming out of NFL free agency

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 3/22/19.

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NFL experts predict: Answering questions on 2019 free agency - ESPN
Seifert: Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s not forget what the Eagles have done, amid outsized concerns that they would be too tight against the salary cap to do much. They signed defensive tackle Malik Jackson to play alongside Fletcher Cox, as potent an interior pairing as there is in the NFL. And they brought back receiver DeSean Jackson, who is still one of the NFL’s top deep threats and is adept at the routes quarterback Carson Wentz throws best.

7 thoughts on the Eagles re-signing Vinny Curry - BGN
Now Curry is returning to a system in which he previously excelled. In 2017, PFF had Curry ranked 10th in run stop percentage and 35th out of 119 edge rushers in pressure rate. As PFF noted, those numbers indicated a career year for him. His performance was good enough for the Bucs to sign him to a three-year contract worth up to $27 million. Curry turns 31 in June and it’s possible he won’t be the same player he was for the Eagles two years ago. But there’s reason to believe he can still be a valuable contributor.

The QB Scho Show #18: Setting Expectations For Carson Wentz - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Mark Schofield analyze Carson Wentz’s game in-depth by looking back through his 2017 and 2018 campaigns and then set their expectations for his upcoming 2019 season! PLUS Prime Listener Questions & which Florida Man are you?Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Is “withdrawn” Thanksgiving proposal really withdrawn? - PFT
Here’s a theory: The Eagles fully intended to make the proposal and then to withdraw the proposal, with the understanding that the withdrawn proposal would still appear on the list of proposed rule changes. That way, the Eagles don’t look like jerks (or they look less like jerks) but the point still gets made. It’s actually a great point. Although the NFL remains determined to extend the Dallas and Detroit hammerlock on Thanksgiving games because they were willing to host the games when no one else was, there’s nothing unfair about requiring them to play their annual short-week game on the road, every other year. In fact, given the proliferation of short-week football, it’s only fair to expect all teams to play their short-week games at home one year and on the road the next year.

Mailbag: Should the Eagles have signed WR John Brown instead of DeSean Jackson - PhillyVoice
Question from Turd Ferguson: How would you rank the teams in the division going into the draft? 1) Eagles: Best QB, head coach, and GM in the division, by far, and a really good roster otherwise. 2) Cowboys: Some nice, young pieces. Sustainability of good injury luck a season ago would be a concern if I were them. 3) Giants: Bottom 5 team. Got rid of their best player on offense, and three best players on defense. 4) Washington: Who’s the quarterback?

More help up front with Vinny Curry’s return at DE - PE.com
That’s the idea – load up and let the best players win jobs. The Eagles’ defense thrived in 2017 with the line of scrimmage leading the way. It certainly helped that the Eagles’ offense scored so prolifically early in games and the defense often played with a lead and had the chance to pin its collective ears back and get after the quarterback, but the line didn’t quite dominate in 2018 as it did the year before. Having depth – which the Eagles continue to build with the addition of Curry – at end helps and bringing in Malik Jackson to play alongside Fletcher Cox inside adds a presence that offensive blocking schemes will have to respect and account for.

How Doug Marrone Made Nick Foles a Jaguar - MMQB
And Marrone knows it, having been Drew Brees’ OC in 2006. That was the first year for a new quarterback and staff in New Orleans, and a key assistant there ease the transition, like the Jags hope DeFilippo will for Foles. “Pete Carmichael was with [Brees] in San Diego, so when we put in installations, what he liked, what he didn’t like, Pete Carmichael gave us great insight,” he said. “So we were able to cut down that learning process, keeping it shorter. ... There are certain things, I go back to New Orleans, where Drew’s like, ‘No, I’d rather run this.’ Nick’s at that point where he can say, ‘I like this concept better than that concept,’ and ‘I feel like I can work this in this coverage or this in that coverage’, or ‘I like this this.’ They’re all different to an extent. You can win football games with a lot of different quarterbacks, but sometimes you have to go through a lot to figure it out together, on what they like.” And the Jags won’t have to nearly to the extent they might otherwise.

What does the Golden Tate signing mean for the Giants offense? - Big Blue View
The Giants appear to be building their offense this way, giving the quarterback shorter and easier throws that allow the skill players to do much of the work. One could make the argument it would be easier and better for the long term to find a quarterback who doesn’t have to be masked by building an offense around shorter throws, but the Giants have a structure that will most likely heavily rely on yards after the catch. There’s no guarantee it won’t work, but there’s no guarantee it will either.

Did Marcus Smith simply fly under everyone’s radar? - Hogs Haven
I was looking through the Redskins player list while working on a salary cap article last week, and I spotted a name — Marcus Smith. Hmmm... Was this some young kid signed on a futures contract? The name wasn’t ringing a bell, and I didn’t remember him playing for the Redskins before. The problem was that he’s slated to make $805,000 with the Redskins this season. That’s no futures contract. Smith? I Googled his name, saw the first search return, and remembered that in the middle of the injury crisis last year the Redskins had signed a player, and everyone from Bleeding Green Nation came over to laugh at us for the depths to which we’d fallen.

Dane Brugler’s Top-100 NFL prospects: Nick Bosa, Quinnen Williams are 1-2, then things get interesting - The Athletic
25. Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama - Some backs have a strong lower body and others have an explosive lower body, but Jacobs has both – an explosively strong lower body, allowing him to make violent, start/stop cuts. Although he had just three career starts in Tuscaloosa, his versatility helped him get on the field as a kick returner, wideout and occasionally as a wildcat quarterback, which was his main role in high school. His lack of touches in college is both a positive (wear and tear not an issue) and a negative (not a proven workhorse). Overall, Jacobs is just scratching the surface of his multi-dimensional skill set, displaying the explosive and versatile traits to be a three-down feature weapon in the NFL with Pro Bowl upside.

The Pursuit of Peyton Manning and Five Thoughts on the Future of ‘Monday Night Football’ - The Ringer
ESPN is reportedly interested in bringing the legendary QB to the booth to replace Jason Witten. Is that the answer for the NFL’s most historic show?

From two Super Bowl wins to chaos: How the New York Giants collapsed - SB Nation
New York sat atop the NFL for the second time in five seasons. Manning earned another Super Bowl MVP award, capping off his best season in the league. The offense was littered with playmakers, the defense knew when to turn it on, and Giants general manager Jerry Reese proved he knew how to put together a team. Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin captured lightning in a bottle and delivered the Lombardi Trophy twice to the nation’s biggest market. With all eyes on them, they looked to begin a dynasty of their own. But sometimes the bright lights of New York just make it easier to see when everything goes wrong. Then all we can ask is, “what happened?”

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