Eagles News: “It’s ultimately difficult to envision the Eagles finishing with fewer than 10 victories”

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Eagles Fantasy Preview - Rotoworld
The Eagles’ over/under is typically installed at 9.5. With the Redskins and Giants both in rebuilding mode, the path to the over seems wide open. Boasting one of the league’s easiest schedules, the Eagles have upgraded their skill corps while maintaining excellent lines on both sides of the ball. The secondary cannot possibly be as injured as it was in 2018, and Wentz is finally back to full health. As I have said before, I am not a good enough bettor to be shouting my Vegas takes from the rooftops, but it’s ultimately difficult to envision the Eagles finishing with fewer than 10 victories.

NFL coaches and executives rank Carson Wentz as a top 10 quarterback - BGN
[BLG Note: Carson Wentz received 39 combined Tier 1 and Tier 2 votes. Nick Foles received 18 while Dak Prescott received 16.]

Doug Pederson has the enviable task of figuring out how to feed many mouths in his loaded offense - PhillyVoice
On the other hand, with that abundance of talent comes the challenge of trying to keep everyone happy. ”Yeah, that’s just it,” Pederson said. “There’s just one ball, and that’s just my opportunity to communicate that to players, and listen, if defenses come in here and want to take DeSean away, then you got two tight ends and two other receivers and running backs that you can kind of exploit and get touches to. So it all kind of gets predicated on how teams want to approach us and how to attack us. We won a championship without a [1,000]-yard receiver, 1,000-yard rusher. It can be done. You can move the ball around a little bit and still be successful.”

Lawlor: Eagles must ‘bring the juice’ - PE.com
The 2017 team had plenty of juice. There was the excitement of finishing up the previous season on a high note with a two-game winning streak. The additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith certainly got the offense going. LeGarrette Blount brought size and physicality to the team. Chris Long proved to be a great addition, in the locker room and on the field. That team was hungry and optimistic. They attacked the offseason, Training Camp, the preseason, and then the regular season. 2018 was a different story. There was the question about who would start the season at quarterback. There were plenty of other guys hurt and on the mend. That team also was coming off a Super Bowl win. They weren’t as hungry. There is a different vibe this year.

Training Camp Preview: PFF previews all 32 teams as training camp kicks off around the NFL - PFF
The Eagles arguably have the most talented roster in the NFL. The team finished first in PFF’s offensive line rankings and pass-rush rankings while also finishing eighth in PFF’s run-defense rankings. While there’s reason for concern in the secondary, Philadelphia has every reason to make a postseason run if, and it’s a big if, quarterback Carson Wentz can stay healthy and return to his 2017 form. Philadelphia’s brass spent a majority of its offseason making efforts to fit Wentz with as much firepower as possible. The team traded for veterans Jordan Howard and DeSean Jackson, adding a veteran presence to a young backfield and giving Wentz a proven deep threat in the passing game. Jackson earned a career-high 80.8 receiving grade with the Bucs in 2018.

Backup question: If Carson Wentz goes down, can Nate Sudfeld step up? - Inquirer
“We love what we’ve seen out of Nate the last couple of years,’’ tight end Zach Ertz said. “The way that he approaches every day on the practice field and has played on the practice field has given guys a lot of confidence in his ability. “Practice obviously is completely different than seeing him in game action. If he had to play, there would be a little bit of an adjustment period, just like there was with Nick two years ago. But no one has any doubt about him. He can get it done.’’ Given Wentz’s injury history, it will be interesting to see if Pederson gives Sudfeld a few more reps with the first team in training camp this summer than backups typically get. Same with the preseason. “Obviously, Carson isn’t going to play every snap in the preseason,’’ Ertz said. “I’m sure there is going to be some overlap with us [first-team players] and Nate in the preseason when Carson is out.’’

Barnwell’s NFL fact check: Don’t be surprised if these seven things happen - ESPN
At the very least, it’s fair to figure his touchdown rate will decline. Amari Cooper scored seven touchdowns in nine games with the Cowboys, which prorates to 12.5 scores over a 16-game season. In Oakland, Cooper scored only 19 times in 52 games, for a prorated figure of just under six scores per 16 contests. In an offense in which Ezekiel Elliott will gobble up red zone touches, it’s difficult to see Cooper topping 12 touchdowns over a full season. Some of Cooper’s scores came on big plays which might not be repeatable. He scored a 90-yard touchdown on a play in which he was surrounded after the catch by three Washington defensive backs who inexplicably failed to make a tackle. Cooper’s three-score game against a banged-up Eagles secondary included a 75-yard score in which safety Corey Graham appeared to lose the ball in the lights. Those plays still count in the record books, of course, but fans expecting multiple games approaching 200 yards with multiple touchdowns might be disappointed by Cooper in 2019.

Draft Breakdown: JJ Arcega-Whiteside - Roster Guy
JJ is a freak of nature when it comes to vertical threat ability. Combining his big bodied frame, concentration, strong hands, positioning, physicality with DBs, and ability to get behind DBs early in the route makes him a very intriguing prospect. If he shows some speed and agility at the combine he may very well elevate to the #1 WR in the draft on draft boards. [BLG Note: Pre-draft scouting report worth revisiting, hat tip to r/Eagles.]

Will Jason Kelce be a Hall of Famer? - NBCSP
It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Kelce still needs to beef up his résumé with a couple more All-Pro or Pro Bowl seasons to be in the mix, and considering he’s been thinking about retirement recently, he may not play long enough to get those honors. But Kelce is already a two-time All-Pro, and of the 17 centers in NFL history who’ve been selected to three All-Pro teams, 15 of them are in the Hall of Fame. The only exceptions are Les Bingaman, who was a three-time All-Pro in a very short career in the 1950s with the Lions (4½ years as a starter) and Clyde Smith, who played in the 1920s. What hurts Kelce is that he’s only made two Pro Bowls in eight seasons, even though he’s clearly been deserving of more. The voters won’t know that.

Ep. 2019:67 - L.A. Rams positional preview: Tight Ends, Tour visits the Eagles - Rams Talk Radio
Derek Ciapala and Michael Stewart break down the Los Angeles Rams’ tight ends entering training camp. Later, Derek visits with Bleeding Green Radio’s Brandon Lee Gowton to break down the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2019 offseason.

Report: Trent Williams not expected to report to Redskins training camp - Hogs Haven
The latest wrinkle in this story was expected if Trent is truly pushing for a new deal. Mike Garafolo reports that Williams is not expected to report to training camp with his teammates this week.

Receiver fever: Assessing and predicting the Panthers’ wide receivers - Cat Scratch Reader
The fourth and fifth receiver spots appear to be locked down by Torrey Smith and Chris Hogan. Smith didn’t see the field much and didn’t play particularly well when he did. However, taking a pay cut to give Carolina cap flexibility exhibited the kind of team-first behavior the coaching staff values. I wouldn’t necessarily call him a lock, but he has a good of chance as any to make the final roster.

Panthers work out quarterback Luis Perez - PFT
According to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Panthers are working out quarterback Luis Perez Monday. Perez played in the AAF, and spent a month of the offseason with the Eagles. He was previously in Rams camp.

Agent’s Take: The ramifications of Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott holding out to get new deals from their teams - CBS Sports
Should Elliott decide to hold out, he seems to have more favorable conditions than Gordon. There may not much interest in history repeating itself given Elliott’s impact offensively. It took Dallas starting 0-2 in 1993 when trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions for Emmitt Smith to get the contract making him the NFL’s highest-paid running back that ended his holdout. Jason Garrett, who was a teammate of Smith’s, doesn’t have job security as the lame duck head coach of a team with high expectations. When a head coach’s job is potentially on the line with an underachieving season, he can be apt to put pressure on his team’s general manager and/or owner to do whatever it takes for the holdout to return before the regular season begins.

Giants exploring safety market, bring in Tre Boston and Johnathan Cyprien - Big Blue View
[BLG Note: The Eagles worked out Cyprien back in early June.]

Seahawks DL Jarran Reed suspended six games for violating NFL’s personal conduct policy - Field Gulls
[BLG Note: The Eagles don’t play the Seahawks until Week 12 but this is still a noteworthy loss for an NFC contender.]

The Wizards’ Hiring of Sashi Brown Will Test Whether an NFL-Style Process Can Make the Jump to the NBA - The Ringer
Brown has drawn comparisons to Sam Hinkie, the former Philadelphia 76ers general manager who, like Brown, played a long game, hoarded draft picks, and saw the value in losing early and often. The fact that Brown has now crossed into Hinkie’s sport will only heighten those comparisons. Hinkie notably consulted the Denver Broncos on analytics in the past, but he’s not expected to take a full-time NFL job anytime soon. Like Hinkie, Brown will wait outside while the team he helped build enjoys the success that seemed so far away when he took the job. And also like Hinkie, Brown was far from perfect and lost a lot—far too often for even a rebuilding franchise to stomach. Brown whiffed in the draft, selecting Corey Coleman and trading out of picks that became Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson. And again like Hinkie, Brown’s image likely benefited from his firing. Brown is now a martyr whose plan was better than its execution. But his plan was very, very good.

What really happens on the first day of NFL training camp, as explained by a former player - SB Nation
The first day of camp is mostly a procedural day. You have an arrival time for your first team meeting, but everyone enters the facility much earlier than that, excited to get going and start the routine. If your training camp is off site, which doesn’t happen often, you’re arriving at the dorm. If you’re at home, you either first go to the hotel or to the facility. At the dorm or hotel, you’re checking in and getting your room assignment and ID card. Then, you haul all your stuff into your room. Veterans get the best rooms, often on a lower floor. They usually don’t have a roommate and can spread out in the room, too.

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