Eagles News: Andy Reid says Donovan McNabb belongs in the Hall of Fame

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Andy Reid: Donovan McNabb belongs in the Hall of Fame - PFT
“Listen, I’m his biggest fan. I was there. I know he belongs there,” Reid said. “You talk about the great players in the National Football League? Five championship games, a Super Bowl? All those things? Good football player. Great football player, and did some things that weren’t being done at that particular time in a lot of areas. I think the world of him.”

Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: The big man makes some big plays - BGN
If you’ve been keeping up with BGN’s practice notes, you’ll recall that a wide receiver by the name of Carlton Agudosi has been making some highlight plays throughout the offseason. I’ve previously referred to the 6-6, 220 pound receiver as the Eagles’ new version of Ifeanyi Momah. That comparison isn’t perfect, though, because Agudosi is actually looking better than Momah. Agudosi’s size really stood out with the Eagles doing a lot of red zone work today. By my count, he had at least four red zone touchdowns. One came in a 3-on-3 scenario where Clayton Thorson didn’t see anyone open so he just lobbed it up and Agudosi caught the jump ball. Then it was Nate Sudfeld who hit Agudosi for three touchdowns during a 7-on-7 red zone drill. One of those touchdowns was a perfect fade throw from Sudfeld that allowed a leaping Agudosi to make the play. Agudosi did have two drops in practice, including one on what would’ve been a nice deep completion. Still, a good day for Agudosi. Pederson mentioned him first when asked about some more of the unheralded standout players from training camp so far. I don’t have Agudosi making the 53-man just yet but he’s put himself in roster bubble conversation. Practice squad might be the realistic bet.

Training Camp Winners & Losers - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton & Michael Kist recap day 7 of the Eagles’ training camp by discussing winners and losers at this point in the process! KAMUUUUUUUUU. Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

An updated look at the NFC East’s holdouts and suspensions - PhillyVoice
The Cowboys built their team around a strong rushing attack, and, you know, their rushing attack won’t anywhere near as strong without Elliott. The guess here is that the Cowboys will eventually cave and make Elliott the highest paid running back ever, because what other choice do they have? I mean, they could realize that building their team around a rushing attack is a stupid thing to do in 2019, thus kissing the 2019 season goodbye by not caving, but we all know that Jerry Jones isn’t punting on a season. Elliott and his camp hold all the cards.

Some Love for the LBs - Iggles Blitz
Kamu Grugier-Hill has been one of the stars of Training Camp. I’m really excited to see him in action next week. KGH has gone from just being an athlete to being a playmaker. His combination of skill, ability, athleticism, instincts and experience are all closer now than ever before. L.J. Fort, T.J. Edwards and Alex Singleton have all had their good moments, but none of them has consistently stood out. Paul Worrilow has missed time due to injury. If Bradham is healthy and KGH lives up to the summer hype, the LBs will be good. Brown needs to pick his game up. Gerry needs to keep improving. You won’t mistake this group for Seth-BE-Willie T. anytime soon, but they could be pretty good.

The 35 most intriguing players heading into the 2019 NFL season - The Athletic
5. Carson Wentz, QB, Eagles — Consider the ups and downs of the last two seasons. In 2017, Wentz was a legit MVP candidate before he suffered a knee injury and had to watch Foles lead the Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title. Last season, Wentz struggled through a back injury and was sidelined again as Foles rallied the team to the divisional round. This offseason, Wentz received a $128 million contract, and GM Howie Roseman has surrounded him with a tremendous supporting cast. The pieces are in place for him to get back to MVP form, but Wentz has to show he can stay healthy and play better than he did in 2018.

With an ‘unshackled’ Carson Wentz leading the way, do Eagles have NFL’s best roster? - CBS Sports
“I like their quarterback way better than Dallas,” he said. “I like their culture and their ability to handle expectations. I believe in their coaching. I think they’re, on paper, the best team in that division.” Speaking of the quarterback, La Canfora added that a healthy Carson Wentz is reason No. 1 why the Eagles should be considered one of the NFL’s top dogs. ”I think he’s an MVP candidate,” he said. “To see him that first day of camp, how lean he was, it was noticeable ... I think he’s sort of unshackled mentally and physically.”

Players who will score more touchdowns in 2019 - ESPN In$ider
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (2018: 0 TDs, OTD: 2.0): Wentz appeared in 11 games last season, though clearly not back to 100 percent from a torn ACL suffered in 2017. The limitations led to a drastic dip in rushing production (64 carries for 299 yards in 2017, 34 carries for 93 yards in 2018), but he still posted a 2.0 OTD (14th among quarterbacks) and three carries inside the 5 (eighth). Wentz ran for two touchdowns (1.7 OTD) on 46 carries as a rookie, but has somehow failed to manage even one on 98 carries over the past two seasons (4.1 OTD). Especially now that he’s back to full health, expect Wentz to find the end zone with his legs in 2019. 2019 projection: 2.

PFF ranks the top-10 edge defenders ahead of the 2019 NFL season - PFF
8. Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles. 2018 OVERALL GRADE RANK: 8. Sacks don’t tell the whole story for any player in the NFL, and no player epitomizes that more than Graham. He’s only recorded double-digit sacks in PFF’s system once (2017) but has been as consistent as they come from an overall pressure and pass-rush grade standpoint. He has recorded 45 or more pressures in six of his last seven seasons in the NFL and has earned 81.0-plus pass-rush grades in five of them.

History takes new direction with revamped WR corps - PE.com
All of a sudden, the Eagles have a tentative first unit of Jackson and Jeffery on the outside with Agholor coming out of the slot. Jackson can also slide inside and Agholor can play outside, creating some potential matchup advantages against certain defensive backfields. Arcega-Whiteside has shown up every day in Training Camp and has shown that this moment isn’t too big for him. The Eagles have four wide receivers, then, who they can interchange and use in a variety of ways with confidence. Behind that foursome is where the intrigue really lies and the competition is intense to watch in Camp. A fifth and potentially sixth roster spot at wide receiver is going to be won in the four preseason games and so, yes, the preseason games mean something here.

Andre Dillard explains what it’s like to be guided by a living legend - NBCSP
From the time Andre Dillard arrived to Philadelphia in April, he began to understand the Legend of Jason Peters. Because Peters is more than a 37-year-old football player. He’s more than a future Hall of Famer. Inside the NovaCare Complex, he’s more of a revered Paul Bunyan-like character. And Dillard couldn’t wait to meet him. “Before I ever met him, he seemed like a mythical creature,” Dillard said with a smile to NBC Sports Philadelphia last week. “Through all of rookie minicamp and OTAs and all this stuff, everybody would be talking about him, coaches and players included. And I just never saw him until mandatory minicamp showed up. I didn’t really think he was a real person to be honest with you.”

In judging Donovan McNabb’s career with the Eagles, it’s time to stop going to extremes - Inquirer
There’s a lot going on in Reid’s answer, and one of the least interesting aspects is the question of whether McNabb ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Reid hits the highlights of the strongest case one could make – that McNabb was a forerunner of the big, strong, mobile passers now common in the league, that his team’s consistent success should elevate his candidacy as it has for other inductees – but the overall body and quality of work just aren’t there. In an era when Tom Brady was winning three Super Bowls in four years and Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees were rewriting passing records and a quarterback who was comparable to McNabb in substance and style (Steve McNair) earned a significant accolade (NFL MVP) that he did not, it’s difficult to make a compelling argument for McNabb. We’re coming up on 15 years since the best season of his career, 2004, when he threw 31 touchdown passes, posted a 104.7 passer rating, led the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX, and showed what he might have done had the team not waited so long to get him Terrell Owens or another elite wide receiver. That he didn’t have more seasons like that one isn’t necessarily his fault, but he probably needed more of them to earn the benefit of the doubt from the Hall’s voters.

Eli Manning: 2019 expectations from the numbers and the film - Big Blue View
Only time will tell where Manning’s 2019 season ends up. On film, there were issues. The numbers indicate that perhaps this year was a bit of a rebound. Perhaps better success straddling the line between aggression and conservative play will continue that rebound. But with a first round draft pick waiting in the wings and a fan base clamoring for on-the-field success, Manning might not have many more chances to deliver.

Raiders sign defensive tackle Anthony Rush - Raiders.com
The Oakland Raiders have signed free agent DT Anthony Rush, the club announced Thursday. [BLG Note: The Eagles waived Rush last weekend in order to sign Orlando Scandrick.]

The OL Masterminds summit is the best experience for the NFL’s least appreciated position - SB Nation
OL Masterminds is the brain child of Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson and offensive line scouting and development consultant Duke Manyweather (you can find all his work on Twitter @BigDuke50). Last year, Lane was one of the players discussing the top-100 players list on NFL Network, and he mentioned the offensive line should have a gathering of the minds. That was something Duke had already started while training his offensive linemen. “We had been doing small mastermind sessions on Saturday mornings with the guys training here the previous two years, but when [Lane] said it, the light bulb clicked on,” Duke recently told me, describing how Masterminds became a reality.

PREMIERE: Queen of Jeans Move on in “All the Same” Video - Flood Magazine
[BLG Note: The band that BGN alumnus Patrick Wall drums for has another new video out!]

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