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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...
Eagles cannot allow Dak Prescott’s injury to set them back long-term - PhillyVoice
Since they won the Super Bowl in 2017, the Eagles have steadily gotten worse and worse as a football team, while also becoming older, more prone to injury, and more cap constrained, with fewer young players making an impact. The window for this roster to contend for a Super Bowl is closed. We all saw what a championship team looked like in 2017, and very clearly, this isn’t it, or close in any way. The Eagles should sell at the trade deadline, ideally while shedding contracts of older players in decline, allow for 2021 to be a rebuilding year, and attempt to seriously contend again in 2022 and beyond. What they cannot do is allow a weakened Cowboys team to cloud their long-term judgment by chasing a hollow division title.
A Messy Situation - Iggles Blitz
I’m not completely down on this team. Carson Wentz played his best game on Sunday and if he gets going, that changes a lot. Good Wentz can carry mediocre players to wins. Still, this team has a lot of issues. Getting Wentz hot and getting players back from IR will certainly help, but it sure feels like there are fatal flaws. I hope Pederson, Roseman and most importantly, Jeffrey Lurie, see these flaws and act accordingly. Sell at the trade deadline and focus on young talent. Do not fall into the trap of trying to win the division. If the young guys get you there, great. This is clearly not a true contender so winning the division would be for bragging rights, nothing more.
12 thoughts on the Eagles’ loss to the Steelers - BGN
I thought some were overrating Wentz’s outing against the 49ers. He did enough to win but he still wasn’t actually good. I called it a performance to build on. To his credit, Wentz did just that against the Steelers. The box score hardly tells the whole story: 20/35 (57%), 258 yards (7.4 average), 2 TD, 2 INT, 75.7 passer rating. The picks were forgivable. Zach Ertz got pushed off his route (probably should’ve been a penalty) on the first one and the second one was a Hail Mary attempt on 4th-and-20 with the game already decided. Wentz generally looked composed and his accuracy was a whole lot better than it’s been for most of the season. He threw some real nice passes in this one and he didn’t really have a choice because it’s not like his targets were generating separation.
FROM THE SB NATION NFL SHOW: Monday Football Monday interviews BTSC - BGN Radio
The SB Nation NFL Show brings together the greatest fan-alysts from across SB Nation’s NFL team communities in one place for the first time ever. Expect deep analysis, irreverent jokes, and plenty of bickering between rivals. It’s a show for NFL fans, by NFL fans.
Kremenjas: Ranking the top 15 rookie wide receivers through Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season - PFF
13. Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles. Reagor was a tough evaluation, as he’s totaled only 67 receiving snaps, but Philly’s first-round draft pick has already displayed some of the vertical ability that made him such a high selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. Reagor’s 18.8-yard average depth of target ranks fourth, his 19.2 receiving yards per reception ranks fifth and his 6.6 yards after the catch per reception ranks eighth among all rookie receivers. Reagor has registered a 100% catch rate on catchable passes, but the small sample sizes make it difficult to truly evaluate him.
Trevor Lawrence Looms Over the 2020 Season; How Travis Fulgham Was Found; More - MMQB
The Lions wound up drafting Fulgham in the sixth round, but the Eagles kept tracking him. Fulgham went from Detroit’s active roster to its practice squad that September, then back on the active roster in December. Detroit then waived him in August and the Packers claimed him, then waived him 10 days later. And at that point, with expanded training camp rosters, the Eagles finally had a spot for him. So they put in the claim, he spent a few weeks on the practice squad in September, and then got called up nine days ago. At the time, he didn’t have an NFL catch. Two days later, he scored the 42-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown that put Philly ahead for good in its first win of the season, over San Francisco. And Sunday, he went for 152 yards and another score on 10 catches. Now, if the Eagles knew he was capable of that? They wouldn’t have waited so long to grab him. But they did feel like something was there all along, so this is a testament, in my mind, to not giving up on an evaluation, and in this case not giving up on Fulgham sure has paid off.
The Sunday Aftermath - Rotoworld
“Travis Fulgham” explodes for Eagles. The No. 184 overall pick of last year’s draft, Fulgham entered Sunday’s game with two career catches. He bettered that by 400 percent, snagging a ridiculous 10 balls for 152 yards and a score. This, against a Steelers Defense that’s supposed to be one of the NFL’s best. Where did this come from? Already 25, 6-foot-3 Fulgham went from walk-on to three-year starter at Old Dominion before turning in 61st-percentile SPARQ results at last year’s Combine. He ran a middling 4.58 40-yard dash but flashed short-area explosion with a 10-foot-6 broad jump. We have seen this before in an offense that can’t keep a wideout healthy. Greg Ward went off down the stretch last year before generally being invisible in 2020. Fulgham is probably just in the right place at the right time, but with scores each of the past two weeks, fantasy managers need to find out. The Ravens are a stiff Week 6 test.
Duffy: What did the film show in the loss to the Steelers? - PE.com
You don’t want a linebacker matched up on a receiver in space at the end of the day. But I wanted to show you how that happened and why I think it happened. Throughout the afternoon, the Eagles checked to man coverage vs. the Steelers in their empty sets. The Eagles did one of two things on third-and-long. They played a form of split-safety zone coverage (either Cover 2 or Cover 6) or they went with a heavy blitz with man coverage behind it. Why play the zone coverage? Because Pittsburgh had not really utilized a downfield passing attack so far this season. As was the case for most of the afternoon on Sunday, the Steelers tried to get the ball out of Ben Roethlisberger’s hands as quickly as possible. In zone coverage with two split safeties, you’re protecting yourself in case they do attack vertically, but you also have eyes on the quarterback to rally to the short throws underneath and make a tackle.
Ravens secondary has historic day, sets NFL record in rout of Bengals - Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Ravens secondary set an NFL record for sacks in their dominant defensive performance against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Ravens defensive backs were utterly dominant, recording five sacks (DeShon Elliott, Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Chuck Clark and Marcus Peters), while also recording two forced fumbles (Humphrey and Peters) as well as an interception (Peters). The Ravens secondary was also stout in coverage, allowing only 183 passing yards in their complete annihilation of the Bengals offense. The Bengals amassed over 300 passing yards against each of their previous three opponents, with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow being the first rookie to do so in three consecutive games in NFL history heading into Week 5.
Zach Ertz isn’t playing like someone who deserves a big contract extension - NBCSP
Sure, defenses are keying on Ertz. He gets a ton of attention but elite players are able to overcome all that. That can’t be an excuse because the Eagles need him. Without Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert in the lineup, the Eagles should be relying on Ertz. And he isn’t making plays right now. It’s not all on him, of course. He and Wentz haven’t been on the same page. And the coaching staff can do a better job of scheming him open. But Ertz has to play better and he knows that too. Through five games this season, all Ertz has done is prove that the pay gap between him and George Kittle and Travis Kelce is warranted.
Dak Prescott ankle injury: Answering the biggest questions about the QB, the Cowboys, Andy Dalton and what’s next - ESPN
There are a few scenarios in which Prescott could become a free agent in the spring. If he’s dealing with complications from the injury, the Cowboys might not be willing to use a second franchise tag. If Dalton excels, the Cowboys might try to sign Dalton to a Teddy Bridgewater-sized deal and use the savings to shore up their defense. If they trade for someone such as Darnold and he breaks out, they could try to go with a cheaper option at the position. None of these scenarios is especially likely, but they’re worth discussing as we wrap up. If Prescott were to become a free agent, as long as he’d be able to prove that the ankle is healing, I don’t think he would have much trouble getting a significant contact, albeit something short of Deshaun Watson’s extension with the Texans. It isn’t difficult to imagine Prescott signing a three-year, $105 million deal on the open market, giving him the chance to hit free agency again as he turns 30.
The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Dak Prescott’s Devastating Injury - The Ringer
Prescott was carted off the field Sunday with a compound fracture in his ankle. It brings a sudden end to the Cowboys QB’s season—and poses questions about what’s next for Dak, for Dallas, and for their future together.
How Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury could affect the business of getting a long-term deal done - Blogging The Boys
At the same time, this also might put a scare in Team Prescott as it shows how abruptly things can change. Dak should come out of this one okay, but this story would have a much sadder ending if something more career-threatening would’ve happened. Getting a long-term deal is going to be equally as important for him. A likely outcome is that once again Prescott is tagged much to the proverbial tomato throwing of Cowboys Nation. Only this time, once camp shows there is no lingering physical concerns with Dak, the two sides will finally come to an agreement. For now, it’s okay to be emotional, but emotions can get the better of us. Take comfort that this one is going to end with a press conference where both sides are smiling and hugging it out.
‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review of Giants-Cowboys: Song remains the same for Giants - Big Blue View
Andrew Thomas — I don’t really know what to say after Thomas’s performance on Sunday. It wasn’t good. At all. Per Pro Football Focus, the rookie left tackle gave up a ridiculous nine pressures. Thomas has been struggling with speed to the outside and counter moves to the inside. On Sunday’s Daniel Jones sack/fumble for a Dallas score, Thomas barely got a hand on Demarcus Lawrence as he blew past him to the outside. As PFF’s Mike Renner wrote, “The signs of improvement you’d hope to see from a youngster as the season goes on weren’t there in this one.”
Ron Rivera Presser: As long as Kyle Allen is healthy, he’s the starter this week - Hogs Haven
Ron Rivera said that Kyle Allen will be the starter this week against the New York Giants if he is healthy. Allen was taken out of yesterday’s game following a helmet-to-helmet hit, and a shoulder injury. He was checked for a concussion, but was cleared. Rivera said he’s still sore, and will probably be more sore today. Allen ran the offense well, and drove the team down for a scoring drive early to take the lead. Rivera liked his decision-making on the scoring play where Allen took off and ran for the touchdown.
3 winners and 3 losers from Week 5 in the NFL - SB Nation
Losers: NFC East. It wasn’t that long ago that the NFC East was the model of success in the NFL. Year in, year out you could rely on the East sending a legit contender to the playoffs, sometimes two. The aforementioned injury to Dak Prescott really underscored how sad this division has come. The Cowboys are leading with a 2-3 record, and now have the exciting play of Andy Dalton to look forward to. Ooooooooooooof.
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