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Eagles News: Philadelphia “cannot let false hope seduce them”

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 10/21/20.

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NFL: OCT 18 Ravens at Eagles Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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Howie Roseman, Eagles can’t let false hope steer them off course - ESPN
General manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles brass are justified in moving in one of two directions given the numbers at hand: They can be aggressive at the NFL trade deadline (Nov. 3) and lean heavily on their veteran players in pursuit of their fourth straight playoff appearance, or they can hold tight to their future draft picks and showcase their young talent the rest of the way in the name of defining a path forward. The second option is the right one. The Eagles cannot let false hope seduce them into putting this chase — which will likely be after their own tail in the end — over the longer-term health of the franchise. [...] If an NFC East crown does come to pass, it should be in the spirit of discovery. Let the young players sink or swim, and don’t give up future talent for a marginal short-term fix. Because if you manage to win a lousy division with a sub-.500 record but do so at the expense of 2021 and beyond, what have you really accomplished?

The Eagles are going to win this terrible NFC East, aren’t they? - BGN
On one hand, I worry that the Eagles winning the NFC East is a false positive. The team will take pride in being the first team to repeat as division winners since 2004. They’ll take pride in making the playoffs for the fourth straight year in a row. Winning the division won’t inspire necessary and meaningful change that’ll help the team be better off in the long run. There will be more frustrations in 2021. On the other hand, it would be nice for the Eagles to get the playoffs if Carson Wentz and young players get them there. They’re obviously not going to be able to make much noise in the postseason but it could be good experience nonetheless.

The Least - Iggles Blitz
This season would be so much easier if one of the othe NFC East teams was actually good. You would just know it was their year and you would focus on developing your young talent and then think about the draft. Because the division is so awful you can’t help but think about winning. We watch the games to see the Eagles win. You can’t cheer for a loss. That’s just not in a fan’s DNA. The Eagles are in second place, but they sure look like the best team in the division right now. That’s depressing and scary and just plain weird. A win on Thursday gets them headed in the right direction and might build some confidence. A loss would be crushing. That might be the best thing long term, but it wouldn’t be any fun to experience.

Week 6 DVOA Ratings - Football Outsiders
Dallas plummets from 16th to 26th and falls slightly behind the Philadelphia Eagles in our odds to win the NFC East. [BLG Note: The Eagles rank 31st in DVOA.]

Off Day Debrief #7: Cowboys stink + Chiefs dominate + Week 7 Power Rankings - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and Brandon Lee Gowton break down the two Monday Night Football games and examine the changes to the Week 7 Power Rankings. Do the Cowboys need major changes with RJ Ochoa (Blogging the Boys). Are the Bills who we thought they were? How worried should Packers fans be after losing to Tampa Bay? Week 7 Oddities and survivor picks.

Babes On Broad #44: We Tried to Be Positive - BGN Radio
Sam Wilson & Jessica Towne react to the Eagles loss to the Ravens and give their positive takeaways, negative thoughts, three reasons for why it went the way it did AND answer listener questions! Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation!

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 7 - PhillyVoice
The Eagles lead the NFC East with a point differential of -34. Boom. The NFC East as a whole has a combined point differential of -184, with all four teams in the bottom quarter of the league in point differential. My conclusion: We already knew the Cowboys’ defense was garbage, but after watching how bad their offense looked on Monday night with Andy Dalton and a makeshift offensive line, I have the Eagles as the favorites to win this awful division (they still technically trail the Cowboys, with a +130 chance to win the NFC East according to TheLines.com consensus odds), which could actually be viewed as a bad thing.

The NFC East Is Officially a Master Class in Football Ineptitude - The Ringer
The NFC East is not just terrible, it is also hard to watch. The division that sits at 5-18-1 after six weeks has a point differential of negative-184. Both Washington and Dallas have had to switch quarterbacks, while Jones is creeping toward the “bust” label in New York, and injuries and incompetence have made the Eagles virtually unwatchable. There’s little hope things get much better—but one of these teams will be in the postseason come January. The NFC East’s ineptitude wouldn’t even be worth this angry blog, but NFL broadcasters won’t let us simply ignore this division. The Eagles and Giants play on Thursday night next week. And in Week 8, the Cowboys and Eagles will face off on Sunday night before the Buccaneers play the Giants on Monday night. NFL fans will be stuck with this filth all season long.

Zach Ertz, Miles Sanders go down with injuries: What will Eagles do vs. Giants? - The Athletic
With that said, the symbolism of a loss this week would be significant. If the Eagles fell to 1-5-1 and are 0-2 in the NFC East with losses to the Giants and Washington, it’s hard to talk about winning the NFC East. At that point, they would need to become sellers. That’s harder to do in the NFL with an onerous contract, but if there’s a player who is not part of the Eagles’ 2021 plans, it would behoove them to see if they can stockpile picks. A good argument could be made that the Eagles should think this way regardless of Thursday’s outcome. However, they could still reasonably claim to be NFC East favorites. That would be harder to do if they wake up with another loss Friday. (I would include Ertz and Malik Jackson on the list of players to trade, but their injuries complicate things. What could you get for DeSean Jackson — or even Nickell Robey-Coleman and Vinny Curry?)

How Bad Can The NFC East Get? - Defector
OK, because you wanted to know, here it is: the worst record an NFC East team can accrue and still win its division outright, without resorting to tiebreakers, is—vomit bags at the ready, coil your necks and, on our signal, GO!—4-11-1, by the Philadelphia Eagles. And who doesn’t want that?

In wide-open NFC East, Eagles must win in the trenches - PE.com
The offensive line is one of the many challenges the Eagles are facing now. Who is starting on Thursday night? Could Brett Toth, the prospect from Army who the Eagles were so intrigued with when he was allowed to delay his military obligations in 2019 and then was snapped up by Arizona for a season, only to return to Philadelphia from the waiver wire two weeks ago, start at right tackle on Thursday? Who is playing right guard – do the Eagles give Jamon Brown another nod or do they give Sua Opeta a shot? Then again, maybe the Eagles are able to get Lane Johnson and Jack Driscoll healthy enough to play against a strong Giants defensive line? We’re only two days away from kickoff. That’s how unstable the Eagles are along the offensive line. And it’s scary, especially with Miles Sanders uncertain to play with a knee injury, throwing once again the running back picture into flux. At tight end, Dallas Goedert is already injured. Zach Ertz is not practicing after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday. Richard Rodgers is the only tight end on the active roster. Jason Croom, who scored a touchdown on Sunday, is officially back on the practice squad.

Eagles need DeSean Jackson to flip the script on disappointing reunion tour to win NFC East - NJ.com
Jackson’s second tenure with the Eagles has been forgettable and frustrating, but a couple of big performances against the Giants on Thursday and the Dallas Cowboys next week, could change the perception — even if just slightly — of his return tour with the organization. The Eagles, despite their awful record, have a shot at a major turnaround. Unlike last year’s miraculous run to a division title, Jackson could actually play a major role in the Eagles’ potential righting of the ship. With this season likely to be his last in Philadelphia, it’s on Jackson to flip the script on the narrative of the past year and a half. If he can do that, the Eagles might have enough offensive firepower to win the NFC East.

Roob’s 10 (mostly) positive Eagles stats - NBCSP
THE MOST AMAZING TRAVIS FULGHAM STAT YET: Fulgham is the first Eagle ever with three games with 50 yards and a TD within his first six career games. The only players in NFL history with more such games through six career games are Washington’s Charlie Brown in 1982 and the Steelers’ Louis Lipps in 1984.

5 players to prioritize on the waiver wire for Week 7 - Fake Teams
1. Boston Scott (15% rostered, 20% FAAB budget). With the Eagles bye coming in Week 9, it’s very likely Miles Sanders will be out the next two weeks to give him plenty of time to heal up before the rest of the season. This opens the door for two potential breakout games for Scott as the Eagles play the Giants on Thursday Night and then the Cowboys in Week 8. Both teams do not have good defenses which offers tantalizing matchups for Scott. He easily should be your top waiver add this week.

Best available wide receivers on the Week 7 waiver wire - DraftKings Nation
Travis Fulgham, Philadelphia Eagles (31%). Fulgham has been Philly’s most dynamic receiving threat for three weeks now and has amassed at least 10 targets in two straight games. His six catches for 75 yards against the Ravens in Week 6 made me a believer. DeSean Jackson is set to return in Week 7, but Zach Ertz is expected to miss a couple weeks with a knee injury. Fulgham should continue to be heavily featured because of the Eagles’ banged up receiving corps.

Week 7 Waivers: Add Boston Scott, Fulgham - Rotoworld
1. Travis Fulgham, Eagles — Rostered in 46 percent of Yahoo leagues (Suggested 35-40% FAAB Bid). Miles Sanders’ (knee) and Zach Ertz’s (ankle) injuries leave the door open for Fulgham to continue surging as Philadelphia’s most impactful receiver. Not only has his snap rate progressively increased (60% < 78% < 81%) over the last three games, Fulgham’s 31% target share the past two weeks ranks ninth among the league’s wideouts. Even if Dallas Goedert were to return on Thursday, Ertz’s absence leaves the Eagles with no choice but to continue leaning on 11 personnel at a rate similar to what the offense has deployed since Goedert initially went down (68%, 9th). A lot of dominoes had to fall in a precise order for Fulgham to reach this point, but he has shown enough in averaging the fourth-most Yards Per Route Run to stick on the field over Greg Ward even when Jalen Reagor is cleared to return.

Giants-Eagles first look: 5 story lines to focus on for Thursday Night Football - Big Blue View
Who’s at left tackle? Starting and splitting time with Andrew Thomas because Thomas was disciplined for being late to a meeting, Matt Peart was impressive last Sunday against the Washington Football Team. Thomas also played well Sunday, but struggled during the season’s first five games. Judge was coy about his offensive line alignment. The Giants have Thomas, Peart and right tackle Cam Fleming. “We’ll go through practice these next couple of days and kind of see how everything shakes out,” Judge said. “We expect all of them to be at the game and we expect all of them to play.”

Joe Judge brings Lansdale Catholic lessons with him as Giants prep to face Eagles - Bucks County Courier Times
Joe Judge’s football journey has taken him to Mississippi State as a player, as well as Alabama and the New England Patriots as a coach, prior to being hired as the New York Giants’ head coach in January. While he’s worked with top-of-their profession coaches in Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, Judge carries what he learned from former coach Jim Algeo at Lansdale Catholic with him each step of the way, including into Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Judge, a 2000 LC graduate, was a two-year starter at quarterback for Algeo, the Crusaders’ 44-year coach (1968-2011). Lansdale Catholic earned a share of its third straight Pioneer Athletic Conference title during Judge’s junior season.

Harsh lessons from the Cowboys’ thrashing by the Cardinals - Blogging The Boys
This team is bad. Period. No matter how hard you dig and dissect to find some positive notes the team could build on, this is a simple, inarguable fact - this team is bad. Let’s start with the biggest issue as far as performance by the players on the field. That is turnovers. Only six games into the season, the Cowboys are a miserable minus twelve. If you haven’t guessed, that is dead last in the league, five worse than their division rival the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. They have given the ball away a staggering fifteen times, versus only three takeaways all season. If you are into advanced mathematics and deep statistical analysis, that works out to an average of minus two per game. There is a rule of thumb that you just don’t win games when you are minus two or worse. It may be a minor miracle the Cowboys have somehow managed to get to two wins on the season just in light of that one thing.

Washington Roster Moves: DE Casey Toohill joins team after clearing COVID-19 protocols; Joshua Garnett retires - Hogs Haven
The Washington Football Team officially has a new pass rusher. DE Casey Toohill was claimed off of waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles on October 14th. He cleared the mandated six days of pre-entry COVID-19 testing, and now joins the active roster. Toohill(6’4”, 250 lbs) was a 1 year starter at Stanford(2019) and he had 57 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 pass defended, and a forced fumble.

Grading all 32 first-round picks after Week 6 of the 2020 NFL season - PFF
PICK NO. 22: WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGS2020 overall grade: 90.8. A week ago, Justin Jefferson’s fire was quenched as most of the targets went to Adam Thielen. But he was back this week leading the team in all receiving categories. Jefferson caught nine of the 11 targets sent his way, racking up 166 yards and two scores as Kirk Cousins finally began to air it out successfully with the game well in hand for Atlanta. Jefferson has now put up three games with 90.0-plus PFF grades and is generating a 106.9 passer rating when targeted so far this season. He also ranks third in the league in yards per route (3.2) and third in overall receiving yards through six weeks.

The Cheesesteak Primer - The Mental Health Break
Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop – Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop is a little eatery on South Street, the original hipster magnet area-turned-commercialized over the years. This little place at 630 South Street serves up a sandwich called the “Wiz Wit,” a play on the ordering code at Pat’s or Geno’s (wit’ or wit’out being the code for whether you want onions or not). It is a slightly fancier version of the cheesesteak. The cheese sauce is truffled, for starters, and it comes standard with cherry pepper mayo. I generally frown upon mayo on most sandwiches, but the truth is that while regular mayo can be gross, it can be easily gussied up and made palatable. Woodrow’s succeeds in this department. What you get is a flavor bomb that is unmatched. It may not be for a beginner, not because it’s daunting, but because it might just ruin cheesesteaks for you from every other vendor.

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