Eagles News: Philadelphia has five on ESPN’s list of the best 100 NFL players

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

NFL Rank: Predicting the best 100 players for the 2020 NFL season - ESPN
39. Carson Wentz. Wentz has added 13 pounds of muscle, is as agile as ever and seems perfectly comfortable and in command of Doug Pederson’s system. He earned a good deal of respect in the locker room by carrying a depleted offense into the playoffs last season. Wentz should enjoy a statistical surge with an improved supporting cast around him. [...] 48. Zach Ertz. Ertz has more catches through the first seven seasons of his career (525) than any other tight end in NFL history, set the single-season record for most catches by a tight end in 2018 (116) and has led his team in receptions and receiving yards in each of the past four seasons. Yet he still doesn’t get the same respect offered to Travis Kelce and George Kittle. Ertz was double- and triple-teamed for much of last season due to Philly’s lack of weapons but should have a lot more room to work now that there are more playmakers on the outside to attract attention. [...] 49. Fletcher Cox. Coming off foot surgery, Cox was not himself for much of last season. Now healthy, he should be back to his game-wrecking ways. It will help to have Javon Hargrave and Malik Jackson by his side — two gifted players in their own right. Their presence should drop the amount Cox is double-teamed at least a little bit. [BLG Note: Darius Slay at No. 61 and Lane Johnson at No. 71 are also on this list. Jason Kelce snubbed.]

Eagles Film Room: The benefits of 12 personnel - BGN
As I’ve explained earlier, most teams do not want to give up easy running yards so they will prioritize the run and go into their base defense. The Cowboys did this week 16 last year and did a good job stopping the Eagles running game (Miles Sanders averaged 4YPC on 20 attempts). However, by putting their base defense out there, the Cowboys were relying on their linebackers and safeties to cover the Eagles tight ends wherever they lined up on the field. The Eagles took advantage of this and Dallas Goedert had 9 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown in week 16. The Cowboys were more worried about Zach Ertz so he often had a safety on him which left Goedert on their linebackers. You can see this in the following 2 clips, if the Eagles connected on the 1st play below then Goedert would have had 10 catches for 100+ yards. Both clips highlight how the Cowboys couldn’t deal with Goedert.

These 12 players (and one position) have opened eyes - PE.com
Elijah Holyfield, RB. He runs angry. He’s violent. He’s agitated. Elijah Holyfield, plucked from Carolina’s practice squad prior to the Eagles’ postseason game in 2019, arrived at Training Camp in great shape and intent on impressing the coaching staff. He has certainly done that. Holyfield runs hard, is a capable and willing blocker, and has a lot more “wiggle” in his game than you might think. He looks the part. He’s played the part. As the Eagles near the regular season with a young backfield, Holyfield has been outstanding and he could be in for a decent role in the offense and, certainly, on special teams.

Who’s the fastest Eagle? That and more in Roob’s 10 Random Points - NBCSP
9. I think the Eagles are going to cut Sidney Jones.

Zach Berman and Bo Wulf’s dueling Eagles 53-man roster projections as cuts loom - The Athletic
Wulf: (6): Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Rasul Douglas, Craig James. The most complicated set of decisions is in the secondary. How much does James and Rudy Ford’s status as first-team special-teamers matter? Are the Eagles willing to cut bait on Jones and/or Douglas? For now, I’m sticking with these six — Douglas’ competitiveness gives him something of an edge and James makes it over Ford as the special-teams demon. I don’t think LeBlanc’s roster spot is as safe as many assume.

2019 DVOA by Routes: Defenses - Football Outsiders
Which brings us to the Philadelphia Eagles. To be fair, a lot of the “big plays” the Eagles gave up on WR screens were failed completions on third-and-long that still resulted in fourth-down punts, but not all of them. They gave up five first downs on the play, including a 14-yard gain by Seattle’s DK Metcalf; a 14-yard gain by Dallas’ Michael Gallup; a 16-yard gain to Demaryius Thomas of the Jets (thrown by Luke Falk!); and a 54-yard touchdown to Julio Jones. That’s 97 yards on those four plays alone; there were 10 teams that didn’t give up that many yards on wide receiver screens all year. The Miami Dolphins — the worst defense in the league — gave up 52 yards on 10 plays, both the lowest numbers all year. [...] The Packers faced a league-low seven go/fly routes all season, while the Eagles faced a league-high 28.

Are the Eagles at a competitive disadvantage without home fans? NFL commissioner says no - Inquirer
The seven teams that have announced they will be allowing fans in their stadiums for games are Miami, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. The first time the Eagles will play one of those teams on the road will be the Browns on Nov. 22. Asked Tuesday whether those teams that can have fans will have a competitive advantage over teams such as the Eagles that can’t, commissioner Roger Goodell said no. “We do not believe it’s a competitive advantage,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “We discussed this very early on with our competition committee and with our clubs. We don’t see that.”

RotoPat Final-Week Rankings - Rotoworld
RB9. Miles Sanders — Primed to soar as long as he doesn’t run into his blockers’ backs. [...] RB47. Boston Scott — The dude simply balled out as unsung 2019 hero. [...] WR35. DeSean Jackson — Has never lost his wheels and needed for big role. [...] WR51. Jalen Reagor — Injury happened in the wrong place (shoulder) at the wrong time. [...] TE4. Zach Ertz — The Terminator of getting 110 targets. [...] TE20. Dallas Goedert — Even with the Eagles’ injury woes, Ertz makes the path so difficult.

Flyers 4, Islanders 3: Flyers pull off thrilling overtime win to force Game 6 - Broad Street Hockey
t wasn’t a perfect game, and they probably should have won this one in regulation, but they still took care of business and were able to force a Game 6. They got their offense going, finally, and it was some of the big and perhaps unexpected names chipping in, and it was an exciting turn of events. The series isn’t over yet, gang! We’ll see you again on Thursday. [BLG Note: Get us to Game 7, Flyers.]

Feels like 2010: Phillies 6, Nationals 0 - The Good Phight
Ten years ago, the Phillies were a very good baseball team, the Nationals were a very bad one, and that dichotomy was often reflected in the score when the teams played each other. Sadly, things had changed in recent seasons, but thus far in 2020 - despite what the Nationals’ social media team might have you believe - it feels like that old dynamic has been restored. On Tuesday night, the Phillies continued to dominate their division rivals as they won by a score of 6-0. [BLG Note: The Phils have won seven out of their last eight! Only three games back in the NL East.]

Report: Reiff agrees to restructure contract - Daily Norseman
After twenty-four hours of speculation and hand-wringing, it appears that Riley Reiff is going to be the left tackle for the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 after all. Field Yates of ESPN (among others) is reporting that the Vikings and Reif are “closing in” on a restructured deal for the left tackle that will keep him in purple.

Mark Long: Jacksonville Jaguars players were “tired of Leonard Fournette” - Big Cat Country
“Players got tired of Leonard Fournette. Some players in that locker room went to the powers that be and said they want him gone. And when the coaching staff already wanted him gone and the front office already tried to get rid of him and now the players come and go they want him out saying ‘he’s not on board with what we’re trying to do, what we’re able to do’ I think that’s when you pull the trigger. Something happened and that is my strong belief and theory of what’s going on right now. This was almost a player revolt.”

UPDATE: Why you STILL shouldn’t worry yet over Alvin Kamara’s “contract-related” absences - Canal Street Chronicles
Now, Tuesday evening, things seem to be heading back into a positive direction, per Ian Rapoport. If this holds true, the Saints and Alvin Kamara’s camp will head back to the negotiating table to continue working toward an agreement for a long-term extension. Now that the “cool heads” have prevailed, perhaps more constructive work can get done outside of the public eye. We’ll continue to keep you updated here as more details become available.

Welcome to Secret Base - SB Nation
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