Eagles News: Philadelphia finishes 19th in 2020 offensive line rankings

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Final 2020 offensive line rankings - PFF
19. Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles’ offensive line went through the wringer this past season, as they were trotting out a new starting five up front seemingly every week due to injury. Those injuries all came after they lost projected starting left tackle Andre Dillard and right guard Brandon Brooks to injury before the season began. Eleven different offensive linemen played at least 50 snaps for Philadelphia this season. It’s going to be nearly impossible for any offensive line to lose all that talent and still produce at a high level. That said, the Eagles weren’t one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL with their makeshift group. Jason Kelce was the lone consistent presence at center for the team, and he ended the season with the third-highest run-blocking grade of any center in the league. That’s an area he has always excelled in with his ability to use his athleticism and get out in the open field. The Eagles will hope that 2021 brings some more stability, giving whoever is back at quarterback for the offense a few more clean pockets to work from.

Adam Schefter doesn’t believe Carson Wentz will be back with the Eagles - BGN
“But they’ve got a problem. The quarterback is going to want to be traded. He hasn’t said it yet. But he does. And he hasn’t complained about it publicly. But he wants to be traded.”

Much Ado About Something - Iggles Blitz
I don’t think there will be any long term effects from Pederson’s decision. People will grumble, but it is just an excuse to be overly angry about something. That will fade with time. I would love to hear Pederson’s talk with Jeff Lurie. I would ask him a few questions about Sunday night and whether it was worth it to put himself and the Eagles in a bad light just so he could get some snaps to his #3 QB. It would bother me to think Pederson didn’t get the problems that decision might cause. Is he really that naive? Not a good look for a coach trying to keep his job. That was the wrong move for that situation.

Reviewing rookie seasons for Eagles’ 2020 NFL draft class - NBCSP
Reagor got hurt before the season, tore his UCL in Week 2 and suffered a concussion in Week 17. So he had three significant injuries in his rookie season. Reagor’s most productive game came in Week 1 with that one long catch. After Reagor returned from injury, receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said Reagor was due for a breakout game, but it never happened. Meanwhile, Justin Jefferson, who was taken with the 22nd pick, set the NFL record for rookie receiving yards. Yikes.

What are the Eagles looking for in a defensive coordinator? - Inquirer
So even though we’ll see, say, Malik Jackson, Vinny Curry and maybe even Derek Barnett depart this offseason, it would be difficult to refocus the group around a 3-4. If you stick with the 4-3 setup, it immediately becomes relevant that the Eagles have two former NFL defensive coordinators on staff: defensive line coach Matt Burke, who ran Miami’s defense in 2017 and 2018, and defensive secondary coach Marquand Manuel, Atlanta’s defensive coordinator those same years. Both men were safeties, Burke at Dartmouth, Manuel at Florida and then for six NFL teams. Burke, who will turn 45 in March, has been here a year longer. He is a Schwartz protégé who worked with Schwartz in Tennessee and Detroit. Whether Burke is a serious candidate might depend on whether Schwartz really stepped down on his own, as his contract neared expiration, or whether he’s gone because management really wants a different tone. Marquand, 40, has cred from being a recent NFL player. His charges were impressed in training camp when he took the field in cleats, and demonstrated how he wanted things done.

Were The Eagles Tanking? Or Were They Just Being The Eagles? - FiveThirtyEight
I’m not convinced this was a tank from the outset — why start Jalen Hurts if that was the case? But if it was a tank at the end, I think it’s fine. More than fine — it’s sharp. What culture have you built this year going 4-11-1 that is worth protecting? I’ve heard some say the league is about respect. I’ve heard some say this is a league about winning. But what this league is really about is money. That’s what’s driving this weeping and gnashing of teeth. The critics of tanking fear that fans will lose interest if the NFL becomes a league where tanking is normalized. But fans are smart, and gaining three spots in draft capital is worth more than the near-term pain of a meaningless loss.

Taking the pulse of Cowboys fans: Reasons to be optimistic, neutral, or pessimistic - Blogging The Boys
First of all, the Dak Prescott situation has been a mess. The team should have gotten him signed long ago and it hasn’t happened. Now they face an even more leveraged-up Prescott who saw his true value to the franchise writ large on the playing field in 2020. Dallas now faces either giving Prescott a huge contract that will eat away at their cap space, or franchise tag him which will destroy their cap space, or start over. Will the front office bungle this again? The Cowboys defense was abysmal for much of 2020. They did turn things around a bit at the end thanks to some opportunistic turnovers, but the unit needs a lot of work. They also have three of their prime contributors in the secondary hitting free agency, so a plan is needed to shore that area up. And Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch are just a mystery right now.

The WFT has had amazing rookie classes in back to back years - Hogs Haven
PFF has yet to announce it’s 2020 “most productive draft class,” but they just listed their 2020 ranking of the top 25 rookies in the league. The Washington Football Team was the only team in the league to have more than two entrants: Chase Young (#2), Kamren Curl (#11), and Antonio Gibson (#13), and those three players were in the top half of the group.

Giants’ GM Dave Gettleman wants to “keep going,” and more takeaways - Big Blue View
Dave Gettleman is being given the opportunity to continue as new York Giants general manager, the opportunity to see if he can finally help dig the franchise out of the hole it was in when he was hired at the end of the 2017 season. The soon-to-be-70-year-old sounds raring to go. Gettleman said he is “healthy as a horse” two years after battling lymphoma. Retirement? Doesn’t sound like that is on Gettleman’s radar presently. “It really is dependent upon the Lord how long I stick around for. We’re all day to day, by the way, in case anybody missed that point,” Gettleman said. “I feel fine, I feel good, I’m excited. I just want to keep going. I don’t know where this retirement stuff came from. I have no idea what that’s all about. There are probably some people that… at the end of the day, I feel great. So, let’s keep going.”

DeVonta Smith can be one of the best receivers we’ve ever seen entering the NFL - SB Nation
DeVonta Smith won the Hesiman Trophy on Tuesday night, making him the first wide receiver to win the award since Desmond Howard in 1991. The Alabama receiver emerged as the favorite to win the award, but there were still doubts whether or not he’d actually take it home, especially considering Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was also a finalist. Now we project Smith to the next level, and dig deeper into why he’s so good. NFL success and Heisman status don’t often go hand-in-hand. For every Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry there are slews of players like Johnny Manziel, Troy Smith and Jason White who never made an impact on the league. However, tradition tells us that non-quarterback Heisman winners fair far better when they get to the next level than passers. System can’t hide dramatic deficiencies in a receivers or running backs the way they can a quarterback, which is why out of the last five non-quarterback Heisman, most have played well at the next level, to some degree.

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