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Eagles News: Jalen Hurts limiting DeVonta Smith?

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 11/3/21.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Philadelphia Eagles Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

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2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers for Week 9 - Fake Teams
WR38 - DeVonta Smith. Smith is going to be tough to trust every week with Jalen Hurts under center for PHI. PHI could be forced to pass more against LAC in Week 9, which could lead to a decent output from the rookie wideout.

Grading all 32 first-round picks after Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season - PFF
PICK NO. 10: WR DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles. Overall Rookie Grade: 69.9 (Rank: 7/22). Week 8 Grade: 55.0. The Eagles annihilated the Detroit Lions this week, but most of the damage was done on the ground. Quarterback Jalen Hurts attempted only 15 passes all game, leaving little in the way of offensive production for his receivers. Smith saw only three of those targets, catching one of them for 15 yards. One of the incompletions was a drop, but the other would have been a 40-plus yard play on a nice scramble drill adjustment if Hurts could have delivered an accurate pass to an open Smith. His ability to separate and intelligence is obvious, but it’s a little less clear if his lightweight frame will hinder him more in the NFL than it did in college.

NFL trade deadline passes without Eagles making a deal, despite “aggressively shopping” Fletcher Cox [UPDATE] - BGN
The Eagles should’ve had the foresight to not show more commitment to Cox, a player clearly in decline. Though Cox might have some fair gripes about his usage in Jonathan Gannon’s scheme, there’s ample reason to believe he’s not an elite difference-maker anymore. It’s quite possible his high snap count has taken a toll on him. Cox has logged 7,818 career snaps. Contrast that with Brandon Graham’s 6,211 and consider that Graham is two years older and entered the NFL two seasons earlier. Instead of potentially getting, say, a future second-round pick for Cox, the Eagles might have to settle for less for a player with just two sacks in his last 12 games.

The QB Factory Reboot #34: A much needed win + Mesh Points, Launching Points and Cutting - BGN Radio
Raichele Privette and Mark Schofield switch things up this week and dive into mesh points, launching points and cutting. They also recap the Eagles’ Week 8 victory over the Lions and preview Week 9 against the Chargers.

Philadelphia Eagles engaged in trade discussions involving DT Fletcher Cox, sources said, before acquiring CB Kary Vincent Jr. - ESPN
The Eagles engaged in trade discussions surrounding standout defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, sources told ESPN, but opted to hold on to the six-time Pro Bowler.

Joe Banner: Fletcher Cox wasn’t traded, but his future with the Eagles remains to be seen - Inquirer
EJ: How much worse does Howie Roseman’s decision to restructure Cox’s contract at the start of the season look after today? [...] JB: I’ve said this before, the Eagles have changed the philosophy somewhat of restructuring deals, maximizing short-term cap room with the idea, correctly, that you can push it forward if you don’t use it and you might as well trade the flexibility just in case you need it. I don’t think that’s a bad idea, although it’s certainly different than the way I did it, but you gotta be doing that with players you’re really confident will be on the roster for a number of years. If not, you run the risk of getting in a position where the cost to get rid of them is too great and you give up flexibility when it turns out you needed it. That’s the reason I didn’t do it, but the truth is most teams do what they’re doing. You just have to be careful who you do it with. Cox, in my mind, was already descending a little bit last year, he was already a fairly expensive player, I think it’d be fair to question whether that restructuring gained him as much as the loss of flexibility that it created.

Packers, Colts Among Teams with Surprising DVOA Ratings - Football Outsiders
[BLG Note: The Eagles are 17th in DVOA. The Chargers are 16th.]

Broncos trade rookie CB Kary Vincent Jr. to Eagles - Mile High Report
Vincent has been inactive all season, so Denver wasn’t getting much production from him on the field. That makes this trade a fairly good deal. Denver spent a seventh rounder on Vincent and received a sixth rounder in exchange.

Rams waive DeSean Jackson after failing to find a trade partner - Turf Show Times
Jackson, 34, caught eight passes on 15 targets and sure enough caught a few long bombs, but he was not “stretching the field” or playing the role formerly occupied by Brandin Cooks, so Los Angeles is able to save considerable cap space while promoting Tutu Atwell to a bigger role in the offense. Though Sean McVay and Jackson had a great relationship that started with their time together in Washington, it is clear that Matthew Stafford prefers at least four other targets and Jackson’s low snap percentage should not be missed.

Could the Colts Look into Adding Recently Released Veteran Deep Threat DeSean Jackson? - Stampede Blue
The Colts and specifically, starting quarterback Carson Wentz could use another deep speed wideout who can stretch the field—especially with both Campbell and Hilton on the mend right now. It also helps that both Wentz and Jackson have a prior familiarity with one another from 2019-20, as former teammates with the Philadelphia Eagles. During that same span, Jackson had 23 receptions for 395 receiving yards (17.2 ypr. avg.) and 3 touchdown receptions during 8 starts—having been limited with a number of injuries during his second pro stint in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’.

NFL Power Rankings: The Matthew Stafford–Cooper Kupp Connection Is Ridiculous - The Ringer
The ending to that game was a microcosm of Wentz’s career. There was plenty to like about his performance, but the critical mistakes in those high-leverage situations were just too egregious to ignore. Wentz still has the opportunity to right the ship and prove to the team that he’s worth investing in long term, but after taking one big step forward during the first seven games of the season, he took a couple of huge steps back on Sunday.

NFL releases statement on Giants’ alleged headset issues - Big Blue View
The NFL has not found any issues with the Giants’ headsets during last night’s game. NFL coaches use a Bose SoundComm B30 headset for wireless sideline communication. The company advertises the headsets on its website for $849.95. This statement, of course, does not align with what Judge said after the game, particularly when he stressed that he personally has experienced headset issues during all eight games this season. “I would say this: Whoever is in charge of it, I don’t know the exact answer, I don’t know if it comes from the league or us exactly, but they better fix it fast,” Judge said. “That is it.”

5 takeaways from the Cowboys upset win against the Vikings - Blogging The Boys
The Vikings converted just 7% of their third downs, Dalvin Cook was contained to 78 yards and was successful on only 37% of his runs. Kirk Cousins didn’t drop back to pass 42 times because he had to play catchup; he did so because the Cowboys shut down the run. By EPA per play allowed Dallas finished with the second-best defense in week eight, and turnovers played no factor in this ranking. Sure the Vikings offense isn’t elite, but it’s far from the worst. And after the first drive, the Cowboys completely shut them down. It’s hard to believe after what we saw last season, but this defense is officially great. It is top ten, and at this point, you could begin to argue top five. Thank you, Dan Quinn.

Washington Roster Moves: A familiar RB and a new OL get added to the practice squad - Hogs Haven
Ron Rivera said he would be evaluating the roster, and it looks like he’s starting at the bottom. The team’s 16-man practice squad has seen a lot of turnover since the startof the season, and that continues as the team heads into the bye week with a 2-6 record. Yesterday the team announced they had released DT T.Y. McGill. He had a 2 week stint on the practice squad in 2019. McGill doubled that the time around, but is once again a free agent. Washington worked out 4 players yesterday(G Zach Bailey, G Willie Wright, DB Natrell Jameson, RB Wendell Smallwood). The team announced today that two of the tryout players have been signed to the practice squad. Wendell Smallwood makes his triumphant return to Washington after playing 15 games here in 2019. He had 22 carries for 81 yards and 9 catches for 64 yards. He spent time with the Steelers and Jaguars the last two seasons. Smallwood replaces Jonathan Williams who has been with the team all year, but is once again a free agent. Starting RB Antonio Gibson continues to deal with a stress fracture in his Shin that has limited him in practice and in games.

Raiders release Henry Ruggs III following DUI charge for fatal crash - Silver And Black Pride
A sad and shocking day concluded with Henry Ruggs III’s career with the Las Vegas Raiders ending abruptly after 23 games with the organization. Seventeen hours after a fatal car crash for which Ruggs has been charged with DUI resulting in death, the Las Vegas Raiders released the wide receiver in a Tuesday night announcement by the team.

Off Day Debrief #61: Chiefs barely beat Giants + NFL Trade Deadline + Week 9 Power Rankings - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and Brandon Lee Gowton react to Kansas City’s narrow victory on Monday Night Football, what we could see at the NFL Trade Deadline, and the only 100% accurate Power Rankings in the entire NFL podcast kingdom. When do we start to view the Chiefs as a paper tiger this year? The Giants look absolutely lost right now. Is Von Miller the last big move at the deadline? Week 9 Power Rankings. Why Sean Payton deserves a ton of credit this season. MVP and LVP points of the Week.

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