Eagles News: Philadelphia had the NFL’s shortest and lightest defense last year

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Introducing Snap-Weighted Size: Seahawks, Ravens Among Biggest Teams - Football Outsiders
In second place behind the Seahawks in defensive SWW were the New York Giants, whose general manager, Dave Gettleman, has a notorious obsession with “hog mollies”—and his preference for monster linemen is no myth. The Giants were the only team with three defenders (Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Leonard Williams) to play at least 700 snaps at 300-plus pounds. Big Blue finished third in SWW at defensive line, 13th at linebacker, and 10th at defensive back. New York’s divisional rivals in Philadelphia had the league’s lightest defense … and while we’re talking about the Eagles, let’s mention that they were the league’s shortest defense too. Philadelphia’s diminutive secondary was last in the league in both SWW [snap-weighted weight] and SWH [snap-weighted height], their defensive linemen ranked 26th in both categories, and their linebackers were 25th in the former and 26th in the latter.

NFL Power Rankings: Offseason edition - BGN
27 - Philadelphia Eagles (2) - I considered putting the Eagles at No. 1 since they have DeVonta Smith now. All jokes aside, there’s a chance Philly could be better than expected. They look good in the trenches (on paper, at least) and a new coaching staff could make a difference. Then again, that staff is very inexperienced. And while I believe Jalen Hurts has some worthwhile potential, he’s currently in the conversation for being one of the worst starters in the league. Again, this team has the potential to prove people wrong. They just hardly deserve the benefit of the doubt after Howie Roseman has repeatedly overseen bad offseasons since 2018.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.5: Status of the WFT, Ryan Kerrigan + record predictions - BGN Radio
On Vol.5 of the NFC East Mixtape, RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton are joined by Hogs Haven’s Bryan Stabbe to discuss the Washington Football Team. They hit on Ryan Kerrigan signing with the WFT’s division rival and shared their collective opinions on who they favor in the NFC East.

Where do things stand between Zach Ertz and the Eagles? - Inquirer
Ertz’s intentions are clear: He doesn’t want to play in Philly anymore. He hasn’t participated in virtual meetings with Sirianni and his staff, didn’t show for voluntary workouts that began Tuesday, and isn’t expected to report for the remainder of the offseason program, a source close to the tight end said. Mandatory minicamp, which was originally slated for early June, has been cancelled, so Ertz won’t be required to show until training camp in late July. That gives the Eagles time to work on a trade. Or maybe they simply cut him with a post-June 1 designation, which would decrease the dead money hit from approximately $7.7 million to $4.2 million and allow the Eagles to spread the expense out over future years.

In Year 2, QB Jalen Hurts embraces process of earning starting job - PE.com
“I value everything that Coach (Nick Sirianni) has brought here,” Hurts said on Wednesday on Day 2 of the team’s Phase Two workouts at the NovaCare Complex. “I remember back in my days at Alabama, Coach (Nick) Saban, hearing him talking about discipline, commitment, effort, toughness, and pride; having these core values that he’s trying to instill in the team, and in the end, it all worked out for the team. And you see coach Nick Sirianni preaching connection, preaching accountability and competition and fundamentals and football IQ, preaching all these things. I know in all those different avenues, all those different principles and values that we’re trying to instill here in Philly, no one is above that and everybody’s got to go to work. So, for me, rent is due every day. It’s always been that way for me, always been a get-better mentality every day, grow every day, be a better leader every day, be a better quarterback every day. And when that rent’s due, I don’t plan on missing any payments, so it’s work.”

DeVonta Smith already impressing All-Pro with work ethic - NBCSP
During his virtual media session at OTAs on Tuesday, Colts linebacker Darius Leonard was asked about his training regimen, which starts around 5 a.m. in the offseason, and mentioned that he worked out with Smith this offseason. “We had DeVonta Smith come in a couple times and he had that same mentality, that he wanted to work,” Leonard said to Colts reporters. “Just for having the Heisman Trophy winner in there … I know I wasn’t the Heisman Trophy winner, but you have that mindset. He has that winner mindset and it was good to see some young talent come in there and push me. ‘OK, this is the young talent coming in.’ “He has everything. He has the speed, he has the work mentality and for him to go in there, it just pushed me to say, ‘OK, I’m gonna have to outwork him, I have to show him the way.’” Smith and Leonard crossed paths at Yo Murphy Performance Training in Tampa, Florida. Smith worked out with Murphy during this year’s pre-draft process.

Washington Roster Moves: Josh Harvey-Clemons released; Joe Walker signed - Hogs Haven
The Washington Football Team announced today that they were releasing LB Josh Harvey-Clemons. JHC opted out of last season due to COVID-19 and didn’t get a chance to work with Head Coach Ron Rivera. He will be replaced on the roster by former Philadelphia Eagles 7th round draft pick Joe Walker.

The five most improved NFL teams this offseason after the draft, free agency - The Athletic
1. Washington Football Team. This year’s Washington Football Team is going to be an excellent test case for what it means when a team goes from basement-level QB play to competence at the position. Washington finished dead last (by a mile) last season in passing DVOA. Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins ranked 36th and 37th, respectively, out of 38 qualified QBS in EPA per drop back. It’s a testament to how great the Football Team’s defense was in 2020 that this team managed to win seven games. Luckily, that’s where Ryan Fitzpatrick comes in. No one thinks that the 38-year-old journeyman quarterback is the long-term answer in Washington. He signed a one-year, $10 million deal this spring on his latest stop around the league. But even if Fitzpatrick isn’t the QB of the future, he’s a pretty good option for the present! Fitzpatrick finished sixth in EPA per drop back last season with the Dolphins. Sixth! And he did it with arguably a worse supporting cast than the one he’ll have in Washington this season. If Washington can field even an average passing offense with Fitzpatrick this fall (which is easy to believe), it will look like they’re playing a completely different sport on that side of the ball.

Giants among most improved teams, but Washington named THE most improved - Big Blue View
The New York Giants are among the most improved teams heading into 2021 according to one website, but not as improved as a pesky division rival. The Athletic’s Robert Mays released his list of the five most improved NFL teams following the draft and free agency. The Giants earned a nod among a handful of “honorable mentions.”

Cowboys LB Micah Parsons wants to put his past off-the-field mistakes in the past - Blogging The Boys
Dallas hopes that Parsons can become exactly what Lee was for the team during his own prime, albeit with a much different track record of health. And while the two exhibited stark similarities in terms of on-field playmaking abilities, their off-field ledger revealed much different tendencies. Parson’s name flared into the spotlight heading into this year’s draft, as accountability and maturity concerns began to surface following his involvement in several controversies at Penn State. The most notable was a 2020 hazing lawsuit filed by a former Penn State player against the school, and coach James Franklin that involved Parsons. No charges, however, were filed in the civil action, and Parsons was not named a defendant. Parsons was involved in a fight with that same teammate, Isaiah Humphries in 2018. Humphries claimed that Parsons choked him during the scuffle.

What will become of NFL offseason workouts? Are they necessary or a relic of the past? - ESPN+
The NFLPA’s fight this spring with the league over in-person offseason training was emboldened by the success of the 2020 virtual offseason, but it is best viewed as an acceleration of a decadelong clash over a period in the league calendar that coaches consider existential, owners largely yawn at and players appear split on. It has imposed a piecemeal structure for 2021, with most teams negotiating customized practice schedules with their players. Former Denver Broncos offensive lineman Ja’Wuan James has provided a cautionary tale, having lost $20 million and his job after tearing an Achilles tendon while training off-site, and the issue is now cemented as one of the league’s animating narratives this season. In-person offseason practices “may be actually one of those most dangerous places to be in the offseason as a player,” according to the most extreme rhetoric from NFLPA president JC Tretter. On the other side of the argument, they would be a “colossal mistake” to pull back from, via Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh’s heated point of view. Most interesting to me, however, are the questions this debate has prompted.

NFL Daily Kickoff, Monday - Jalen Hurts not afraid of a QB competition + John Lynch on Jimmy G. - The SB Nation NFL Show
In today’s episode, Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts says he isn’t worried if he has to work to win the starting job, 49ers’ GM John Lynch says there’s an open QB competition in San Francisco, and Matt Stafford is pumped to actually be on a good team.

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