Eagles News: “I would not bet against Jalen Hurts. Period.”

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Can Jalen Hurts be the Eagles’ man? The coach closest to him last season may believe it more than anyone - Inquirer
The 59-year-old Mornhinweg knows as well as almost any coach what it takes to succeed at that position in the NFL. He has coached some of the best ever: Brett Favre, Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson.But the Eagles’ former offensive coordinator also knows the outside variables that can prevent a young quarterback, even great ones, from succeeding. Has he been surrounded by enough talent? Does he have competent coaches? Is he playing in a scheme that accentuates his strengths? If the Eagles weren’t coming off a 4-11-1 season, or didn’t have a first-time coach in Nick Sirianni, there might be an inkling of how Hurts will look Sunday when the season opens in Atlanta. Mornhinweg acknowledged the mystery. But arguably Hurts’ greatest advocate doesn’t see it as much of a gamble as others. “Are we going to see this come to fruition? Well, we’re going to find out,” he said. “But I would not bet against Jalen Hurts. Period.”

How Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni have bonded over family, razzing and air guitar - ESPN
The handshake was going to finish with Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni playing air guitar. That much was certain. It was early in training camp and there was a rare lull during practice, and Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts used that time to work out a personalized handshake. They went through their sequence of coordinated slaps and backhands, slaps and backhands, and each time they got to the end, the ever-animated Sirianni started acting like he was Jack White in the middle of an epic solo. Hurts, the more laid-back of the two, wasn’t going there. He just smiled and laughed. It was a brief interaction and far from a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it stood out given what was happening at the time. Sirianni had not publicly committed to Hurts as the Eagles’ starter for 2021. The trade speculation surrounding the Eagles and Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was at its height. And it wasn’t long after Sirianni gave an honest public assessment of Hurts’ footwork, saying “the process [of addressing those fundamentals] is going well, but we are far from where we need to be.”

Eagles-Falcons Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with the enemy - BGN
With so many unknowns it’s hard to pick any one thing, but let’s zero in on the interior of the offensive line for this matchup. I know how good the Eagles defensive line is and can be, and the Falcons have a first year starter at center who only made a couple of starts in 2020. That’d be Matt Hennessy, who we haven’t seen at all in preseason as he ran away with the job. He might be great, but I’d expect some growing pains. The even bigger concern is at left guard. Presumptive starter Josh Andrews was not exactly a thrilling option as a veteran journeyman, but now the team is already down to Plan B because he’s injured. Rookie Jalen Mayfield had an up-and-down summer and spent as much time at right tackle in training camp as he did at left guard, and he’ll now be thrown into the fire against the likes of Fletcher Cox. As good as I think this offense can be, if Hennessy and Mayfield are not up the task in this one, it’s going to derail drives and potentially doom Atlanta. I’d try to find out early and often just how good the center and left guard positions hold up against an aggressive pass rush.

The Kist & Solak Show #222: One Last Pod - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak reunite for a very special Eagles season preview!

Podcast: Eagles-Falcons Week 1 preview - PhillyVoice
In the latest episode of BGN Radio, Brandon Gowton and I discussed the Eagles’ Week 1 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, the weird situation at tight end, and we took a quick look at the rest of the NFC East teams’ Week 1 matchups.

Matchups to watch in Falcons vs Eagles - The Falcoholic
This is the marquee matchup for most Falcons fans, and not for positive reasons. Atlanta’s offensive line is in a state of flux. There are three established starters: left tackle Jake Matthews, right guard Chris Lindstrom, and right tackle Kaleb McGary. Matthews and Lindstrom are fringe Pro Bowl-caliber talents, so that helps things, and McGary has been steadily improving. After them, there’s the promising but unproven second-year center, Matt Hennessy, and a total wild card in third-round rookie Jalen Mayfield at left guard. Meanwhile, the Eagles feature a pass rush that ranked 2nd in the league in pressure rate in 2020. Their interior duo of Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave has to be among the most disruptive in the league, and on the outside Philadelphia has a deep rotation of quality talent. I think we can expect Atlanta to struggle to protect Matt Ryan in this game—and hopefully the gameplan is built around it—but they just have to do enough to keep the offense functional. Can they? We’ll see, but it’s quite the baptism by fire for Hennessy and Mayfield.

Philadelphia Eagles season preview: Superlatives, record predictions & more - The Athletic
Wulf: It’s too bad the Eagles only get to play one NFC East opponent in their first 12 games. I think Hurts will flash promise, Smith will quickly emerge as a fan favorite, Mailata will be thought of as the next great Eagles offensive lineman and the defense will be interesting. But so much of the roster is either past its prime or still approaching it and this is not a roster built to sustain many injuries. They’ll be fun, especially at the end of the season, but it won’t be enough. 8-9.

Nick Sirianni, Eagles are ready for the moment - PE.com
If the NFL’s season-opening game in Tampa Bay meant anything, the league is in for a wild ride in 2021. After a record-setting 2020 in terms of points scored, Dallas and Tampa Bay went out and combined for 60 points and quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Tom Brady combined for nearly 800 passing yards. Crazy, right? Is that a preview of what’s to come in the offense-heavy NFL this season? We’ll see about that. I planned to write about “The Things We Learned From The Opener,” but then Tampa Bay somehow won the game despite a minus-3 in the giveaway/takeaway department and that theory kinda, sorta got blown away (for a game, at least) and, anyway, it’s all about the Eagles and Sunday in Atlanta and the start of the Nick Sirianni coaching era in Philadelphia. Excitement? No doubt. Everyone is curious to see how it all plays out.

Why Eagles’ revamped defense just might be legit - NBCSP
Do the Eagles have enough true playmakers in the back seven to be an elite defense? Have all the newcomers developed the kind of chemistry they need with the returning guys after just a handful of preseason snaps? Will the older veteran nucleus stay healthy and continue to be effective? Can the youngsters Gannon is counting on play up to expectations? A lot of questions. And there will be bad plays, bad games, bad losses. But overall I like what I see. This is a defense headed in the right direction, and it’s hard not to believe in the guy running it. And a couple days before the start of a new era of Eagles football, it just may be OK to go bonkers again over the defense.

NFL DFS: Best plays for DraftKings Week 1 Main Slate - Fake Teams
Jalen Hurts ($6,400) @ Atlanta Falcons. Running quarterbacks always give us a safe floor, and Jalen Hurts should give us exactly that in Week 1. Hurts is now the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and he faces the Atlanta Falcons to begin the season. Atlanta’s defense surrendered the seventh-most rushing yards and the third-most rushing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks in 2020. Hurts could end up being the best points-per-dollar option at quarterback in Week 1.

Best tight end streamers for Week 1 fantasy football - DraftKings Nation
Zach Ertz, Eagles vs. Falcons. Ertz has been an afterthought in fantasy football this season, as most believed he’d be traded and Dallas Goedert would be the main tight end on the team. But a trade or release never materialized and the two are considered co-starters on the depth chart. That’s not great for Goedert, who many drafted as a Top 10 tight end, but Ertz, who is available in 64 percent of Yahoo leagues, could be worth a start in a strong matchup with a weak Falcons secondary.

5 players to trade away before Week 1 in fantasy football - PFF
RB Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles | ADP 38. With the Eagles are carrying two talented receiving backs into the season in Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell, Sanders appears to be the early-down back and possibly the primary option inside the five. However, Jalen Hurts will provide competition for touches anytime the team is within striking distance. All signs point to a dreaded committee situation that will devalue Sanders’ stock once confirmed, making now the time to act.

Cowboys 2021 rookie report: Micah Parsons struggles in his NFL debut - Blogging The Boys
As expected, Micah Parsons saw the most action out of all these rookies. Bearing the green dot on his helmet, Parsons was the quarterback of the defense. He also saw a broad role, splitting time between playing off the ball and on the line of scrimmage as a threat to blitz. Parsons was looking to build off of his impressive training camp and preseason performances with a breakout NFL debut. It didn’t go quite as planned. Parsons frequently found himself out of position, especially when charged with pass coverage responsibilities.

Washington Football Team vs Los Angeles Chargers Final Injury Report - Hogs Haven
This is the healthiest team Washington has had going into Week 1 in a very long time. There has only been one player listed on their injury report all week, and that was WR Curtis Samuel. Ron Rivera said he would be going on injured reserve today, and it would be a short-term trip(3 week minimum) to give him time to rest and recover.

Giants vs. Broncos injury news: Saquon Barkley listed as “questionable” for Sunday - Big Blue View
Saquon Barkley has officially been listed as “questionable” by the New York Giants for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Barkley has practiced for the past few weeks and Giants coach Joe Judge had said that if Barkley got through Friday’s practice without incident he expected the star running back top play on Sunday. Barkley has not played since suffering a torn ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season. Tight end Evan Engram (calf) won’t play. He is the only Giant officially ruled out.

Xavier Rhodes, Eric Fisher and Kemoko Turay officially ruled out for Colts’ season opener - Stampede Blue
The Indianapolis Colts will not be at full strength for their Week 1 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Seattle Seahawks. After practice on Friday, head coach Frank Reich officially ruled out three players: Xavier Rhodes (calf), Eric Fisher (Achilles) and Kemoko Turay (groin). Being down their top cornerback, left tackle and third-down pass rusher against Seattle is a huge test for Indianapolis. We knew Fisher might not go, but missing Rhodes and Turay against the Seahawks’ high-powered offense is a massive blow.

Five Things I Think I Think About the 2021 Miami Dolphins - The Phinsider
I want to say we’ll win the division. I want to say we’ll win the Superbowl. But my more reasonable half forces me to land on making the playoffs. 11-6 with a Wildcard berth to back our way in and start making noise until a miraculous run to The Big Game? I’d certainly take it. Last year the Fins finished 10-6 and fell flat in a win-and-you’re-in game against Buffalo in Week 17. I don’t anticipate the coaching staff allowing that to happen again. Barely missing the playoffs in 2020 to middle of the hunt in 2021 to a deep run contending for the Superbowl in 2022. Where do I sign?

Jets Sign OL Ross Pierschbacher to Practice Squad - New York Jets
Pierschbacher (6-4, 315) was drafted by Washington in the fifth round in 2019 out of Alabama. He spent most of the 2020 season on Washington’s practice squad and was signed to Philadelphia’s active roster Dec. 14, 2020. He spent the training camp with the Eagles before he was waived and re-signed to their practice squad. He was then cut from the PS Sept. 9. Pierschbacher has played in 8 games – 5 in 2019 with WAS and 3 in 2020 with PHI.

NFL isn’t taking action against Deshaun Watson because it doesn’t have to - PFT
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league hasn’t made a decision about Watson because it doesn’t have to make a decision about Watson. With the Texans content to pay him to not play and with Watson content to not play and get paid for it, the NFL has no reason to do anything about it. He’s already on paid leave.

NFL Reacts #6: Thursday night reaction, Reacts polls, and Top week 1 plays - The SB Nation NFL Show
Welcome to another edition of NFL Reacts! Stephen Serda, Kate Magdziuk, and Justis Mosqueda discuss last night’s thrilling season opener between the Buccaneers and Cowboys. We did in fact confirm that Tom Brady is immortal, and both of these offenses will be good for our pockets this season. Kate has some of her favorite week 1 fantasy sleepers before Justis finishes things off with his favorite bets across the week 1 NFL slate.

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