Eagles News: Can the Birds stop Jonathan Taylor?

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Eagles at Colts: Five matchups to watch - PhillyVoice
Knowing full well that they were not as talented as the Eagles, the Texans and Commanders implemented run-heavy offensive game plans in an attempt the shorten the game. That approach worked for both teams, as the Texans were at least able to hang around into the fourth quarter, while the Commanders, you know, beat them. Spoiler: The Colts will realize that they too are not as talented overall as the Eagles, and they are extremely likely to pound the run as well. The Eagles held the Commanders to 3.1 yards per carry, which looks great on paper. Unfortunately, they allowed Washington to stay on schedule and could not get them off the field on short 3rd down conversions. If opposing offenses are going to continue to play this way against the Eagles, Jonathan Gannon has to find ways to produce negative plays in the run game to set up long downs and distances, where the Eagles can pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.

Jonathan Taylor Headlines Week 11 DFS Values - Football Outsiders
Running Backs: Jonathan Taylor $7800 vs. Philadelphia Eagles. With Nyheim Hines out of Indy and Matt Ryan back under center, Jonathan Taylor set a season-high in snap percentage (93.8%) and turned in his second-best performance of the season and his first performance inside the top 20 running backs since Week 1. Jeff Saturday might be proving to have an impact on the offensive line immediately with Taylor rushing for 3.8 yards before contact, a big jump from his previous season average of 1.5. Over the last four weeks, the Eagles rushing defense ranks 31st in DVOA, allowing an average of 149.5 rushing yards per game. In that span, the Eagles are fifth against the pass and teams have been leaning toward attacking the ground, an area that the Colts should target aggressively. Usage Suggestions: Taylor is a fine play in both cash and tournaments. The Colts rank 29th against WR1s, which should stand to benefit A.J. Brown, who can be correlated with Taylor.

Defensive flaws the Eagles, Bills and Cowboys must fix before NFL playoffs - The Athletic
Struggling more than expected against the Texans and losing to the Commanders should have the Eagles a little more concerned about their run defense, but luckily they should have help coming soon. Jordan Davis, their first-round rookie nose tackle, is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 13. They need his presence to play their desired style of defense. The Eagles’ defensive success rate against early-down runs jumps from 56.5 percent when Davis is off the field to 62.1 percent when he’s on the field, according to TruMedia. That’s equivalent to the difference between the 18th-ranked early-down run defense and the 30th-ranked early-down run defense. Still, the Eagles can’t rely on Davis to fix all their issues when he returns. Their front seven need to take on the responsibility of improving individually.

4 things to know about new Eagles defensive tackle Linval Joseph - BGN
Joseph is still a pain to move in the middle of a defense. When it comes down to it, Joseph will play his role well enough to be solid addition. He’s still so strong when it comes to interior defenders and he’s still has the name power to warrant attention from opposing offensive lines. He’s also still very active in pursuit. He’s obviously not the fastest guy, but he still huffed and puffed his way into plenty of cleanup tackles in 2021.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.84: Well, Well, Well - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) and RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) discuss the biggest storylines in the division.

Adjusting on the Fly - Iggles Blitz
I’ve wanted Joseph for the Eagles for years. Adding him as a midseason replacement due to injuries wasn’t what I had in mind, but he might be just what the defense needs. Joseph lists at 6-4, 329 and is at home as a NT. When he was younger, he could rush the passer effectively. Now he’ll be more of a run-stuffer type. Joseph turned 34 last month so we don’t know how much he’s got left in the tank. On the flip side, he hasn’t played at all this year so that means he’s well rested. Nick Sirianni said Joseph could play this week. He made it sound like that’s what they hope for. Joseph played in Brandon Staley’s defense last year with the Chargers and was with Jonathan Gannon in Minnesota. Staley’s scheme is similar to what the Eagles do so he might be able to fit right in. Gannon will already have a relationship with Joseph so that will help him to feel comfortable more quickly. It will be interesting to see how effective Joseph is. Last year the Rams signed Eric Weddle during the playoffs and he helped them win the Super Bowl. He hadn’t played a down since the previous season. Back in 1993 the Eagles run defense was really struggling. They gave up 724 yards in three games. The team signed William “The Refrigerator” Perry to add bulk at DT and the run defense improved immediately. He was 31 at the time and looked to be washed up, but turned out to be a good fit for the Eagles.

Undefeated no more, the Philadelphia Eagles remain a serious threat to opposing defenses - PFF
On the fourth-quarter catch and fumble by Watkins, the Eagles aligned the same way and got the same coverage. The safety attached to the tight end and, instead of running a stop n’ go, Philadelphia had Watkins run the post knowing it would be one-on-one coverage again. These concepts illustrate the faith that the Eagles have in quarterback Jalen Hurts to continue to get better game by game and their faith in a supporting cast that is deep and among the best in the league. The chances that Philadelphia finished out an undefeated season were always slim, but even after a tough loss against a bitter rival, they still look like the NFC’s most formidable squad.

Week 11 NFL Picks Against the Spread - The Ringer
But the Eagles still have A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside. Defensively, their ability to stop the run will be tested in this game, but the Eagles have favorable matchups up front. Reich has been a friend and mentor to Nick Sirianni. The Eagles win big, and Sirianni throws on a University of Maryland Reich jersey to pay homage to his guy. The pick: Eagles (-6.5)

The Best Free Agent Signings of 2022 - Over The Cap
3. James Bradberry, Eagles- 1 Year, $7.3M, $7.3M guaranteed. The Giants tried to trade Bradberry this offseason and found no takers, allowing the Eagles to swoop in and take a one year flier on Bradberry to see if he could recapture what once made him one of the hottest free agent cornerbacks a few years ago. Bradberry has dominated since becoming an Eagle this year. His 38.4 passer rating against is the third best in the NFL and we have him valued at nearly $18M in production. This is arguably the best non-QB value free agent in the NFL with the only negative being that he is under contract for one season and will likely command a major raise next year.

NFL MVP watch 2022: Ranking top candidates, Patrick Mahomes’ chances - ESPN
The Eagles’ undefeated streak came to an end in a nationally televised game against the Commanders on Monday. Had they not lost 32-21, that game would have certainly put Hurts in the mix for the No. 1 spot in our rankings. Hurts still threw two touchdown passes and had 175 yards against a middling Commanders pass defense. Despite the lone loss, the 24-year-old went four weeks without throwing an interception (Weeks 5-9) and scored his 20th career rushing touchdown in his 28th start. That is the second-fewest starts needed to reach that mark since 1950 (the other was Cam Newton), according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Spadaro: Adversity arrives to test roster depth - PE.com
With Jordan Davis and Marlon Tuipulotu on Injured Reserve, the Eagles agreed to terms on Wednesday with veteran Linval Joseph, a two-time Pro Bowl player who has been with the Giants, Vikings, and Chargers in his career. He’s a 325-pound load who specializes in run defense and both he and the Eagles are “hopeful” that he can play Sunday against the Colts. Joseph is expected to practice on Thursday after starting 12 games with the Chargers last season. “We had an opportunity to add a good player that we played against last year and who made things very difficult for us last year in that Chargers game (Joseph had a team-high 9 tackles in that November 7 game, won by Los Angeles at Lincoln Financial Field),” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “There are a lot of guys here that have had opportunities to be around him. Coach Gannon (Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon), Coach Rallis (Linebackers Coach Nick Rallis), (Vice President of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer) Tom Hunkele. I mean, there have been a lot of guys who have had experience with him, and we think he’s the right type of guy for the locker room. We think he’s still a heck of a football player and he’s going to be able to help us.” The sentiment was the same in the locker room. “He knows how to control the middle and be a force in there,” defensive tackle Javon Hargrave said. “He will be able to come in and help us. I don’t think it will be a tough adjustment for him.”

Behind Enemy Lines: Eagles’ AJ Brown presents big test for Colts secondary - Stampede Blue
Gilmore will be ready for the task at hand and with young emerging corner Isaiah Rodgers playing like a top 5 cornerback (according to PFF grades) the Colts should be more than capable of limiting Brown. This Philly team has a lot of weapons and will look to expose weaknesses in this Colts’ defense but none is more important than Brown. Slow him down and you’ll have a chance to win the game. Just ask the Commanders.

3 ways Cowboys can get things back on track after disappointing Week 10 loss - Blogging The Boys
Improve the run defense: First and foremost, the Dallas Cowboys absolutely must find some way to improve their run defense. In back-to-back games against the Bears and Packers they have allowed the opposition to rush for more than 200 yards on the ground, and in so doing, laid the blueprint for their teams to do the same. This problem falls on both the coaching staff and players shoulders alike. Schematic changes may need to be made by Dan Quinn in order to better control the line of scrimmage, however, that will only help only so much if the players don’t better execute their assignments down after down. All in all, if the Dallas Cowboys can’t find some way to at the very least contain the opposition’s rushing attack each week, they will continue to be pounded into submission on the ground the remainder of the season. This one problem area could end up being the key to success or failure this year.

Giants vs. Lions, Week 11: 5 things to watch this week - Big Blue View
Shouldering the load. Can Saquon Barkley keep up this pace? Coming off his 35-carry, 152-yard game last week against the Houston Texans, Barkley is averaging a career-high 25.2 touches per game. He has carried the ball 20 or more times in five of the last six games. Barkley leads the NFL in touches with 227, and is on pace for 429. That would blow away his career-high of 352 touches in 2018. He leads the league in rushing yards with 931, and rushing yards per game (103.4). Can the 25-year-old keep carrying such a heavy load? Can he stay healthy if head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka continue asking him to do so much? Barkley said after Sunday’s game that it was “really fun” to carry such a heavy workload. “I know that’s the conversation of how many carries or how many touches I had but it’s my job to be a pro, go in there, get in the cold tub, get in the hot tub and get ready for next week,” Barkley said.

Saving Washington’s 2023 second round pick - Hogs Haven
At this point, it feels a bit like piling on, but so be it. I have nothing personal against Carson Wentz, but I don’t want to see him take another snap in the Burgundy and Gold. The primary reason for that is that I want Washington to keep winning, and it’s pretty clear that Taylor Heinicke gives the team the best chance to keep doing so.

The Patriots and the Jets renew their rivalry this week with two of the best pass defenses squaring off - SB Nation
For a certain type of football fan, this NFL season is perfection. Scoring is down across the league, and while analysts are still trying to piece together exactly why, the fact remains that defenses are having more success right now than in recent years. For fans of a certain age, or for my dear friends who coach on the defensive side of the football, this might feel like a return to a golden era of the sport. If that sounds like you, then you might want to carve out some time Sunday to watch the New England Patriots take on the New York Jets. Defensive minds Bill Belichick and Robert Saleh will square off for the second time this season, and with a lot at stake. At the outset, Sunday’s meeting between the two AFC East rivals is critical for both teams’ playoff chances. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Patriots currently have a 39% chance of making the playoffs. Those odds would jump to 53% with a win over the Jets, while a loss to New York would see their chances at the playoffs drop to 18%.

Mike Golic & the wild card fraud Gauntlet - The SB Nation NFL Show
This week on the SB Nation NFL Show, Stephen Serda and Kyle Posey hold things down while the rest of the crew is off. Rob “Stats” Guerrera sits down with Draftkings sports analyst Mike Golic to discuss offensive line play across the NFL. Also, Stephen and KP discuss the biggest wild card frauds currently competing for a playoff spot.

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