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Eagles News: Carson Wentz to the Cowboys?

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/24/23.

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NFL: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

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3 reasons why the Cowboys might consider adding free agent QB Carson Wentz - Blogging The Boys
It wasn’t that long ago that Wentz was playing MVP-worthy ball for the Eagles. We certainly haven’t seen that version of him consistently in a while, but Wentz still posted a 94.6 passer rating with the Colts in 2021. You still see him do things in games, even last year with Washington, that only a handful of NFL quarterbacks are capable of with his pocket movement and throws on the run. That’s what makes Wentz such an intriguing guy for depth. His inconsistency as a starter is rightfully concerning for a team with championship goals, but his ability to come in and do some special things is rarely found by most backup quarterbacks. Of course, talent isn’t everything. You could put Cooper Rush’s face on a t-shirt with that slogan. Rush is the opposite of Wentz; mediocre skills but consistent execution and cautious decision-making. He went 4-1 as a starter last year for Dallas by doing the exact things Wentz has struggled with at times, avoiding turnovers and sticking to conservative methods. But when Dallas faced the Eagles for that fifth game in Rush’s starting run, you saw where a guy like him caps out as an asset. He simply isn’t good enough to compete against elite opposition. A guy like Wentz may be scarier in some situations, but on a good day, he might give you more hope against the cream of the NFL crop.

Eagles mailbag: Breakout players, potential additions, future head coaches - The Athletic
How worried should we be that Hurts’ last year was an aberration and that he regresses too much, as happened with Carson Wentz? — @bisho_bish ... Context matters. Wentz’s regression was partly due to injury and changes on the roster/coaching staff, and how those affected him. If Hurts tore his ACL and then had a lingering back injury in successive seasons — followed by a bad concussion in a postseason game — then one would reason that could make him a different player than what we saw last season. But Hurts has been more durable than Wentz dating back to college, and there should be no questions about the intangible characteristics. Perhaps I’m being seduced by what happened last year, but I thought the Hurts deal was the right investment to make. I wouldn’t necessarily be worried, especially because the Eagles have a core of young players around him who should help the offense. However, I think it’s unrealistic to expect every season to look like 2022, when he sustained an extraordinary production level. There’s bound to be some variance. The big question I’d have is about succession plans on the offensive line. It’s hard to overstate how good Kelce and Johnson are, and just because a team drafts Jurgens in the second round and perhaps even a right tackle in the first round next season, the odds are simply that the next players won’t be nearly as good as the two players they replace. What does the offensive line look like without those two? That’s a huge question beyond this season.

The Eagles are going to be very popular in 2023 - BGN
After their run to the Super Bowl last year and the emergence of Jalen Hurts as one of the league’s most dynamic and effective players, the Philadelphia Eagles have never been more popular league-wide. Unless you’re the San Francisco 49ers, that is. Or maybe the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants or Washington Commanders. But I digress. Fanbases without an axe to grind against the Birds recognize a good thing when they see it, and with the exception of the defending world champion Kansas City Chiefs, there is perhaps no team fans want to see come into their home stadium more.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.113: Breakouts and Stepbacks - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa discuss the next great players in the division and the candidates on their way out.

The 10 worst contracts in the NFC East - PhillyVoice
However, the benefits of that deal to Prescott were in the details, and they were significant. To begin, it was only a four-year deal, which meant that as the salary cap increased and quarterbacks pushed the market even higher over the next few years, the Cowboys and Prescott would be right back at the negotiation table in no time, when Prescott would be in a position to score yet another top-of-the-market quarterback contract. That time might actually be now, just two offseasons later, considering that (a) Prescott is scheduled to count for $59,455,000 on the 2024 cap, and (b) his 2021 deal included a clause in which the Cowboys can’t franchise tag him anymore. Once again, Prescott holds major leverage advantages over the Cowboys, even though he had his worst season as a pro in 2022, when he led the NFL with 15 INTs. The Cowboys might very well become desperate to get a second long-term deal done with a quarterback who turns 30 in July, and who has not proven that he can lead a potent offense unless he has elite talent around him.

Howie Talk - Iggles Blitz
I think one of Howie’s biggest strengths has been leaving himself flexibility in regard to resources and the roster. Too often you see teams hitch their wagon to a player they shouldn’t. They panic a bit and end up with a player they don’t believe in. The Eagles had Anthony Harris and Jaquiski Tartt as veteran safeties a year ago. Marcus Epps had 8 career starts. K’Von Wallace was a disappointing young player. There was also a UDFA named Reed Blankenship. Howie kept telling everyone Epps was going to be good and that the team believed in him. Blankenship then had a terrific preseason. When Chauncey Gardner-Johnson became available, the Eagles dealt for him. Safety went from a question to a strength. Situations won’t always work out that well. You have to be willing to take chances. Howie did and it helped the Eagles get to the Super Bowl.

NFL’s top 10 most complete teams for 2023 season - NFL.com
1) Eagles. They came up just short in Super Bowl LVII, but there’s no reason to think the state of the Eagles’ roster isn’t as good as — if not better than — it was a year ago. MVP runner-up Jalen Hurts is back to direct a high-powered offense with great receiving options in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert (even if the depth behind them at wide receiver and tight end is a bit shaky). The offensive line remains mostly intact thanks to the return of Jason Kelce, and there are multiple quality options for the vacant right guard spot following Isaac Seumalo’s departure in free agency. There could be some concern with the run game after the loss of Miles Sanders, but I doubt it. Sanders’ diminishing returns down the stretch — and Kenneth Gainwell’s emergence — lead me to believe that Gainwell, Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift can match the nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards and 18 TDs the team’s top three backs totaled last season, especially if the team plans to lighten Hurts’ load a bit as a runner. Defensively, the unquestioned strength is up front. In adding Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, the Eagles buttressed the league’s best pass rush from 2022, even after losing Javon Hargrave. They can throw waves of rushers at opponents, although the run defense could stand to improve. If there’s a roster weakness, it might be in the back half of the defense. Philly’s in excellent shape at cornerback but has a few question marks at linebacker (with Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow as the possible starters) and safety (Reed Blankenship and Terrell Edmunds are the leading candidates).

The NFL’s most productive outside wide receivers: Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown and more - PFF
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles. Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 74.1%. Yards per route run: 2.47. Brown led the league in receiving grade (94.5) against single coverage lined up out wide. His ability to get in and out of breaks at 6-foot-1, 226 is unfair for corners trying to cover him one-on-one. His 866 receiving yards against single coverage on the outside ranked first at the position, and you can argue he is the perfect prototype for an outside wide receiver.

Spadaro: What can A.J. Brown do for an encore? - PE.com
It unfolded pretty much the way A.J. Brown dreamed it would after he was traded to the Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft Weekend: He and quarterback Jalen Hurts would work hard to get on the same page and build an unbreakable chemistry and then Brown would integrate into the passing game as one of the prime weapons along with wide receiver DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert and the wins and big plays and team success would follow. And that’s exactly how it went in 2022, all the way through Super Bowl LVII. Brown caught a career-high and team-best 88 passes for a franchise-record 1,496 yards. He scored 11 touchdowns, made his second Pro Bowl and was named a second-team Associated Press All-Pro. Most important – and this is not a coincidence given the numbers Brown generated – he was on the field for 85 percent of the team’s offensive snaps and generally, while he was out there, Brown was unguardable. A team-come-true season that fell four points short of perfection.

3 Giants players most likely to take a step forward in 2023 - Big Blue View
The No. 5 overall pick from 2022 had a rough start to his rookie season. A legal but nasty block to his knee in the preseason caused a sprained MCL, which sidelined Thibodeaux for the first two games. Upon his debut, he had some ups and downs, making key plays at times (including a strip-sack of Lamar Jackson to essentially seal a 24-20 victory against the Ravens) but also taking a while to get going (one sack in his first nine games). Thibodeaux’s biggest issue was a lack of consistency as a pass rusher. A fantastic game against Dallas in Week 12 included five quarterback hits and nine total pressures on 26 rushes. He followed that up with two four-pressure games against Washington and Philadelphia but then recorded just nine total pressures in his final five games, including the postseason. He did have a strip-sack and touchdown return in the second game against Washington, as well as another sack against the Colts (the infamous snow angel affair). Still, he failed to affect the quarterback consistently in those games.

Film Session: How OC Eric Bieniemy will create mismatches with Commanders weapons - Hogs Haven
The Commanders use of motion will undoubtedly go up under Bieniemy, and Terry McLaurin and Jahan’s ability to move around the offense can unlock the untapped explosive potential lacking in this offense.

Can Miles Sanders become the Panthers’ next 1,000-yard rusher? - Cat Scratch Reader
Running back Miles Sanders joined the Carolina Panthers this offseason as a free agent after a 2022 Pro Bowl year with the Philadelphia Eagles in which he rushed for 1,269 yards. That’s a healthy rushing output that he could potentially replicate in his first season as the lead back in Carolina. To put his 1,269 yards in perspective, that would be the fourth highest single season total in Panthers franchise history.

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