Eagles News: Jalen Hurts joins the NFL Superstar Club while Dak Prescott gets kicked out

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2023 NFL Superstar Club: Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb join; Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott drop out - NFL.com
JALEN HURTS. Hurts took a massive leap in his third season, becoming a consistent dominator for a loaded Eagles squad. We don’t know if he’ll match the dizzying heights he reached as a rusher of the football in 2022, when he became just the second QB all-time to log 165-plus carries in a season, logging 4.6 yards per attempt and 13 (!) touchdowns on the ground (second-most by a QB in any NFL season). But he could get even better as a passer playing behind an elite offensive line and with playmakers all around him. This was an easy decision. [...] DAK PRESCOTT. When Prescott is on, as he was in the win against the Bucs in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs this past January, he can look as good as any quarterback in football. But Prescott is no longer the fresh face on the block in the franchise-quarterback game. He’ll begin his eighth season as the Cowboys’ QB1 this fall, and he’s never made an All-Pro team or helped Dallas advanced out of the Divisional Round. He led the league in interceptions last season (15) despite missing five games to injury and hasn’t shown the ability to lift an average supporting cast like the Rodgers and Mahomes of the world. Dak Prescott is a very good quarterback — we’re just done waiting for him to become a truly great one.

More on Hurts - Iggles Blitz
I also think we have to give Doug Pederson a lot of credit. He signed off on the move and tried to get everyone on board with it. Pederson liked Hurts and helped to develop him in a timely fashion. He used Hurts as a rookie in creative looks. The results were mixed, but kudos to Doug for trying to get the most out of a talented athlete. That offense needed all the help it could get. Hurts became a much better player than I ever would have guessed. There wasn’t an NFL player who was a great comp for him. He reminded you a bit of Russell Wilson. Hurts wasn’t as good a passer, but was a more dynamic runner. I just didn’t think Hurts had this kind of ceiling. Think about the way people talk about him.

Eagles Concepts: Inside Zone - BGN
Welcome to a new series! I get asked every year to break down some of the Eagles’ main concepts, so here you go. The Eagles’ run game with Jalen Hurts is one of the best the NFL has seen in recent years, so I thought I would start by looking at the run game. Using Logan Radke’s Eagles’ offensive manual to make this easier, I wanted to go and look at what makes the Eagles’ run game special.

Oh, There’s No One To Throw: A Children’s Book About the San Francisco Forty-Whiners - PhillyVoice
No doubt about it, the Niners got wrecked, But we would soon learn that they would deflect. Deebo and CMac and Shanny would cry, All the way through to the month of July, “We lost because of the offensive shutdown,” Man, shut the f*** up, you were down by three touchdowns.

Mueller: Identifying each NFC East team’s biggest concern from a GM’s perspective - The Athletic
Howie Roseman is the best general manager in the league right now. And I am surely not going to sit in my chair and say I have a ton of worries about this team. I know head coach Nick Sirianni and what makes him tick. We had some deep conversations when we were both with the Chargers. He will find a way to keep the narrative fresh, and the team will be hungry to finish the job after coming up just short last year. Losing both coordinators is a byproduct of the success the Eagles had in 2022. That does force others into roles that might take some adjusting. That may lead to a less-than-ideal start as new people design and then call games for the first time.

2024 NFL Draft: One draft prospect each NFC team should be watching - PFF
Philadelphia Eagles. Potential 2024 needs: LB, WR, C. Player to watch: Johnny Wilson, Florida State. Right now, Philadelphia would appear to have some issues with inexperience in the middle of its defense. The team’s success, however, will be primarily driven by Jalen Hurts and a dynamic offense. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are among the league’s elite pair of receivers, but there is a bit left to be desired behind them. Hurts was at his best last season when he was willing to unleash the deep ball. Nobody would give him a bigger target downfield than 6-foot-7 monster Johnny Wilson out of Florida State. Wilson’s massive frame allowed him to post a 92.3 receiving grade on throws 10-plus yards downfield last season. His presence would allow Smith to move into the slot and give Philadelphia a potentially unstoppable three-receiver look.

How the Cowboys roster compares to Super Bowl champs of the past - Blogging The Boys
A solid and healthy offensive line. This is probably the component that brings the most questions for the Cowboys, but not because they don’t have talented players. You could argue that a line up of Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, and Terence Steele is one of the best top-to-bottom units in the NFL. But can this group stay healthy? Tyron Smith has missed multiple games every year since 2016 (although the back he struggled with prior to 2020 has seemingly been a non-issue the last two years), and Terence Steele is coming off of a tough knee injury. If not, they’ll need young players like Matt Waletzko, Matt Farniok, Asim Richards, and others to step up and play big.

How can Giants’ RT Evan Neal progress in Year 2? - Big Blue View
The common refrain this offseason has been that because Thomas struggled as a rookie before becoming one of the NFL’s best linemen, Neal will be just fine. The other narrative is that he’s already close to becoming a bust. In reality, incremental progress is what’s most likely and should be expected from Neal this year. The physical traits are there. Neal has good agility and is the fifth-largest offensive lineman in the league. Now he just needs to prove he can translate that into on-field success. We’ve only had a small sample size so far: Neal played 13 games last year and looked worse off after returning from a knee injury in Week 12, though he refused to use that as an excuse.

Is Washington’s tight end unit overrated or underrated? - Hogs Haven
Logan Thomas, who is now 18 months removed from his grade three ACL tear, is the aging veteran among the group. In 2022, it took Thomas some time to get reacclimated to the game from an athletic standpoint. In early October, he suffered a calf strain injury ahead of week five, keeping him inactive until week eight against the Indianapolis Colts. The month of December was much better for Thomas, though, as his straight-line speed became more noticeable on film, and he moved much more comfortably in open space. Thomas’s biggest strength to this team is, first, his overall hands and, secondly, his contested catch ability. He can also separate against zone coverage, which is an essential trait for offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for his tight ends.

What are league rules around gambling on sports? - ESPN
MLB and the NBA, NCAA, NFL and NHL fought a nearly 10-year legal battle with New Jersey to stop the state from legalizing sports betting and, in 2018, lost in the U.S. Supreme Court. The landmark decision brought sports betting to the forefront and put more focus on the policies leagues are relying on as the landscape evolves. Now, with more than half the nation offering legal betting, professional leagues and collegiate sports face a new reality and a straightforward business decision about whether to participate in a growing revenue stream that is not without risk. Just five years ago, before the Supreme Court’s ruling, roughly 1% of Americans lived in states with legal betting. Now, 56% of the population resides in jurisdictions that have launched regulated sportsbooks. Results from a May survey from the American Gaming Association estimated 39.2 million American adults had placed a traditional sports wager in the past 12 months.

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