The Linc – Can the Eagles’ much improved secondary slow Terry McLaurin?

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles-Commanders preview: Five things to watch – PhillyVoice

4) Eagle killer Terry McLaurin. As always, McLaurin is the Commanders’ most dangerous and productive receiver, by far. We say this in every Eagles-Commanders preview, but see No. 17 to right? He’s waving at you. COVER THAT GUY, and make anyone else beat you. In 10 career games against the Eagles McLaurin has 58 catches for 847 yards and 4 TDs. In years past, the Commanders lined him up all over the place, trying to get him matched up against a weak link in the Eagles’ secondary, oftentimes against their slot corners. This season, the Eagles don’t have as obvious a weak spot in their secondary, as rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have been major upgrades over James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox.

What makes Eagles’ secondary truly remarkable – NBCSP

Their coverage has been impeccable. Their playmaking has been otherworldly. Their communication has been flawless. They’re one of the best secondaries in the NFL and they’ve been together all of five weeks. It was during the bye week that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio replaced Avonte Maddox with rookie Cooper DeJean, giving the Eagles the final piece in a revamped defensive backfield. “Definitely feels like more than five weeks,” DeJean said at his locker Tuesday. “It feels like it’s been a couple years.” The Eagles ranked 31st in the NFL in pass defense last year and 29th in opposing passer rating. They allowed 35 touchdown passes, 2nd-most in the league, and had just nine interceptions, 26th-fewest. Say good-bye to Kevin Byard, Bradley Roby and Justin Evans, among others, and welcome DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, Isaiah Rodgers and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Just like that, everything changed.

Spadaro: How the Eagles quickly retooled the defense – PE.com

They lined up for Super Bowl LVII an experienced, cohesive unit that ranked as one of the best defenses in the entire NFL—first in the league in pass defense, first in quarterback sacks, tied for third with 17 takeaways, tied for sixth allowing just 18.9 points per game. For all of the offensive highlights the Eagles provided that season, the defense was the backbone. And the starters, well, they were ready for anything. Up front, the Eagles went with Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Josh Sweat. At linebacker, Haason Reddick (edge) teamed with T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. Darius Slay and James Bradberry started at cornerback, Avonte Maddox was the nickel corner, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps started at safety. Only two seasons have passed since that 2022 defense lined up together for the final time in Super Bowl LVII, but the changes have been substantial. Graham remains part of the rotation up front. Sweat is still a starter and playing outstanding football. Slay and Gardner-Johnson start – with CJGJ having left for a season only to return as an unrestricted free agent for the 2024 campaign. Bradberry suffered an injury in the preseason and is on Injured Reserve. Add it all up and the Eagles have eight new starters – Graham has one start and has played 46 percent of the defensive snaps through nine games – and how they’ve remade the defense is a remarkable story.

Best 2024 NFL rookies: Jayden Daniels, top 10 rankings – ESPN

7. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles. Mitchell has shown more of a comfort level in man-to-man coverage than some expected, simply because of how often he played off the ball at Toledo. He has played well enough that opposing quarterbacks don’t spend a lot of time looking his way despite his inexperience. Mitchell has played 96% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and has not surrendered a touchdown as the nearest defender in coverage. Among all corners who have been targeted at least 40 times in coverage, Mitchell ranks eighth in completion percentage allowed (52.3%).

Eagles-Cowboys Film Review: Jalen Hurts seemed to be hampered by the sun – BGN

The Cowboys did a few things schematically that the Eagles last had to deal with a while ago. Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer showed a lot of “Double Mug” looks with his linebackers standing in both A-gaps. Zimmer is known for this, and I expected the Eagles to be a little bit more prepared for it. The Eagles struggled with who to protect in pass protection, and it led to the running back dealing with a linebacker far too often, even when the Cowboys only sent 4. Surprisingly, the interior offensive line had their worst game in a while in pass protection, and Cam Jurgens, in particular, struggled. As well as this, I thought the Eagles’ offense was too focused on taking shots down the field and didn’t give Jalen Hurts a lot of easy answers. If you add all of these things up, including some poor individual pass protection reps such as the one below from Kenneth Gainwell, then you get some poor reps. The offense took 5 sacks in the first half, which is not good enough. Some were on Hurts, some were on the scheme, some were on the protection and some were possibly because of the sun! (I’m not joking).

Jayden Daniels’ first game in Philly: “I’ve heard they’ve got very passionate fans so I can’t wait to get out there and find out.” – Hogs Haven

Jayden Daniels spoke to the media after practice as the team prepares on a short week for a Thursday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles. This will be Daniels’ first time playing the Eagles, and playing in Philadelphia. He’s ready for the division road game in hostile territory, and he’s heard about their “very passionate fans”. Daniels is excited for another chance to play ball, and this will be one of the most important games of the season. Daniels is still dealing with the lingering effects of a rib injury from last month, and he said he’s learned from some vets about recovery at this level. He’s also relying on methods he’s been using for years during his college career. He continues to say that he feels good, even after getting asked about the Steelers defense hitting him on every read option.

2024 NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 11 – PFF

3. Washington Commanders (Up 5). Despite dealing with a fierce Steelers pass rush, the Commanders’ offensive line had a great pass-blocking game in Week 10. Across 37 pass plays, the unit surrendered just four pressures — albeit two of them turned into sacks — and earned a 91.9 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked second in the NFL this week. Although right tackle Andrew Wylie was active against Pittsburgh, he did not play due to his shoulder injury. He was replaced by Trent Scott, whose 52.0 PFF overall grade was the lowest among Washington’s offensive linemen.Best player: Sam Cosmi. Cosmi’s 78.8 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks sixth among all guards this season. […] 8. Philadelphia Eagles (Down 1). The Eagles’ offensive line allowed 16 pressures — including four sacks — on just 30 pass plays against the Cowboys in Week 10. As a result, they earned a 66.7 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which ranked last in the NFL this week. Center Cam Jurgens was at the center of the issues, surrendering three pressures — including two sacks — and earning a poor 32.4 PFF pass-blocking grade.Best player: Lane Johnson Johnson allowed two pressures in Philadelphia’s win over the Cowboys. It was the first time this season that the Eagles’ right tackle accounted for more than one pressure.

Dan Quinn: Commanders offense has ‘a lot more under the hood’ – NFL.com

The Commanders are tied for third in the NFL with 29.0 points per game in 2024, on pace for the most in a season for Washington since 1991 (led the NFL with 30.3). The Commanders also lead the NFL with 2.95 points per drive (fifth-most since 2000). Head coach Dan Quinn glowed about his OC this week. “A lot that I’ve grown to appreciate,” Quinn said, via the team’s official transcript. “I’ve found out the competitor that he is and the detail that he wants to get to with the group. And we’ve got, we think a lot more under the hood, about where we can develop and how far we can take it. And Kliff’s a really big part of that. He’s got incredibly high standards for the group. He’s got a very creative mind. So, to think that all of our playbook has been seen, you would be mistaken.”

Kellen Moore: In Dallas, you have to call plays according to the sun – PFT

So how did Moore handle that while calling plays in Dallas? “Stadiums all have different circumstances,” Moore said. “That one, the sun plays a decent role, so you just have to call plays according to it, knowing certain parts of the field at times can be a little bit challenging. We had it in the first quarter, towards the end of the first quarter in the red zone. And then [in the] second quarter, we were going the other way.” The sun was lower in the second quarter, aiming more directly at the eyes of players looking back into it from the east end zone. For that reason, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy shouldn’t have elected to receive the opening kickoff after winning the coin toss. He should have deferred, compelling the Eagles to take the ball and choosing to defend the west side of the field. By the second quarter, the Cowboys would have been pushing toward the end zone that wasn’t bathed in sunlight.

10 Cowboys head coaching candidates to replace Mike McCarthy – Blogging The Boys

Kellen Moore. Current role: Eagles offensive coordinator. The skinny: We all remember Kellen Moore, right? The former Boise State star was Dak Prescott’s backup for a while, then his quarterbacks coach, then his coordinator. And Moore had some good years calling plays, too. His time in Dallas ended on a sour note, but now he’s finding success in Philadelphia. Why it’ll happen: Consider this Jason Garrett 2.0 as far as the sentimentality aspect goes. It’s not much of a secret that Jerry Jones once viewed Moore as the future head coach in Dallas, and now may be his chance. Plus, with the Eagles starting to fly high, Moore’s stock is going up once again. Why it won’t: Moore’s departure from Dallas wasn’t exactly positive. It’s believed that the decision was mostly made by Mike McCarthy, but Jones still signed off on it. Is there bad blood here? Or would Moore be happy to come back to Dallas once they’ve booted the guy who “fired” him?

Giants’ GM Joe Schoen insists ‘we’re not far off’ despite team’s 2-8 record, more takeaways – Big Blue View

There will be some who think he is delusional, but New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen said on Tuesday he believes the 2-8 Giants are “not far off” from being a good team. “I like the direction we’re going,” a somewhat defiant Schoen said during his bye week press conference. “I like my team. I like my strategy, the groups that help me in research and strategy, my scouting department, we’ve got a good coaching staff, and I truly believe we’re heading in the right direction.” Schoen, of course, understands that it doesn’t look that way with the team at 2-8 and having lost five straight games. Especially on the heels of a 6-11 2023 season. “Nobody’s happy that we’re 2-8,” Schoen said. “I believe in the process and, again, I believe where we’re going. “Building it, sometimes it hurts and it’s painful and it’s hard to go through it, but we’re going in the right direction.”

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