Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 11/30/24.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
Eagles-Ravens preview: Five things to watch – PhillyVoice
The Ravens have allowed 16 sacks this season, third-best in the NFL. They have an above average offensive line, but it is not without its concern areas. To begin, they have the grabbiest offensive line in the NFL, as they lead the league with 26 holding penalties. The league average is 14.6. Fortunately for the Eagles, they drew Craig Wrolstad’s officiating crew, which has called 31 offensive holding penalties this season, fifth-most in the NFL. They avoided some of the other crews that call holding penalties at like half that frequency. FeastinMeter™️: Basically, it’s going to come down to whether or not this crew calls holds.
Eagles-Ravens Final Injury Report: DeVonta Smith questionable, Darius Slay OUT – BGN
Smith originally injured his hamstring in Week 9. He played through it for two games before missing Week 12. It looked like Smith was on track to miss Week 13 after sitting out of Wednesday’s practice but he was unexpectedly upgraded to limited participation on Thursday. Smith was limited again on Friday. He told reporters he’s not sure if he’s playing. Read into his body language what you will.
Eagles notebook: A.J. Brown making the most of his opportunities – NBCSP
A.J. Brown isn’t surprised about the Eagles’ run-pass disparity this season, especially since the bye week. Why not? “Because what we have in the backfield is rare,” Brown explained. Saquon Barkley is an MVP candidate this year and he’s running behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. That means fewer throws and fewer targets for Brown. So the Pro Bowl receiver has a big focus this year: Make the most out of the targets he does get. “You have to switch your mindset up a little bit and not get comfortable with touches,” Brown said. “I’m going to give you a little context because guys can run with that. It’s the same sense of, like, whenever you get your opportunities, you have the make the most of it. When guys get a lot of touches, you may not go as hard here or there because you know you got another touch coming. “But when you don’t know, you’re going to make the most of it because of who is in the backfield and how special they are. That’s just my mindset.”
Battle of the RBs: Barkley, Henry set to go head to head – ESPN
Barkley is being used at an eye-popping rate. He is on pace for 344 carries, which would be almost 50 more than his previous career high set in 2022 (295). Likewise, his projection for total touches (386) is well above the mark of 352 he had as a rookie and again in 2022. His usage is a frequent line of questioning to Sirianni, who notes the load management comes during the week and in the fourth quarter in comfortable wins. “This sport is unlike any other profession. We have to do whatever we have to do to win each and every game. It’s always going to be that way so if it takes Saquon carrying the ball a bunch of times, then you’re going to have to carry it a bunch of times,” he said. There have been a few hold-your-breath moments this season when Barkley, who has dealt with his share of injuries over his seven-year career, has been slow to get up or has looked hobbled going to the sideline. But to this point he’s remained largely healthy and says the reason he trains so hard in the offseason is to be able to endure a heavy workload during the season. “I feel great,” Barkley said earlier this month. “I’m not worried about it so why is anyone else?
The Eagles’ offensive identity stems from the run game, but they’re bracing for a challenge on Sunday – Inquirer
Still, the Eagles have had success in the past sticking to the run, even against the league’s best rushing defenses. Last year, they ran for 259 yards against a Minnesota Vikings defense that finished the season fourth in yards allowed per attempt and managed 242 rushing yards against the top-ranked New Orleans Saints in 2021. What’s made the difference for the Eagles in these games? Jalen Hurts’ ability to keep the ball on shotgun runs is a major contributor, as is the Eagles ability to win up front, even against the best opposing defensive lines. Add Barkley into the equation, and it’s fair to wonder if the Eagles can stick to the formula against this talented Ravens front. “It all goes down to execution when you look at those games,” Johnson said. “It’s always competitive, but I think the biggest thing is staying consistent with our combo blocks and, when you get on defenders, don’t lose your base and stay under them so you can have a running back do special things with the ball. What he can do drives us to do better and be better.”
Week 13 NFL picks: Eagles or Ravens in heavyweight bout? Will Chargers, Steelers, Texans bounce back? – NFL.com
Why Tom picked the Ravens: Philly has turned into a juggernaut over the past seven weeks — but it hasn’t yet faced a challenge quite like stopping Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Of course, Baltimore hasn’t faced a challenge quite like stopping Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. (I’m not quite ready to graduate Jayden Daniels and the Commanders’ ground attack, whom the Eagles and Ravens each defeated this season, to that level yet.) But the Ravens feel a bit more battle tested. It wouldn’t be a shock if they pushed past the Eagles’ stellar per-game averages in passing-yards (175.5) and rushing-yards (99.2) allowed. I also expect Hurts and Barkley to obliterate Baltimore’s own impressive rushing-yards-allowed average (77.9), which is hard to separate from the fact that most Ravens opponents tend to spend most of their time playing from behind. Baltimore’s pass defense (277.7 passing yards allowed per game) is a potential liability. Still, if we get the titanic rushing clash that we deserve, I’ll roll with Jackson putting his team over the edge in the end.
Spadaro: Eagles welcome challenge of two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and Ravens’ top-ranked offense – PE.com
The numbers are simply astounding: Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson has thrown 27 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions this season and leads the NFL in touchdown passes, passing yards (3,053), touchdown percentage (7.9 percent), yards per passing attempt (10.08), and quarterback passer rating (117.9). all while compiling the highest completion percentage (67.3) of his outstanding career. Oh, and Lamar Jackson, never really heralded in NFL circles for his ability from the pocket, also scares the daylights out of defenses with his incredible speed, quickness, and ability to gash defenses with his legs (he has 3 rushing touchdowns and 599 yards on the ground this season). “Great quarterback who can make every throw with that arm of his and he beats you with his legs,” safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson said. “Love the challenge. Love the way the man competes.” Coordinator Vic Fangio oversees the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, one that has faced all kinds of offenses and a variety of quarterbacks this season. The Eagles have improved steadily on defense and in this seven-game winning streak they have played lights-out football.
AFC North Preview Week 13: Ravens play Eagles in Battle of the Birds; Steelers and Bengals faceoff – Baltimore Beatdown
The Ravens appear to getting healthy heading into the bye week as they prepare for the final stretch of the regular season with playoff seeding and a division crown on the line. They had several injured defenders return to practice this week after missing time with the most notable being two-time All Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith. He was a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss last Monday night’s big win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce (calf) and rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa (ankle) had their 21-day practice windows activated although they remain on injured reserve for the time being.
9 head coach options for the Chicago Bears, ranked by best fit – SB Nation
9. Kliff Kingsbury, OC, Washington Commanders. This might be an outside-the-box hire, but there is merit to the idea of Chicago hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their next head coach. One can point to how Jayden Daniels began the season in Washington, looking every bit like a potential NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate, and imagine that Kingsbury could aid the development of Caleb Williams, which will be job one for whoever takes over as the head coach in Chicago. Those two also spent the 2023 season together at USC, with Kingsbury serving as a senior offensive analyst with the Trojans during Williams’ final year on campus. However, what might give Chicago pause is the combination of Kingsbury’s tenure in Arizona — he was let go after posting a 28-37-1 record with a single playoff appearance — as well as the trendline shown by his offenses in the NFL. They start red-hot, but finish anything but. In short, while he might be an option, there are more intriguing ones for the Bears.
Washington Commanders vs Tennessee Titans Friday Injury Report – Hogs Haven
The Washington Commanders held a Black Friday practice as they prepare to host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. RB Austin Ekeler and RT Andrew Wylie were ruled out after suffering concussions last week. Brian Robinson Jr suffered an ankle injury last week, but was a full participant in practice, and doesn’t have an injury designation for Sunday. Washington also re-signed RB Chris Rodriguez for depth along with Jeremy McNichols. Trent Scott replaced Wylie last week instead of veteran swing tackle Cornelius Lucas, and it will be interesting to see if Scott gets the start over Lucas this week.
Cowboys thoughts following Thanksgiving Day win over Giants: This is fun – Blogging The Boys
Football has felt fun over the last few days and we now get to begin our holiday season with that magical feeling in the air of playoffs as a potential possibility. Is it a far-fetched one? Of course, nobody is denying that. But the positivity that the team has generated felt like a fire they were incapable of starting quite literally just one week ago. They have made fire and we shall dance around it like Tom Hanks in celebration. [BLG Note: The cope is strong in Dallas.]
The Divine Comedy of the Dallas Cowboys – The Ringer
It used to be that Cowboys fans were front-runners. Now they’re hanging out at one of football’s most disappointing parties. What animates the massive diasporic fandom—and what does its persistence in the face of America’s Team’s failure say about the grand American experiment?
Big Blue View mailbag: How do the Giants go forward at GM, coach, quarterback? – Big Blue View
Brian Misdom asks: My question is to what extent do you believe the Schoen/Daboll pairing remains a package deal? If Daboll is out, will Schoen be fired as well? […] Ed says: Brian, in the interest of brevity I am only using your actual question and not everything around it. I don’t know for certain. I will say that I have always believed, and still believe, that IF ownership can separate the GM and head coach that I think Schoen is on more solid ground than Daboll. Whether you like all of the decisions the GM has made or not, there is an argument to be made that the team should be better than 2-10 and would be with better quarterback play. John Mara has said he could separate the two. I’m not so sure, but we might find out.
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