Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
What I’m Hearing on A.J. Brown’s future, J.J. McCarthy’s status and MetLife turf – The Athletic
Sirianni and Roseman have already had their own private conversations with Brown to hear him out and they are managing the situation. The Eagles have not shopped him, telling teams in the offseason there was “no chance.” But rival executives are watching. “They are paying roughly $50 million to two wide receivers (Brown and Smith), and they aren’t even that involved,” one NFL GM told me. “They may move on simply because Philly is a run-heavy team.” A rival head coach put it another way after studying the Eagles: “Don’t let A.J. Brown tell you he isn’t getting enough targets. It’s not about the quantity. It’s about the type of targets and the situations he’s in. That’s why he’s frustrated.” That’s really the point. Brown is seeing the ball. He’s just not seeing it the way he wants. I’m told Hurts wants to feed him and wants to throw to him, it’s just about having patience in early October. We’ll see if new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo adjusts, getting Brown and Smith involved earlier and scripting touches to calm the storm. I can tell you this: The Broncos’ defense is expecting to see a very motivated pair of Eagles wideouts early on Sunday.
When it comes to venting, Smith has no issue with Brown speaking out. “He has every right to feel however he feels,” Smith said. “We’re competitive. We’re guys that are getting paid money, so we want to be able to come out here feeling like we’re doing our job. I feel like there’s nothing wrong when you got two alpha males that want to be a part of something, want to take over games and things like that.” Remember, en route to their latest title, the Eagles didn’t find an offensive identity until the second month of the season. This year, they’ve bought themselves a longer runway after winning their first four games, but now it’s October. “Go-time” is getting close.
“When the ball comes my way,” Smith said, “I’ll make the most of the opportunity.” Smith and Brown always have their green lights on. The Denver Broncos represent the next chance for Sirianni, Patullo, and Hurts to gas up their F1 receivers. “I feel like everybody’s giving everything they have,” said Smith, “doing something for another guy to get involved.”
Eagles Opponent Film Room: Scouting the Denver Broncos’ offense – BGN
A bit like Baker Mayfield, Nix is lucky not to have more interceptions this year. There have been dropped picks, bad overthrows, and some fumbles under pressure. Nix’s style contributes to this: he rarely throws it away, constantly extends plays, and forces balls into windows that aren’t really there.
In Roob’s Observations: How remaining patient is paying off for the Eagles – NBCSP
4A. I thought the most revealing part of A.J. Brown’s chat with the media Wednesday wasn’t his apology but his heartfelt explanation of how his desire for the football isn’t born out of selfishness or wanting to pile up stats but out of wanting to help the team win and the confidence to know that if he gets opportunities, he can do that: “It’s not just for targets or anything to put numbers up. I see that we’re struggling and I’m a guy that wants the ball in those times, when we can’t find a way. Give it to me. When the game’s on the line, give the ball to me. I want that. I want that pressure, I put it on myself and I work hard for it. … My teammates know that when the game’s on the line, look at me. I want everyone in the stadium to know that. That’s not a secret. I’m not shying away from that. That’s where you see that frustration, that hunger comes out. Because I see we’re struggling and I believe that you give the ball to me, I’m going to open up things and I’m going to get this thing going. You can put it on my back.” 4B. Yes, Brown needs to stop tweeting every time he gets frustrated, but he’s absolutely right that this team is better when he has the football in his hands, and Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo and Jalen Hurts need to do everything in their power to make that happen. It’s insane that a top-three receiver in the NFL has had eight or fewer yards in six of eight halves of football so far.
NFL Week 5 picks, predictions, schedule, odds, fantasy tips – ESPN
Bold prediction: Broncos edge Jonathon Cooper will record a sack against Eagles RT Lane Johnson. That’s a tall task considering the opposition, but Cooper has the fastest pass rush get-off in the NFL (among those with at least 50 pass rushes), crossing the line of scrimmage in 0.69 seconds, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
NFL Week 5 Preview: Schedule, storylines, matchups to watch and betting spreads – PFF
Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell. While the Broncos’ offense has had some issues with consistency to start the year, one player that has been a staple of Denver’s success in the passing game is Courtland Sutton. Sutton has been dangerous down the field, having hauled in seven receptions of 15 or more yards — including three touchdowns, one in three out of his four games. After an up-and-down start to the year, Quinyon Mitchell turned it on in Week 4 to post his highest PFF coverage grade (88.9) of the season. He locked down Bucs receivers, allowing just two catches on nine targets for just six yards while notching five forced incompletions.
Spadaro: 6 storylines to follow in Broncos vs. Eagles – PE.com
Eagles D faces a top-notch running game. Everything with the Broncos’ offense starts with the running game, which cranked it up on Monday night against the Bengals for nearly 200 yards. This is a two-headed attack with J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey and the Broncos average 143 rushing yards per game, fifth-best in the league. Denver uses a six-man offensive line at times to establish the running game and the Broncos are committed to working it on the ground. This is a great test for the Eagles. “Great offensive line, good scheme, they do a good job,” defensive tackle Moro Ojomo said. “They’re going to run it. That’s what they like to do. We will be ready for the challenge because they’re going to keep coming at you.”
Fan confidence surges after dominating win on MNF – Mile High Report
What a difference a win makes. After back-to-back losses in walk-off fashion, fan confidence in the Denver Broncos plummeted to 58% last week. Then they walked into prime time last Monday and obliterated a Cincinnati Bengals team that is admittedly in freefall after Joe Burrow went down for the season. Even so, they dominated both sides of the ball to a 28-3 win on national television and that has to inspire a bit of confidence around these parts. This week, the number jumped nearly 30 points to 86% confidence after this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey.
Commanders fans have grim outlook for what lies ahead – Hogs Haven
Confidence about the team’s direction fell to a season-low of 62% this week; it was at 89% following the victory over the Raiders. Interestingly, the relatively pessimistic view of Commanders fans is just slightly more so than that of Philly fans, only 65% of whom expressed confidence in the direction of their undefeated team this week. Cowboys fans are the gloomiest of the four NFC East fan bases; after falling to just 7% a week ago, Dallas fan confidence ‘rebounded’ to 39% this week — its second-highest level of the season. Giants fans are finding reasons for optimism despite the team’s 1-3 record in September. Following New York’s win over the Chargers in Jaxson Dart’s first-ever NFL start, fans of Big Blue logged a confidence reading of 72%.
Cowboys injuries: Dallas will be without left tackle Tyler Guyton – Blogging The Boys
While they are making incremental strides to get back to work, CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker were ruled out today with respective ankle injuries and will not play against the Jets. Tyler Guyton (concussion) has not cleared league-mandated protocols and also won’t play this week. Safety Malik Hooker (toe) and WR KaVontae Turpin (foot) were ruled out. Tyler Smith (knee) and Miles Sanders (knee/ankle) haven’t practiced all week but have been designated as questionable. Marshawn Kneeland didn’t practice today and is questionable. On the positive side, DaRon Bland (foot) was a full participant in all three days of practice and will play alongside Trevon Diggs (knee), who was upgraded to full participation, providing the Cowboys with much-needed available depth in their secondary.
Cowboys rookie made fashion decision that left him with blister-covered feet – SB Nation
Jaydon Blue is being counted on this week to be part of the running back rotation this week after both Miles Sanders and KaVonte Turpin were sidelined with injuries. Inactive for much for the season, and rumored work ethic issues have hampered the rookie — and now he showed up in cleats that were damaging his feet, but he chose to keep wearing them because they were a fashion statement. At least he looked good while destroying his feet.
Giants-Saints final injury report: Dexter Lawrence (illness) still not practicing – Big Blue View
Daboll said that running back Tyrone Tracy (shoulder) would practice on Friday but likely not play on Sunday. It is possible that Tracy could be available on Thursday when the Giants host the Philadelphia Eagles.
Phillies vs. Dodgers: X-factors for both teams in the NLDS – The Good Phight
The games haven’t started yet, but there are already some common narratives around the upcoming Phillies vs. Dodgers series. Everyone is talking about how the Phillies rotation has to matchup against the Dodgers star power led by Shohei Ohtani and how will L.A. navigate through the series with their incredibly shaky bullpen. It’s arguably two of the biggest storylines for the series with others including how will Philadelphia look after the bye and what is the Phillies plan for when and how to use Jhoan Duran. But as is so often the case in October, sometimes a hero or a villain can come from an unexpected place, or a secondary storyline could become the focus. Here, we’re going to discuss two players that are flying under the radar a bit but nevertheless could have a huge impact on how this series plays out. First, we’ll start with an x-factor for the Dodgers before detailing one for the Phillies. [BLG Note: Let’s go Phillies!]
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