The Linc – “This is not Kellen Moore’s offense. This is Jalen Hurts’ offense.”

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 10/16/24.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

NFL Week 6 spin: What’s next for Cowboys, Anthony Richardson – ESPN+
Under center? That has been 4% of Jalen Hurts’ dropbacks, an uptick of less than 1% from his previous seasons. The only delivery on what we were promised is pre-snap motion, which the Eagles are using on 47% of Hurts’ dropbacks this season, a remarkable increase from the previous offenses. But motion isn’t going to change Brown’s route tree, or perhaps more importantly, the routes that Hurts is willing to throw. And as such, motion has become new window dressing on the same old concepts. This is not Kellen Moore’s offense … not even close. This is Hurts’ offense. It is a spread, gun offense with a complex running game that involves the quarterback. It wins with isolation routes and basic half-field concepts that take advantage of wide formations and the run threat via run-pass options. It is, in short, the same college offense the Eagles have been running for Hurts for years. This offense is 95% the same, and it’s going to run into the same problems it always has — especially if pass protection doesn’t stay elite as the Eagles continue to contend with offensive line injuries.

Eagles vs. Browns: 8 winners, 3 losers, 5 IDKs – BGN
Much like last year, I don’t think the offensive issues are simply a play-calling issue. Emphasis on the calling part because it’s not like the sequencing is the only problem. Rather, there seems to be a real problem with the design of a system that seems so dependent on star players making difficult plays without a whole lot of assistance from scheme. The Eagles’ apparently unstoppable mesh concept stands out as the exception in that regard. Multiple film analysts much smarter than me (including BGN’s own Jonny Page) have repeatedly noted that this does not look like a typical Moore offense. The data suggests as much, too. The question is: why? How much of it is Sirianni? And how much is Hurts?

Eagles notes: Vic Fangio clarifies Nick Sirianni’s claim that he made a defensive play call – PhillyVoice
Fangio has been coaching in the NFL since 1986, when Sirianni was five years old. He probably doesn’t need or want Sirianni taking bullets for him, especially when nobody was even asking about that particular play. It all feels like fake accountability, in that Sirianni is essentially creating a setup where nobody is accountable, himself included. He takes blame for other coaches and players, but has also been sure to note that he’s willingly taking all blame, thus muddying the accountability waters. You can’t have it both ways.

Kellen Moore on middle of field, play action and more – NBCSP
The use (or lack) of pre-snap motion during the Sirianni Era has been a big topic in Philadelphia. It’s not like using motion is going to solve all their problems but there’s a reason NFL offenses use it and the Eagles were dead-last in the NFL in this category in 2023. When they used motion on Sunday, it seemed to work, but they didn’t use a lot of it. Based on training camp and the first couple weeks of the season, it seemed like motion was going to be a big part of the Eagles’ offense but it has since dried up.

The Best NFL Bets for Week 7 – The Ringer
Philadelphia has been quite healthy defensively this season, and that unit ranks 26th in DVOA and 23rd in EPA per drive. The market has started to notice that even when healthy, the Eagles don’t look like a top-five offense, which they need to be to justify their position as one of the contenders in the NFC given their shaky defensive metrics. Now, with left tackle Jordan Mailata out for multiple weeks, one of the Eagles’ strongest all-around units takes a hit. The Giants defense looks to be a seriously underrated unit following their back-to-back performances against the Seahawks and Bengals. They’ve played a difficult schedule of opposing offenses so far but are tied for eighth in series success rate allowed. New York will struggle to replace its own injured left tackle, Andrew Thomas, but Malik Nabers’s likely return adds another dimension to the offense, and anything +3 or better is good enough for me to bet on the Giants at home. Verdict: Bet Giants +3 (-115).

Fantasy football defense rankings: Top D/STs for Week 7, plus three viable streamers – SB Nation
Giants D/ST vs. PHI. The Giants aren’t a great defense this season, but they certainly are performing above expectations. The G-Men currently lead the league with 26 sacks on the year. That crew is led by DL Dexter Lawrence, who ranks second in the league with 7.0 sacks. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been a surprisingly disappointing offense this season, even with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the offense; QB Jalen Hurts has the fourth-highest catchable but inaccurate pass rate in the league through five weeks. The Eagles have allowed their opposing D/ST 10 or more fantasy points one each of their last three matchups, having scored 20 or fewer points in each of those outings and 11 sacks in that span. The Eagles have plenty of spark on offense thanks to their plethora of options between the receiving game and RB Saquon Barkley, but their team under Nick Sirianni appears to be in shambles (did you see the shouting at the crowd in Week 6?). Pair that with a road matchup against a team that’s been proficient in the pass rush up against a quarterback with the second-lowest PFF passing grade under pressure this season, and it could be a match made in D/ST heaven.

2024 NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 7 – PFF
18. New York Giants (Up 5). Second-year center John Michael Schmitz Jr. struggled in pass protection in New York’s Week 6 loss to the Bengals. The Minnesota product’s 39.9 PFF pass-blocking grade was the lowest on the Giants, coming after he allowed four pressures — tied for the most by any center in Week 6. Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor is having a great season, especially in pass protection. The veteran right tackle has allowed pressure on 4.2% of pass plays, which is the second-best rate of his career.

Do the Giants miss Saquon Barkley? – Big Blue View
Barkley was a great Giant who would have been even greater were it not for injuries and the terrible offensive line in front of him. He should be cheered, not booed, when he comes to MetLife this Sunday. Nonetheless, it was the right call by Joe Schoen to let him walk. The money saved each year against the cap was better used to do things like signing veteran offensive linemen who have performed well in pass protection. Of more importance, as the numbers above show, is that the Giants at a minimum have replicated Barkley’s production with a combination of an underrated $5M veteran back and a promising 5th round rookie back. Barkley has played well for Philadelphia, but he is not experiencing a renaissance there like the one Derrick Henry seems to be having in Baltimore (Henry’s six-game totals would project to 1,992 rushing yards and 23 TDs if maintained through 17 games). Say what you will about modern football roster construction philosophy, but the mantra “Don’t pay running backs” continues to be borne out on the field. (Derrick Henry, by the way, is only getting $16M total over two years and only the first $9M is guaranteed.) The Giants are just fine at running back. They don’t miss Saquon Barkley.

Week 6 DVOA: Year of the NFC – FTN Fantasy
[BLG Note: The Eagles rank 20th in DVOA. The Giants rank 23rd.]

Schedule Update: Washington Commanders Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears gets flexed – Hogs Haven
Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bears this year, and the early favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He’s been off to a quieter start than No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. Washington will host Chicago at Northwest Stadium on October 27th, and that game has been flexed from 1 pm EDT to 4:25 EDT. The Commanders will get the same Tony Romo, Jim Nantz announcing duo they had this week against Baltimore. This flex also moved the Philadelphia Eagles vs Cincinnati Bengals game out of the late afternoon slot.

Jerry Jones refuses to take accountability for lack of offseason moves for Dallas Cowboys – Blogging The Boys
Soon enough, through a bit of a back and forth, Jerry had clearly had enough. Host Shan Shariff noted that fans and analysts were displeased over the offseason, to say the least, about how inactive the Cowboys were in free agency. Jerry took extreme offense to this (he never acknowledged the subject throughout the course of the interview) and went on the defense. He even threatened, and confirmed he was serious, the hosts to have them removed for the line of questioning they were offering.

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