The Linc – Daniel Jeremiah proposes a Russell Wilson to Philly trade

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 1/18/22.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

[BLG Note: Keep in mind Daniel Jeremiah, a former Philadelphia Eagles scout, knows Howie Roseman well. DJ was Howie’s original preference for the job that Joe Douglas ended up getting instead back in 2016.]

Eagles questions answered following a solid 2021 season – BGN
He needed a 17th game to do it, but with 916 yards receiving this year, Smith eclipsed DeSean Jackson’s franchise rookie receiving yards record this season, and did it while being overlooked in the offense for much of the season. His route-running and hands were as advertised, and even though he’s not a big guy, he managed to stay healthy for the entire season. He won’t win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but his first season in the NFL was an unmitigated success.

At the Podium: Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and other players share thoughts on loss to Tampa Bay – BGN Radio
Following the Eagles loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Head coach Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, Alex Singleton, Dallas Goedert, Rodney McLeod and Jordan Mailata spoke with the Philly media.

Judging NFL wild-card weekend overreactions: Could the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy? Will the Eagles be in the QB market? – ESPN+
The Eagles will be in the market for a quarterback upgrade. The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The problem is, Hurts didn’t do enough to make the Eagles sure he’s their long-term answer. And between their resources and the possibilities this offseason’s quarterback market could potentially offer, they owe it to themselves to at least consider the possibility of an upgrade. The Eagles will have three first-round picks in April’s draft — Nos. 15, 16 and 19. That could offer them the opportunity to move up into the early part of the round to draft a quarterback if they think there’s one who looks like a franchise cornerstone. But if there isn’t such a player, it’s still possible that this offseason will see the likes of Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and others on the trade market. And a team with three first-round picks in this draft would have a head start on other teams if it wanted to make a run at players like that. It’d be no insult to Hurts if the team decided it would be better off with Wilson or Rodgers or Watson. And while it might not be possible to get those guys and might be wiser to use the picks to build around Hurts, this is an organization that is always considering all of its options at the most critical position. That’s why Hurts is on the team in the first place, remember.

The First Read, Divisional Round: Biggest immediate question for advancing and eliminated playoff teams – NFL.com
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni gave Hurts a nice stamp of approval after his team’s 31-15 wild-card loss to Tampa Bay. Even though Hurts struggled in that game — completing 23 of 43 passes for 258 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions — his coach saw the bigger picture. Sirianni talked about how Hurts grew as a passer, a decision-maker and an overall student of the game. What Siranni didn’t say is what remains clear about the Eagles: They’re still feeling this thing out. Hurts produced solid numbers in 2021 (a 61.3 completion percentage, 16 touchdown passes and nine interceptions), but his limitations in arm strength and anticipation were obvious in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs. His more significant contribution this season came as a runner. Philadelphia became heavily reliant on its ground game, and Hurts ran for 784 yards and 10 touchdowns while helping the Eagles rebound from a 2-5 start. The real question here is how long the Eagles want to play offensive football that way. They have some talented weapons in wide receiver DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert, and they’re sitting on three of the top 19 picks in this upcoming draft. This is a team primed to infuse its roster with more difference-makers. Hurts has done enough to keep his employers intrigued. He’ll have to do even more to get them to buy in fully, especially if this team is positioning itself to be a player in the NFC for the long-term.

How will Hurts’ awful performance affect his future? – NBCSP
But two years in, I just haven’t seen the evidence that he can consistently make enough plays throwing the football to be a championship quarterback. With his skill set and work ethic and leadership and intangibles, he’s going to win you some games. He did that this year. But we all know that in the modern NFL, an offense built around running the ball and then making a few plays here and there in the passing game just isn’t enough. You can’t win that way. Certainly not consistently against good teams. Certainly not deep in the playoffs. So the Eagles have a decision to make, a decision that will determine the course of the franchise for the next several years. And while I still think it’s likely Hurts will return as the starter in 2022 — with another year under his belt, a more experienced coach and presumably a better supporting cast on both sides of the ball — how could you blame the Eagles if they do look elsewhere?

The Eagles have enough to make an informed decision on Jalen Hurts’ future – Inquirer
Todd Bowles knew exactly how to defend Hurts, and it had little to do with his ankle. He denied him throws when moving to his right, where he is most effective. The former Eagles assistant, on many drops, either had his left end penetrate up field or he blitzed from that side to force Hurts to his left, where the right end often played containment. On the Eagles’ first long third down, Hurts missed an open Quez Watkins deep down the middle. He then vacated the pocket to his left, as the Bucs had designed, and threw across his body to Jalen Reagor. The pass was tipped and nearly intercepted. Bowles accepted pocket throws, as well, because the 6-foot-1 Hurts struggles to see the field. He kept forcing passes to his biggest target, tight end Dallas Goedert, and while there were some positive moments, there were far too many attempts into double coverage as receiver DeVonta Smith was singled up. Hurts’ most fateful throw, again, came when he was forced to his left. The Bucs blitzed off the left edge. The quarterback flushed to his left and threw late across his body to Smith and was intercepted in the end zone. “DeVonta got open on the play. I was expecting a look,” Hurts said. “The safety came off the hash. Couldn’t get it up there as soon as I wanted to. Got it up there a little late and the safety made a good catch on the sideline.” All told, Hurts completed just 2-of-13 attempts for 45 yards when throwing to his left beyond 10 yards. He followed the same pattern as in the regular season when he completed just 22-of-62 passes for 498 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions when throwing to his outside left.

The Six Biggest Lessons From NFL Wild-Card Weekend – The Ringer
Philadelphia’s defense was quite good on third down on Sunday. Brady averaged 0.39 EPA per play on early downs with a success rate of 58 percent on passes, according to RBSDM.com. Both of those marks would have (easily) led the league during the regular season. But on third down, when the Eagles played more man coverage, Brady had problems finding open receivers and was forced to hang on to the ball a bit longer, leading to a season-high four sacks. The splits are quite telling. Overall, Brady averaged 0.23 EPA against Philly’s zone coverage. That number fell to 0.0 against man. Gannon eventually adjusted in the second half and played more man on early downs too, but the game was already over. The Bucs’ win probability surpassed the 95 percent mark in the second quarter, according to RBSDM.com’s model.

The day after: End of the road for the 2021 Eagles; now comes the hard part – The Athletic
3. Woof, Jalen Reagor. It’s not as if his muffed punt changed the outcome of the game, but it was certainly a fitting coda to one of the more antagonistic first two seasons for an Eagles player in recent history. Justin Jefferson’s stardom has followed Reagor and the Eagles like a Griddy-dancing black cloud, but Reagor has been so much worse than just the opportunity cost of missing out on Jefferson. His fumbled punt was also the least surprising bad play of the day for the Eagles given how uncomfortable he looked fielding punts earlier in the game. That he remained as the punt returner (and muffed another return, only to scoop it up) was confounding, but backup punt returner Greg Ward had been declared out with a back injury. It’s hard to think he’ll ever be anything but a punchline in Philadelphia at this point.

Analyzing Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy’s Controversial Quarterback Draw – MAQB
Both the Eagles and Patriots had bounce back years, and both have the resources to sustain that progress around young quarterbacks. That said, each is going to have some tough decisions to make older players. Philly’s got a significant group of core players who are 31 and older—Jason Kelce, Darius Slay, Rodney McLeod, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Brooks and Brandon Graham among them. Ditto for the Patriots, with Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower and Brandon Bolden in that age range; and Kyle Van Noy, Matthew Judon and Adrian Phillips not far behind.

Play of the Game: How Mike Edwards Secured Buccaneers Win Over Eagles – Bucs Nation
At the time, Tampa Bay was leading 17-0 in the final moments of the first half. With Philadelphia in possession of the ball and looking to put together its first scoring drive of the game, a touchdown would have been a big swing as the team was also set to receive the second-half kickoff. Two plays prior to this one, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts found wide receiver Quez Watkins for a 35-yard gain, getting the ball down to the Bucs’ 27-yard line. Momentum was building a bit for Philly, and a late first-half touchdown would have tarnished an otherwise dominant start to the game for the Buccaneers. “DeVonta (Smith) got open on the play,” Hurts told media when discussing the turnover after the game. “I was expecting a look – the safety to come off the hash. I couldn’t get it up as soon as I wanted to, got it up there a little late and the safety made a good catch on it on the sideline.” That safety was Edwards, but as Hurts said, the play came open originally thanks to an ankle-breaking move by rookie DeVonta Smith who was matched up against Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean. As Dean ended up down on the Raymond James Stadium grass in what could have been a big lowlight for the defensive back, his teammate came flying into the screen, to save the day.

Vikings getting Coach/GM interview process underway – Daily Norseman
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Vikings will be speaking to Philadelphia Eagles’ Vice President of Football Operations Catherine Raiche on Monday. […] Rapoport is also reporting that the team will speak with Eagles’ Director of Player Personnel Brandon Brown on Tuesday regarding their GM position and will also be speaking with Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Vice President of Player Personnel John Spytek “this week.”

VIDEO: Mom crashes Travis Kelce’s postgame press conference – Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — and his brother Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles — both appeared in NFL Wild Card playoff games on Sunday. Their mother Donna was present for both games. She was in Tampa Bay as the Eagles played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Noon Arrowhead Time — and then hopped a plane to Kansas City to see Travis play against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Sunday Night Football.

The Dallas Cowboys were given multiple late chances to win against the 49ers and blew them all – Blogging The Boys
It has often been said that football is a game of inches. These inches are sometimes incredibly obvious, but in other instances you have to look a little harder for them. More than anything you have to be able to admit where the inches were which is what Dallas’ problem is as their offseason begins. The focus has been on the end of the game for the Cowboys, but let’s back things up a bit to the end of the third quarter (there were plenty of opportunities missed before this, don’t get me wrong). From that point on the 49ers almost went out of their way to give the Cowboys multiple opportunities to steal the game and Dallas failed at basically every turn.

Giants head coaching candidates: Taking a closer look at Ralph Vacchiano’s educated guesses – Big Blue View
Brian Flores’ name came up in connection to the Giants’ head coaching vacancy almost immediately. Vacchiano reports that John Mara has “great respect” for Flores and the job he did in Miami. Speculation and reports about power struggles and personality conflicts aside, Flores’ brief tenure in Miami should garner respect league-wide. He took a largely depleted roster and made it a play-off contender in the span of two years. Vacchiano’s report, citing several sources in the Giants’ organization, is particularly interesting in light of last’ week’s report stating that the Giants are “at the top” of Flores’ personal list. As we’ve noted several times, it doesn’t hurt that Flores is a Brooklyn native who grew up a Giants fan before going to work for Bill Belichick. Flores’ relationship with Giants’ Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham can’t hurt either. While Graham’s future with the Giants isn’t certain, I have to assume that the team would rather keep him if at all possible. At this point it would seem that the only way Flores doesn’t interview with the Giants is if he is already hired by another team before the opportunity to interview comes up.

The Importance of Acquiring a Franchise Quarterback for Washington Has Never Been Higher – Hogs Haven
Derek Carr: This one is interesting. A new coach will be hired, and it’s likely a new front office might be in the cards as well. Carr will be heading into the last year on his current deal in 2022, and the new staff may want “their guy”. Also, it’s never good heading into a season with a lame-duck quarterback under center. He won’t come cheap, but the soon-to-be 31 year old would be the best thing to hit D.C. since…well, he’d be the best thing in a WHILE!

Raiders fire general manager Mike Mayock – Silver And Black Pride
Mayock was hired in December 2018 to assist head coach Jon Gruden. Gruden had final say until he left the team in October, Mayock was the main decision-maker for the rest of the 2021 season. Overall, Mayock’s top duties were to help with the draft. He was previously a draft expert for NFL Media and the Raiders were the first NFL team he worked for. [BLG Note: The Eagles’ former preseason color analyst is out of a job. Maybe the Eagles will bring the Philly native back home in some capacity?]

The Cowboys’ chaotic final play can be blamed on everything but the refs – SB Nation
The Dallas Cowboys won five of their last six games to run away with NFC East crown heading into the 2022 NFL Playoffs. Dallas had plenty of reason to be confident as they faced the San Francisco 49ers in the opening round: quarterback Dak Prescott had been excellent all season in his return from a torn ACL, the team had the best turnover ratio in the league, and Dallas had some game-breaking weapons on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys were a three-point favorite entering the game, and most experts were picking them to win.

Monday Football Monday #71: 49ers upset Cowboys, Bills are the hottest team in the postseason + we don’t need a 7 seed – The SB Nation NFL Show
RJ Ochoa and Pete Sweeney recap all of the Saturday and Sunday action from super Wild Card weekend including the 49ers upsetting the Cowboys, Josh Allen and the Bills who smacked the Patriots in the mouth and more.

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