Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 12/24/17.

Let's get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Carson Wentz, Jared Goff among top young QBs to build around - NFL.com
This is a rare talent. Wentz, 24, has everything you need to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, and guys like that just don't come around very often. He's tough, athletic and strong. The thing that impressed me the most about his second pro season was how well he played on third down. There are usually more defensive backs on the field on third down, making it that much harder to complete a pass, but Wentz put together off-the-charts, third-down numbers: a 65.3 percent completion rate with a league-high passer rating of 123.7. I think his torn ACL was more of a freak injury than the result of something endemic to the way he plays, and I expect he'll recover fully and be the same aggressive player when he returns, as willing to take off and run as ever.

Eagles Mailbag: The 'other' likely teams in the NFC playoffs aren't that good, right? - PhillyVoice
This year's likely crop of NFC playoff teams already has 63 combined wins (two below the average) with 11 combined games to play. There's an outside chance that when this season is wrapped up, this playoff six-pack could have the most combined wins of any year since the current playoff format was put in place. At a minimum, it will be near the top. Now, if your argument is that some of the teams aren't as good as their records would indicate, that's another story, but I haven't heard that at all. The only team where that may be true would be with the Eagles themselves, due to the dropoff from Carson Wentz to Nick Foles. Are there any juggernauts in the NFC playoffs? No. But this group is absolutely loaded with really good teams who will all be tough outs.

Game Review – PHI 34, NYG 29 - Iggles Blitz
I hoped the Eagles would flex their muscles on Sunday and beat down the lowly Giants. Didn’t happen. Not even close. As so often happens with divisional games, the records went out the window and things went nuts. The Giants piled up 504 yards, far and away their highest total of the year. The Eagles blocked a punt, field goal and extra point, something that hadn’t been done in a game in more than 25 years. Like I said, throw out the records and let the mayhem ensue. There must be something about the Meadowlands that makes things especially crazy. We all know about the miracles performed by Herm Edwards, Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson. Those are legendary. Even more miraculous might be Vince Young beating the Giants in 2011 or DeMarco Murray running for a 54-yard TD in 2015. Talk about miracles… There is also something weird about the Eagles and Giants. You think of defenses when you think of those franchises, but there have been a lot of shootouts in NY.

Lane Johnson Has 'Lived Up To His Potential' - PE.com
When the 2017 Eagles schedule was released in the spring, right tackle Lane Johnson took some time to digest the challenge in front of him: He went through, game by game, and started the scouting report on the edge pass rushers he would be facing. The list, needless to say, was impressive ...

These stats show just how important the No. 1 seed is for Eagles - NBC Sports Philadelphia
All of which leads to this question: How important is the No. 1 seed? It guarantees nothing. But looking at NFL playoff history, it sure does give teams a huge advantage. Let's take a look: Since 1990, when the current 12-team playoff format was introduced, No. 1 seeds have reached the Super Bowl 28 times — 13 times from the AFC and 15 times from the NFC. So that's 28 of 54 No. 1 seeds, or 52 percent. During the same 26-year span, only 15 No. 2 seeds have made it to the Super Bowl — eight from the AFC and seven from the NFC. That's 28 percent. So historically, you have about close to twice as good a chance to get to the Super Bowl as a No. 1 seed than as a No. 2 seed.

Chris Long Doesn't Want to Be Your Anti-Colin Kaepernick - GQ
The Eagles defensive end who donated his entire salary to charity isn't here for Kap-bashing.

The fantasy matchup stats you need to know for Week 16 - PFF
Expect a lot of Jay Ajayi. The former Dolphins back has seen his role steadily increase with the Eagles and has topped double-digit carries in each of the last two weeks. We should see plenty of Ajayi this week with a favorable matchup on tap against the Raiders. Oakland has surrendered four rushing scores to running backs over the last three weeks. Ajayi’s increased workload and plus matchup place him squarely in the RB2 conversation.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Bang 8 Spot - Inside The Pylon
The Philadelphia Eagles’ red zone offense has been on a tear for the entire 2017 campaign. Entering Week 16 of the 2017 NFL season, they rank 1st in the league in converting visits to the red area into touchdowns (67.31%) which has lead to them scoring a robust 31.3 points per game. Even with franchise QB Carson Wentz out for the season, the Nick Foles-led Eagles put up 34 points on the New York Giants and converted 4 of 6 red zone trips. Their continued success can be attributed to steadfast execution and excellent play design. Paired with Head Coach Doug Pederson’s use of alignment and personnel to dictate match-ups, the Eagles have put defenses in a blender by mixing traditional looks and concepts with new wrinkles. One play against the Chicago Bears in Week 12 deserves to be highlighted. In a scoreless game and 6:09 remaining in the first quarter, the Eagles drove to the Bears 17 yard-line. What happens on the ensuing play, which results in a touchdown, will be the focal point of this article. Essentially, the Eagles put a new wrinkle on a football staple, the “Spot” concept, which is used as early as high school and gets heavy use in the NFL

Eagles-Raiders scouting report - Inquirer
Running back Jay Ajayi’s playing time has increased the last three weeks, and he should continue getting more carries against the 15th-ranked rush defense, which allowed more than 100 yards in each of the last two games. Ajayi is averaging 6.4 yards per carry since coming to the Eagles. He was also involved in the passing game last week and could see more third-down usage. The Raiders’ leading tacklers are all in the secondary. Veteran NaVorro Bowman signed with the team in October and has become their starting middle linebacker.

Raiders-Eagles final injury report: Mario Edwards Jr OUT, Dexter McDonald suffers knee injury - Silver And Black Pride
Looking at the injury report for the Raiders, it’s would appear they are pretty banged up. They aren’t the picture of health, but some of those injuries aren’t expected to keep those players from playing. Two injuries that ARE expected to keep those players from playing are Mario Edwards Jr (ankle) and David Amerson (foot). Edwards is officially ruled out and Amerson is doubtful, which means he is expected to miss his 8th straight game. Also not playing in the game is rookie defensive tackle, Treyvon Hester with an ankle injury.

Trash Or Nawl: The War On Christmas Is Real, and it’s actually about the Eagles - SB Nation
Lemme tell you jerks about the War on Christmas. No, it’s not whatever the Sweet Potato in Chief, Donny Screwball, is whippin up in the Conservative Palace today for all you GOP All-Stars. The War on Christmas is one we’ve always known. We go back and forth about it every year, but this is the real one, the actual War on Christmas, one that has nothing to do with what the Starbucks barista says to you when you get that shitty latte. The War on Christmas is actually the War Against the Philadelphia Eagles, because allegedly in 1968, Eagles fans booed Santa and threw snowballs at his holly-jolly ass.

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