Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 1/28/19.

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A Message From Jeffrey Lurie: 25 Years Of Special Memories - PE.com
We have captured eight NFC East titles and advanced to six NFC Championship Games. We pushed through to the Super Bowl in 2004. And, in 2017, we accomplished our ultimate goal of bringing the first Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. And, who can forget Jason Kelce’s speech dressed as a Mummer! Like many of you, that day – the parade down Broad Street and the celebration on the Art Museum steps – will forever be part of our history. It was magical and enlightening to share that historic moment, filled with tears of joy and happiness, with each of you. The special bond between you, our players, and this organization is what pushes us to win more Championships in the future. I can’t wait to do it all over again!

The Eagles have some big decisions to make on their free agents - BGN
There were a few reasons why the Eagles struggled to a 9-7 record in 2018. The main contributor was injuries, with an inconsistent secondary and backfield hurting the team (again, injuries) as well. But another one was the lack of production by several players. Fortunately for the Eagles, a lot of them are about to become free agents, so it will be easy to move on from them. For others, there are arguments for and against bringing them back.

On the Move? - Iggles Blitz
Avonte Maddox – The rookie DB started at nickel, CB and FS in 2018. He showed a lot of promise and must be a starter in 2019. But where? If the Eagles let go of Rodney McLeod, then moving Maddox to FS would make a lot of sense. Maddox covers a lot of ground and takes good angles to the ball, a critical skill for a deep safety. He is a good tackler. Maddox has good ball skills. I think Cre’Von LeBlanc will be the nickel in 2019 so that means Maddox is playing outside or at FS.

Wentz’s 2018 numbers shouldn’t be overlooked - NBCSP
A quick breakdown of Carson Wentz’s performance on the field for the Eagles in the 11 games he played.

Driving The 101 With Sean McVay: On Texting Belichick, Trusting Goff and the Plan for Super Bowl 53 - FMIA
There’s no doubt in my mind that McVay and offensive coordinator Zac Taylor have used this week to mine for things the Patriots have never seen in formations and plays and maybe even personnel groupings, and so won’t have been able to prepare for them. The Eagles used that approach last year, and it worked.

Welcome to the Super Bowl, Where Patriots-Rams Is the NFL in Microcosm - MMQB
The game might come down to second-tier guys. When I asked Nagy about stars like Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks matching up on the New England defense, he said, “They’ll have a good plan for those guys, for sure. So whether it’s your third guy or your fourth guy, if you have a matchup that you like, then that’s where you can get them. Your other guys have to make plays when given opportunities.” Last year in the Super Bowl, that was Corey Clement for the Eagles. And it’s why when I asked Nagy for an X factor for the Rams, he said he’d take Robert Woods and Gerald Everett, guys who’ll get less attention and may draw the kinds of matchups Nagy referenced. Then, I asked for the Patriots’ X factor, and similar logic applied.

Redskins expect Alex Smith to miss 2019 season - Hogs Haven
Dan Snyder needs a spark and that could come from signing/trading for a Joe Flacco, Ryan Tannehill, or Nick Foles kind of veteran. They could also trade up in the draft to get one of the top QBs this year, maybe another Heisman winner. Either option is going to cost a lot in draft capital, and potentially salary cap if they go for another pricey veteran band aid.

Why The NFL Can’t Rely On Defense - FiveThirtyEight
In an NFL season marked by historic offensive production and a championship round that was conspicuously absent a top-10 defense, aficionados of low-scoring rock fights, filled with punts and field goals, have been left disappointed. The best defensive teams to make the playoffs were eliminated early in the tournament, with the Bears, Ravens and Texans all losing in the wild-card round. A week later, Joey Bosa and the emerging Chargers defense were dismantled by the Patriots, and the Cowboys — perhaps the best defensive team left in the divisional round based on their end-of-season play — lost to the Rams. Extracting the strong defensive teams with relatively weak offenses led to historically exciting playoff football, producing two overtime games in the championship round for the first time in NFL history. Now we have a Patriots and Rams Super Bowl pitting perhaps the greatest QB of all time in Tom Brady against the hottest young offensive mind in the league in Sean McVay. We shouldn’t be surprised that great offensive teams have made it this far. Teams are more reliably good — and bad — from game to game and year to year on offense than on defense. Individual defenders often have wild swings in performance from season to season, and defensive units forecast to be dominant often end up being merely average. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense took them as far as the AFC championship a year ago, but that same defense led them to five wins this season. Meanwhile, performance on offense is generally easier to forecast, making investments on that side of the ball more reliable.

Jason Witten broke the Pro Bowl Trophy in half, a fitting end to his awful year at ESPN - SB Nation
Jason Witten just can’t catch a break at his new job. The longtime Dallas Cowboys tight end took over as the Monday Night Football color commentator for ESPN in 2018 and found out it isn’t nearly as easy as Tony Romo makes it sound. Witten — along with Booger McFarland — were a disaster all year long. The perfect cherry on top of his rough rookie season at ESPN came just after the Pro Bowl. In his last TV time of the season, Witten broke the dang Pro Bowl trophy in half.

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