Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 7/13/19.

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The NFL’s best and worst Offensive arsenals: Barnwell’s 32-1 ranking - ESPN
4) I don’t think anybody is deeper at the skill positions across the board than Doug Pederson’s team. If you took away their best player at each position, you could still roll out a starting five of Miles Sanders, Nelson Agholor, DeSean Jackson, JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Dallas Goedert. You would probably prefer that to the Jags’ starters. Down the stretch last season, the Eagles started Josh Adams and then Wendell Smallwood at running back; it’s not clear whether either back will make the active roster. No team has this sort of depth. Outside of Zach Ertz, though, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s the sort of top-level talent we’re seeing from the other teams in this top 10. Alshon Jeffery hasn’t been healthy for a full season since 2014, though he did make it through the full 16-game season in 2017 with a torn labrum. Jeffery is unquestionably tough and has been a brutally tough out in the playoffs -- aside from the drop against the Saints -- but he also hasn’t hit 850 receiving yards in a season in four years. The running back rotation has plenty of interesting options, but there’s no guarantee that Miles Sanders steps in and hits the ground running as a rookie back. The sum adds up to more than the individual parts here.

Eagles offensive line has some health questions but the potential for greatness is there - BGN
The 37-year-old Peters is back for his 15th NFL season. He actually started and played in all 16 matchups last year but that stat is a little misleading since he had to leave a number of games early. Peters only played 79.49% of the Eagles’ total offensive snaps. The Eagles could easily find themselves in a similar situation this year where injuries/aging cause Peters to miss playing time. And yet, the coaching staff is optimistic about Peters’ outlook. Look at what offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland said about Peters back in June.

Why We’re Excited About 2019 - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton & Benjamin Solak give their counterpart to episode 61, where concerns were raised.. this time it’s everything you should be excited about for the Eagles headed into 2019! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

State of the Franchise: Super Bowl or bust for Wentz-led Eagles - NFL.com
Head coach: Doug Pederson. Am I being too much of a hot-take artist if I say Pederson is the best coach in the NFL? Because seriously, who is better right now? I know your first instinct is to say it’s Bill Belichick. But I think we all remember what happened when the two matched up in Super Bowl LII. Just saying. OK, I know that was just one game and everything, so can we at least say that Pederson’s top five? Wait, let’s make that top three. I’ll let you pick who the third guy is. Pederson has been a rock for this organization -- a franchise that had a wonderful coach for many years who could never get over the hump (Andy Reid) ... and then thought it would be a good idea to bring in Chip Kelly (it wasn’t). Pederson came in, went 13-3 in Year 2 to win the NFC East, took down Belichick’s Pats for the Lombardi Trophy, then guided a depleted roster to the Divisional Round this past season. (Though I might point out that it wasn’t cool to freeze Cody Parkey like that, but whatever.) The most amazing thing about Pederson is that he was able to do much of it with his backup quarterback, Foles, a guy who was nearly out of football and probably looking at opening a Wahoo’s Fish Tacos in San Clemente, California, or something. Right now, it doesn’t seem like a huge accomplishment, because Foles is one of the more celebrated quarterbacks in the league. He just signed a huge deal in Jacksonville. But Pederson basically rescued this guy and re-instilled the love of football in him. Pederson also not only handled that quarterback stuff as well as anybody since, well, Belichick back in 2001, but the Eagles leader also dealt with a number of injuries over the last two seasons. So I’m pretty comfortable saying the Eagles are set at coach for as long as Pederson wants the gig.

Favorite Non-Eagles - Iggles Blitz
I’ve been reading a book called the Genius of Desperation by Doug Farrar. This is a terrific book on the men who changed the game of football. You might not know about Clark Shaughnessy or Mouse Davis, but you certainly know Buddy Ryan, Bill Walsh and Tom Landry. This book covers a lot of history and is must read material for anyone interested in the schematic development of football. Reading the book has been a trip down memory lane, taking me back to the games of my youth. That got me to thinking about my all-time favorite players. So here is a list of my favorite non-Eagles. And this won’t be a boring list of only Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice type guys.

Zach Ertz recounts thrilling World Cup experience on the season premiere of Feeding the Birds - PE.com
”It was something that helped me grow as a person, not being so comfortable all the time.” That’s how Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz described his three-week trip to France where he witnessed the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s triumphant run in the World Cup that captivated the country. Following the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp in June, Ertz traveled to support his wife, U.S. midfielder Julie Ertz, who scored a goal in the Group Stage win over Chile and was masterful defensively in the final against the Netherlands.

Offensive linemen hold their own summit to try to counter pass rushers - PFT
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson and 50 current and future offensive linemen, including Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and Saints left tackle Terron Armstead, began their Offensive Line Masterminds Conference on Friday in Frisco, Texas. Johnson’s former college offensive line coach, Duke Mayweather, led the group. “Hey, we’re talking it all,” Johnson told ESPN. “We’re talking about the O-line life in general, which not a whole lot of people really know about. We had a lot of people there in the room, a lot of pro guys, a lot of college guys, and really we’re just talking ball. We’re talking technique. We’re talking what should we do against this opponent? Training and then really everything. It was really just to get all the guys in one room and really just talk ball, something that’s never really happened. It was a good day today, a really good day.”

Eagles 2019 breakout candidate: Miles Sanders ready to have big role as rookie - NBCSP
I guess the big question becomes how much will Duce Staley trust his rookie back. After all, Howard and Corey Clement will be on the roster, so if Sanders is on the field, he’ll be taking snaps from one of those guys. One thing Sanders will need to prove is that he can hold on to the football. He had a fumbling problem at Penn State, where he fumbled 10 times in three years and lost seven. Staley needs to fix that. And as much as Sanders has been focused on proving that he can be a dynamic receiver out of the backfield, he really needs to prove he can be an adequate pass protector. If he can do that, he should warrant some third-down snaps as a rookie. It’s a shame Darren Sproles isn’t still around to help Sanders with that area of his game; Sproles was always a very good pass protector despite his size. No running back is getting on the field on third downs if he can’t block.

Eagles Take Flight With Podcasting Strategy - Front Office Sports
In just five years, the Super Bowl 52 champions have gone from one team podcast to six — with three more in development for this season. Last year, the Eagles podcasts drew 2 million streams across all platforms during 2018. With nine podcasts expected for 2019, Kavanagh thinks the club can double that. “We love (players volunteering) because it tells us we’re doing something right. And I think the level of awareness and interest in a lot of these podcasts has really grown in the last several months, especially when they see their teammates having fun with it,” said Kavanagh. “Then, their curiosity is peaked. It goes from, ‘You know, I don’t want to just be a guest…’”

Ranking the NFC East, 2019: Interior defensive lines - Hogs Haven
The Eagles run a base 4-3 defense, so their interior DL group is likely to be a slightly smaller group than the Redskins and Giants, who each run a base 3-4 scheme. The Eagles will likely have 4-5 DTs on the roster: Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Timmy Jernigan, Treyvon Hester, and Hassan Ridgeway. Cox, of course, is one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Malik Jackson, who is new to the Eagles, is going into his 8th NFL season, having played for the Broncos (where he won a super bowl ring) and the Jaguars (where he did not). Tim Jernigan has been a reliable rotational DL for the Eagles for some years, but he had off-season back surgery a year ago, and missed most of the 2018 season, returning to the roster in late-November. Because Philly declined his [2019] option, he was actually a free agent for a short time this off-season, but he was signed to a one-year deal, helping maintain some continuity in the defense for the Eagles. Ridgeway is a 24 year old, who was originally drafted by the Colts in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. Howie Roseman traded a late-7th round pick in the 2019 draft to acquire him, indicating that the Colts and Eagles valued him just ahead of an undrafted free agent.

Chris Herndon suspended four games - Gang Green Nation
On paper there isn’t much depth for the Jets at the tight end position. Daniel Brown and Trevon Wesco might be among the players to see their snaps increase during Herndon’s absence. Any Herndon replacement is likely to be a big downgrade. This puts Herndon out of the opener against the Bills and big early season tests against the Browns, Patriots, and Eagles. Herndon’s season debut is slated to be Week 6 against the Cowboys.

There’s Franchise-Tag Drama—Just Not From a Player You’d Expect - The Ringer
Chicago has an epic kicking mess on their hands. The team cut ties with kicker Cody Parkey after his season-ending double doink in the wild-card round of the playoffs and subsequent morning-show apology tour that wasn’t cleared with the team. But replacing Parkey has proved to be harder than Chicago thought, even after hiring a kicking consultant. The Bears brought in eight kickers this offseason, but after six of them missed a kick from the same distance Parkey doinked against the Eagles, the Bears traded for one of Oakland’s kickers to be the ninth member of the competition. Not great. Chicago could have the worst kicking situation in the NFL in 2019, but upgrading to Gould could make it one of the best. Gould missed three field goal attempts in the last two years, while Parkey doinked four kicks into the uprights in a single game against the Lions last year.

Which city should be the next to host an NFL franchise? - SB Nation
Travel plans and finding a full-time stadium are major logistical concerns, but manageable ones. West coast teams would likely have to plan an east coast game the week before heading overseas to prevent the headache of a 10+ hour flight to the isles. Whatever team, new or requisitioned, would need to work out a timeshare on a soccer pitch before working out their own plans for a(n American) football-specific stadium. But between the NFL’s stated goal of expanding the game globally and the bundles of money that would come with a greater European presence would make those headaches worthwhile. Otherwise, let’s throw a team in Anchorage, Alaska. Give the world an outdoor stadium that can wrest the “frozen tundra” moniker away from Green Bay. The largest city in America’s largest state (by area) only has 10,000 fewer residents than Pittsburgh or Cincinnati and is has a greater population than Buffalo or AAF standbys Orlando and Salt Lake City. The west coast needs more teams to balance out those 4pm EST kickoffs — why not get weird with it?

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