Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 2/14/20.

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Cardinals WR Christian Kirk opens up about new Eagles Coach Aaron Moorehead - NBCSP
“He’ll do great with the Eagles,” Kirk said. “People might think all of a sudden a good coach goes to Philly and all their wide receivers are automatically going to be world-class receivers and go for 1,000 yards. But that’s not going to just happen. But if they buy in and listen to him and work hard at their craft, they’re going to get better. If they buy in, I know he’s going to get the most out of them.” The Eagles hired Moorehead earlier this month as their sixth wide receivers coach in six years and Doug Pederson’s fifth in five years. Moorehead, 39, spent 2003 through 2007 playing for the Colts, and he comes to the Eagles from Vanderbilt, where he spent the last two years. But it was at Texas A&M that he coached Kirk, who caught 234 passes for 2,856 yards and 26 TDs for the Aggies from 2015 through 2017.

How Eagles’ Aaron Moorehead went from playing with Peyton Manning to landing NFL coaching job - NJ.com
Lipscomb said he was able to expand his game quickly because of Moorehead’s teaching style. “He’s a teacher that can not only tell you what to do but why you need to do it,” Lipscomb said. “He will tell you why it’ll work. He’s played in the league, he played college ball, he won a Super Bowl, so he’s done it.” Moorehead’s time with Wayne and Harrison has seemingly helped him coach his own players. He understands how to manage different egos and create an open environment for dialogue. According to Lipscomb, players never feel like they have to walk on eggshells around Moorehead. “All the guys know where they are,” Lipscomb said. “They know what they need to do or how to get from where they are to where they want to be.”

This article from the Eagles’ official website is interesting - BGN
Some remain skeptical that Jeffery was behind the leaks. Some may even acknowledge as much but still believe he’ll be on the team in 2020 due to the fact cutting him would account for $26.1 million in dead money. Not to mention his injury recovery could complicate matters. Others believe the money won’t impede the Eagles from cutting ties. Former Eagles president Joe Banner said he doesn’t expect Jeffery to be back in 2020. Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice (and also of BGN Radio) has consistently expressed that he doesn’t believe Jeffery will be retained. In fact, Jimmy went as far to put “Cut Alshonymous” as the first slide in his annual Eagles calendar stick figure prediction that’s “based mostly on logic, and mayyyyybe a little inside knowledge here and there.”

Babes On Broad #25: Die a Hero or Become a Villain - BGN Radio
Sam Wilson & Jessica Towne discuss what the Eagles should do at WR/CB/S this offseason PLUS What’s Going On Around Philly with thoughts on the wild week for Joel Embiid! Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation!

Projecting what the Eagles’ free agents will make in free agency, and their compensatory pick values - PhillyVoice
While the deep ball will always be a concern with Mills, he has become a good corner in the red zone, and is a physical contributor against the run. In my view, Mills is a solid “No. 2” type of corner, but because he is the best the Eagles have had, he has been put in positions in which he hasn’t gotten as much help on the back end as he should be getting. If he were to be paired with a legitimate “No. 1” type of corner, which might allow for easier assignments, the narrative on Mills might be a lot different. Mills will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. No matter how you or I might view him, there’s no debate on how Jim Schwartz views him, and I can’t imagine some other team out there valuing Mills more than the Eagles. Stay or go? Stay. #JimmyGuess: 4 years, $32 million. Yes, I realize many of you will think those numbers are nuts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Duce - Iggles Blitz
How is it that Staley didn’t get any consideration for the offensive coordinator position when the Eagles were looking? Staley came into the league in Jon Gruden’s West Coast Offense. He then played for Reid in the WCO. Staley did go to Pittsburgh for a couple of years. He played in Ken Whisenhunt’s offense. Staley then came back to the Eagles as a coach, working in the WCO under Reid, Kelly and Pederson. To be fair, Chip used college ideas, but a lot of his passing game was Pat Shurmur, who had learned the WCO from Reid. Staley knows the WCO pretty thoroughly. The problem with that is that Jeffrey Lurie didn’t want more WCO this offseason. He’s already got Pederson running the Eagles attack. Pederson is a WCO guru, having coached and played in it for two decades. Lurie didn’t make any public announcements, but if you follow the Eagles actions, you can tell that the team was looking for outside ideas.

10 Eagles offseason musings: Free agency, a looming decision on Jason Peters, coaching changes and more - The Athletic
The change on the coaching staff that should get more attention is the promotion of Burke, who is both defensive line coach and run game coordinator. (That is not an unusual title for the position — in Kansas City, Brendan Daly has the same titles.) Burke, who has a long history with Schwartz, should be considered the defensive coordinator’s top assistant. Burke, 43, was an assistant coach at Harvard in 2003 when Schwartz, then the Titans defensive coordinator, called the Harvard head coach looking for someone who could help behind the scenes (with things such as digitizing film and statistical analysis), as Burke recently explained on an Eagles podcast. That was how Burke connected with Schwartz, and he followed him from Tennessee to Detroit. When Schwartz was fired in 2013, he helped land Burke an interview with Cincinnati. When Burke lost his job with the Dolphins after the 2018 season, Schwartz brought him to Philadelphia as a defensive special assistant. The move to fire Phillip Daniels, who held the defensive line coach job for only a year, didn’t seem to have a clear impetus. But it opened a spot for Burke. Pay attention to him — if you’re looking for a potential future defensive coordinator on the Eagles’ staff, start with Burke.

The QB Commitment Index, Pre–Free Agency Edition - The Ringer
24. Philadelphia Eagles and Carson Wentz: Happy on Instagram but always fighting IRL. We all know the couple who fights in private and makes up in public. Eagles fans don’t complain about Carson Wentz in front of company, but in private all they do is bicker about him. Is he there when you need him? Is he the right long-term guy? Why didn’t we stick with Nick when we had the chance? On the surface, Eagles fans will defend Wentz, but deep down they wonder whether they chose the wrong guy. [BLG Note: Lol at this.]

There is speculation that Jerry Jones is looking to make “a big splash” in the 2020 NFL Draft - Blogging The Boys
Jeffrey Okudah is regarded as the top cornerback in the draft and as the highest defensive player outside of his teammate Chase Young, maybe that is the splash Jerry wants to have happen. It would be interesting for the Cowboys to move up so high (that’s where Okudah is going to go) to get a cornerback literally months after Morris Claiborne won a Super Bowl, but maybe that’s the destiny of it all. Outside of a move like that it’s hard to envision just what would qualify as a big enough move to justify talk like this.

2020 NFL Draft prospect profile: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State - Big Blue View
Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk projects as a starting receiver in an offense based on West Coast principles. He is a very good route runner who can use his routes to unlock his athletic tools and an offense that schemes separation and run after catch opportunities will maximize his potential. Aiyuk also has significant upside as a kick and punt returner and could be considered a special teams weapon in the NFL. That could also translate well to effectiveness on schemed carries such as screen plays. Aiyuk can play in a vertical offense, but might struggle against bigger and faster NFL corners in man coverage. Likewise, his play strength is a question and he might not have as much value for offenses which routinely ask their receivers to block.

The 3 biggest NFL storylines worth following in the 2020 offseason - SB Nation
2. Quarterback movement. I don’t recall another season with so many possible quarterbacks on the move.. Tom Brady: The first time in his career he’s an unrestricted free agent. Philip Rivers: The Chargers are moving on. I can’t see a team signing an immobile quarterback for multiple seasons. Drew Brees: Possible retirement. Ryan Tannehill: Coming off the best stretch of his career, leading the Titans to the AFC Championship Game. Teddy Bridgewater: 5-0 this season when Brees was out. Dak Prescott: Still unsigned by the Cowboys. While I think he returns, most likely via the franchise tag, it’s still surprising he’s not locked down yet. Matthew Stafford: Rumors of his trade keep popping up, though the Lions general manager has denied them. Cam Newton: I strongly feel the Panthers will move on. Andy Dalton: He’s gone when the Bengals draft Joe Burrow. Add into the mix the three top quarterbacks in the draft — Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert — and the 2020 season could have the most turnover we’ve seen at the quarterback position in a long time.

How to watch the XFL in Week 2 - DraftKings Nation
Week 1 of the XFL was a hit. Is the curiosity factor and the recent loss of NFL football the reason for the big viewing numbers for kickoff weekend? Only time will tell, but the games were enjoyable and the new rules didn’t take away from the product on the field. Getting an inside view of the replay process is great and the NFL needs to do that yesterday. The Houston Roughnecks, led by XFL’s Week 1 MVP P.J. Walker, looked great and should continue to be fun with June Jones guiding them in the Run N’ Shoot. We also could get back two starting quarterbacks for Week 2, as Landry Jones and Josh Johnson are both practicing and have a shot to play. Their presence would elevate their respective teams, the Dallas Renegades and LA Wildcats, who both looked like they needed their help. We also get two matchups of winless teams and two undefeated teams, so two teams will get their first win and two more will stay undefeated. The grain will begin separating from the chaff.

Ultimate XFL Week 2 Preview: DFS, Picks, More - Rotoworld
RB: Matt Jones ($5,900) is only the sixth-most expensive RB despite his massive role in Week 1. This is likely due to negative projected game script as well as Houston’s overwhelming success in wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage last week. Even if Jones is out and Christine Michael ($5,300) gets handed a featured role, I’d still lean towards paying up for James Butler ($6,300), who seems to have a more secure snap rate regardless of how the game winds up flowing. Again, favoring the better offense as opposed to the cheaper player seems like the better decision, particularly for cash games. There’s an overwhelming amount of value at WR on this slate.

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