Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 1/7/22.

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NFL rumors: Falcons’ Calvin Ridley could be looking for ‘fresh start’ | Why Eagles would make sense as landing spot - NJ.com
So, if the Falcons decide to shop Ridley in the offseason, should the Eagles be interested? The answer, subject to a thorough pre-deal vetting (including a conservation with Ridley), is yes. Ridley is a dynamic playmaker who has a background with both quarterback Jalen Hurts and No. 1 wideout DeVonta Smith, creating a key fact-finding spot in their internal “cohabitation matrix”. Assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio was also on the Alabama staff when Hurts, Smith and Ridley helped win the squad a national championship following the 2017 season. Pannunzio, Smith and Hurts can create a support system for Ridley, who is likely to look for that in his next spot. Ridley’s background with Hurts and Smith should also benefit the Eagles on the field, as they remain close. Smith and Ridley exchanged jerseys following the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Falcons.

Mailbag: Should the Eagles spend big on a free agent wide receiver this offseason? - PhillyVoice
My conclusion: There have been a whole lot of busts on big-money free agent wide receivers, and not many success stories. Davante Adams (Packers) and Mike Williams (Chargers) are strong franchise tag candidates, so forget about them. Otherwise, you’re looking at injury risk players like Chris Godwin (Buccaneers) and Michael Gallup (Cowboys), or guys who are beginning to age and perhaps aren’t what they once were, like Odell Beckham (Rams) and Allen Robinson (Bears). I’d stay out of the top end of that market, personally, and look for more moderately priced receivers who I can add to my depth. It’s also yet another strong draft for receivers, and while the Eagles have spent heavy resources on receivers in the draft in recent years, I still believe the success rate is better there than it is in free agency.

Joe Judge: Bad coach or brilliant comedian? - BGN
Is New York Football Giants Head Football Coach Joe Judge an actual coach or a next level comedic performance artist? Judge’s tenure with the Giants, which has never failed to entertain, makes much more sense if you assume he is doing an act. Nathan For You meets Ted Lasso, but for an actual team. I mean come on, “Joe Judge” even sounds like a fictitious character. Don’t just take my word for it. A player who was in training camp with Joe Judge said “to be honest, man, I just felt like it was all a hoax.” I think there’s plenty of evidence that Joe Judge is playing a hoax on the Giants. Any good comedic actor doing an act among people who aren’t in on the joke knows that it is important to constantly test your limits, and to let your environment do your work for you whenever possible. The OODA loop works for comedy. Push the envelope with your audience or in this case subjects, see how the void it gets filled, react accordingly and repeat the cycle. On this, Joe Judge excels.

Who will the Eagles play in the playoffs? + WFT takeaways, Cowboys preview - BGN Radio
The Eagles officially punched their ticket to the postseason! Brandon Lee Gowton and Jimmy Kempski talk about takeaways from the Washington game, preview a (mostly) meaningless Week 18 game against Dallas, and discuss who the Birds’ potential wild card opponents. All that and more!

Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys Week 18 cheat sheet: News, players to watch, more - The Athletic
Berman: It’s hard to make a sensible prediction without knowing who will actually be playing. Considering the way Nick Sirianni approached the preseason and has gone with walk-throughs instead of practices on Wednesdays throughout the second half of the season, I would be surprised if he plays his starters many snaps on Saturday. The Eagles can do fine with Minshew at quarterback, and I’d expect the Cowboys to sit some key players, too. The point spread moved to Cowboys minus-4.5, but the fact that they’re still favorites matters. Don’t expect offensive firework in an Eagles loss. The Eagles finish the regular season 9-8 and will likely play Tampa Bay in the opening round of the playoffs. Cowboys 20, Eagles 16.

Eagles fans should be thankful to have Jeffrey Lurie as an owner - NBCSP
Lurie bought the Eagles in April of 1994, and while it hasn’t always been smooth sailing in the nearly 27 years since, he has overseen an unprecedented period of sustained success and transformed the Eagles into a model franchise in the NFL that practices at a world-class facility, plays in one of the NFL’s nicest stadiums, reaches the playoffs twice for every season it doesn’t and even finally has a Lombardi Trophy in the lobby. Under rookie head coach Nick Sirianni, the Eagles this year are 9-7, their 17th winning season in the 27 full years Lurie has owned the franchise. That’s 17 winning seasons, two .500 seasons and eight losing seasons. Only the Patriots, Packers, Steelers and Colts have had more winning seasons than the Eagles since 1995, and all were led by at least one Hall of Fame quarterback.

GamePlan: Previewing the 2022 Coach Hiring Cycle - SI
The Jaguars have already interviewed ex-Eagles coach Doug Pederson and ex-Lions and Colts coach Jim Caldwell, and sat down with Buccaneers DC Todd Bowles earlier in the week. They also plan to interview Cowboys OC Kellen Moore and tried to get Dallas DC Dan Quinn in too (he’s thus far declined). Pederson is said to be well-positioned here, and there’d be merit to his hire, without question, in that he has head coaching experience, and experience developing a young quarterback. But my understanding is that the Jaguars’ plan is to do the opposite of what they did last year—and run a wide-open search, and not pigeonhole themselves into a certain type (i.e., offense vs. defense, CEO vs. guru, young vs. old) and let that search take them where it will. One thing that’s created hurdles already is the team’s decision to hang on to GM Trent Baalke. There are potential candidates who simply won’t go there now, because of Baalke’s history with coaches.

McFarland: Week 18 Fantasy Football Rankings & Tiers - PFF
Tier 3 – Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are in the playoffs, and their seeding doesn’t matter much. Whether they finish sixth or seventh, they must go on the road. Don’t expect the Eagles’ starters to play long against the Cowboys, if at all. If Hurts doesn’t play, Gardner Minshew will get the start, but he could be down multiple weapons. Boston Scott, Jordan Howard and Dallas Goedert are all on the reserve/COVID-19 list at the moment.

Rodney McLeod explains the End Philly Gun Violence campaign on GMFB - PE.com
Rodney McLeod shares why the Eagles launched the End Philly Gun Violence campaign.

Todd Haley, Kevin Sumlin, Mike Riley, Bart Andrus named head coaches in USFL - ESPN
Andrus, who coached in the CFL (Toronto), UFL (Omaha) and NFL Europe (Amsterdam), will lead the Philadelphia Stars.

Cowboys face an almost meaningless game, and that is a problem - Blogging The Boys
As if all that wasn’t enough to try and formulate a plan with, Philly head coach Nick Sirianni has not declared how he is going to approach the game. He specifically did not rule out keeping his own stars out of the game. It makes no sense to put the best of the Cowboys against backups who are trying to prove their own worth, which could mean taking some hard shots against whoever they face. I’m not saying cheap shots. But, well, Philadelphia. There is no clear cut answer. At the moment, resting and protecting the starters looks like the most prudent course. There is no certainty that the staff or the players themselves are ready to be cautious. It is a chance to sweep the division, something the Cowboys have never done since realignment created the current form of the NFC East. That is a rather foolish thing to prioritize, but we are talking people who are the ultimate competitors. Not trying their best to win this game may be smart. It also is unappetizing to people like that. We will find out what the course of action is, but it may not come until we see who actually suits up and takes the field.

“Building on swamp ground:” ST coach Thomas McGaughey says it’s “harder to build” in New York - Big Blue View
Head coach Joe Judge’s penchant for giving long, rambling, odd answers and for talking about progress rather than results seems to have infected the New York Giants coaching staff. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey was asked Thursday for his “best case” for Judge and the Giants coaching staff coming back in 2022. The Giants, of course, have gone 10-22 in Judge’s two seasons and his return for a third season is likely, but not guaranteed.

Washington’s upcoming free agents and major roster issues for the coming offseason - Hogs Haven
Whether via trade, free agency or the draft, though, Washington needs a starting quarterback for 2022. My preference is to see the team acquire their new guy through the draft, partly because I’m not excited about any of the veteran options, and partly because of the energy a young drafted quarterback will add to the upcoming season — new team name, new signal caller, now era of Washington football. One problem with waiting for the draft to get the new guy is that it may make it harder to attract key veteran free agents (especially wide receivers) in March since they won’t know who will be under center for the Red Armada in the coming season. One way to deal with this would be to trade up to a top-5 draft slot before March rolls around in order to signal the team’s intent.

The Antonio Brown saga added a toilet seat licking porn star and a positive Covid test - SB Nation
The ongoing Antonio Brown saga took a turn nobody expected on Thursday after an OnlyFans model, turned influencer posted an ominous warning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Instagram.

The Look Ahead #71: Who needs what in Week 18 - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and RJ Ochoa take deep dives into the most meaningful games in the final week of the regular season, and hit every other game in the lightning round. All hell breaks lose if the Colts lose to the Jaguars. Why no one should root for the Steelers to make the playoffs. The 49ers are doing all they can to sabotage themselves. Do you trust Kliff Kingsbury in the playoffs? Why RJ is picking against the Chargers on general principle.

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