Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/14/22.

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The NFL’s best wide receivers against press coverage - PFF
Tight ends Hunter Henry and Darren Waller also appear on this [touchdown rate] list, as does A.J. Brown, who consistently places near the top of these metrics even if he hasn’t been the very best at anything. [BLG Note: A.J. Brown is PFF’s fourth-highest graded WR against press coverage, only behind Justin Jefferson, Davantae Adams, and Cooper Kupp. Not the worst company to be in.]

Quarterback vs. Quarterback look at the Eagles’ 2022 schedule - BGN
The one area, however, that carries a dubious connotation comes in the most important position on the field—quarterback. The Eagles threw the ball 494 times over 17 regular-season games in 2021—the fewest of any team in the NFL. Maybe the reason for that is the coaching staff’s belief that Jalen Hurts needed to mature more before the game could be completely handed over to him. Hurts made large improvements in 2021. In 15 starts, he had a better pocket presence, and his ability to escape adds a dynamic quality to his game. But when facing top-tier defenses, like Tampa Bay’s in the playoffs, much of his insecurities and weaknesses surface. He has a tendency to hold the ball too long. He can be indecisive. He made strides with his passing ability, though he is still not consistently accurate. If he can put some of those missing pieces together, along with his leadership qualities and confidence, Hurts has a chance to make some leaps this season. Of the Eagles’ 14 opponents this season, 10 had a better quarterback rating than Hurts. If you include Kenny Pickett in that equation, it means Hurts had a better quarterback rating than three of the opposing quarterbacks the Eagles are scheduled to face in 2022 (Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Daniel Jones).

An early look at what positions are strong in the 2023 NFL Draft - PhillyVoice
Quarterback: We took an early look at the 2023 quarterback class in April. It’s headlined by Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, with other quarterbacks like Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, and Kentucky’s Will Levis all in the early conversation to also go Round 1.

Opening odds for each 2022 NFL Monday Night Football matchup - DraftKings Nation
Week 2: Vikings vs. Eagles. Point spread: Eagles -2.5. Point total: TBA Moneyline: Vikings +115, Eagles -135. [...] Week 10: Commanders vs. Eagles. Point spread: Eagles -3.5. Point total: TBA. Moneyline: Commanders +150, Eagles -170.

Philadelphia Eagles schedule breakdown: Predictions & what to know for each game - The Athletic
Berman: The Eagles didn’t need to compete in Week 18 last season. They’ll need to play their starters in this one, but they’ll reach double-digit wins for the first time since 2017 and punch another ticket to the postseason. Win (10-7) Wulf: With no incentive to improve their playoff seeding, Sirianni rests his starters. Gardner Minshew throws two touchdown passes to Grant Calcaterra, celebrating each by mimicking a swashbuckling swordfight and running along the stands to high-five every fan he can. The Giants win 28-14 and the Eagles enter the playoffs well-rested. Loss (11-6)

Is it time for Hargrave to get an extension? - NBCSP
It’s worth noting that the Eagles have not yet even restructured this deal. These maneuvers have been so commonplace for them in recent seasons that it stands out when they don’t restructure somebody with a nearly $18 million cap hit. Back in 2019, Hargrave played through a contract year, the final season of his rookie deal with the Steelers. That time it worked out for him as he signed a $39 million contract as a free agent. You would understand if a player found the unknown of a contract year to be stressful, but Hargrave doesn’t see it that way. “Not really,” Hargrave said. “I think I approach every year as a contract year in the NFL.” Last season, Hargrave put up the best numbers of his six-year NFL career. He set career highs in starts (16), sacks (7 1/2), tackles (63), tackles for loss (9) and quarterback hits (18) on his way to a Pro Bowl nod. Hargrave got off to a really hot start in 2021 and then his numbers cooled as more offenses began to shift their protections his way. Still, it was a very good 2021 season.

What awaits opposing offenses in 2022? - PE.com
There is a lot of excitement about what the Eagles’ defense will look like this season – a defense that has been infused with some potential difference-making players. Some out there are guessing about the approach Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon is going to take in Year 2, the fronts he’s going to have schemed, and the way he plans to use some of the new faces on that side of the line of scrimmage. Last year, Gannon spoke often about how his philosophy centers around what his players do well and what is the best approach against that week’s opponent. It will be very interesting to see how all of that takes shape over the course of the next few months. “The more you can do with a defense and the pieces that we have, the better,” defensive end Brandon Graham said recently. “I think it’s exciting to see how it’s all going to come together.” It’s going to take some time, of course, as Gannon looks to integrate veteran free-agent additions at the linebacker position – Haason Reddick as a go-get-the-quarterback edge player and Kyzir White as an off-ball, sideline-to-sideline player – and top draft picks tackle Jordan Davis (first round) and linebacker Nakobe Dean (third round). Everything the Eagles are doing now is a “concept” in the classroom. The pads don’t go on until Training Camp and even then, there are only three preseason games before the regular season begins on September 11 at Detroit.

How the NFL Built (and Rebuilt) the 2022 Schedule - SI
4) It’ll be interesting to see where the Steelers’ GM search lands, and how the hire winds up working out. Their process, thanks to Kevin Colbert giving the team a runway, and it happening during a downtime in the calendar, has allowed for the kind of slowed-down time line many in the league have advocated for. As such, Pittsburgh interviewed 16 candidates in its first round, and at least a half dozen have been invited back for second interviews (internal candidates Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan, ex–Bills GM/Steelers exec Doug Whaley, the Bucs’ John Spytek, Titans’ Ryan Cowden and Eagles’ Andy Weidl). So the outcome of this one will be really interesting, given the amount of time and work going into it.

3 positions the Cowboys should look to upgrade before training camp - Blogging The Boys
If Michael Gallup was expected to be ready for week one, this wouldn’t be as much of a concern, but with rumors that Gallup could miss at least the first month of the season, that leaves the wide receiver position in a very strange position. Looking at it from a week one perspective, the starting three receivers would be CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, and James Washington. While we like the prospect of Jalen Tolbert and think James Washington can do some nice things as a deep threat, defenses are likely salivating at the ability to shade coverage to Lamb’s side of the field and force a rookie third-round pick, and a career WR3, to beat them in the passing game. Even in Gallup’s return, adding a fourth or fifth option that can push James Washington or even overtake his role should be in the cards for the Cowboys. The other issue here is the Cowboys don’t have a guy that has a ton of experience or success playing in the slot. Tolbert spent most of his time in college on the boundary, and James Washington rarely played inside in his role in Pittsburgh. Lamb has played some slot over the course of his two years in Dallas, and there are whispers of him playing more inside in 2022, but even then you’d want another guy on the roster who is comfortable playing the slot receiver position. Similar to linebacker, all it takes is an unfortunate injury to turn a league-average wide receiving room into one of the ugliest ones. Like the two positions above, there are plenty of good free agent options available for the Cowboys to consider as well.

Will the 2022 Giants be THAT bad? - Big Blue View
The division opponents are always the same. The Eagles may be an improved team. It is not obvious that Dallas and Washington are. The other NFC opponents are Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, Carolina, Seattle, vs. Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Chicago, Los Angeles in 2021. The degree of difficulty overall is similar. The AFC opponents are Tennessee, Indianapolis, Houston, Jacksonville, Baltimore vs. Kansas City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Miami. Two very beatable opponents vs. none in 2021 (even though the Giants did defeat Las Vegas). This is not a year to expect playoffs, but neither does it look like a year to surrender. I’m with Nick Falato: 7-10. Giants fans, what do you think?

The Way Too Early Regular Season Record Prediction - Hogs Haven
With that said, I believe the Commanders can win ten games against the 32nd ranked schedule in the league. Considering this ballclub just won 7 games last year against a brutal row of Quarterback’s, while being led by a backup QB that shrunk your playbook significantly, now with better Quarterback play on the horizon with the addition of Carson Wentz, Washington should be a much-improved team offensively by that alone.

Saints sign WR Jarvis Landry - Canal Street Chronicles
The Saints offense just got a lot more dangerous with the addition of Landry, 1st round draft pick Chris Olave, Alvin Kamara, Deonte Harty and the long-anticipated return of Michael Thomas this season.

Every Monday Night Football game this season, ranked - SB Nation
No. 15: Commanders at Eagles — Week 10. Nobody should subject themselves to this outside of these two fanbases. Carson Wentz returning to Philly inspires some drama I suppose, but nobody really cares about Carson Wentz.

NFL Reacts #40: What are the best prime time games of 2022? - The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and Justis Mosqueda go through all of the prime time games in each week of the schedule, hand out their superlatives, and tell you which weeks you can earn a few brownie points at home by skipping stand-alone football games.

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