Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 2/23/23.

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Sirianni Leads Aggressiveness Index for 2022 - Football Outsiders
Nick Sirianni was the most aggressive coach in the league on fourth downs in 2022, using sound analytics — and a nearly unstoppable fourth-down quarterback sneak — to significantly improve Philadelphia’s chances of winning games. Sirianni was sixth in Football Outsiders’ Aggressiveness Index in 2021 but climbed into the top spot this year. What stood out the most is that Sirianni went for it on 13 of 14 qualifying fourth-and-1 opportunities during the regular season, with the Eagles converting on 10 of these. (They were also 2-for-2 in the postseason.) Sirianni also stood out by going for it on six of 10 qualifying opportunities in “no man’s land” between the 34- and 39-yard-line where a head coach has to choose between a short punt, a long field goal, or a chance to convert on fourth down.

What the Eagles should do at quarterback - BGN
OUTLOOK: Hurts doesn’t turn 25 until August. Considering how he’s improved every year dating back to college, he hasn’t even necessarily hit his ceiling yet. That’s something for the Eagles to keep in mind as they decide to offer him a massive contract extension. At the risk of sounding reductive, Hurts is just a winner. He was a big reason the team went 16-2 in his 18 starts. Hurts offers everything you could really ask for from a franchise quarterback. He’s evolved into a high-level passer who doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way. His mobility adds a lot of value to the offense. He’s a great leader and his unique blend of confidence and composure seems to resonate with his teammates. All told, Hurts announced himself as an elite quarterback in 2022. The Eagles should give him a ton of money and trust that Hurts will have them in position to be annual championship contenders.

NFC East Mixtape Vol. 100: Questions each team is facing - BGN Radio
At long last it is officially the offseason for all four teams in the NFC East, so what are some of the bigger questions that each of them will look to address? Check out the latest episode of the NFC East Mixtape as RJ Ochoa and Brandon Gowton discuss!

Three free agents who make sense for the Eagles, version 1.0 - PhillyVoice
Brissett went 2-3 in five starts with the Dolphins and 4-7 in 11 starts for the Browns. In those 11 starts for Cleveland, he played reasonably well enough, completing 236 of 369 passes (64.0%) for 2608 yards (7.1 YPA), 12 TDs, and 6 INTs on a bad team. He also rushed 49 times for 243 yards and 2 TDs, and while he isn’t anywhere near as scary a runner as Hurts, he’s more effective with his legs than Minshew, and he can push a pile on 4th and 1 with his large frame. He is also widely regarded as a great locker room guy, and could help Hurts continue to grow as a quarterback. Brissett made $5 million with the Dolphins in 2021, and $4.65 million with the Browns in 2022. If his cost is in that ballpark once again, it’s not hard to envision the Eagles having interest.

DC Update - Iggles Blitz
We don’t know if the Eagles have actually interviewed Sean Desai from Seattle. They requested permission, but we don’t have an update since then. He feels like the best candidate at this point. We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes. There isn’t a whole lot of info on Desai in the last couple of days. Is his agent keeping things really quiet or is he somehow flying under the media’s radar? Kinda weird. I still think he’s a strong DC candidate.

2022 NFL rookie grades, NFC East: Cowboys, Giants nab cornerstones in trenches with early picks - NFL.com
Reed Blankenship fought his way through a crowded depth chart and seized an opportunity to play, finishing with 34 tackles, two passes defensed and one interception while playing both defense and special teams. Britain Covey brought his elite return talents to the NFL, finishing with over 500 yards between kick and punt returns and posing a constant threat to opposing special teams units. Josh Jobe played 220 special teams snaps but finished with just one tackle. Philadelphia’s grade boils down to the fact most of these guys, while carrying plenty of potential, didn’t see enough playing time to make a significant difference on a loaded Eagles team.

The 2023 NFL Quarterback Commitment Index - The Ringer
Ring Shopping: Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow, Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert, Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts. All of these quarterbacks are eligible for massive contract extensions, which is the NFL equivalent of family members starting to ask when you will propose. [...] Philadelphia is the fuccboi who never wanted to settle with one person but now has been forced into putting a ring on it with superstar QB Jalen Hurts, who is coming off a four-touchdown performance (three rushing, one passing) in the Super Bowl. Philly isn’t a believer in monogamy per se. They believe in having two quarterbacks. It’s nontraditional and controversial, but it’s also how they ended up drafting Hurts in the first place. But now Hurts has been so good that the Eagles probably have to commit to him and abandon their polygamous lifestyle for something more traditional.

Eagles have ‘so much’ confidence in Davis; recapping rookie seasons - NBCSP
Sirianni pointed out that the Eagles were in a unique situation with so much talent on their defensive line this season that there weren’t a ton of snaps to go around for younger players. But before he suffered his high ankle sprain against the Steelers in Week 8, Davis had really come on strong. He started five games in a row and was a key cog in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. But then he hurt his ankle and missed the next four games and when he returned after his stint on IR, he still wasn’t right. That high ankle sprain really gave him trouble for a lot of the season. While Davis is never going to be a huge statistic accumulator, he failed to record any stats in four of the last six games of the regular season after coming back from injury. In the playoffs, Davis began to out-snap veteran Linval Joseph, who took his starting job, and had 3 tackles and 2 QB hits in his 45 snaps in the playoffs. The Eagles are expecting a big Year 2 from Davis in 2023.

Philadelphia Eagles 2023 NFL Draft big board: Who are the best options in Round 1? - The Athletic
5. Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon. The Eagles will look hard at cornerbacks — they were interested in first-round cornerbacks during the past two seasons — and Gonzalez is Brugler’s highest-rated player at the position. A Colorado transfer, Gonzalez has size (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), athleticism and production. He’s spent time on the outside and in the slot, but a pick this high would be based on his ability to lock down one side of the field. [...] 11. Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State. This is a cornerback who makes sense for the Eagles. He has the size, athleticism and aggressiveness (6-foot-2, 200 pounds and son of former NFL standout Joey Porter) with the profile to play on the outside. Porter doesn’t have the interceptions on his resume (one in his college career), although he set a Penn State record with six pass breakups against Purdue this past season. Brugler had him going to the Eagles in his recent mock draft, writing that Porter is a “long and physical (sometimes, too physical) athlete with the cover skills that might land him in the top 10.”

Spadaro: How do the Eagles build for sustained success? - PE.com
Consider this the start. The 2022 Eagles season, dominating from the very start through one half of Super Bowl LVII only to end in a disappointing manner, represents the next step in this era of Nick Sirianni as the head coach. The ‘22 Eagles took a giant leap from Sirianni’s first season, a 2021 playoff team that turned its year around midway through and never looked back until the playoff loss to Tampa Bay. If you aren’t moving forward in the NFL ... The question for the Eagles, as they size up the busy offseason that is already underway, is this: How do you go to the next step? A glance back at the 2001 Eagles, the first of four straight trips to the NFC Championship Game, is helpful because the similarities are so interesting. That Eagles team was led by a young quarterback in his third season, Donovan McNabb. That Eagles team saw the investment it made in the offensive line – using first-round draft picks on left tackle Tra Thomas and guard Jermane Mayberry, signing right tackle Jon Runyan in free agency – pay off as the offense built around McNabb and his multidimensional skills and a spread-it-around offensive approach.

Josh Sills waives arraignment in rape case - PFT
Eagles offensive lineman Josh Sills waived his arraignment on rape and kidnapping charges in Ohio, with a not guilty plea entered on his behalf, the Associated Press reports. He had been scheduled to appear in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 16. Instead, Sills’ initial court appearance in the case will come in a pretrial hearing March 9. He remains free on a $25,000 cash bond.

Big Quarterback Contracts Are Not the Problem. Salary Cap Management Is - SI
Paying a top quarterback (cash) is not the issue; dealing with the leftover (cap) accounting in the future is much more the problem. Teams can absolutely have large contracts with their top quarterback and simultaneously keep a contending team around them. It requires some expertise in cap management to deal with the detritus if things don’t work out later on, but as I always say: It doesn’t take a cap guru to push out cap problems for another day; it takes a cap guru to make sure a team doesn’t have to do that at all. NFL teams have plenty of the two things they need to pay a top quarterback and to build a roster around them: cash and cap. Every team is presently worth more than $2 billion and receives a check from the league worth $400 million before it even turns the lights on. Teams have plenty of cash. And cap room—even with some squandering on bad contracts—is always available. Again, with a good chunk of NFL rosters full of fixed and reasonable rookie contracts, it has never been easier to pay star players. Don’t fall for the “you can’t build a contending team by paying a top quarterback” trope. You’re better than that.

Former Badgers DC Jim Leonhard not taking Eagles DC job - Buckys 5th Quarter
Earlier this week, former Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles vacant defensive coordinator position, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. However, Leonhard reportedly won’t be taking the job, as the two sides mutually decided they wouldn’t move forward with his defensive coordinator candidacy, according to Fowler.

Miami Dolphins add Joe Kasper from Eagles Defensive Staff to Coach Safeties - The Phinsider
Kasper spent the 2021 season with the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive quality control coach. Prior to that, he worked as a graduate assistant with the Duke University football team. While at Duke, he helped with quarterbacks (2020) and defensive backs (2018-2019). He was a receivers coach before that with John Carrol University (2017) and was a defensive backs coach with Mentor High School in Ohio (2015-2016). Kasper played safety for the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets of the Ohio Athletic Conference, (a Division III collegiate program) graduating in 2015. While playing, Kasper worked for the Cleveland Browns from 2013-2014 as a player personnel and development assistant. Interestingly enough, this coincides with McDaniel’s time there as a receiver’s coach. Like Mike McDaniel, Kasper seems to have taken the road less traveled on his path to becoming a coach in the NFL. Fangio has several connections with the Eagles coaching staff and even spent two weeks helping them prepare for the SB. Kasper must have made a positive impression with the Eagle’s coaching staff, Vic Fangio, and likely McDaniel as well.

Question of the week: Was 2022 Dak Prescott’s worst season yet? - Blogging The Boys
The turnovers, however, make it a real case for his worst season yet. He threw 15 interceptions, a career-high over 2017’s 13 interceptions. However, he played in four more games in 2017 than this year, which lends credence to it being far and away his highest interception to attempt ratio. He also threw multiple interceptions in five of the twelve games he played, which is an astonishingly high number for a full season, let alone an abbreviated one. In those 12 regular season games, he threw for 300+ yards just once. Turnovers aside, although hard to ignore, he threw for 7.3 yards per attempt, good for the second lowest number in his career, again above only 2017. Yards per game also fell into the bottom three of his career at 238.3 yards per game. The only two seasons with lower numbers is, you bet, 2017 and surprisingly, 2016. His ESPN QBR and overall quarterback rating fell into the bottom three and below his career average.

Report: At least one subpoena has been issued in federal criminal investigation of Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders - Hogs Haven
There are plenty of things going on behind the scenes for Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders as a potential sale of the team is progressing. The NFL’s investigation, led by Mary Jo White, is still going on more than a year after Snyder once again tried to hire someone to investigate himself. The House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Snyder and the team ended, but several other lawsuits were started because of allegations made to Congress. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Virginia started a criminal investigation last year over financial irregularities. That case remains open, and FOS is reporting that at least one subpoena has been issued as part of the probe. Commanders attorney John Brownlee issued the following statement about the investigation: “The team has been fully cooperating with the Eastern District of Virginia since it received a request for records last year. The requested records only relate to customer security deposits and the team’s ticket sales and revenue. The team will continue to cooperate with this investigation.”

Duce Staley returns home in new role - Carolina Panthers
He admitted he didn’t know if he’d ever get a chance to join what he called “the hometown team,” so he jumped at the opportunity to join Frank Reich’s staff as soon as it presented itself. For the first time in his career, Staley is back near his hometown of Columbia, S.C., just over 90 miles south of Charlotte. The former NFL running back watches his children play sports in the same area where he competed, and he attends games at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina. Staley’s return to the Carolinas also reunites him with his beloved mother, who he has continued to prioritize as she grows older. He makes a 90-minute commute up I-77 every morning, driving back home each day after work in Charlotte. “One of the biggest mistakes in life is thinking you’ve got time,” he said. “We all have been a victim of it. There have been many times throughout my life (when) I’ve said, ‘I’ll call you back,’ or ‘I’ll see you later.’ Time waits on no one. I don’t want to miss that time with her. I don’t want to miss that time with my family. So being able to come closer to home meant a lot to me.”

5 potential landing spots for Lamar Jackson, ranked - SB Nation
No. 1: Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have become a very hot name in potential Jackson trade talks in recent weeks, and it makes a ton of sense. Sure, the team took Desmond Ridder in the 3rd round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but even if you like Ridder’s game and think he has potential, there’s a chasm between trying to develop him and acquiring one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the game. Atlanta represents a really soft landing spot for Jackson. He joins a team that already has a top tight end in Kyle Pitts, a big-bodied promising receiver in Drake London. Hell, the weapons on offense for the Falcons already exceed what he had in Baltimore. Couple that with a city with a lasting love story with running quarterbacks from the team’s time with Michael Vick and you have a fanbase primed to swoon over Jackson’s abilities.

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