Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 9/30/23.

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Spadaro: What’s the vibe in the locker room as Sunday approaches? - PE.com
Veteran Fletcher Cox ranks second among NFL defensive tackles with five quarterback hits and has played some outstanding football in the opening three wins, taking 68 percent of the defensive snaps. He feels great. There is more to come. “I think it’s the young bucks making me feel young,” he said. “Being around the guys – I’m the oldest guy in the room (32 years old), besides Coach Rock (Defensive Line Coach Tracy Rocker), I think the next-oldest guy is 26 (actually 27, Kentavius Street) – I feel their young presence and energy and honestly that’s kind of what I’ve been feeding off of. “It’s been really fun and we talk about it a lot.” The Eagles used first-round draft picks in each of the last two springs on defensive tackles – Jordan Davis in 2021, Jalen Carter in 2022 – and Cox didn’t feel threatened in any way. Quite the opposite, actually. “I’ve never felt that way. They brought me here as a No. 1 pick and obviously I’ve been blessed to play here more than a decade,” he said. “I don’t feel that pressure at all. I know I can play at a high level and they know that also. That’s why they brought me back. I just want to help those young guys continue to grow. We’re going out there and taking what we’ve learned in practice to the game. I still think there is so much room to keep growing. The biggest message is let’s stop listening to everybody telling us how good we are. Let’s make it about us and keep pushing.”

NFL Week 4 predictions, fantasy sleepers, key stats, buzz - ESPN+
Bowen: Five sneaky predictions for Sunday’s action. Eagles edge rusher Jalen Carter will have two sacks. The tape on Carter is really impressive. The rookie defensive tackle is explosive off the ball, flashing high-level disruptive traits. Through three games, Carter has produced 1.5 sacks and six pressures. And now he gets a good matchup against Washington and quarterback Sam Howell, who was sacked nine times in the Week 3 loss to Buffalo.

Eagles-Commanders Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with the Week 4 enemy - BGN
The offensive line has gotten a lot of heat from the fans. In part, this reflects frustration with the lack of focus on building the line through the draft for many years, but especially during Ron Rivera’s tenure in Washington. Rivera could not hang onto two All Pros that he inherited, OT Trent Williams and G Brandon Scherff. Only one OL has been drafted by Washington in the first two rounds since Scherff was taken in 2015: second rounder OT Sam Cosmi, now the RG. However, the collection of second tier players up front has done better than most fans are willing to believe. Ratings from PFF, SIS, and ESPN are imperfect but suggest that the line is at worst about average in the NFL. In terms of time to throw, the line has a top 10 rating. Eric Bieniemy had a bad day on Sunday (more on that below). The scheme needs to do more to help the young QB, including more running, shorter pass patterns, more rollouts, and so on. But in my view, the primary problem has been Sam Howell. Howell doesn’t get the ball out fast enough. The general rule of thumb in the NFL is that you have 2.5 seconds to decide where to throw and start your motion. He seems to have a 3.5 second clock in his head and it’s not working, even though he has above average time to throw. He is still learning to read coverages in real time. He likes to go deep, and fans love him for that, but he seems reluctant to dump the ball off to his checkdown if the big play isn’t there. If he doesn’t ramp up his internal clock speed, this is going to be a long season and he will be beaten to a pulp.

Eye on the Enemy #164: How will Sam Howell survive the Eagles interior pass rush? + Jack Del Rio’s plans to stop the Eagles’ running game - BGN Radio
John Stolnis is joined by Hogs Haven’s writer Jamual Forrest. The two talk a little Tush Push controversy, how Sam Howell will survive the Eagles interior pass rush and how Jack Del Rio plans to stop the Eagles’ dynamic running game.

Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles Week 4: 5 Questions with Bleeding Green Nation - Hogs Haven
It’s out of the frying pan (Buffalo) and into the fire (Philadelphia) this Sunday for the 2-1 Washington Commanders. Once again, Washington faces one of the elite teams of the NFL. Washington was crushed by the Bills last Sunday and faces another tough game against the undefeated Eagles. Philadelphia has arguably the best offensive line in the game, a boatload of offensive weapons, and a young quarterback who took the team to the Super Bowl last year. On defense, the Eagles’ defensive line is one of the best, although they may have some weaknesses in the back 7. Despite the apparent talent mismatch, Washington split its games with Philadelphia last year. Can the Commanders surprise the league with an upset? I asked Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation five questions to understand more about the state of the Eagles and what to look for in the game.

One theory why Jalen Hurts’ running numbers are down - NBCSP
9. Dallas Goedert has 63 yards in three games. He hasn’t had a stretch of two games with 63 or fewer yards since 2020. In his first two games after coming off Injured Reserve in October 2020, he had 15 yards against the Cowboys and 33 against the Giants. You know he expected a lot more in the receiving game than 63 yards through Week 3. Especially after averaging 59 yards per game last year, 2nd-highest in the league. Goedert had his eyes on his first Pro Bowl and his first 1,000-yard season. And he still could achieve those goals. But although the receiving stats haven’t materialized, he’s blocking his butt off and one of the big reasons the Eagles are averaging 186 rushing yards per game. Which is one of the big reasons they’re 3-0. And Goedert is genuinely happy no matter how many catches he gets if the Eagles win and he’s contributing to it in any way. Guarantee you will never hear him complain about catches or targets. Goedert is a pro.

Eagles-Commanders preview and predictions: Will Eagles protect Jalen Hurts, pressure Sam Howell? - ALL PHLY
Berman: The Eagles are clearly the superior team. Even with injuries on defense and a short week, it would be a surprise if the Eagles are upset as a nine-point favorites. I saw encouraging signs from Jalen Hurts and think the passing game will take another step — especially if Washington tries to slow down a running offense that has had its way against defenses during the past two weeks. Hurts could surpass 300 yards for the first time this season. On defense, the Eagles need their pass rush to lead the way. Injuries in the middle of the defense can be overcome by a potent pass rush. The Eagles will leave less to complain about this game, advancing to 4-0 before traveling across the country to Los Angeles. Eagles 30, Commanders 16

5 things to watch when the Cowboys host the Patriots - Blogging The Boys
1. Homecoming for Zeke. For seven seasons Ezekiel Elliott was a fixture in the backfield for the Cowboys, but the team went a different direction and released him this past offseason. Zeke now runs the ball for the Patriots. The Cowboys have Tony Pollard now and most don’t feel any regrets for moving on as Elliott hasn’t looked as good as he did during his younger days. In fact, Elliott only rushed for 80 yards in three of his final 27 games in Dallas. But guess what he rushed for last week? Yep, 80 yards. Elliott looked good against a tough Jets defense averaging five yards per carry. And the Cowboys are coming off a game where they allowed 7.4 yards per rushing attempt. The stage is set for Zeke to return to AT&T and attack a Cowboys run defense that is suddenly vulnerable. Elliott may have a good play or two, and we will see his patented feed-me gesture, but the Cowboys’ defense should hold him in check.

Giants rule Andrew Thomas OUT for Monday night - Big Blue View
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced Saturday morning that starting left tackle Andrew Thomas has been ruled out for Monday Night Football. “He practiced a little bit in individual two days ago, just wasn’t feeling right, didn’t practice him yesterday,” Daboll said. “He won’t make the game.” Thomas has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the first week of the season, and has missed weeks two and three. The Giants had hoped that their best offensive lineman back for their game against the Seattle Seahawks, but it wasn’t to be.

Rams WR Kupp will return to practice next week - PFT
The Rams may get Cooper Kupp back to play sooner rather than later. Head coach Sean McVay said in his Friday press conference that Kupp will start practicing next week. Kupp has been sidelined by a hamstring injury for the first few weeks of the season and was placed on injured reserve during Week 1. He’s eligible to be designated to return after Sunday’s game. [BLG Note: Kupp could return for the Rams’ Week 5 game against the Eagles.]

College football’s 5 best games of Week 5, ranked - SB Nation
1. Kansas vs. Texas. Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET. This is the second year in a row that Kansas has started 4-0, and once again they run into the Texas Longhorns. This game should be a matchup of fun offenses, although both get it done very differently. Kansas throws everything at you; from 2-QB sets to full house pistol formations, they force defenses to account for everyone on the field, and QB Jalon Daniels is arguably the best QB in the conference. Texas is a lot stronger up front this year, and can grind teams down before hitting them with play action downfield with WRs Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell. QB Quinn Ewers needs to be on his A-game to beat this Kansas team, because the Jayhawks won’t go away quietly.

TGIFootball #8: Previewing Week 4 in the NFL - The SB Nation NFL Show
RJ Ochoa, Brandon Lee Gowton, and Stephen Serda preview Week 4 of the NFL season.

Ultimate Destinations Around Philly for Crispy, Crunchy Fried Chicken - Eater Philly
Redcrest Kitchen. This beloved restaurant has had many changes, but one thing that’s been consistent is their tasty fried chicken. Their legendary half fried chicken (served with scrumptious buttermilk biscuits and spicy collard greens) is just the beginning of their love for the bird — try their awesome chicken tenders or one of their juicy chicken sandwiches (the “South-By-Southwest” sandwich that comes with pickled jalapeño and charred jalapeño mayo is a stand-out). [BLG Note: This place has some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Give it a try if you get the chance.]

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