Eagles News: Philadelphia’s most rootable player

Let’s dive into the Philadelphia Eagles links …

2024 NFL season: One player to root for from each NFC team – NFL.comEAGLES — BRANDON GRAHAM: It’s rare for a defensive lineman to play 15 seasons, but to spend each one of those with the same team? Graham is basically a unicorn in today’s NFL. He’s not the guy anymore in Philadelphia — despite logging 17 games in each of the past two seasons, he’s only started one — but he’s still an important contributor in the D-line rotation. The 36-year-old has always been willing to do the dirty work in the trenches. He has only one double-digit sack season in his career (11 in 2022), but he’s just 3.5 sacks away from passing Clyde Simmons to move into third place for most sacks by an Eagles player. After signing a one-year deal this offseason, Graham has said he intends for 2024 to be his final season, and it would be cool to see the franchise record holder for regular-season games played — not to mention one of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII heroes — go out on a high note.

Jalen Hurts will be a better leader in 2024 – BGNJalen Hurts knows what he did wrong in 2023. Knowing him, he probably went over his mistakes ad nauseam, critiquing every short pass, to every missed read. He also knows he could and should have been a better leader in 2023, especially during the Eagles’ 1-6 debacle. What is encouraging, according to a multitude of sources in and around the team, is that Hurts is far more vocal and is putting his stamp on the 2024 Eagles. In the past, Hurts, being an old soul with old-school values, deferred to the veterans. It is the way he was brought up, it is the way they operated at Alabama and Oklahoma. It is the path Hurts has followed as an Eagle. He did not think it was his right to speak up, out of deference to respected team captains Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. With Kelce and Cox now gone, that voice now becomes him, the franchise quarterback and face of the franchise.

Disguise – Iggles BlitzWhen Gannon faced a quality veteran QB, his defense gave up 30 or more points and lost. When he faced mediocre players and could overwhelm them with talent, the Eagles did well. Schwartz coached in 6 playoff games and only gave up more than 30 points once. And that was in a win. His defenses were far from perfect, but they made it tough for opposing offenses to score. Wilson threw for more than 300 yards in Seattle’s win, but the Seahawks only put up 17 points. Jim Johnson was the defensive coordinator for 10 seasons. He coached in a lot of playoff games. His defenses only allowed 30 or more points in one game, the NFC title game loss to the Cards in 2008. Defenses must be able to perform well in the postseason. And that means being able to go up against good QBs and slow them down. One of the best ways to do that is for a defense to disguise coverages and mix things up. All you need to do is slow the QB down so he holds the ball an extra half second. You want to disrupt his rhythm. You want to make him think instead of making quick reads. Gannon used a version of Fangio’s scheme, but obviously didn’t do a good enough job with it. Having the playbook is one thing. Being able to teach the scheme and make the right calls at the right time is a whole other challenge.

29 Minutes of DeVonta Smith Highlights – PE.comCheck out 29 minutes of DeVonta Smith’s amazing plays! You won’t want to miss his jaw-dropping catches and stunning touchdowns.

Report: Dak Prescott dealing with a ‘sprain’ in his right foot – Blogging The BoysAccording to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been dealing with a right foot sprain. In the article, Watkins notes that the injury “isn’t serious” and that he has been wearing a boot for a week. It is unknown when the injury occurred, but social media was in a frenzy on July 4th when a photo surfaced on X (formerly known as Twitter) showing what appeared to be Prescott in a walking boot during his vacation in Cabo San Lucas. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network doubled down on the report, noting that the photo is of the Cowboys quarterback and that the injury is a “very minor foot sprain.”

Can Elijah Riley earn spot with Giants as backup defensive back? – Big Blue ViewRiley joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 as an undrafted free agent after playing collegiately at Army. He initially made the practice squad but appeared in five games — 65 special teams snaps and four defensive snaps. He played in eight games for the Eagles and New York Jets in 2021, starting seven at safety for the Jets. Those are the only starts of his NFL career. Riley spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing 70 defensive snaps and 236 special teams snaps. The Giants signed him in May.

For the Giants, offseason Hard Knocks seems to be more trouble than it’s worth – PFTThat’s the key here. Beyond the fact that the Giants gain nothing by revealing their internal debate about Barkley to the world, the presence of cameras might have caused Rossetti to bite his tongue for fear of saying too much. What if he’d been more passionate? What if he said what he apparently was thinking? Barkley is too good to let him walk away for nothing. Given the speed with which the Eagles (as Rossetti foresaw it) moved to sign Barkley, the Giants might have gotten something for him in trade. They also might have been better off to keep him, recognizing that he’s good enough to transcend the notion that competent running backs can be found anywhere and everywhere.

Best and worst NFL diets: Rams, Bengals, Dolphins dish it all – ESPNFor the Commanders, the change came when owner Josh Harris bought the team. “It was very selective in what we were eating [before], obviously,” Reaves said. “And new ownership and new coaches came in and they changed all of that stuff. They made an emphasis on that. When we came in, when new ownership came in, they took the time personally to come talk to some of the leaders that’ve been here for a while and ask us what we want to exchange and what we wanted different. And we are seeing it.” Enhancing onsite accommodations is something teams have put an emphasis on in recent years, as is clear with moves made by the Chargers, Rams and Commanders. The goal of the NFLPA survey, according to the association, was to “not only help [players] make important career decisions, but also help raise standards across the league.” It has become increasingly clear nutrition is something teams will continue to enhance as they not only try to recruit players but push for them to play at the highest level. [BLG Note: The Eagles have one of two NFL cafeterias that received an ‘A’ grade.]